Blog

Project-based Learning (PBL) has become a new area of interest to educators everywhere, including world language teachers. Many #langchat participants have heard of the value of using this method to teach, so we spent last week’s discussion focusing on how to ensure that comprehensible input is integral to this inquiry-based process. Defining Comprehensible Input and […]

  by  -Jeffrey-  It was an exciting and fun tweet-up last Thursday as we got together with some of our #langchat regulars and had a few in-person laughs at the American Convention of Teachers of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). It was so much fun, we almost forgot that we were supposed to be learning and sharing online as […]

  by  Colin_K  World language classrooms revolve around understanding and participating in a new language. For many teachers, there are still many questions about how to assess speaking activities, prepare students for success and incorporate technology into speaking lessons. On the latest #langchat, participants responded to 8 vital questions when thinking about speaking assessments. They also shared […]

On Thursday night’s #langchat, participants described what the ideal language classroom looks like as far as engagement, interaction and even noise level is concerned. Then, they shared some ways that they create an engaging and communicative language learning atmosphere in their classrooms. What is Engagement? “Students speaking in the target language more than the teacher […]

Thursday’s #langchat was a fast-paced evening of sharing links and strategies. So many of you had great ideas about how to make interpretive listening activities more fun and engaging for world language students. Our regular moderators weren’t on hand to motivate our discussion, but #langchat participants are a hardy group. Special thanks go out to […]

  by  FutUndBeidl  If you weren’t a part of our Thursday night #langchat discussion on how to move students from novice to intermediate, you missed a great discussion. Teachers from all over the world chimed in about how they are using questioning, wall space and many other teaching tools and tricks to help prepare their novice students […]

  by  Camera Eye Photography  There are a variety of ways to organize a world language classroom curriculum. For each teacher, the grade level, subject matter and proficiency benchmarks are so varied that it is difficult to compare one way of organizing a language-teaching unit with another. Still, on Thursday night’s #langchat, participants came up with some […]

  by  USDAgov  One of the common ways teachers involve students in the world language classroom experience is by allowing them choice in the kinds of assignments, projects and assessments they do. During last Thursday’s #langchat discussion, participants talked about the benefits of using choice, the important things to remember when creating choice activities and some great […]

 “Collaboration is THE 21st-century skill. Real collaboration is NOT cheating.” This wonderful quote from @SECottrell at last Thursday’s #langchat summed up the value that most world language teachers feel is inherent in collaboration activities. While some teachers believe that collaboration can put undue pressure on the few who may do a majority of work, #langchat […]

Tech tools are everywhere and they’re a dime a dozen.  Which ones are the best for world language classes? In last Thursday’s #langchat, @snesbitt1972 said [The] focus shouldn’t be on the device. It’s just a tool. The bigger question is, how will devices help make life easier and connect learning to the real world? Although […]