News: Study Finds Gap Persists for Hispanic Students

Hello all, Chris here with more language learning news. A recent study finds that a gap still persists for Hispanic students. You can read the full article here:


Gap for Hispanic Students

News: Mobile Devices Aid in Language Learning

Hello all, Chris here with more language learning news. A recent article reports on the positive benefits of using mobile devices in English language courses in California ESL schools. This brings up an interesting point for language classes in general: how can mobile devices be used to supplement language learning as opposed to solely relying on more traditional media.


Mobile Devices aid Learning

News: California University Adds Farsi Program

Hello all, Chris here with your language learning news. A California university is adding Farsi to its language program. You can read the full article here:

Farsi Language Program

Digital Filmmaking

Introduction

Today, we are going to make a short animated film about an experience that you have had speaking English with another person outside of class. Be creative, but also be sure to reflect the experience as accurately as possible (in spirit anyway). Please do NOT include anything that might embarrass one of your classmates, or yourself. Most importantly, have FUN!

Instructions

1) Go to the website http://www.dvolver.com/live/moviemaker.html

2) Follow the instructions below:

a) Start Moviemaker and select a 'Background' and 'Sky' from the list

b) Press 'Next' and select 'Rendezvous' as your plot

c) Press 'Next' and choose two characters

d) Press 'Next' and write a Question & Answer dialogue for the characters

e) When you're finished, select the music and click on 'Finish Movie'

f) Write the Title of your movie and add your name then you can watch the film

3) Send the film to your instructor via email

Again, let me remind you that we will be watching your videos in class, so please compose them accordingly.

News: Foreign Language Radio

Hello all, Chris here with your language learning news. Take a look at the following article about foreign language radio stations in the United States. There are literally hundreds of different radio stations from a wide variety of languages. Accessing these radio stations or even internet radio could be a valuable tool to incorporate into your language lessons! The full article can be found here:

Foreign Language Radio

French Music: Education Sentimentale, Maxime Leforestier

Hello all, Johanne ici. Today I would like to share a French music video with lyrics below. Depending on the level you could simply have the students follow along with the lyrics, discuss the vocabulary as part of a lesson, or leave key vocabulary blank and have the students fill in the blanks while listening to the songs.

You could also pose the following questions:

• What is the song about?
• What words were new or difficult to understand?
• How is education in France different from/similar to education in the US?

Ce soir à la BRUNE
Nous irons ma BRUNE
Cueillir des serments,
Cette fleur sauvage
Qui fait des ravages
Dans les coeurs d'enfants.
Pour toi, ma princesse
J'en ferai des tresses
Et dans tes cheveux ;
Ces serments, ma belle
Te rendront cruelle
Pour tes amoureux...

Demain à l'aurore
Nous irons encore
Glaner dans les champs,
Cueillir des promesses
Des fleurs de tendresse
Et de sentiment.
Et sur la colline
Dans les sauvagines
Tu te coucheras,
Dans mes bras, ma brune
Eclairée de lune
Tu te donneras.

C'est au crépuscule
Quand la libellule
S'endort au marais,
Qu'il faudra, voisine
Quitter la colline
Et vite rentrer.
Ne dis rien, ma brune
Pas même à la lune
Et moi, dans mon coin,
J'irai solitaire
Je saurai me taire
Je ne dirai rien...

Ce soir à la brune
Nous irons, ma brune
Cueillir des serments
Cette fleur sauvage
Qui fait des ravages
Dans les coeurs d'enfants
Pour toi, ma princesse
J'en ferai des tresses
Et dans tes cheveux
Ces serments, ma belle
Te rendront cruelle
Pour tes amoureux...

