Japanese Music: AKB48 - Sakura No Hanabiratachi

Expand your Japanese listening skill with this music video from AKB48 for the song Sakura No Hanabiratachi:



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German Music: Time Bendzko - Keine Maschine

Expand your German listening skills with this music video for Time Bendzko and the song 'Keine Maschine':



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German Music: Max Giesinger - 80 Millionen

Expand your German listening skills with this music video from Max Giesinger and the song 80 Millionen:




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German Music: Andreas Bourani - Auf Uns

Practice you German listening skills with this music video from Andreas Bourani and the song 'Auf uns'.





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Japan: Deer of Miyajima

Expand you knowledge of Japanese culture with this great site on the deer in Miyajima near Itsukushima Japan:

http://voyapon.com/miyajima-culture-food-deer/

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German: Interesting Umlaut Facts

From MentalFloss, here is a list of 11 facts about Umlauts for German learners:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/58936/11-facts-yu-should-know-about-umlaut

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French: TV Series Online

Here is a useful link for French learners featuring a list of French TV series that are available online:

http://frenchculture.org/film-tv-and-new-media/news/french-series-available-us-platform-0



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German: Market Vocabulary

Expand your German vocabulary with this picture on market and food vocabulary from Learn German.

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German: False Cognates

For fellow German learners, here is a list of false cognates to be aware of from FluentU.com:

http://www.fluentu.com/german/blog/false-friends-english-german/

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Japanese: Shiritori Vocabulary Learning Game

Japan Times recently had a great article on a game that will surely help boost your vocabulary learning called Shiritori! This has a number of basic rules covered in the article but perhaps most useful for learners, the game can go on indefinitely so you can always get a large amount of practice in.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2017/01/16/language/shiritori-simple-game-thats-great-practicing-japanese-vocab/#.WIW0afkrKUl


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German: Krankenhaus Vocabulary

Brush up on your German medical and hospital vocabulary with this great picture from Learn German!



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Japanese; Miyajima

For those wanting to explore Japan and Japanese culture a bit more with this article from Voyapon on Miyajima:

http://voyapon.com/miyajima-culture-food-deer/


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German: German Theater Project (IU)

From Indiana University:

Dear Indiana K-12 German Teachers, 

"My name is Michael Bryant, and I'm your point of contact for all questions regarding the upcoming German Theater Project for High Schools.  I'm a Ph.D. candidate in the IU Department of Germanic Studies, and this is my fourth year of involvement with the Theater Project.  I cordially invite you to join in the festivities, and whether it's your first year or your fourth, I think you'll find that participation in this event can make a real difference in how your students approach learning German.

Our fourth annual German Theater Project for High Schools festival will take place on the IU campus in Bloomington on Saturday, 8 April.  We are now accepting your students’ submissions for the competition.  All digitally recorded submissions received by 8 March will be eligible.  Schools are allowed to submit multiple entries, and you are not required to be present at the festival in order to be eligible for prizes.  So, please don't hesitate to send your students' performances, even if their spring break is during the festival date.  Visit our website for more complete information: http://www.indiana.edu/~german/theaterproject.

We will invite groups of up to ten students from at least ten different Indiana high school German programs to present video recorded versions of their brief (no more than 10 minutes and 2GB) theatrical productions in German.  Students can be in any level of German, but performances need to be in German with memorized roles.  Individual students may also submit performed monologues. There's a new, streamlined submission process this year, making it easier than ever before to help your students to showcase their talents.

•           Awards will be given to the best performances in two categories, original and adaptive scripts.  Remember, the quality of video production is not the winning criterion; rather it is the theatrical performance of the students that merits the awards. The committee will also select "Best Acting" and "Best Use of German" from all of the submissions.  

•           At the festival students will also participate in interactive workshops to hone their acting skills, German pronunciation, and dialect appreciation.

•           Additionally, German teachers accompanying the students will participate in a new professional development workshop on theater and foreign language teaching.

•           All participants at the festival will receive a free t-shirt, lunch, and refreshments.

•           Travel reimbursement for up to $150 per attending school will be available.

Our updated website contains previous years’ winners, and feel free to share the site with your students, administrators, and German instructor colleagues.  We are currently having new t-shirts made, and the graduate students are enthusiastically designing several different interactive student workshops for the festival. 

Please contact me, (mibryant@indiana.edu), with all of your questions.  When you're ready to submit your students' performance(s), let me know - I'll send you instructions for uploading the video(s).

