Question of the Week August 18 Changes

While summer is a great time to rest and spend time with family, it is also a time of planning for teachers. Many teachers use their vacation to reflect on the past year and begin planning for the upcoming school year. Our teachers at Language Teacher Cafe have reflected and have come up with the following changes they plan to implement in their classes this year:

World Language Resources for Back to School!

Check out these World Language Resources for Back to School!

French Back to School Bingo Game

Colorful, ready-to-go French Back To School Lotto Game. 30 lotto 
cards and the calling cards are all included.  If you laminate the cards 
they will last for many years and can be reused over and over again.

Guten Tag!  Greetings and Introductions Activity Bundle

Activities to help students practice basic 
greetings and introductions. Focuses on students being able to say: how they're doing, their name, their age, their phone number, where they're from and where they live. 

Spanish Subject Pronouns Picture Notes Set

Spanish subject pronouns in picture form! Make learning the subject pronouns easier for your students by giving them this concise study guide with each subject pronoun represented by an appropriate picture. Notes and quiz in one package! This set contains all of the subject pronouns in two formats: 1. Picture notes with word labels in an easy to follow study guide, which can be used to introduce the vocabulary, review pronunciation, prepare the students for an exam, or cut into flash cards for study purposes; and 2. Pictures without word labels, which may be used as a homework assignment, quiz or test of the vocabulary. As a bonus, these Spanish notes and visuals are also perfect for the ESE student in your class that requires modifications. Includes 2 pages.

World Language Teacher Planner

This planner will walk you through lesson development that is focused, 
organized, and follows the natural process by which students learn 
language.

First Week of School in the World Language Classroom

One of the activities I like to do the first week of school in my classroom is to ask my students, “Why are you studying a language?”  After they give honest answers such as:  “because I have to, so I can get into a good college, etc.”, I then ask them (in small groups) to come up with a list of why knowing another

language (Chinese, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, Russian, etc.) could be useful in the future.  We write the answers from each group on the board so they can see the list.  I emphasize the global economy and the importance of knowing another language for your job, so you can communicate with employees and clients from other countries.  I talk about the numbers of people in the world who speak the language that we are studying:

Five Back to School Tips for the World Language Classroom

Five Back to School Tips for the World Language Classroom 

Okay so the summer has passed too quickly. You’re out of the house and on your way to school for the first day and as you are driving you’re wondering how you can motivate yourself to knock that list of things to do down to begin the school year off with a bang. Here are 5 Back to School Tips for teachers of World Languages.

1. Create a Poster to Remain in the Target LanguageStart the year off strong by remaining in the target language! Recent studies have shown that students of a second language acquire it at a faster rate if immersed in the language. To help keep yourself on target and your class as well create a poster with a flag from a country where the target language is spoken as well as a caption in the target language such as, “We speak ________ here.” On the reverse side create a poster with a flag of the native language of your students with the same expression in the native tongue and with an image of the flag. Place both posters in a page protector or laminate them front to back and pin the poster at the front of the classroom. Throughout the class period if you find that you must communicate something in the native language of your students be sure to walk to the front of the room and flip your poster to the appropriate flag/language. You will find that it is easier to remain in the target language and re-explain the information than it is to walk all the way to the front of the room and reverse the poster.

Question of the Week: Celebrations

This week we discuss ways to recognize students at the end of the year.

End of Year Resources

With the end of the year fast approaching, here are some activities to help you plan the final days.

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French 1 Review Packet

This French 1 Review Packet is a great resource to provide students at the end of the semester to review for the final exam or over the summer months before they begin French 2. All questions are written in French.  27 page download.

(FREE) Communicative activity: Summer Vacation Write, Draw, Pass

In this activity, students can play a game using original sentences about summer vacation or one of the 30 pre-made Spanish sentences (English translations provided so that teachers of other languages can adapt the activity for their classes). In the game, students interpret pictures and sentences from their classmates to figure out what everyone will be doing this summer. Works great to practice ir + a + infinitive! Detailed instructions are included for the game and for several possible extensions. 

Spanish Summer Workbook by Spanish Sundries

This workbook contains over 16 activities covering some of the most common themes from beginning Spanish. Although constructed as a tool to keep students skills sharp over the summer break, these activities could just as easily be used throughout the school year in class, as homework, or as sub plans.

 

Les Certificats by Madame H
These are the perfect certificates to award your French students of any level at the end of the school year! The download includes seven different designs with the same wording, a place to write student name, school attended, and teacher. All wording is in French. There are 2 colored designs (blue, red) and 5 black and white designs. Pick and choose for different levels you teach or use the same one for all of your students.  

Spanish Future Tense - Este Verano

When thoughts turn to summer vacation, use this end of year activity to review the future tense. Students and teacher stand and circulate with their list of questions, trying to find “yes” answers to questions about what students will do this summer, next week or tomorrow. They can only ask two questions per person so they must choose their questions wisely. Students sit down as soon as they have “yes” answers to all questions (or when they have questioned everyone).

Guess Who? in Spanish Game Clue sheet for students

For students playing the game "Guess Who?" to practice asking about people's descriptions, I give students a laminated copy of this sheet for them to remember the correct vocabulary including: hair colors, eye colors, size of hair/nose, if they are man/woman, if they have a mustache or beard, etc.

No English is used on the sheet. Each word has a picture next to the Spanish word.

Using the verb "TENER" or "SER" to describe physical appearance or characteristics.

World Cup in World Language classroom

Many World Language teachers are using this summer's upcoming World Cup in Brazil to provide their students with a learning experience about the world's most popular sporting event and one that is a huge cultural event for many target cultures. Here are some resources to get you started. 

 

Futbol y Copa Mundial Unit

Great end of the year activity and perfect leading up to this summer World Cup (Copa Mundial) which is the world's largest sporting event and kicks off June 12. Have your students learn about this important world culture event before they head home for summer.
This 12 page packet features a 4 page webquest where students will find out information about the tournament, the teams, and its history. Also features 4 songs including the 2010 World Cup anthem by Shakira and 2 World Cup songs from this year 2014 Fifa World Cup as well as an inspiring song about Mexico's national team.

World Cup Spanish Picture Flash Cards & Games

A picture, and these World Cup pictures, can be used 1,000 different ways! All levels of Spanish students can use and play with the Soccer People and Places and Soccer Verbs picture flash cards. ANSWER KEYS INCLUDED. Learners can play independently or with the class or groups. Get in on the World Cup excitement.