writing
October 15, 2015
Disclaimer: No red pens were harmed in the making of this episode. Here we confront a continual dilemma in language teaching. As language teachers who are good at the languages we teach, every error grates on our ears and eyes. We want to correct. We want to cross out the masculine ending and write the […]
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June 18, 2014
How do you mark student writing? What kind of corrections do you make? What kind of corrections work, that is, help students do better next time? The authors of a recent article in the journal System address these questions. They compare two models of corrective feedback: explicitly telling a student there’s a problem, and implicitly coaching a […]
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April 17, 2014
In a recent focus on social media and political upheaval, I needed an interpersonal communication activity that related to the issues. I needed to present students with relevant authentic material to spur conversation. I needed a way to monitor what they were doing. I wanted it all to apply to the focus. And so, TweetFest […]
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December 11, 2013
If you’re interested, here’s my final exam for AP Spanish, addressing two themes we have incorporated this semester: religious celebrations, and healthcare challenges. The exam includes a persuasive essay and an audio prompt for a speaking response. In the persuasive essay, students are asked to discuss whether we should try to change other people’s opinions […]
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November 25, 2013
AP Spanish essay – Obamacare
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It seems like the hottest political topic this year is Obamacare. Boon? Disaster? And what about the Spanish-speaking immigrant population? Seemed like a perfect topic for an AP persuasive essay. First, navigate the new healthcare system’s newly functioning Spanish-language website. Okay, so it’s functioning, but just about all it can do is tell you to […]
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June 16, 2013
The Tech & Learning Adviser Blog did a blog post a long time ago called Top 10 Sites for Creating Digital Magazines & Newspapers. It’s the only post of its kind I’ve seen and I’ve tweeted it out several times at people looking for tools to make online magazines with their world language class. We’ve tried […]
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June 8, 2013
Screencast: Photopeach
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My favorite way to wrap up AP Spanish, after the exam, is to do a project we call “21 important things.” Students do a slideshow on Photopeach using, at least: 21 photos with text, illustrating things important to the student No simple sentences At least half the photos from creative commons, properly sourced Music in […]
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June 4, 2013
I can write all I want about how much I dislike traditional worksheets and multiple-choice questions, but we have to admit they’ve got something going for them: they’re easy to grade. Do you ever feel like there’s a battle between wanting to do more communicative assessments and dreading how long it’s going to take you […]
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May 13, 2013
Novice high vs. intermediate low
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I got a question recently from a colleague who was having trouble pinpointing the difference between novice high and intermediate low with her students, especially in writing. When it comes to writing, here are some keys that I think mean a student is consistently performing at IL and not NH: Changing topics with relevance A few […]
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May 1, 2013
Last year I had one of those ideas that was a game changer for me. I completely abandoned any type of testing a few years ago, but I was still trying to control an awful lot of my assessments. But student choice was working so well in other areas that I decided to extend it […]
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March 30, 2013
I’ve been faced with many dilemmas this year as I inherited a Spanish 3 class with low proficiency- I mean, at least a couple of Novice High students in Spanish 3. I don’t know how or why exactly they made it through to my class with these struggles. I feel like part of it must […]
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February 5, 2013
More than two years ago, I wrote a popular post about one of the activities my students do instead of homework, free-topic blogging. In the past month I’ve received a flurry of requests for information on how I grade student blogs, specifically what rubric I use to grade them. Clearly, the idea continues to gain […]
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