Blog

“CogDogBlog Wordle” (CC BY 2.0) by Alan Levine Lochman Langchatters resoundingly chose the topic of “effective web tools” for last week’s chat and with the amount of them that exist these days (both effective and non-effective), it’s a good thing that we tackled the subject together! Participants talked about the web tools that students use that are […]

In the world language education field, elementary teachers would certainly win in a competition for most variety in situations.  This one has 30 minutes per week and a total of 620 students, that one has 90 minutes per week with 270 students, this one has 7 home languages represented in a single classroom, that one […]

“Consul General Lochman at Mangilaluk in Tuktoyaktuk” (CC BY 2.0) by US Embassy Canada Last week langchatters dove in to tackle the topic of what strategies can help promote meaningful, purposeful interpersonal communication in the world language classroom. Participants discussed their definitions of “meaningful” and “purposeful” in this context, as well as what skills and strategies need […]

“High pile of hardcover books” (CC BY 2.0) by  Alberto G. Last week, #langchat got back into full-swing for the school year with a great conversation about ways to structure and implement an effective world language curriculum without a textbook. Chatters discussed how to select themes, as well as ways to determine which ones are the most […]

“Reflection” (CC BY 2.0) by  kevin dooley  Last week, langchat-ters joined in a lively conversation full of reflections on the last year of teaching students in the world language classroom. Participants talked through the changes they made, their “AHA!” moments, the biggest risk they took and how it paid off, and what they’re looking forward to trying and/or […]

“fit students” (CC BY 2.0) by  Susan NYC  Last week, langchatters joined in a great conversation about how to help students adjust to, and make the shift from, familiar instructional practices such as worksheets, quizzes, etc. Participants discussed what characteristics of familiar practices they feel need to be changed, what’s been pushing students out of their comfort zones, […]

“South African Roads” (CC BY 2.0) by  cornstaruk  Last week, langchatters joined in an enlightening conversation about how world language teachers can best go about equipping their student to be lifelong language learners. Participants discussed ways to help students connect their second language learning with their larger life goals, as well as how to ensure students leave a […]

“A New Japanese 7th Grade Classroom” (CC BY-ND 2.0) by  A is for Angie  Last week, langchat participants joined in a lively conversation about student choice in the assessment process, and ways to integrate that into the world language classroom. Langchatters shared their thoughts on the pros and cons of giving students a choice in assessment prompts/tasks, as […]

“classroom” (CC BY 2.0) by  Lead Beyond  Last week, langchat linked up to talk about group work in the world language classroom and participants brainstormed strategies to help make it a successful learning experience for students on a regular basis. Contributors discussed their opinions as to when/why you would decide to use group work, as well as the […]

“Snapper” Chat Covers 5 World Language Topics in 1 Hour: Try and Keep Up! “Duck-Duck-Goose” (CC BY 2.0) by  just_a_cheeseburger  Last week, langchat hosted another “snapper” round of conversation where participants joined in to talk about five unrelated questions that are relevant to the world language classroom. In these “snapper” chats, contributors weigh in on separate questions so […]