Écoutez en français (Mod 12)

Podacasting has many great uses in second language classrooms. It is an easy way to introduce native French speech to the class. In order to ensure comprehension, I would use podcasts in a guided activity with the students with lots of modeling and support. The podcast that I found is from the website rfi.fr and it is under the category of Journal français facile. The announcers read various news stories from around the world. I would use this podcast in an upper level French class for listening practice. One of the activities that I could do with this particular podcast is to make a worksheet with questions pertaining to the content. For example, I could ask the students to provide three details on one of the stories they hear about a French-speaking country or a Spanish-speaking country. By giving them the ability to choose what they write about, the task becomes a bit less daunting. This podcast discusses events in Haiti, Brazil, and the Ivory Coast. Podcasts are also excellent for vocabulary study. Students may hear words that they are not familiar with, but can use the context to figure out the general topic of the story.

1 Journal francais facile 2010-11-25

(09:59)

Une classe des amis (Mod 11 )

After taking time to explore the ePals site, I found many ways that I can incorporate ePals into my teaching. ePals helps connect learners from all over the globe through project-based learning. Teachers can search for classrooms in a variety of countries and can also search by language. By adding in the keyword "culture" and searching within France, I was able to locate 527 classrooms who are interested in collaborating online. Starting an online dialogue with native French speakers who are learning English would be a great way to make connections and comparisons about culture.

There are also collaborative National Geographic projects that could be very useful in a second language classroom. Students explore and study other cultures by researching, collaborating, and sharing. "The Way We Are" focuses on culture, geography, and climate. "Holidays and Festivals Around the World" is another great project idea that would help students to share information about their culture and traditions while learning about others. I've posted a photo below of a gâteau des rois, a cake traditionally made to celebrate the Epiphany in France.

One of the main benefits of the site is the large scale of countries that are connected by classrooms. As a French teacher, it is important to make sure I am not always centering my cultural lessons on France. By providing a link to many other Francophone classrooms, ePals makes it easy to expose students to different varieties of Francophone culture. I could use one of the aforementioned projects to allow students to study different Francophone cultures and share their findings with each other.

On parle français...(Mod 9, Post #2)

http://bighugelabs.com/map.php

While exploring this website called Big Huge Labs, I came across a really awesome map maker. The website was created to allow users to do cool things with their Flickr photos. This particular application does not use photos but can be great for a foreign language class. The map I posted above has several French speaking countries and territories highlighted. Teachers could use this tool to introduce the vastness of the francophone world to their students. By asking students to name and select the countries they know that speak French, teachers can help the class to create a visual map of the francophone world. This can also easily be done in a Spanish or other second language classroom.

Another application that I like from this website is the mosaic maker. Teachers could ask students to make a mosaic from Flicker photos of a particular place that they would like to visit as a kind of virtual travel brochure. For example, if a student chooses Quebec, they could make a mosaic of sights from Quebec including buildings, scenery, activities one can do there, etc. Students could also use the mosaic maker to make a pictoral representation of a poem, story, or play that they read in French class. Using photos is another way to get conversations started in the target language.

Flickr Photo of the French Polynesian Island Tahiti

Photo by: jimg944

Dites fromage!!! (Mod 9, Post #1)

So I am learning how to use Flickr and about the many ways it can be incorporated into the classroom. I'm looking forward to trying out this photo sharing site in future lessons in my French classes. When I begin using Flickr with my students, it would definitely be appropriate to educate them about responsible photo sharing and borrowing. I therefore present my newfound understanding of creative commons licensing:

Attribution License: Photos classified under an attribution license can be copied, distributed, displayed, and performed. Derivative works are also included, but credit must be given to the user.

Noncommercial License: Photos protected under an noncommercial license can be copied, distributed, displayed, and performed. This also includes derivative works, but all work must be used for noncommercial purposes.


No Derivative Works: Photos can be copied, distributed, displayed, and performed. Derivative works are NOT included.


Derivative works can be distributed only if the two users have the same license.


Users can protect their works under a combination of the various licenses. Here is an example of the correct way to use attribution:

Photo by: Wolfgang Staudt

Comment dit-on "tweet" en français? (Mod 7)

I came across a post by Shelly Blake-Plock called Back to School: Ideas for Twitter in the Foreign Language Classroom from the blog TeachPaperless. In this post, Blake-Plock describes how Twitter can be used with translation exercises or verb parsing. I agree that foreign language learning does entail some degree of rote memorization (particularly of verbs) and I think these suggestions could really help teachers to switch it up a bit. I could also see myself using student-created Tweets as a precursor to having the students write on their blogs. Tweeting short answers to teacher questions is a great way for students to begin getting used to using tools on the web to create content. And it is also conveniently simple in 140 characters or less.

In this blog post entitled Que fais-tu? Twitter for Language & Culture, Joe Dale discusses the idea of integrating Twitter into second language class. His post is a response to the original article called Que-fais-tu? Twitter for Language & Culture, by Sharon Scinicaiello. Dale commended Scinicaiello for suggesting using Twitter to follow news updates from the French or francophone media. The headline tweets would most likely be easier for students to absorb, rather than a full -length article. Sometimes students can be very overwhelmed when faced with authentic texts meant for native speakers. I think this would be a great way for students to feel a sense of accomplishment from reading French. The beauty of this system is that the full text is still available for those that are interested.

Scinicaiello also talks about the concept of using Twitter to follow people posting from France as a way of identifying slang and common abbreviations. I was so excited by this idea that I immediately started looking at tweets from the French to see what they were saying! This is definitely an activity that I believe students would love to do. When I was student teaching, it seemed that my students were always most interested when learning about a cultural aspect they could relate to. They wanted to know how the French students dressed, what kind of music they listened to, etc. Twitter brings a way to connect students with the slang and expressions French students are currently using. Incroyable!

Twitter would also be great for student dialogues in the target language. The old-fashioned way would be having the students pen and paper a dialogue on a specific topic to be performed in class. By introducing Twitter to this activity, I could follow the progress of the students as they write the conversation. Hopefully my future district will allow the educational use of Twitter in school!

Les site-webs de collaboration (Mod 6)

I've been following the blog Sharing The Addiction and recently came across this posting, which lists ten collaboration tools for teachers and students. There are some really awesome tools on this list that I can't wait to try. As I was reading the descriptions, I found myself thinking about how I could use the tools not only with my students, but also with colleagues. As a new teacher, I know that collaboration is essential among teachers and I anticipate needing a lot of support. It seems that these sites feature super easy ways to brainstorm, share, and be connected to one another online. I'll be sure to post an update once I try one to give a review!

Un groupe très utile! (Mod 4, Post #2)

I found a group called Franco-American Educational Exchange Network on the social networking site Ning. This group was created for teachers of French and English in America and France to make connections with each other. The teachers can exchange communication and ideas on the subject of teaching or studying abroad, as well as connect their students with the students in the other country. I think this website is great because it facilitates communication between students in two different cultures who are learning about each other. The website offers links to other outlets such as Twitter and Facebook. Members also post links to various exchange programs and study grants for teachers. Once I have a classroom of students, I would love to set up an partnership with a French class where we could exchange information over the internet. This site would make that a reality quite easily.