News: Miami school features international curriculum

A new high school in Miami teaches the national curriculum and languages of Spain, France, and Italy just as it would be taught in those countries. The school is part of the district's International Studies program which enrolls over 3,000 students. For more information click the link below:


Miami school features international curriculum

News: Language Lessons start in first grade in Utah

In Utah, 57 schools in the state are offering dual immersion learning in first grade, an increase of 16 from last year. Children split their day between a teacher speaking English and another teacher speaking either French, Mandarin Chinese or Spanish. About half the programs across Utah are in Spanish. The program aims to have over 30,000 students enrolled by 2015. For the full article click the link below:

Utah Immersion

German Video: All around Tübingen

Hello all, Chris here with another useful video for your German classes. We're currently covering a chapter which features Tübingen. Here is a good video I found in picture slideshow form that provides a good overview of the city and its important sites.

German Video: Gespräche 12

Hello all, Chris here with the final video in the Gespräche series featuring Anna & Marek! This time they discuss the differences in how Christmas is celebrated in the U.S. and in Germany. Enjoy!

International News: Language Academy in Italy could close due to budget cuts

A recent article in The Guardian reports that the Accademia della Crusca could be closed as part of an austere budget under consideration in Italy. The Florence-based institute has served as the custodian of the Italian language since 1612, and receives nearly $275,000 in annual funding from the government. According the article, some government officials have said they are trying to get funding for the academy back into the budget, but the outlook is uncertain. The head of the institute said the Italian language will be deprived of an important protector if it is closed and schools will lose a valuable resource. For the full article, click the link below:

Italian Language Academy faces the budget axe

News: Public Support for Ed-Tech Growing

According to a poll by Gallup and Phi Delta Kappa, approval and support for technology in education is growing.  However, an analysis of the pol results indicates a preference for integrating technology into traditional educational structures rather than creating new uses that personalize instruction or allow students to learn outside of the confines of a traditional classroom.

PDK/Gallup Poll: Public Support for Ed-Tech Growing

News: Japanese Studnets learn Hands-On English

University of Regina English as a Second Language (ESL) students were applying their teachings while also making a big difference in the community. As part of the pilot program, Language in Action, 16 students from Japan traded their classroom for a construction site, volunteering at a Habitat for Humanity home build in Regina. This program allowed students to practice their new language outside of the classroom in a real-world situation.

Language In Action

News: Vocabulary Learning boosts reading among ELLs

A new program known as Word Generation focuses on the teaching of academic vocabulary words to improve students' reading ability. The program targets middle school students as this is the age at which students are first required to read and understand expository texts. The program was shown to be particularly effective in improving reading ability among English language learners at several Boston schools. For the full article, check here:

Word Generation Program

News: After School Immersion Program in Rhode Island

An after school immersion program in Providence, R.I., plans to teach students to speak English, Spanish and Mandarin, the first such program in the state to do so. The Speak to Succeed program is available to children ages 18 months to 5 years. For the full article, click the link below:

Speak to Succeed in Rhode Island

Useful Website: Proyecto Sherezade

Hello all, Claudia here,

I want to share with you a nice website I came across for Spanish teaching. Proyecto Sherezade is a site developed by a group of scholars who want to share unpublished stories from all Spanish speaking regions. You can use the texts to teach culture, literature, reading comprehension, etc. They even have a few of the stories in audio format so your students can work on listening comprehension.

Check it out and let me know whay you think!

http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~fernand4//index.html

News: Program in L.A. to boost connection between Latinos and the Internet

A recent LA Times article reports on a new public private partnership in Los Angeles which is aimed at increasing Internet use among Hispanic students and other members of the Latino community. Club Digital offers printouts and online lessons covering topics from how to complete school assignments online tor submitting online job applications. The program is being funded in large part through federal grants and is supported by schools, libraries and other groups. The full article can be found here:


Club Digital

News: Legendary German Comedian passes away

The legendary humorist Vicco von Buelow has passed away. Germans across generations enjoyed his many characters and sketches and laughed along with them.

This is a good opportunity to share a bit about a German cultural icon with your students. Several of his sketches are available on YouTube including this classic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi58W9yWxpc&feature=related

German Video: Gespräche 11

Chris here again with another in our German video series! Anna and Marek discuss the custom of 'tipping' and how it differs in Germany and the U.S. Enjoy!