Japanese: Onomatopoeia

Konnichiwa, Yumiko desu. Today I would like to share a fun website about Japanese onomatopoeia. Japanese has a ton of onomatopoetic words and this website helps you understand the meanings and how to use them with the help of a lot of illustrations. It has no English translations, but you will enjoy it if you can read Hiragana at least.

http://dbms.ninjal.ac.jp/nknet/Onomatope/manga.html

Jig-song puzzle

Choose a popular song of the moment. Type up the lyrics. Print out two copies. Keep one intact and cut the other one into strips like this:

......................................................................
First line of the song
......................................................................
Second line
......................................................................

etc.

Shuffle the strips and distribute them around the class.

Place a large table in the center of the room. Tell the students that when they hear the lines they have printed on their strips of paper they must stand up and place them in the correct place on the table.

Play the song as many time as necessary to get all the strips on the table.

The end result should match the intact copy of the lyrics.

News: Bilingualism and Language Program Funding

Hello all, Chris here with your language learning news. Please take a look at the following article which presents several arguments for the need to fund language programs not the least of which is the economic boost.

Bilingualism and Funding

News: Digital Media and Language Instruction

Hello all, Chris here with the latest in language teaching news. Please take a look at the following article on how digital media is changing language instruction:

Digital Media and Language Instruction

News: Creative Learning Academy

Hello all, Chris here with your language learning news. Take a look at the following article about Creative Learning Academy in Florida. Two teachers are incorporating a wide variety of activities and lessons to help students learn Spanish. In fact, the program has now received national recognition!


Creative Learning Academy

News: Kindergarteners to learn Chinese in Immersion Program

Hello all, Chris here with your language learning news! Take a look at the following article about a Maryland school which will be testing partial immersion for its kindergarten students! Students will be set to learn Chinese in various other subjects.\


Kindergarteners and Immersion

French Video: Chateau de Beauregard: Visite et Vidéo

Hello all, Johanne here. Today I have another French video to share. This time it is about the Chateau de Beauregard! Enjoy!

http://www.beauregard-loire.com/ 

French Video: Au menu, c'est pot-au-feu

Hello all, Johanne here with another interesting French video I found for use in the classroom:


Au menu, c'est pot-au-feu

Enjoy!

French Video: Le "Trône d'argile", une plongée au coeur du Moyen-Âge

Hello everyone, Johanne here again with another interesting French video to use in your courses:

Le "Trône d'argile", une plongée au coeur du Moyen-Âge

Enjoy!

News: Alzheimer's and Language Learning

Hello all, Chris here with some language learning news. I came across this interesting article on the National Geographic website. The article focuses on the positive effects language learning can have in staving off Alzheimer's! For the full article, click here:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/100218-bilingual-brains-alzheimers-dementia-science-aging/

French Video: Le Bac - 50 ans de petites histoires

 
Hello all, Johanne with another fun French video. This time it is about Le Bac!

Le Bac : 50 ans de petites histoires

French Video: La rose de mai, une senteur précieuse pour Chanel

Hello everyone, Johanne here with another fun video to use in your French courses:

La rose de mai, une senteur précieuse pour Chanel

Genuine or Counterfeit?

This is a role play I did with my students in China, and they seemed to have a lot of fun with it. It takes about 40 minutes (10 prep + 20 role-play + 10 reveal) and could be easily adapted for any foreign language classroom.

Cut up the cards below and give one to each student. Make sure to tell them not to show their cards to anyone.

Some of the students will be consumers; it will be your job to try to get the best deal you can on the items on your list. But remember, you don’t want to get tricked into buying counterfeit or shoddy goods. Ask a lot of questions and see how trustworthy the businessperson seems.

Other students will be businesspeople: some legitimate and some dishonest; it will be your job to make as much money as you can in 20 minutes. Good luck!

