World Languages Teaching Tips

Teaching Idea

Speaking Cards
Arif Budiman, English Teacher

"Its purpose is to make students speak more. It works well with non-english language students, who study English but they should be at least at an intermediate level.

I use domino cards to build the speaking class. Each card has certain orders or questions which must be done or answered by the students. Sometimes I include some orders to ask them to start a short coversation.When the player(student) is not able to do the order or answer the question on a card, they have to put their card face down. It will be counted as their mistake and he/she would be punished by the other player to sing a song with a certain style. It's usually fun! This is a great way to get students comfortable with engaging in conversations."



Teaching Idea

A Language a Month
Jeff, 4th Grade Teacher: Montgomery, Alabama

"Pick ten different languages to explore with your students. Include languages that your students speak or that represent their heritage. Have books written in those different languages available in your class library. Each month, introduce five "commonly used" vocabulary words in the language of the month. By the end of the year, you would have introduced 10 different languages. Students would have learned 50 new vocabulary words related to those languages."



Teaching Idea

Use Videos...
Gina, Intermediate Grade Teacher: Tucson, Arizona

"Show videos with different languages spoken and discuss the cultural heritages, etc. Be sure to include languages that your students speak if they are English language learners. You can also pick videos with sub titles so that you can stop the video at any given time and review the sentences spoken with Engish translation for students who are not familiar with the language. There's a lot of great films out there. Just go to your local video store and search for some age appropriate films that you can use. If you don't have access to local videos, you can always go on the Internet and search for age appropriate material."



Teaching Idea

Introduction to World Languages
Roy, Middle School Language Teacher: San Antonio, Texas

"Use technology sites like http://www.worldlanguage.com/ to introduce your students to world languages. If you are a language teacher, technology can assist you in exposing your students to so much that is available on the Internet. Students love to interact with the technology and begin to see how really global we are. You can form groups of students who can explore different languages and how the Internet translates text into different languages so that inforamtion is available to as many people as possible."



Teaching Idea

World Language Month
Cheryl, Junior High School Teacher: Bismark, N. Dakota

"World Language Month- Have guest speakers who speak different languages for a month. Utilize community resources to help you connect with people who speak languages other than English. Invite them to your class for a day and have them teach a simple lesson in their native language. You can also have food or beverages that can compliment the cultural heritage of the language spoken."

Teaching Idea

Use the Internet: Great Language Site
Helene, 8th Grade Teacher: Chicago, Illinois

"Use the Internet to search for world language sites and share these sites with your students. A great site to explore is http://www.travlang.com/languages/ Students can click on any given language and listen to the language spoken. The site offers key vocabulary with sound. It also provides information and links to learn more about the country where the language is predominantly spoken. Fun site to use with your students...learning is interactive and self-paced!"

on the Internet. Students love to interact with the technology and begin to see how really global we are. You can form groups of students who can explore different languages and how the Internet translates text into different languages so that inforamtion is available to as many people as possible.