German Video: German guy has trouble with American idioms!

Chris here again with a funny video I found for German. All language teachers and learners can relate to this. Ever have trouble teaching or learning idioms in a language you're learning? Understanding these can often be difficult and will typically come after gaining advanced proficiency with the language and/or spending time around native speakers. The funny video below has a German guy who is having trouble understanding American idioms. You can use this video to start a conversation with your classes. Enjoy!

• How do you approach idioms in your language classes?
• Are there any activities you do with idioms?

News: Word Lens app expanded for French

 
The Word Lens app gained immediate popularity when it was released about a year ago as an easy way to translate Spanish words on signs, posters, and advertisements into English. The free app has been expanded and now does the same thing for French to English, but not yet from Spanish to French or vice versa. You can read more in the article below:


Word Lens app

News: Pa. Schools provide language options yet fluency remains elusive

Pennsylvania requires public schools to teach two foreign languages, with at least one offering four years of coursework. However, experts criticize that this too often leads to mere memorization as opposed to obtaining a true grasp of the language. Thus, many students graduate from school after taking years of language courses but are still unable to really use the language. This is an ongoing issue regarding the curriculum of language programs in the U.S. today. You can read more about this in the article below:


Pa. schools and fluency

Happy Holidays!

Chris here wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday! We'll be back next week!

News: Chinese officials cancel controversial "English language town"

Beijing. Local officials in a Beijing suburb have cancelled plans to build a tourist destination modeled on a European style city. The remarkable feature of the "town" would have been the fact that only English could be spoken by visitors to it. The proposal drew criticism because some viewed it as discrimination to not allow Chinese to be spoken there. You can read more in the article below:

Controversial "English language town" cancelled

• The idea of "English town" brings up an interesting idea. Would such a model work in the U.S. in limited contexts? 

Spanish: Christmas Vocabulary

Hi all, Claudia here with some fun Christmas vocabulary you can share with students. Take a look at the link below which features a list of Christmas words and expressions in Spanish which you can click and listen to the pronunciation. They also provide fun activities you can download.

Spanish Christmas Vocabulary

German: Märchen word search (with answer key)

Chris here with a follow-up to the Märchen vocabulary word search. Below you will find links to a word search containing the most famous German fairy tales. Enjoy!

Märchen

Märchen (Answer Key)

German: Märchen vokabel word search (with answer key)

Chris here again with some more activities for German. Below you can find a word search for Märchen-related vocabulary as well as an answer key. Enjoy!

Märchen Vokabel

Märchen Vokabel (Answer Key)

German: Christmas vocabulary

Chris here with some fun Christmas vocabulary you can share with students. Take a look at the link below which features an extensive A-Z list of German Christmas vocabulary as well as links to other fun activities.


http://german.about.com/library/blcmasvoc.htm

News: Utah Charter School to offer "global perspective"

In August 2013, the Utah International School in Salt Lake City will open. The initial idea for the school came about because the local district has nearly 800 refugee students as well as a high number of new immigrants. The school hopes to provide a supportive environment for English-language learners and also give other students the chance to interact with people from diverse cultures. You can find more information about the school in the Salt Lake Tribune article below:


Utah Charter School to offer "global perspective"

News: Minnesota elementary school offers dual-immersion program

The Little Canada Elementary School in Minnesota is set to offer a dual-immersion program. Although the program is dual-immersion, it offers a significant twist. Instead of a typical immersion program, where a class of English speakers is immersed in a curriculum taught entirely in a foreign language, this dual-immersion program will have both English and Spanish speakers in one class.You can read more information in the article below:

Minnesota dual-immersion

News: Multi-Language Karaoke in Illinois

A Mexican restaurant in Wauconda, Ill.,  La Malinche,  offers karaoke with an international flair on Friday and Sunday nights. Patrons have the option to sing about 10,000 different songs in English, Spanish, French or Portuguese. You can check out more information about the restaurant and the karaoke features in the link below:

Multi-language karaoke

• Do you know of any other restaurants or venues which offer entertainment options in several languages?

News: Dealing with challenges in multiple langauges

There are close to 100 dual-language programs in New York City a recent article reports. About 91% of the students enrolled in those schools are Latino and about 45% are labeled as English Language Learners. Advocates for the programs cite the fact that students are gaining fluency in both languages. However, the students still struggle on city-wide exams. You can read more about these issues facing dual-language programs by following the link below:


Dealing with challenges in multiple languages

News: L. A. Mayor wants to send youth to China for language learning

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa recently visited Beijing to promote his idea to send a group of inner city children to China for a language learning program.The Mendez Learning Center, which currently instructs over 250 students will be the program chosen to send a group of students over to China next year with the goal of broadening the students' horizons and getting them to think outside of their borders. You can read more about this exciting program in the article below:


Sending youth to China for language learning

News: Rosetta Stone Holiday Offer

Chris here again. Rosetta Stone is offering a great holiday deal for those interested in picking up their software! You can take a look at it here:


