Innovation within the Standards for Foreign Language Learning
According to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language the key aspects to successfully employing the Standards for Foreign Language Learning are:
Communication: Communication is the core of language. Language is the means by which we are able to create meaningful communication. In all of my teaching I seek to create an environment that encourages communication that is open, honest, and accessible. I want the students to feel as if there are no barriers to experimentation in their communication skills. I want to create an environment that is free from ridicule and allows the student to explore and innovate as they discover a new means of communication.
Cultures: Language is what allows a culture to flourish. It is through the discovery of language that students are able to understand the culture that uses it and how that language has molded history, art, society, innovation, and even government. Languages have traveled the sees and have influenced cultures beyond their own origins. Helping students to see the context in which language is used and helping students to discover something outside of their own environment is a vital part of connecting the students to a sens of purpose behind language learning. Each and every lesson that I teach will have a connection back to a culture that is animated by the languages I use.
Connections: Using your own language proficiently often takes exceptional dedication. Effectively adding to that another language somehow enhances one's capacity for learning and growth. Learning a foreign language connects the student to something beyond their own world. I will strive to create a connection for the students by facilitating pen=pal programs, sister-classrooms where Skype is used to share lessons, and helping the students to expand and enrich their own linguistic experience through the calculated learning of another language.
Comparisons: My own language ability has been drastically improved because I speak more than just my native tongue. I have been able to comprehend vocabulary and concepts beyond my years because I see the patterns in the languages that I speak. Creating opportunities for students to compare their own language, culture, and society to that of the target language will allow them to see the benefits of diversity that is provided to this world. Nurturing a sense of appreciation for other cultures in a language classroom can teach vital life-lessons as students learn to appreciate and embrace the differences that exist. I will allow students to explore these differences through comparative projects like looking at education in one nation versus their home country, or even comparing simple syntactical elements and then expanding on that element and seeing how it influences the culture as a whole.
Communities: I feel strongly that the more that students understand and appreciate the communities of cultures that exist around the world the more that students can understand that humanity is a large family. We are all connected by the same emotions, needs, and wants and regardless of our linguistic or ethnic heritage our core is still human. I believe that language studies offered with a broad perspective allow students to see beyond the simple structures of grammar but rather to see the uniqueness of the world that we live in today. Creating an learning environment that sees nearly every lesson from this perspective will be a constant aim for me as an instructor. Language allows a student to travel, to voyage beyond their experiences and become part of something greater. Even without a plane ticket or a train pass students can voyage to the exotic places of the world and connect with speech communities especially with the great advances in technology that we have today.
Innovation in Technology
Technology is an incredible resource for education today. Technology; including the use of music and videos allows students to see things and experience learning in a manner that has never been seen before and so much of it is easily accessible and even free. I intend to make technology a part of everything that we do.
Here is a series of videos that show how technology can be used in the classroom.
According to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language the key aspects to successfully employing the Standards for Foreign Language Learning are:
Communication: Communication is the core of language. Language is the means by which we are able to create meaningful communication. In all of my teaching I seek to create an environment that encourages communication that is open, honest, and accessible. I want the students to feel as if there are no barriers to experimentation in their communication skills. I want to create an environment that is free from ridicule and allows the student to explore and innovate as they discover a new means of communication.
Cultures: Language is what allows a culture to flourish. It is through the discovery of language that students are able to understand the culture that uses it and how that language has molded history, art, society, innovation, and even government. Languages have traveled the sees and have influenced cultures beyond their own origins. Helping students to see the context in which language is used and helping students to discover something outside of their own environment is a vital part of connecting the students to a sens of purpose behind language learning. Each and every lesson that I teach will have a connection back to a culture that is animated by the languages I use.
Connections: Using your own language proficiently often takes exceptional dedication. Effectively adding to that another language somehow enhances one's capacity for learning and growth. Learning a foreign language connects the student to something beyond their own world. I will strive to create a connection for the students by facilitating pen=pal programs, sister-classrooms where Skype is used to share lessons, and helping the students to expand and enrich their own linguistic experience through the calculated learning of another language.
Comparisons: My own language ability has been drastically improved because I speak more than just my native tongue. I have been able to comprehend vocabulary and concepts beyond my years because I see the patterns in the languages that I speak. Creating opportunities for students to compare their own language, culture, and society to that of the target language will allow them to see the benefits of diversity that is provided to this world. Nurturing a sense of appreciation for other cultures in a language classroom can teach vital life-lessons as students learn to appreciate and embrace the differences that exist. I will allow students to explore these differences through comparative projects like looking at education in one nation versus their home country, or even comparing simple syntactical elements and then expanding on that element and seeing how it influences the culture as a whole.
Communities: I feel strongly that the more that students understand and appreciate the communities of cultures that exist around the world the more that students can understand that humanity is a large family. We are all connected by the same emotions, needs, and wants and regardless of our linguistic or ethnic heritage our core is still human. I believe that language studies offered with a broad perspective allow students to see beyond the simple structures of grammar but rather to see the uniqueness of the world that we live in today. Creating an learning environment that sees nearly every lesson from this perspective will be a constant aim for me as an instructor. Language allows a student to travel, to voyage beyond their experiences and become part of something greater. Even without a plane ticket or a train pass students can voyage to the exotic places of the world and connect with speech communities especially with the great advances in technology that we have today.
Innovation in Technology
Technology is an incredible resource for education today. Technology; including the use of music and videos allows students to see things and experience learning in a manner that has never been seen before and so much of it is easily accessible and even free. I intend to make technology a part of everything that we do.
- I will constantly use music and videos to inspire students and to immerse them in the cultures that use the language we will study. It is very difficult to imagine what Africa, the Caribbean, or France is like without seeing it and hearing it. Technology can make that possible. Using resources like Netflix and iTunes can bring these tools into the classroom at little to no cost.
- Tools like Skype will make it simple to connect students to native speakers of the target language. This mutual exchange can help students on both sides of the screen to learn the other's language and to share in cultural differences.
- Young people are connected. Allowing them to use their cell phone in innovative ways in the classroom helps connect them to their daily life. I'll set up a Google voice network that will permit students to contact me directly via SMS or voice and I can instantly give feedback.
- Social media and blogs, tumblr and pinterest, are tools that young people are using all over the world. Encouragin students to use the time that would perhaps normally waste to find things applicable to the Target language allows them to engage in their learning experience and even share it. Blogging let's them share their thoughts and social media allows them to connect with others that are learning or speak the target language.
Here is a series of videos that show how technology can be used in the classroom.
