2010 Roundup

2010 is coming to an end, and what a year it has been! Our first full year has seen nearly 400 posts, the addition of our various video series, as well as the addition of several writers across multiple languages. 2011 will bring more great content along with some exciting new changes, especially our first wave of releases and publications! Goodbye 2010 and see you all in 2011!

- Chris

Coming Soon: Enfoque - Latin America

Hello all, Chris here with some exciting news! Today we have the official preview for our first release - Enfoque: Latin America! Full details after the jump:

Holiday Wishes

Hello all, from everyone at the Language Teacher's Toolbox, we wish you a happy holiday season! Stay tuned for exciting news, updates, and new content from the Language Teacher's Toolbox!

News: Update

Hello all, Chris here. Our recent post on international exchange opportunities has been updated with new information. To see the original post, click here:

http://lteacherstoolbox.blogspot.com/2010/12/international-exchange-opportunities.html

 

News: Useful Sites Updated

Hello all, Chris here again. Our general links have been updated to include recent posts. If you find any broken links please let us know by commenting or sending an email to clteacherstoolbox@gmail.com.

News: Coming Soon - Portuguese & Chinese

Hello all, Chris here. There is a lot going on behind the scenes right now as we wrap up 2010 and get ready for the new year. 2011 will bring big things to the Language Teacher's Toolbox! We will be dropping several previews in the coming days before we slide into 2011.

First up, we are slowly expanding our offering of languages. In 2011 we will be adding Portuguese and Chinese content to our lineup! Stay tuned for more news!

Comments welcome! 

Useful Websites: Armored Penguin

Hello all, Chris here. Today I would like to share a really useful site brought to my attention by a colleague in Spanish, Carlos Munoz. The site is called Armored Penguin and features several puzzles generators for Crosswords, Word Searches, etc. You simply type in the vocabulary you want to use and within a minute the website generates the puzzles for you in HTML or PDF form. I use these as filler activities to help practice vocabulary if there is extra time at the end of class or as some fun homework. Check the link below:


http://armoredpenguin.com/

• Do you use any other types of puzzles in your language courses?
• Do you already have any pre-made puzzles that you use

Questions and comments welcome!

German Video: Krampuslauf in Munich

Hello all, Chris here. It has been a bit since our last update. The end of the semester is always a busy time. Now that it is over with, let's get back on track with some new content.

Here is a fun video about the Krampuslauf in Munich. The video provides some background information and one can see some of the holiday festivities and decorations in the city. On the language front, students get to hear the Bavarian dialect. Enjoy!

German Video: Gespräche 6

Hello all, Chris here. This video features Anna and Marek talking about their experiences with the German education system as well as discussing recent changes and comparisons with the American system. There will be a worksheet added soon. Enjoy!

Useful Websites: VoiceThread

Hello everyone, Becky here!

VoiceThread is a wonderful multimedia presentation tool that is web-based and FREE for educators and students!!! Go to the following link to check it out and set up your free account:

http://voicethread.com/#home

For security reasons, I tell my students when setting up their accounts, to put only their first names and last initial.

Enjoy!

News: International Exchange Opportunities for U.S. Students, Teachers, Administrators and Schools

Hello everyone, Becky here! I have copied some info about international exchange opportunities below. Enjoy!

Information regarding the International Education Seminars and Teachers of Critical Languages Program has been updated below! (- Chris)

Upcoming Application Deadlines for

International Exchange Opportunities for U.S. Students, Teachers, Administrators and Schools

For High School Students

December 19, 2010

The Congress–Bundestag Youth Exchange Program (CBYX) a fully-funded academic year abroad for German and American high school students. Live with host families, attend a German school, and participate in community life. Language skills not required. Visithttp://exchanges.state.gov/youth/programs/cbyx.html for details.

January 12, 2011

The Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Abroad program offers American high school students and recent graduates full scholarships for up to one academic year to live and study in countries with significant Muslim populations. Visit http://www.yesprograms.org/yesabroad for more information.

For Pre-Service Teachers

January 28, February 28, March 28, 2011 (rolling admissions)

U.S.-France Teachers in Training Program offers undergraduate seniors or graduate students seeking teaching licensure in a variety of secondary education content areas a three-month program in France that includes language and cross-cultural study and a practicum in a French secondary school. http://www.uakron.edu/education/community-engagement/fatiti/us-participants.dot

For In-Service Teachers

December 15, 2010

The Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching Program sends select primary and secondary school teachers abroad for three to six months to pursue an individual project, conduct research, take courses for professional development and lead master classes or seminars for teachers and students. For more information please visit: http://exchanges.state.gov/globalexchanges/distinguished_awards.html.

January 11, 2011

International Educational Seminars in India, Italy, or Greece provide a 5-8 week professional development opportunity for secondary teachers in summer 2011. Visit http://www.americancouncils.org/educationalSeminarsSearch.php for details.

