I like to teach my students that every time they learn something new in the language we’re studying, it helps to think of it as a tool. The more tools you have, the more communication you can build. The visual of using language like a tool helps to reinforce that there is a purpose behind … Continue reading
Our current school year is dominated by figuring out how to teach in a pandemic, and thoughts about improving practice or exploring possibilities may not be top of mind. Now that we are edging towards the spring of 2021 and vaccinations are rolling out, I'm hopeful that teaching can return to "normal" within the next … Continue reading
This blog post came to be as a result of an assignment in a course I took this summer. I'm taking the Professional Master of Education program through Queens University, and I've chosen a literacy concentration. I wanted to share this information because it was one of the best pieces of learning that came my … Continue reading
When I first started learning my second language, vocabulary was its own exercise and not strongly connected to the unit content. Learning vocabulary often meant studying large banks of words and trying to memorize them for a quiz. And shortly after the quiz, many of those words would be forgotten because I wasn't using them … Continue reading
In a second language environment, one of the most challenging skills is listening. I've heard anecdotal evidence in my school district to confirm that this is the area of greatest challenge for most of our secondary level language students, and I've seen firsthand in my classes that it can lead to high levels of frustration. … Continue reading
I'm currently in the final portion of a course on collaborative inquiry, and wrapping up a 4 member group collaboration that dug into an inquiry question that evolved to end up here: What supports will benefit teachers and students in an L2 (second language) learning environment so that students can engage in collaboration and inquiry? … Continue reading
As I've gone through course work this summer I've dug deep into my own thinking behind learning maps and developed a better understanding of what they are and how I will be integrating them into my instruction. My students, however, were not along for that ride. Some of them have not used learning maps before, … Continue reading
As I've been documenting on this blog, I spent 7 weeks of my summer completing the first two of 10 courses towards earning an MEd degree from Queen's University. One of those courses, PME 800 or Self-Regulated Inquiry and Learning, required me to complete an inquiry project and to learn how self-regulated learning facilitates and … Continue reading
In 22 years of teaching a second language, I have learned that all students, now matter how good their academic ability in any other area, struggle with listening. I've asked them how they see listening tasks, and their answers are pretty consistent. They say things like "you either get it or you don't", "sometimes I … Continue reading
As I have documented my learning through my self-regulated inquiry course project this summer, I have... ...begun looking at the big ideas on learning maps as big goals which students will reach by the end of the course. ...revised my existing learning map for French 8 using the most recent curriculum update....summarized research I'm using … Continue reading