News: French Immersion School in Portland Oregon

Parents and French language supporters in Portland, Oregon are proposing the creation of a charter school which focuses in French immersion. Initially, the Le Monde Immersion School would focus on kindergarten and first grade and then add a grade each year up to eighth grade. The proposal is not without its critics however, who argue that it would take money away from local schools. Supporters on the other hand counter by stating that it would in fact attract more students to the area. The full article can be found here:


French Immersion in Portland Oregon

News: Spanish classes starting at an early age in San Antonio

The number of children in the San Antonio area learning Spanish through immersion and dual language programs is growing rapidly. Teachers and parents both recognize the need for bilingual education. Public schools in the area are also increasing their Spanish offerings. For more information, check the article link below:

Spanish immersion and dual language programs in San Antonio

News: Indiana University seeks alternative funding

A recent article reports that Indiana University is searching for alternative funding for its foreign language programs after congressional cuts resulted in the loss of $1.7 million in federal funding. Congress cut $50 million from the Department of Education programs that support foreign language learning. IU offers more than 80 foreign languages, and its president was one of more than 80 university presidents who signed a letter asking Congress to restore the funding. For more information check out the following article:


IU seeks alternative funding for language programs

News: TPRS webinars available

TPRstorytelling.com is offering several exciting webinars next week. For more information check their schedule and registration page:

TPRS webinars

News: 19th KOTESOL

http://koreatesol.org/

News: Eurocall 2011

http://www.eurocall2011.eu/eurocall/index.aspx

News: II CE / LEAP

http://www.celeap.com/index.html

News: National Initiative expands Language Offerings

The Rochester City School District is participating in the National Security Language initiative's STARTalk summer program, which allows students to study languages that are not offered by many schools such as Arabic, Chinese, Persian and Swahili. These languages are among those which have been deemed vital to the global interests of the U.S. For more, check the link below:

National Initiative expands Language Offerings

News: Reports Suggest How Schools can better serve ELLs

A recent article in Education Week features reports which suggest ways in which schools can better serve students who are learning English. One report urges charter schools to provide increased access for ELL students while another report discusses an effective model for high quality preschool programs. The full article can be found here:


How Schools can better serve ELLs

Share Your News

Chris here again. Got local teaching related news or events that you want to help spread the word about? Send us an email at clteacherstoolbox.com and we'll post it for you!

News: Using Wetoku to enhance language lessons

Dave Dodgson, who teaches EFL to elementary school children in Turkey, uses a web-based tool called Wetoku to create split-screen video interviews. Take a look at the following blog post where he discusses its use in a recent project in which his students used Wetoku to record and present information on "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." The use of Wetoku allows for excellent opportunities to speak and listen in a non-native language.

Using Wetoku

News: Why being bilingual is good for the brain

Several recent studies have illuminated many positive benefits of being bilingual early on as it may aid in brain development. People who speak more than one language are far less likely to become distracted because they are used to selecting the appropriate language for a particular communication, says Ellen Bialystok, a professor at York University in Toronto. For the full article check here:

Why it's smart to be bilingual

Teaching Tips: Preparing for a new year

Hello all, Chris here. A new school year is right around the corner which means it is time to start preparing lesson plans and activities. A really effective way to ensure that you always have activities ready is to write out your activities in detail by including information such as the length of the activity, purpose, what cultural and language aspects it covers, materials you will need (handouts etc), and during which part of a lesson/unit the activity is to be used. It is really handy to make PDFs of all of your activities and organize them by type or lesson. Then you can simply print what you need whenever you need it.

A new year also presents an opportunity to review and revise lesson plans or to really shake things up and approach lessons in a new way. This is especially true if you are implementing a new textbook or other materials into your curriculum.

What are some ways that you prepare for a new year or semester? We would love to hear any tips or strategies you might use!

News: New Program Trains Chinese Teachers for U.S. Classrooms

A recent article in the L.A. Times reports on a new program which is bringing over a hundred Chinese teachers to the U.S. for a crash course to prepare them for teaching Mandarin in U.S. classrooms. This is a collaboration between the federal language initiative Startalk and the Chinese language council, Hanban. The various workshops offered will focus on increasing interactivity and technology use. The full article can be found here:


Chinese Teachers for U.S. Classrooms

News: Older Students can better learn language rules

A recent article in Education Week reported on a study which found that older students can better learn language rules. This is an interesting article and seems to run counter to the typically accepted belief that younger learners learn languages better than older learners. The full article can be found here:

Older Students learn language rules better

German Video: Hamburg Overview

Chris here again with another fun German video. I was looking for a video that provided a nice little tour of Hamburg and found this:

News: Report Calls for increase in Diplomatic personnel

A recent report from the foreign affairs council advises that the U.S. should be increasing its diplomatic personnel as well as the number of Arabic speakers rather than yielding to pressure for increased budget cuts. The full article can be found here:

Increase in Diplomatic Personnel vs Budget Cuts

News; German Air Traffic Controllers to go on Strike

Quick bit of news in regarding Germany. Anyone planning a flight to Germany soon may be facing delays are German air traffic controllers will begin a strike on Tuesday August 9. For more information please check this article:

Air Traffic Controller Strike in Germany

German Video: Zahlenlied

Teaching numbers is usually one of the first few lessons when learning a new language. Take a look at this fun little video which feature German numbers in a song.

News: Carnegie Mellon Students Develop Langauge Learning Software

A team of Carnegie Mellon Students are developing programs to help high school students learn English.  The programs include software which does not require internet access as well as tools for popular social media sites such as Facebook. For the full article check here:

Carnegie Mellon Studnets develop Software for Learning English

German Video: Deutsche Welle - Maultaschen Kochen

Hello all, Chris here with another German video. This is another in a series from Deutsche Welle on cooking tips.