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Michael"

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German: Goethe-Institut Online Class

From the Goethe-Institut:

"Liebe Kolleginnen, liebe Kollegen,

ich wollte Sie an eines von unseren Angeboten erinnern, und zwar auf einen Online-Sprachkurs für Deutschlehrer, entweder auf dem B1 oder B2 Niveau. Sie bearbeiten online Aufgaben zu aktuellen Themen und treffen sich insgesamt viermal in einem virtuellen Klassenzimmer, um zu debattieren, zu diskutieren und sich über Unterrichtsentwürfe auszutauschen. Der Kurs dauert acht Wochen und der geschätzte Arbeitsaufwand beträgt drei Stunden pro Woche. Hier sind die Termine für den nächsten Kurs:

06. Februar – 02. April: B1, B2     (Bewerbungsfrist – 16. Januar!)

Anmeldegebühren betragen 100 USD; Sie haben die Gelegenheit, sich auf ein Stipendium zu bewerben.

Weitere Informationen und Anmeldung: https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/spr/unt/for/gia/onl.html

Mit besten Grüssen aus New York,

Olga"

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German: Besucher(in) aus Deutschland Role-Play

Here is another role-play to help your German learners practice their speaking skills.

Ein(e) Besucher(in) aus Deutschland

Your family is accepting a German exchange student for a semester. The student has never been tot he U.S. before and calls you from Germany to get some preliminary information. He/She speaks little English, so the entire conversation will be in English. One student will play the role of the American student and one will play the part of the German student.

You should aim to cover the following:

- When is the student arriving?
- What will they be studying?
- Will they need any special accommodations?
- How many people are in your family?
- What do they look like?
- What do they like to do?
- What can one do in your city?
- What does your family look like?
- What kind of people are they?
- What types of food does your family eat?


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German: Im Cafe Role-Play

Here is another great role-play to give your students speaking practice for German:

Im Cafe

You are an American student studying in [Insert German City] for one year. While in a cafe you recognize one of the people at a nearby table. He/she is in one of your classes. Being friendly, you strike up a conversation with the German student. He/She asks you about your first few weeks at the university. You answer his/her questions, and use this opportunity to learn more about the city.

One student plays the role of the American student while the other plays the role of the German student. You should try to cover the following during the conversation:

- What you are studying
- What your professors are like
- What your schedule is like
- How the German university/city compare to your American university/city
- What there is to do and see in the German city
- The best places to shop for food and other necessities

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Italian: Short Words and Accents

Here is a useful picture from Italian Cultural Experience with several short two vowel words requiring accents. These can be difficult to remember so keep practicing!



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Italian: Articles

For Italian learners, review your articles with this great picture from Italian Cultural Experience!


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German: Conversation With German Exchange Student Role-Play

An American Student Meets a German Exchange Student

As you walk out of your History class, you meet a German exchange student from [Insert German City] who is in the class with you. Start a conversation with him/her.

Here are some useful suggestions for your conversation:
- The class, the professor, and the college/university [Insert your institution here]
- Where you live
- Differences in dorm rooms/campus life between the US and Germany
- What you like to do in your free time
- Your families and friends
- What you like to eat/drink
- Favorite music, TV shows, films, etc.
- Invite the German exchange student to have lunch/dinner or to hang out at a later time

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German: Roommate Role-Play 2

Here is another German role-play for beginner levels although it could be modified to suit more advanced levels as well. It could also be easily adapted for any other language.

A New Roommate

It's a new semester and you are moving into your dorm room. However, your roommate is already there. He/She is from Germany and is a little bit lost. Start a conversation and try to help your roommate with any questions/concerns he/she might have.

You should try to cover the following:
- Introduce yourselves (Age, Where you're from, majors, etc.)
- Ask when the German student arrived
- Talk about [insert your city/campus] and what one can do here
- Talk about the college/university life
- Discuss the rules in the dorm/campus - what is/isn't permitted
- Ask how you can help him/her and invite them to go with you for dinner
- What will classes and schedules be like
- Differences between American and German college/university studies
- Schedules
- Roommate Agreements + misc.


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French: Films on Netflix

From Frernchmorning.com, here is a list of 10 French films on Netflix for French teachers and learners to catch up with this winter:

10 French Films

Are there any other French films on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime etc. that one should add to this list?

Let us know what you think!

German: Car Vocabulary

From Gemeinsam Deutsch lernen und verstehen, here is a great graphic to boost your car vocabulary.

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News: Making the Case for Building US Foreign Language Capacity

A recent article from Inside Higher Ed details the need for the US to build its language capacity now more than ever. A worthwhile read to help boost advocacy for your programs:

Making the Case for Building US Language Capacity


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German: What Not To Do In Germany

Here is a handy graphic from Learn German to share with your German learners when discussing cross cultural differences. Which of these have you had experience with? Which seem strange to you? Would you prefer any of these to how things are done in your own country? Have you experienced any differences to what is listed here?

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German: Castles Along The Rhine

Here is a great map of the Rhine river and its many castles from German Culture. Anyone interested in German castles and history will love this. There are also numerous tours available for those who get the chance to visit. This can be a useful resource for general information on Germany and its castles or for more advanced lessons on German history.

