FLTech

BBA Lab Challenge: The Foreign language Dept. at BBA has requested that the lab study innovative Foreign Language curriculums. Technology use, curriculum - lesson plan ideas and valuable resources are all fair game to add to this page.

Starting resources:

If students had laptops at BBA, how could this change instructional practices ?

Duke iPod project: http://www.duke.edu/ddi

Submitted by Alex Sheets: http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/berkeley/

http://itunes.berkeley.edu/

Software:

[|Wordshop]: Lesson Planner/Writer, could be used by teachers for lesson plans and students for something. (Not sure what). [|Linguata]: Customizable, and allows you to test yourself. [|Declan]: Lots of different software. Free trial versions to see what works. [|University of Hawaii]: Huge searchable database of foreign language software. [|World Language Windows]: List of software for many languages. [|World Language Apple]: List of software for many languages. [|Nova Devolpment]: Good programs for use on Laptop and ipod. [|ViaVerbi:] Great vocabulary coach for Mac OS X [|Rosetta Stone]: Great Program. [|Language Switch in OS X] [|Foreign Service Institute]: The official U.S. Government programs for learning another language. [|BBC Languages]:There are some good games and quizzes. [|MyLanguageExchange.com]: You can get international penpals. You can play the Hangman games, too!

Uses:

Independent Study - Language of your choice Watching films in a foreign language Get articles off the web in the language you are taking Easy, built in translator for those difficult words or phrases. Use eBooks instead of text books. If a teacher is out, they could record their lesson and upload for the students to access.

Submit assignments in video format. Record.;

1166624659

Video Conversations or messaging with students from other countries via [|Skype], [|ichat AV] or instant messengers ([|live messenger], [|icq], etc.)

You could use programs that teach foreign languages (rosetta stone, etc) with the teacher if everyone had a laptop. Also, you could have an easy dictionary right on the laptop.

Studying for vocab quizzes and learning other vocab will be made easier by iPods because you can listen to words, which is a way of remembering them as well as correctly pronouncing them.

Change the primary language of the operating system to the language studied. Selec teh primary language, reboot the computer, and the operating system and applicationa appear in the language you've selected.

Smart boards can be placed in language classrooms so that the notes taken in class can be posted on a teacher's Wiki or somewhere else. Students who lose notes or miss them can access them easily and even print them out. Students won't have to write the notes down for themselves thus less time in class is used for taking notes and there is more time for practice excercises, games, review, testes, etc. Students who don't have access to computers in their own home could print the notes out at school from school computers. In the future when all students have their own computers, they can access the notes inside and outside of school. Teachers won't have to write the notes over again to post them on the computer because they will already be on the computer. The Smart boards can also be used to reccord homework assignments so the students have no excuse for forgetting and those students who m,issed class will know the homework and have the notes in advance so they fall less behind.

Here are a few changes that I think might be beneficial to the foreign language department. Let me know what you think.

Foreign Language Course Suggestions

1166463243
 * 1) There should be an initial basic instruction in a language then quickly move into an almost total immersion of the language. This makes each student learn the language more quickly out of necessity, allowing them to find their mistakes and correct them on their own.
 * 2) Make class less of a classroom and make it more of a social experiment in requiring that the language you are trying to teach is used as much as possible.
 * 3) More Oral language instruction at the start before you start on reading and writing because it will make it easier to speak the language.

[|Foreign Language Study]: In the foreing language area is a series of articles written about the benefits and problems with laptops in use with foreign language study.

http://recap.ltd.uk/articles/podguide.html

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~volkerh/projects/podcasting/01podcasts_in_education.html

http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/myers6e/default.asp?s=&n=&i=&v=&o=&ns=0&uid=0&rau=0

1166624659