Rosetta Stone

News: Australia adds numerous langauges to its national curriculum

A new report from a government authority has resulted in Australia adding more than a dozen languages to its official curriculum. The plan aims to have students spend 5% of class time studying another language during their first few years of school. You can read more about this development in the article below:

Australia adds languages to national curriculum

Update: Comprehensive List of Link

Chris here again with a quick update. In order to replace the unwieldy list of links along the right side of the site, there will just be one link to a post containing a comprehensive list of links to other useful teaching and language sites. Check the link regularly as new links are being added all the time. The link to the post is also included below for those who just want to bookmark it. Enjoy!


http://lteacherstoolbox.blogspot.com/2011/07/useful-websites-comprehensive-list.html

News: Learn French while cooking in the smart kitchen

A professor of education and applied linguistics at Newcastle University, Paul Seedhouse, has devised an innovative and fun way for people to learn French. The French Digital Kitchen interactively teaches French words as the user prepares French dishes. You can read more about this exciting learning tool in the Guardian article below:


French Digital Kitchen

News: Families learn to communicate with sign language thanks to deaf tutors

Twenty families in the Memphis, Tenn. area participate in a program with the goal of breaking down the language barriers for young children with hearing impairments, especially those born to hearing parents. You can read more about this program below:


Families learn to communicate with sign language

Useful Websites: English Leap

Chris here again. Today we have a guest post from one of our readers, Mike Davidson, who would like to share a bit of information about English Leap. Take it away, Mike:

The site is http://www.englishleap.com and it provides extremely valuable English learning resources and a Free demo course for spoken English.

Take a look at English Leap guys and let us know what you think!

Useful Websites: Online German Adventskalendar

Hello all Chris here with fun site for German teachers for this part of the year. Check out an online Adventskalendar! This is a great tool for German teachers who teach younger students at the primary school through high school levels. You could always try to get a few real Adventskalendar for your students depending on the class size :) Enjoy!


Online German Adventskalendar

Useful Websites: Games for Language

Chris here with a useful site I found that features interactive games for German, Spanish, French, and Italian.

Check out Games for Language and let us know what you think!


Games for Language

800 Posts!

I am happy to announce that we have reached 800 posts in our second year! Many thanks to our readers who visit and support the site!

News: Spanish speaking students help less fortunate families

A  service project has led a group of high school students to volunteer their language skills to LifeLine Ministries of Northern Kentucky. The Spanish speaking students provide the organization with interpreters for Hispanic families. You can read more about the service project by visiting the article in the link below:


Spanish speaking students help less fortunate families

• Are there are any service projects in your area where languages are being used? Please let us know!

Reminder: Japanese Assessment Sumer Institute

http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/prodev/si12j/application.html

The deadline for application form submissions is January 31, 2012.

Applicant Eligibility: Faculty members and Ph.D. students who are engaged in Japanese language education at postsecondary institutions are eligible to apply. Fluency in Japanese and English is required. Participants are expected to participate in sessions in English and Japanese and present their classroom assessment tool construction projects in English toward the end of the workshop. If the participants are faculty or staff at U.S. institutions, travel stipends of up to $1000 may be provided.

Useful Link: VizLingo

Hi everyone, Claudia here,

I recently read about a cool tool for putting words into video. This would be a nice way to teach your students with a visual component.

Type any message into VizLingo to see each word of that message illustrated by a 1-2 second video clip. Send your messages anywhere (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, mobile phones and email addresses).

VizLingo was conceptualized and created by entrepreneurs Todd Younggren and Azeo Fables.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

http://www.vizlingo.com/

News: LAELPG Call for Papers

The Seventh Lancaster University International Postgraduate Conference in Linguistics and English Language (LAEL PG Conference) will take place at Lancaster University’s Bailrigg Conference Centre, on Friday 13 July 2012.

The Lancaster University Postgraduate Conference in Linguistics and Language Teaching is organized by postgraduate students under the auspices of the Department of Linguistic and English Language, Lancaster University.

The postgraduate conference aims to offer the opportunity for postgraduate students from various areas in linguistics and language teaching/assessment to come together to present papers related to their research and to exchange ideas.

Postgraduate students are invited to submit abstracts for oral and poster presentations on any area of linguistics, theoretical or applied addressing the topic ‘Language in Context’.

Follow the link for more details and for abstract submission guidelines. Submission deadline is March 19 2012

http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/events/laelpgconference/callforpapers.htm

German: Lieder zum 1. Advent (Domchor Paderborn)

Chris here again with another German video. The video features the Dom choir of Paderborn singing songs for the first day of Advent. This video adds another aspect to a lesson on German festivals and traditions. Advent and the popular Adventskalendar could serve as engaging discussion tools in your classes. Enjoy!

Useful Websites: High School Teaching Certification

Today we would like to share a useful resource for current and future high school teachers relating to state certification. The following website contains links for each state's certification requirements and for the applications themselves. All 50 states are listed! Enjoy!


High School certification