March 1, 2011

Intensive Summer Language Institutes for teachers of Mandarin and Arabic including elementary and secondary teachers, community college instructors, and those enrolled in teacher certification programs. For more information please visit: http://www.americancouncils.org/isli

March 28, 2011

International Educational Seminar for U.S. teachers interested in hosting a Thai teacher in 2011 then traveling to Thailand for a reciprocal visit in summer 2012. For details please visit: http://www.americancouncils.org/educationalSeminarsSearch.php

March, 2011

Teachers for Global Classrooms, a new program for secondary teachers of English, Social Studies, Math, and Science provides professional development online and in Washington D.C. in 2011 followed by a two week international program in Spring/Summer 2012 in Africa, Asia, Latin America, or Eastern Europe. Please register to receive updates on program details and deadlines: http://www.irex.org/programs/tea/tea%20us.asp

For Administrators
March 28, 2011

International Educational Seminars for elementary and secondary principals, assistant principals, and department chairs. Participants host an administrator from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, or Thailand in 2011 then are hosted by this colleague on a reciprocal visit in summer 2012.www.americancouncils.org/es

For Schools

January 7, 2011

The Teachers of Critical Languages Program invites schools with existing language programs in Mandarin and Arabic to apply to host a native language teacher from China or Egypt for the 2011-2012 academic year. For more information please visit: http://www.americancouncils.org/TCLP/

Additional information on all programs is also available from the Teacher Exchange Branch at the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Please visit our website http://exchanges.state.govglobalexchanges/programs.html or contact us at (202) 632- 6338Teacherexchange@state.gov.

German: Dialect Websites

Hello all, Chris here. Today I would like to share a few interesting links I found relating to German dialects. This is an area that typically does not receive a great deal of attention (if any) in textbooks. These sites provide a lot of interesting information and could serve as the basis for activities or lessons relating to the various German dialects. There are also several videos on YouTube which feature different dialects.

http://wings.buffalo.edu/linguistics/people/faculty/fertig/fertig/GermDialSoundlinks.html 

http://www.diwa.info/

http://mailer.fsu.edu/%7Eweadolph/courses/phon/dialekte.html

German: Gespräche 5 Updated

Hello all, Chris here. Our Gespräche 5 video now has a small set of comprehension questions to go along with it. You can find the original post here:

http://lteacherstoolbox.blogspot.com/2010/11/german-video-gesprache-5.html

Spanish: Useful Site - The Present Progressive and Present Participle

Here is a good site that I found for teaching the Present Progressive or the Present Participle in Spanish. On the left you will see a Power Point that I highly recommend you look at and use in your classes. My students loved the 'dibujitos'!
The website is: http://www.drlemon.com/Grammar/progressive.html

News: LTT Reaches 400 Posts!

Hello all, Chris here. I'm excited to announce that we have just reached our 400th post! Now it's on to 500!

Japanese: Useful Kanji Website

Hi all, Junko desu.

Today, I wanted to share a useful kanji dictionary, Kanji Alive. Looking up kanji on dictionaries can be frustrating for students because most dictionaries can be searched only by pronunciations. But this website enables searching kanji from pronunciations, textbooks, meanings and etc. It also gives you vocab with the kanji.

http://kanjialive.uchicago.edu/web/

Check it out!

German: Goethe-Institut Visits

Hello all, Chris here with some fun news for German teachers. The Goethe-Institut in Chciago has a program for class visits to the Institut and then visits to the Christkindelmarket! A very cool and educational trip for students! For more information, check here:

http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/chi/en6828620.htm

Group Activities: Reviewing Numbers 1-100 (game)

Hello all, Becky here!

The number game is called "X" and it works in any language.

The teacher establishes a number pattern: Divisible by ___ or containing ___. At first you start out with one number -- divisible by 6 or containing a 6. With practice I get complex -- divisible by 3 or 8 or containing a 7, for example. Then the students form a circle and count in order in the language. When a student has a number that fits the pattern, they have to "X" out the number (say X in the target language).

EX for the 6 pattern:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, X, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, X, 13, 14, 15, X, 17, X, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, X, 25, X, 27, 28, 29, X, etc. It gets tricky when you hit the 60s because they are all Xed out!

If a student says the wrong number, they sit down. If they say the number when it should be X, they sit down. If they say X when it should be a number, they sit down. Last person standing wins. If there are only 3-4 left and they are all doing really well, I let them all win. Some reward is helpful to have on hand!

Enjoy!

Group Activities: Never have I ever with 10 fingers

Hello everyone! Becky here. :)

We played 10 fingers in my class today to review the present perfect and had a BLAST!

Here is the way it works: Everyone writes 2 sentences (depending on the size of your class) that are true about things they have NOT done. Then, each person reads a sentence and if the rest of the people in the class have done this, they put one finger down. The person who gets all their fingers down first loses. The person who has fingers remaining the longest wins (if you get that far).

My sentences were true about me but aimed at getting some of my students out:

—No he estudiado comunicaciones. (I have not studied communication.)

—No he vivido en D.C. (I have not lived in D.C.)

—No he estudiado en India. (I have not studied in India.)

—No he vivido en una ciudad grande en EEUU. (I have not lived in a big city in the U.S.)

Enjoy!

News: 3rd Malaysia International Conference on Academic Strategies in English Language Teaching

3rd Malaysia International Conference on Academic Strategies in English Language Teaching

Maximising ELT Potential for Diversity and Intelligibility

15-16 December 2010
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


After two successful conferences, My_CASELT returns with the aim of bringing together ELT practitioners, researchers, curriculum designers, professionals in corporate communication and others interested in the development of English as an international language to:

Increase understanding and knowledge of current ELT practices;
Promote innovative approaches while reflecting on challenges, both old and new;
Encourage research collaboration; and
Facilitate networking and exchange of experiences among policy makers, researchers, and educators.

http://mycaselt.uitm.edu.my/