Last Updated on 2019-07-16One Activity: All-in-one and done? Could there be such a thing? Sometimes being a world language teacher is overwhelming. We do it all…speaking, listening, writing and reading. These are all essential elements of an effective classroom making it all-in-one! In addition to all of these moving parts, we want our students to connect[…]
Last Updated on 2018-08-28Have you witnessed a time when ALL your students were actively participating in the target language in a whole class discussion? Unless you teach highly motivated graduate students in small classes, I’m afraid the experience of a successful whole class discussion is not very frequent. And by successful I mean that the[…]
Last Updated on 2016-12-04Hopefully you read our post last time about the problems that many students encounter with giving presentations in a world language classroom. I wrote a little bit about how a “speed-dating” or “marketplace” format can actually put students at ease and promote a fun, more vibrant, and more engaged classroom atmosphere on[…]
Last Updated on 2017-11-27When I was growing up, my hometown newspaper ran an informal column in which the readers themselves could write in highlighting a product or item that they used at home that had proved beneficial to their lives somehow and that everyone else should check out: powerful vacuum cleaners, super-duper TV remote controls,[…]
Last Updated on 2017-11-27A few weeks ago, we posted about student-centered paired activities meant to develop speaking skills in the classroom. We mentioned how beneficial these role play or dialogue tasks can be: they foster autonomy, responsibility, creativity, peer-teaching, fun, and authentic language output. Today I wanted to give a quick example of one that I’ll certainly[…]
Last Updated on 2018-08-28The last week of classes one of my students said that he was going to tell his AP Spanish teacher from high school about Extempore. I asked why and he explained that she had students record themselves talking about different topics in preparation for the AP Exam. He said that submitting recordings[…]
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
In today’s image-rich world, infographics have become an essential way to convey information and statistics without an overwhelming overdose of text. This feature makes infographics an ideal instructional tool for teachers in the world language classroom. I often use infographics in the to elicit responses and reactions from students in the target language. THE[...]
Posted on 2019-09-10 by Thomas Murr
