Integrating Technology in Foreign Language Learning

 

 

 

Motivations for TouchBoard Use in the Foreign Language Classroom:

 

1. Authentic materials-- with a crisp, large display. Sound, video, interaction.

2. Materials that are not only real, but in REAL TIME. Relevant to students because they are fresh and NOW.

3. Teachers can now control their computer directly from the TouchBoard—right there with students’ eyes, instead of being behind their computer to project a webpage or software.

4. Anything displayed on the TouchBoard can be annotated in several colors, with the virtual pen. All annotations can be easily saved for later use. So students can see their responses going on the Touchboard. Or for more student autonomy, they can lead with “the wand”.

5.   Technology and other classroom tasks are integrated. No being stuck to a computer lab.  You can use it for ten minutes and then move on to the next activity planned, as opposed to being stuck in a computer lab for the whole period (labs remain useful but for other purposes).

 

http://www.touchboards.com Use to find interactive whiteboards (additional equipment needed: a computer with projector).

 

 

 

Helpful Sites and Suggestions

Some of these sites are French-specific.  Please e-mail us great sites to add to this these for Spanish and German or post them on the SAFLA listserv

 

These below lend themselves to highly engaging, pedagogically sound activities for FL students:

 

http://www.copernic.com (Free download: Copernic Agent) Find your language and install the “language” and “The Web” to find many, many site options, all in the language you’ve asked for. So the web options would all be in the second language. So much is made available through their familiar internet context.

 

http://www.learner.org  Standards-based model lessons (streaming video) with a foreign language section. The videos have American children learning foreign languages and interacting with teachers. Students are seeing their “peers” and how natural speaking the other language can be. Positive peer “pressure” to say, “You can do this too!”

 

http://www.tv5.org It’s television! But it’s also cinema so students can see short movies or movie trailers. The content is from several Francophone countries, not just France. It’s full of authentic content. There are also children and adult word games and music videos. There is even a section just for French language teaching. The materials have thus already been written for the language teacher. When there are questions about vocabulary, students can click on any word for several definitions and explanations (all in the target language). Teachers can also subscribe to pedagogical newsletter, with classroom activities, etc. for specific segments.   So much help in pedagogy

 

http://www.cnn.com/espanol  Extremely interesting for older learners and high school students.

 

http://www.discoveryeducation.com  Schools/districts/states subscribe and provide teachers with a logon to thousands of educational videos on all subjects, including foreign languages.  Videos

can be streamed or downloaded and come with lesson plans, assessments, etc. Very teacher friendly!

 

http://teach-nology.com Teacher lesson plans available in a multitude of languages.  Materials are described down to the last detail. Even follow-up activities are given. Performance assessments are also prepared for teachers with a good selection of already-made authentic-language based tests. 

 

http://ilovelanguages.com  Click on “Languages” and choose from a head-spinning number of languages. Find hundreds of resource site suggestions for your language.

 

http://www.pdictionary.com   in  English, French Italian, German and Spanish language. Great visuals and mindgames. Challenging, motivating. A variety of topics from word scrambles to “stinky spelling” improvers.      

 

http://www.espacefrancophone.org Specifically for French teachers. Quick access to French television. The news clips are particularly pertinent to American classrooms, as much of it is about American politics and entertainment.  There are also many links listed as resources for students and teachers of French.

 

http://teachertube.com/  Teachers post the videos, like Youtube, but they are directly targeted towards education. Many of the videos are rich in American culture discussions. Voices are very well enunciated.

 

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?  Connect with a volunteer in the target country by language/country (click on Teacher on homepage).  Wonderful way to learn first-hand how language skills could be used for good in that specific area.

 

http://www.voki.com  Up-to-date “characters” students can change and role play with (including several languages). Teachers or students at the TouchBoard can type words and they are turned into speech.

 

http://www.gizmoz.com  similar to voki.com Students can make characters (that look like real people) look different and talk. That way they get to interact in so many different arenas, as opposed to just speaking the language in the classroom

 

www.facebook.com  Use student profiles and have students describe people in their pictures, their favorite music, and other information in their profile.

 

www.airfrance.fr, http://www.iberia.com/OneToOne/v3/home.do, etc.   Google to find airline reservation pages in the target language. Plan a trip to Paris or Santiago, on these two sites, filling out the itinerary called for.  So much language in CONTEXT.

 

http://maps.google.com  Find Google in the target language. (Often times it’s as easy as adding “dot country code” to the end of the regular site name.

 

http://maps.google.com.br  Students could, for example, make plans to go from your classroom to the coffee shop nearby or the playground around the corner. Very practical tasks with so much authentic vocabulary.

 

Google, MSN, and Yahoo also have international sites in several languages and for various countries.  E.g., the Belgian site features both of that country’s main languages, Dutch and French (http://be.msn.com)