https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect After our first class... ow do you envision applying all of this (or one concept) to your own teaching? en-us 2016-08-25 00:21:33 UTC 2016-08-31 03:58:47 UTC hello@padlet.com girlsprepfrench https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect/wish/119721678 One rookie mistake that I made when I first started teaching was trying to teach too much vocabulary at once, or introducing new vocab and a grammar point at the same time. I have learned over time that the "teach one thing at a time" aspect of CI/SI is really valuable to me and positively impacts my students' learning. They can never have too much CI/SI either!]]> 2016-08-25 00:23:15 UTC https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect/wish/119721678 https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect/wish/119948408 I'm glad that we talked about the amount of information a student can intake in one class sitting because I know I would have committed the same mistake of trying to teach everything at the same time. I want to focus on quality over quantity when I'm teaching but like we said in class it depends on the school district that I'm working in if that will be possible or not. But I plan on using the concept of binding in my teaching because it makes sense for a student to "relearn" vocabulary that they obviously know but in a different language. Also the 14-20min time limit spent on activities is something I will use because even I need to switch it up and do something different every so often.]]> 2016-08-25 23:32:40 UTC https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect/wish/119948408 https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect/wish/119952316 I really focused in on the issues of fossilization when introducing concepts and vocabulary. I always want to help students, so I end up saying the word in English, which it can end up hurting them. I want to fix that and start building those new neural connections, not blocking them from learning new, French connections to images and words!]]> 2016-08-26 00:14:18 UTC https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect/wish/119952316 https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect/wish/120166899 I resonate with the ideas of the Language Acquisition Device, the Affective Filter, and the relationship between the two (the need to keep the motivation appropriately high so as to allow a student’s innate language-learning ability to function to its greatest potential with as little inhibition as possible). I would like to put effort into figuring out what makes each student feel more comfortable (lowering the Affective Filter). I see this as an opportunity to get really creative, and I’m really excited and know that I will have fun with it! I want to view it like a fun challenge… What can I do to make Jane Doe (or her cousin, John Doe) feel more at home and more willing to learn? What makes him/her tick? It could be a sticker, words of affirmation, the use of music, or positioning the student's desk in a certain way in the classroom. Also, the distinction between regurgitating information and actually outputting information is insightful. A student can be verbalizing a statement but, unless that statement involves some level of originality/invention (even if it is as simple as putting the answer into a complete sentence, which was one example from class), it still does not count as output. I want to be thoughtful in my lesson planning, being sure to focus on building true output into my activities and not automatically assuming a student's mastery of the material when he/she simply "says the right key words.” Finally, I am really glad that we had the discussion about focusing on one thing at a time and how "quality over quantity" is really important; it was neat to hear both from Dr. Lepore and from a classmate about how they have found that to be true from their own experiences (in addition to the research that supports it). With this knowledge, I will try to plan my curriculum timeline carefully to guard against my tendency to want to “meet expectations for covering all this material” (when doing so would possibly hurt the students in the long run if it were to go too fast). ]]> 2016-08-28 02:38:07 UTC https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect/wish/120166899 https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect/wish/120696294 One of the concepts from this lecture that most stuck out to me was "binding". As language instructors, it is important that we think about what this action looks like for our students and how we can help them achieve it. I've been thinking about what methods I can use in my future classroom that will create the strongest bonds/neural connections for my students. As we discussed, direct translation is quick and easy but it doesn't help much in memorization. Some alternate strategies that I plan to use are pictures, charades, skits, show-and-tell activities, or anything else that is out of the ordinary and will create more of a vocabulary experience for my students. ]]> 2016-08-30 20:49:51 UTC https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect/wish/120696294 https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect/wish/120739843 Something that stood out to me from class was the topic of neural connections. When learning a second language it is difficult to train your mind to connect these new words to a certain picture in your mind. I believe it would be more effective if instead of being so word-based, we use more pictures and actions to help develop an acquired knowledge. For example, if someone says the word "house," you already have a picture of what that looks like in your mind. If one says the word "casa," it may take longer to develop a neural connection with the Spanish word to the picture of a house in your mind. This is something I had never really thought about when thinking of teaching a language in the classroom setting, but now I will develop a better concept of teaching to make sure the neural connections will take place. ]]> 2016-08-31 03:23:43 UTC https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect/wish/120739843 https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect/wish/120741964 The lecture was very eye opening for me. As a current teacher the pressure to teach a certain amount of quantity plus maintain a quality level can be hard to balance; especially when considering pacing. This is my current stumbling block. Wanting to rush and cram much content, which in the end just makes my kids suffer and not grasp the content as well. But on the same hand going too slow can be a hindrance as well.  In getting to know more about the Input Hypothesis and learning about the affective filter was very enlightening and has persuaded me to rethink many of my strategies on how I input and also how to properly measure the acquired knowledge. These are concepts I know in theory but it is nice to revisit and ensure I continuously work to develop a better system of teaching for the students. ]]> 2016-08-31 03:51:26 UTC https://padlet.com/girlsprepfrench/scededucreflect/wish/120741964