The atmosphere of a language class can be heavily influenced by how excited the students are to learn, engage, and progress. If students are unengaged or fearful, you may be working with a very quiet or even potentially hostile classroom with kids teasing each other or choosing not to speak. If you have students that[…]
We hear this question sometimes: you are using Extempore as a language lab alternative, assigning oral homework and doing oral exams on it. You’ve set up really good questions, with timers and one-attempt parameters. You are saving a lot of time, enjoying grading on your couch with a nice glass of Pinot Noir instead of[…]
If you are a language teacher who has decided to incorporate Extempore into your classroom, congratulations! You are about to embark on a journey that is going to save you time and energy while also engaging your students in more speaking exercises than ever before in your classroom. You will find that your students are[…]
Extempore is proud to support the 5th Chinese Innovation Forum, a two-day conference (Oct 25-26, 2019) hosted by the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. The Forum is a new initiative, spearheaded by a group of K-16 educators, whose objectives are to jumpstart the conversation on Chinese language and culture education and to provide[…]
Every language teacher knows how difficult it is to get students to speak in class. It is even more difficult, and can be extremely time-consuming, when there is a need to evaluate each student’s speaking skills individually. Imagine you are a language teacher with 30 students and you need to provide an oral exam to[…]
No one can deny that technology plays an important part in our teaching practices these days. The new generation of students, the so-called “digital natives”, usually welcome state-of-the-art lessons that integrate technology with great enthusiasm, as it is a great motivation booster. Yet, when we come to think about what makes an effective language lesson[...]
Posted on 2020-03-03 by Thomas Murr
Nowadays technological developments have affected our lives, how we communicate, how we learn and, of course, our way of teaching. Indeed, it is almost impossible to find a language class that does not use some technological support. Computer assisted language learning has changed the practice of teaching (Chapelle & Voss, 2016). Technology in Language[...]
Posted on 2020-02-10 by Thomas Murr
Here is a great activity for reading comprehension, listening and speaking. It can be for any level of instruction and for almost any topic… and it allows for some artistic creativity in the classroom as well. Ok, so there is a little prep… make sure you have blank pieces of paper, colored pencils and/or markers. [...]
Posted on 2019-11-18 by Thomas Murr
