I was a bit nervous when I started reading this article, because many of the techniques and things that the author mentioned in the first column are things that I do with my class, such as writing definitions, using words in sentences, memorization, and vocabulary quizzes. The reality is that there is a lot of vocabulary that one must learn to be able to speak a language. Needless to say, I was eager to hear what the author had to say!
I thought it was interesting that the author addressed the dynamic and shifting nature of our language. It was neat to think of asking students to brainstorm words that may be added to the dictionary (tweet? google as a verb?). Number two in the list really stood out to me, because in my content area, teaching the essentials of English grammar and using it as a comparison to teach Spanish is a must, and helps strengthen students' skills in knowing English grammar as well as Spanish. I really liked the points that discussed oral proficiency and the importance of sometimes "speaking above" your students to a certain extent. I think this is really helpful and in a modern spoken language, it's something that I am trying to grow in in order to promote oral proficiency and help my students have to struggle a bit to understand.
I thought it was interesting that the author addressed the dynamic and shifting nature of our language. It was neat to think of asking students to brainstorm words that may be added to the dictionary (tweet? google as a verb?). Number two in the list really stood out to me, because in my content area, teaching the essentials of English grammar and using it as a comparison to teach Spanish is a must, and helps strengthen students' skills in knowing English grammar as well as Spanish. I really liked the points that discussed oral proficiency and the importance of sometimes "speaking above" your students to a certain extent. I think this is really helpful and in a modern spoken language, it's something that I am trying to grow in in order to promote oral proficiency and help my students have to struggle a bit to understand.
Hannah,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you mentioned the ever changing language. I liked the idea of having students predict new words that would be introduced into the dictionary. I think this would be a pretty cool Common Core task for your Spanish students. Also, I liked how you mentioned, "talking above your students." This is an awesome technique as it not only challenges them it also increases their vocabulary as you simply use new, academic words.