April 28, 2014
by leesensei
2 Comments
I don’t often do skits in class. How rare are they? Well we do 1 in each of Yr1 (at a restaurant) and Yr2 (the famous ‘bullet train’ sketch). That’s it. I generally prefer a communicative oral that evaluates how … Continue reading
April 21, 2014
by leesensei
6 Comments
I’ve been working to refine the way that I give feedback on written work. My efforts focus on both easily identifying a student’s issues and increasing their responsibility for their own learning. With that in mind my feedback now focuses … Continue reading
March 10, 2014
by leesensei
1 Comment
We often tell students what we value in the classroom but how do we know the message is getting through? How do they interpret what I am trying to get them to be: risk-takers, supportive classmates, inquisitive learners? I … Continue reading
March 3, 2014
by leesensei
5 Comments
I’ve always asked students to work in pairs, or small groups in class. But only lately have I started to ask for their feedback as to how it went. I’ve worked for a while on a quick feedback rubric – … Continue reading
September 17, 2013
by leesensei
6 Comments
If I told a student that I expected 45-50 minutes of sustained discussion in the target language they’d laugh and say no way. But I watched it today in my Grade 12 class – as students used the pretext of … Continue reading
June 18, 2013
by leesensei
0 comments
Too often in the past a student would complete an oral, turn to me and ask “How did I do?”. Didn’t they know? Weren’t they aware of how it was going? Gradually I saw the need to change my focus … Continue reading
May 14, 2013
by leesensei
3 Comments
I use rubrics a lot in my classes as I feel they allow the student to really ‘see’ what they have achieved and where they might improve. Increasingly I have moved to self-evaluation of some of my oral activities – … Continue reading
January 14, 2013
by leesensei
0 comments
What better way to use technology in the language classroom than in a final class video. For example, each year my Gr12 students do a group ‘drama’ video project. Students use their own cameras, or borrow from the library, to … Continue reading