You are a dishonest businessperson who sells counterfeit goods. Of course, you tell everyone that they are high quality imports from Japan. In reality, your products come from a nearby factory. DVD player = 525 RMB CD player = 375 RMB MP3 player = 450 RMB	You are a dishonest businessperson who sells counterfeit goods. Of course, you tell everyone that they are high quality imports from Korea. In reality, your products come from a nearby factory. CD player = 350 RMB Digital camera = 900 RMB Mobile phone = 650 RMB
You are a legitimate businessperson who sells high-quality goods imported from Japan. Of course, that means your products are more expensive than locally made goods, but you should try to convince the customer that it’s worth paying a little extra for something that won’t break. DVD player = 650 RMB MP 3 player = 500 RMB Video camera = 1,600 RMB Digital camera = 1,200 RMB	You are a legitimate businessperson who sells high-quality goods imported from USA. Of course, that means your products are more expensive than locally made goods, but you should try to convince the customer that it’s worth paying a little extra for something that won’t break. CD player = 450 RMB MP3 player = 625 RMB Mobile phone = 800 RMB Video camera = 1,800 RMB
You are a legitimate businessperson who sells cheap goods made in a nearby factory. They are not as high-quality as imported goods, but you should try to convince the customers that it’s worth it to save a little money and help support the local economy. DVD player = 400 RMB CD player = 275 RMB MP3 player = 350 RMB Mobile phone = 525 RMB	You are a legitimate businessperson who sells cheap goods made in a nearby factory. They are not as high-quality as imported goods, but you should try to convince the customers that it’s worth it to save a little money and help support the local economy. DVD player = 450 RMB MP3 player = 300 RMB Digital camera = 600 RMB Mobile phone = 475 RMB
You are an undercover police officer trying to catch those people who are selling counterfeit goods. Try to get the business people to tell you where their products really came from. Don’t tell them you’re a policeman. Pretend to be a customer looking to spend a lot of money on digital and video cameras. Write down the name of anyone who you suspect of selling fake goods.	You are an undercover police officer trying to catch those people who are selling counterfeit goods. Try to get the business people to tell you where their products really came from. Don’t tell them you’re a policeman. Pretend to be a customer looking to spend a lot of money on CD, DVD and MP3 players. Write down the name of anyone who you suspect of selling fake goods.
You are a customer looking to buy a good DVD player for your home. You do not want to buy a shoddy one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t of poor quality. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person who you bought the DVD player from.	You are a customer looking to buy a good video camera to take on vacation. You do not want to buy a fake one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t a fake. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the video camera player from.
You are a customer looking to buy a good MP3 player. You do not want to buy a shoddy one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t of poor quality. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the MP3 player from.	You are a customer looking to buy twelve good mobile phones for your company. You do not want to buy counterfeit ones. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on them. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t fake. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the mobile phones from.

You are a customer looking to buy a good digital camera to take on vacation. You do not want to buy a shoddy one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t poorly made. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the digital camera from.	You are a customer looking to buy three good CD players for your office. You do not want to buy counterfeit ones. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on them. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t fake. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the CD players from.
You are a customer looking to buy four good MP3 players to give as gifts to family. You do not want to buy shoddy ones. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t of poor quality. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the MP3 players from.	You are a customer looking to buy a good mobile phone. You do not want to buy a shoddy one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t of poor quality. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the mobile phone from.
You are a customer looking to buy a good MP3 player to give as a gift to your best friend. You do not want to buy a counterfeit one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t fake. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the MP3 player from.	You are a customer looking to buy a good digital camera to give as a gift to your boss. You do not want to buy a counterfeit one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t fake. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the digital camera from.

You are a dishonest businessperson who sells counterfeit goods. Of course, you tell everyone that they are high quality imports from USA. In reality, your products come from a nearby factory. DVD player = 650 RMB CD player = 375 RMB Video camera = 1,200 RMB Mobile phone = 700 RMB	You are a legitimate businessperson who sells cheap goods made in a nearby factory. They are not as high-quality as imported goods, but you should try to convince the customers that it’s worth it to save a little money and help support the local economy. CD player = 250 RMB Digital camera = 600 RMB MP 3 player = 325 RMB
You are a legitimate businessperson who sells high-quality goods imported from Korea. Of course, that means your products are more expensive than locally-made goods, but try to convince the customer that it’s worth it to pay a little extra for something you know won’t break. DVD player = 475 RMB Digital camera = 800 RMB Mobile phone = 625 RMB	You are a customer looking to buy a good DVD player to give as a gift for your parents. You do not want to buy a shoddy one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t of poor quality. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the DVD player from.
You are a customer looking to buy two good video cameras to make commercials for your new business. You do not want to buy a counterfeit one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t fake. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the video cameras from.	You are a customer looking to buy a good CD player to take on vacation. You do not want to buy a shoddy one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t of poor quality. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the CD player from.

