Meghan V. Huff September 20, 2013 Linguistics Department Colloquium

1. Teachingtools and toolstoteach: Activities and toolsforengagingstudents at theuniversitylevel Meghan V. Huff September 20, 2013 LinguisticsDepartmentColloquium

2. Whytools and notactivities?

3. Tools/structures v. activities Tools and Structures Activities • usable many, many times • not content specific, but outcome specific • can be reused with new content continually • once students are used to the tool, instructions can be very short • used once • contentspecific • haveto be foundorcreatedforeachlesson • haveto be explainedevery time

4. Communicative and interactiveclassrooms

5. student-centered • wearen’tteachers, we are guides and facilitators • notteaching, butcreatingtheopportunityforlearning • “don’t be a sageonthestage, be a guide ontheside” • spendyour time withtheclass, not in front of it • (walk and talk, correct and confirm) • think of itthisway – youdon’tneedthepractice! • be empathetictothelearningprocess and celebrateerrors – afterall, they are requiredforlearning • how do weflip a classroomlikethis? - tools

6. engaging • classroomenvironment • non-threatening, laid-back, funny, real, willingto be wrong and ‘check’, giveskills, allowindividuality, encourageexploration • music, jokes, dictionaries, teaching of slang, technology, flexibility, accountability • affectivefilter (Krashen, 1985) • toohigh – no learningbecausethey are stressed • toolow – no learningbecausetheydon’tcare • in themiddle – learningoccursout of trust and comfort

7. motivating • givepromptfeedback • givereal-world, concrete examples • relate thecontenttostudents’ lives • be a cheerleader • celebratevictories and supportstudentswhentheystruggle

8. productive • assisteachstudent in acquiringthecontent • givethemtoolsforsuccessfullearning • givethemlifeskillsforthefuture

9. playingtothemultipleintelligences • everyone has multipleways in whichthey can learn, but a few are usuallydominant (Gardner & Hatch, 1989) • musical-rhythmic • visual-spatial • verbal-linguistic • logical-mathmatical • bodily-kinesthetic • interpersonal • intrapersonal • naturalistic • existential

10. automatization of explicitknowledge • DeKeyser (2001) commentson 3 types of knowledge… • implicitknowledge – nativespeakers/acquiredskills • explicitknowledge – L2 speakers/learnedskills • automatizedexplicitknowledge – advanced L2 speakers/learnedskillsthatone no longerconsciouslythinkabout • sometimes, wehavetomemorizeconceptsorworkwithexplicitinformation (even in a communicativelanguageclassroom!) • structured and engagingactivitiesprovidecontext • wherewecan’tcreateimplicitknowledge, we can aimtoautomatizethatwhichisexplicit

11. educationaltools the ‘how’ withthe ‘what’

12. implementingtools • 4 steps • giveclear, levelappropriate, instructions • modeltheactivity • facilitate • walk, talk, correct, and confirm • recap • give a realistic time limit, and remindthemwhen time isalmost up • havefilleractivitiesorextensionsreadyforspeedystudents

13. no techtools no computers thebody smallobjects paper

14. simple tools • flipbooks • flashcardgames • whiteboards • give me 5, thumbs up/down

15. acronyms • D-dar • I-ir • S-ser • H-haber • E-estar • S-saber • DISHES – theirregulars in thesubjunctive • theyalsorhyme • dé-esté • vaya-haya • sea-sepa

16. simple tools • flyingsaucers • hand/bodymotions • rhythms/songs

17. snowballfightel subjuntivo con frases adverbiales… • a menos (de) que • antes (de) que • con tal (de) que • para que • sin que • Escribo esta frase para que ustedes entiendan. • unless • before • providedthat • in orderthat/so that • without • I writethissentence so youunderstand.

18. blindquiz • Persona 1 • una mesa • una cama • un refrigerador • una alfombra • Persona 2 • un sofá • unas cortinas • un microondas • una ventana

19. dice games dado 1 dado 2 • 1-yo • 2-tú • 3-ella • 4-nosotros • 5-ellos • 6-ustedes • 1-comer • 2-hablar • 3-ir • 4-llevar • 5-vivir • 6-ser

20. t-charts/mixers

21. timelines • point of reference • linear perspectiveto a movingpoint in time • greatforidentifyingorderamongcomplexconcepts ¿? el pasado perfecto el presente perfecto el presente el futuro el pasado

22. simple tools • vocabpictures • battleship • findsomeonewho…

23. lowtechtools computer (withconnectionwires) websites

24. online books • clipart • activities • read-alouds

26. verbpractice • https://conjuguemos.com

29. textbooktools • http://wps.prenhall.com/ml_castells_mosaicosCW_5/

30. simple lists

31. quia.com • gameslike ‘Whowantsto be a millionaire?” • multiplechoice, fill in theblank, etc…

32. el imperfecto del subjuntivo • si necesitas el subjuntivo en el pasado… • http://www.quia.com/cz/10839.html?AP_rand=1240551092

33. Sol y Viento - videos • http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073513121/student_view0/grammar_tutorials.html

34. http://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/TVjFdgQdV1aBhcahttp://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/TVjFdgQdV1aBhca

35. hightechtools iPad apps iPhone

36. iPads • importantapps • SlideShark (pptpresenter) • iPhone acts as a remotevia Bluetooth • Blackboard (referencetomaterialsthat are there) • Dropbox (everythingisaccessibleonthego) • TeacherKit (attendance, learningnames) • eTexts (addanactivityduringthelesson) • Kindle (pdfsorelectronicbooks) • QuickOffice (createdocumentsonthego) • WordReference (dictionaryonthego) • PDF-notes (research and zooming in ontables, etc…)

37. Conclusions

38. youcan’tpossibly do all of these, right? • correct. • incorporating 2-3 can changestudentattitudes • studentsstayengaged and learn more • yougettoenjoyyourclass and stress outless – youhavetoolstouse and lessworkoverall • you inspire studentstofindthewaystheylearnbest, whichhelpsthem in thefuture

39. Thanksforcoming! • Ifyouhaveanyquestions, comments, orconcerns, orifyou’dlikehelpin creatinganactivitywithone of thesetools… • send me an email at mvh9@pitt.edu

40. workscited • DeKeyser, R. M. (2001). Automaticityand automatization. In P. Robinson (ed.), Cognition and secondlanguageinstruction. New York: Cambridge UniversityPress, 125-151.  • Gardner, H., & Hatch, T. (1989). Multipleintelligencesgotoschool: Educationalimplications of thetheory of multipleintelligences. EducationalResearcher, 4-10. • Krashen, S.D. (1985), The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications, New York: Longman.