Best Practices: Using Personal Photos in Class

Have you ever noticed that students pay more attention when you're talking about yourself or just 'chatting' with them in the language? My theory is that students tune-in when the language is actually being put to a real social use - if they pay attention, they might learn something about you or another student that they didn't already know.

Muna uses this tactic brilliantly in her Arabic classes. Last week, she used her own family photographs to review some new vocabulary with her students. Here's a sample of what she did:

1. Students first reviewed some family-related vocabulary by drawing the family tree of a fictional character (one of the characters from the book's video resources) on the board. Students labeled each person by name, relationship to the central character, and profession. Muna and the students worked together all in Arabic until the family tree was correct.

2. Muna then showed the students a photograph of her own family and talked about each person shown - their name, their relationship to her, their profession, where they lived...

3. In a second family photograph, Muna again talked about the people shown. Since some people appeared in both photos, this gave Muna the chance to repeat much of the information and vocabulary in a way that felt relevant and natural.

4. A third photo was shown and discussed, again with many of the same people pictured.

5. When Muna took out the fourth photo, it was time for the students to do the talking. She asked them about the identities of the people shown - their names, their relationships to her, their professions, and any of the details she'd shared about them. The students identified the people in several more photographs, and all students were involved in providing as many details as they could remember and correcting one another.

6. Students then worked together to draw and label Muna's family tree on the board.

7. Finally, students talked about their own family members, and were asked questions about their families and the families of their classmates.

8. The students' assignment for the next class is to bring family photos to describe and discuss with their classmates.

The students and Muna all used ONLY ARABIC during the whole activity, and all students were fully involved in the discussions. Wonderful job, Muna! I plan to use my own family photographs with every class learning to talk about their families and professions from now on... thanks for sharing.

Spectacular Classes: Props, Realia, and Visual Aids

This fabulous Chinese 1001 class, courtesy of Ying, is full of examples of how to use visual cues and props in the classroom. Take a look at the videos below:

1.

In the above video, Ying has students help her fill-in a family tree. Students supply the vocabulary, and are prompted and corrected with a variety of written, auditory, and physical prompts. Notice how Ying has a student match her hand gestures to represent the tones.

2.

Next, students answer questions and work on perfecting their pronunciation.

3.

The activity quickly transitions to a practice with Ying's own family photo, where students are told about the people in the photo and are asked follow-up questions. Notice that questions and responses are all in Chinese - including prompts, corrections, and praise.

4.

With new topic to practice, a new prop is introduced. Notice how the students are expected to already know the vocabulary - Ying is making sure that the students have it right, correcting their mistakes, and then making sure that students can use the vocabulary to answer questions and give information.

5.

Notice that all instructions are given in Chinese. Ying accompanies her instructions to the students with visual prompts, like hand motions, but does not translate. Even when a student comes into the lesson late, a potential distraction, Ying does not interrupt the flow of the lesson. Rather, she simply motions that he come in and join the other students (there will be time for English-language reminders about the importance of being in class on time after the period is over, when it does not interfere with the other students' learning and can be done one-on-one).

The use of props, realia, and visual aids are beautifully employed in Ying's class. The photograph and calendar both help students make a connection between the words and the ideas they represent, and serve as useful tools that help Ying keep the class all in Chinese and free of translations.

Ying, great work! Thank you so much for sharing!

Spectacular Classes: Draw a Card

Some of our amazing language tutors have agreed to let us film parts of their classes, generously sharing their ideas and techniques! So, without further ado, I welcome you to the Spectacular Classes Series!

In this video, some of Adesi's Italian 1001 students sit before a pile of index cards. Each card has a word or short phrase written on it, in Italian, but the cards are face-down, so that students cannot read them ahead of time. One by one, students draw a card and read the phrase aloud. The student is then challenged to say as much about the word or topic in Italian as they can. Watch how it works:

Notice some of the great techniques Adesi puts to use:
1. She encourages the student with nods and smiles, showing she understands and is engaged in what the student is saying.
2. She conducts the practice all in Italian.
3. When a mistake is made, Adesi corrects the mistake and has the student repeat the proper phrasing. Adesi does not let a mistake become a distraction, nor does she embarrass the student. Correction, repetition, and then the activity continues - fast-paced and fun.
4. When the student starts to pause between phrases, Adesi asks some related follow-up questions.

Great work, Adesi!

P.S. - You might have noticed the music playing quietly in the background. Adesi is also trying a technique in which instrumental music with a defined rhythm is played quietly during the class. The music is intended to help students focus, and to make connections with the rhythms of the language. She'll let us know how the experiment goes, and will share more information if it proves to help students.