TPACK (World Languages Chapter)

I chose to read this chapter because I thought that it might have some bearing on the teaching that I do every day. After all, English is a bit of a language class, right? Wrong. My thinking was way-off in this respect. This realization came to me in short order. Teaching a world language is nothing like teaching English!

First of all, these teachers are helping to create an entirely new schemata for students. They have to start with the very basics of language and move through aspects of language that we do not even explicitly teach, like culture and body language. As I read more and more of this chapter, I began to feel more and more overwhelmed for the world language teachers I know. How do they work toward such a daunting task?

When I think about the world language teachers in my building, I think of all of the recent technology-based projects I've seen them use in the recent past. For instance, I've watched our ASL teacher use imovie to send directions to her students. She's also used youtube in innovative ways to help students think about creating signing videos of their favorite songs. Another example comes from a Spanish and German teacher in our building who uses garageband to create podcast quizzes and homework instructions for her students. She also showed me some imovies that students created from areas around town, like "Supermarket!" These visual and auditory devices/ applications seem to be extremely useful helping to immerse students in language in ways other than outright memorization. As the authors of our book point out, students need to experience world languages in ways that mimic the way they learned their first language.

Because language learning needs to start with the basics, it seems appropriate for elementary through secondary educators to make use of web-based resources that are marketed to young readers and listeners.

I have a friend who teaches Spanish in New Hampshire. He told me a few weeks ago that he uses tella novella episodes to teach his students because students really get into the plot and the overly dramatic acting leads to some very obvious body language and facial cues. The Costa Amor interactive cartoon site developed by the BBC World Languages site could be a great tool for use with middle or secondary students. It's kinda like a Choose Your Own Adventure story in that those who viewed the BBC page voted for the phrases Carmen and Dave would say next. The end result is pretty funny. While the text, photos, and humor may be appropriate for older students, this idea could be adapted to any classroom.

Another idea that could be adapted to any grade level comes from an organization called the Asia Society. This site has a wealth of teacher and student resources. I would say that the site itself is not user-friendly for younger grades, but ideas contained in this site could help to support an elementary language teacher or an elementary teacher looking to include some world language or world culture into their classroom. I quickly found a powerful video under a section called Student Video: At the Dinner Table. This idea could easily be replicated in any age classroom.

If you're looking for a website with a HUGE amount of information, free downloads, a word of the day program, free software, and cool eCards for over seventy languages then Byki is it! The foreign language teachers at Mt. Blue use it with their students and recommend it as a great site.

At Mt. Blue, there are a variety of world language options for our students. To meet their foreign language requirement, students can choose from Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and American Sign Language. Our ASL program is awesome. Kids love it because it is different from languages that they might've struggled with in the past. Also, our ASL instructor has come into this subject because she has a passion for it. In finding links and resources for this blog post, I've spoken with her a great deal and have loved the links she's given me. Some of the great ones are Deaf-Tube, D-Pan (the Deaf Performing Artists Network), and a database full of great information about ASL from baby signs to adult resources. One of the most interesting finds are the CODA brothers, who are super funny and lovable!


The best resource I discovered was one that came to me through an English journal I subscribe to. It's called Google Lit Trips and it holds a wide array of resources for language teachers of all grade levels. Basically, this site combines book reviews with Google Earth images to map the adventures and/or plot of a story. Using this technology, teachers and/or students can map out the places where a character travels or lives, include photos of animals, locations, or people mentioned in the text, insert historical photos, and primary documents. Narration and soundtracks can be added to a lit trip to make it that much more rich and effective.