News: Advocates Lobby Congress to Restore Funding

Hello all, Chris here with your language learning news. Budget cuts have hit many foreign language programs lately. Take a look at this recent article where some foreign language advocates lobby Congress to restore the cut funding.


http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/06/01/33language.h30.html?tkn=ZZVFJItRWJeoS8UdC2FDeXhDC1pTCJ2nVc6p&cmp=clp-sb-actfl

News: New Insights into Word Acquisition

Hello all, Chris here with your language learning news. Today I would like to share an article on an exciting new study which argues against the traditional repetition of vocabulary in order to learn new words. Please check out the article below:



http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/06/08/33eureka.h30.html?tkn=LUXFOYY4kuvWn5L%2BXCcALO7EIi50fB4R583o&cmp=clp-sb-actfl

News: French Language Programs on the rise in NYC

Hello all, Chris here with your language news. French Language programs are rapidly increasing in NYC. Five years ago there were no such programs, now there are several dual-language programs which, as the article below points out, is due to an increase in the number of French living there. The full article can be found via the link below:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303657404576357530634161852.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

News: New Feature and 600th Post!

Hello all, Chris here with some site news. I've added a pretty cool widget which presents a nice visual of where in the world the various visitors (that's you) to the site come from! We've also reached our 600th post! Keep checking back for the latest posts and help spread the word to fellow language teachers!

Language Policy News: Expanding Language Offerings Amid Budget Cuts

Hello all, Chris here with some more language learning news. Many districts across the country are facing budge cuts yet no one can deny the importance of offering foreign languages for students in order to help make hem competitive in the job market. The following article features a district which is trying to expand its language offerings while still dealing with budget cuts.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/the_intelligencer_news/district-looks-into-expanding-languages/article_18936474-878a-11e0-8cbc-0019bb30f31a.html

News: Language Teaching Technology - English in a Flash

Hello everyone, Chris here again with language learning news! Teaching technology is becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated. New software called English in a Flash uses the auditory method to help students who are struggling with aspects of the language. The full article can be found here:

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/05/25/software-uses-auditory-methods-to-boost-language-acquisition/

News: Spanish Immersion Program in Kentucky

Hello all, Chris here with your language learning news. Take a look at the following article on a Spanish immersion program in Kentucky. What sets this program apart from other immersion programs is that it is taking place at the post-secondary level!

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/05/24/liberal_arts_college_in_kentucky_experiments_with_spanish_language_immersion_program

Spanish: Shops and Shopping Word Search

 

Hello all, Claudia here again with the next in our downloadable content series. Today I have a Spanish word search on Shops and Shopping to share. There is also an answer key. Enjoy!

 

SPAN - Shops & Shopping Word Search

SPAN - Shops & Shopping Word Search Answer Key

News: The Advantages of Bilingualism

Hello everyone, Becky here!

I have copied the link to an interesting article on the advantages of bilingualism below. Enjoy!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/science/31conversation.html?_r=3&hp

News: FL Programs and Budget Cuts

Hello everyone, Becky here!

I have copied the link to an interesting article regarding the state of FL programs in the U.S. in the budget crisis. Enjoy!

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/06/01/33language.h30.html?tkn=WTWFchcOQRKDxrojrffGc%2F0CywCl7dEc7%2B5Y&cmp=clp-edweek