Language Sensei

A Language Teacher's Journey

February 24, 2016
by leesensei
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“Say and Pay” – A Strategy Encouraging New Structure Use in Communicating

I am constantly trying to push my students – and to see them push themselves – to work to incorporate our ‘new learning’ into their conversations. No matter how comprehensible your input is, no matter how perfectly your task may … Continue reading

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January 4, 2016
by leesensei
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A “Meaningful” Review Using an “Authentic” Cultural Component

There’s a lot of talk about review. Do you review specifics? Do you review ‘everything you did the year before’ you start the new one? I have shifted lately from an overall review to activities at the start that remind … Continue reading

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December 17, 2015
by leesensei
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Best of 2015 – Top 5 Posts of the Year: Number 5 (a tie!) (Questions/Cultural Stations Day)

A tie…yes..between two very different activities. One is focussed on oral communication – and actually practicing/teaching students how to communicate. The other was my first attempt at a station day that solely focused on an aspect of Japanese culture (but … Continue reading

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December 16, 2015
by leesensei
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Best of 2015! Top 5 Posts of the Year: Number 4! (Interactive Orals)

I am a big fan of using ‘interactive fair’ orals – when students work with each other (without a hovering teacher) to exchange information/learn from each other. I use them at every level. Often the summative writing piece draws on … Continue reading

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December 13, 2015
by leesensei
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Best of 2015! Top 5 Posts of the Year: Number 2! (No Grammar Words!)

It was a major move last year – eliminating the grammar ‘words’ from my teaching. This year my students, who were the first classes under this new approach, are also using words in class like “describing word” or “~ly word” … Continue reading

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December 11, 2015
by leesensei
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Best of 2015! Top 5 Posts of the Year – Number 1! (Pictionary/Sentence-onary)

As many teachers who blog – the end of the year is a time to look back and reflect. Although I blog mainly to talk to myself & curate my ‘learning’, I like to see what resonated with others. Today … Continue reading

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November 25, 2015
by leesensei
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“That Could Have Been Better”: Dealing With The ‘Not Good Enough’ Feelings..

As I watched my Yr3’s in their summative write for the School Fair I found myself thinking “I should have done more..” I should have done more formative feedback in writing, I could have provided more support prior to the … Continue reading

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September 28, 2015
by leesensei
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“I Figure I’ll Try One Thing” – Presenting Tech Options as Opportunities Not Necessities

On Friday last week I was lucky to present to a small group of staff interested in on-line and tech options to enhance their classrooms. I was surprised any came as the person who put out our Pro-D agenda wrote … Continue reading

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April 6, 2015
by leesensei
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“What Was Your Challenge? How Did You Overcome It” – Student Responses and What I Learned…

In my last post I wrote about my goal of ‘traction’ for my students. But the key for me is “Is the lesson on how to communicate/what to do if there are challenges?” getting through. My Year4’s do a group … Continue reading

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January 21, 2015
by leesensei
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Counting, Shopping and “The Bank”….#AuthRes #AuthTask

What to do when we introduce the Chinese Characters and counting above 100 – way above 100?  How to introduce in an authentic way? What #authres (authentic resource) to use? And what #authtask (authentic task)? It is of course, for … Continue reading

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