Which of Germany's many castles have you visited? Which is your favorite?

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German: Döner Picture (Funny!)

A funny picture for German learners from Deutsch einfach und gut lernen!

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The World's Most Soken Languages

Here is a great graphic breaking the world's languages down by number of speakers (originally from the South China Morning Post).

https://matadornetwork.com/life/worlds-spoken-languages-one-simple-infographic/


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The World According to Second Languages

Below is an interesting map from Indy100 featuring the world according to the second languages of countries:

The article features additional pictures breaking the world down by continents with more detail ont he languages.

https://www.indy100.com/article/second-languages-world-map-7482391

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Japanese: Affect on English

Here is a recent article from The Japan Times discussing the influence of Japanese on English:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2017/01/02/language/japanese-affecting-english-lexicon-new-ways/#.WGxuvbZ97bQ

In what ways could this lexical influence be helpful to beginning students?

Let us know what you think!

German: Roommate Role-Play

Here is a role-play for lower level German courses. This can work for activities or as part of an speaking proficiency exam:

"Neue Mitbewohner(in)"

Imagine you are studying for one semester as an exchange student at [insert a German University]. You have just moved into an apartment and are meeting your new roommate for the first time. You are taking this time to get to know one another and learn about the other person's daily routine. Act out your conversation. One student plays the role of the American student, the other plays the role of the German student.

Use the following questions/statements as a guide:
- name, age, where you are from
- when you get up and when you go to sleep
- what you like/don't like to eat/drink
- what music, TV shows, movies etc. you like/don't like
- your class schedule
- misc concerns

Prep Time For Students Approx 5-8 Minutes

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German Opportunities

Some exciting Indiana German opportunities:

"Dear Indiana K-12 German Teachers,

Here is some great news that I would like to share with each of you.  Please read about all of the three opportunities below and feel free to contact me at any time.

Opportunity 1 – Professional Development: Inaugural German Teacher Summer Workshop

The Germanic Studies Department at Indiana University Bloomington will offer a five-day long, on campus, professional development workshop tailored for K-12 teachers of German.  In addition to the professional growth experience, there will be an option for participants to pay tuition for a three credit Germanic Studies graduate course that will count towards the new Higher Learning Commission accreditation.   In order to help pilot this inaugural summer workshop, the department is able to cover the on-campus accommodations and most meals for up to 20 participants.  If you are interested, please go to the following SurveyMonkey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5SR2QWF  Your input is not binding and does not guarantee participation, but will be crucial in finalizing the details, so please answer truthfully.

Opportunity 2 – Student Engagement: 4^th Annual German Theater Project for High Schools

Our fourth annual German Theater Project for High Schools festival will take place on the IU campus in Bloomington on Saturday, 8 April.  We are now accepting your students’ submissions for the competition.  All digitally recorded submissions received by 8 March will be eligible.  Schools are allowed to submit multiple entries, and you are not required to be present at the festival in order to be eligible for prizes.  So have your students send in their submissions, even if their spring break is during the festival date.  Please visit our website for new uploading instructions: http://www.indiana.edu/~german/theaterproject/

We will invite groups of up to ten students from at least ten different Indiana high school German programs to present video recorded versions of their brief (no more than 10 minutes and 2GB) theatrical productions in German.  Students can be in any level of German, but performances need to be in German with memorized roles.  Individual students may also submit performed monologues.

•           Awards will be given to the best performances in two categories, original and adaptive scripts.  Remember, the quality of video production is not the winning criterion; rather it is the theatrical performance of the students that merits the awards. The committee will also select "Best Acting" and "Best Use of German" from all of the submissions.  

•           At the festival students will also participate in interactive workshops to hone their acting skills, German pronunciation, and dialect appreciation.

•           Additionally, German teachers accompanying the students will participate in a new professional development workshop on theater and foreign language teaching.

•           All participants at the festival will receive a free t-shirt, lunch and refreshments.

•           Travel reimbursement for up to $150 per attending school will be available.

Our updated website contains previous years’ winners, and feel free to share the site with your students, administrators, and German instructor colleagues.  We are currently having new t-shirts made and the graduate students are enthusiastically designing several different interactive student workshops for the festival. 

Please contact Michael Bryant mibryant@indiana.edu with all of your questions and submissions.

Opportunity 3 – Professional Development: (soon to come) On-line German Graduate Courses

We hope to have the first of potentially six on-line graduate courses up and running by this summer, which will be available through IUB’s Non-degree Program.  We are designing the courses with the K-12 German instructor in mind.  Our hope is to offer at least six courses (18 credits) needed for the new HLC accreditation, and possibly offer a complete on-line German MA in the future.  Please contact me if you are interested and I will keep you informed of all of the developments."

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