Benefits of Learning a New Language

Learning a new language is scientifically proved to have positive impact on the way your brain grows and on the cognitive skills associated with processing information. For instance, bilinguals have denser gray matter in their language centers than monolinguals. Bilinguals can more easily focus on two tasks at once. They think more analytically. Parts of their brain devoted to memory, reasoning, and planning are larger than those of monolinguals (source:  How Bilingualism Boost Your Brain).

Besides these cognitive skills , learning a new language does also have some social gains such as getting to communicate with people from other countries, learning about different cultures, and even helping you understand your own native language. This social aspect of learning a new language is essential for raising bilingual or multilingual kids that tolerate and respect cultural and ethnic differences and value and look at linguistic diversity as an asset and not a difference.

This handy graphic outlines another 5 benefits of being a multilingual (and  bilingual ). Have a look and share with you students.

Here is a brief overview of these 5 benefits:

 1-More job opportunities:

The ability to communicate with people in more than one language could just help you acquire gainful employment.

2- Improved Intellect

Exposing yourself to foreign language can change the way you look at the world and create comprehensive avenues that would otherwise be unavailable.

3- Increased understanding of language

Learning another language can help you to gain a better understanding of your native tongue. It can also make it easier to learn other languages that are in the same vein.

4- Globalization

The interconnectedness of world cultures has brought people closer together. Learning other languages can help you to close the gap even further and take advantage of this globalization.

5- International travel benefits

Learning multiple languages can male all aspects of travel easier, from getting through customs to finding your way around foreign locales to haggling with local merchants

Post Source : http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/05/the-5-benefits-of-learning-new-language.html

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Use QR Codes For Language Learning

By Colleen Lee

Cross Posted From - http://www.edudemic.com/qr-codes-for-language-learning/

As smartphone use/ownership among students rises – so has the use of the QR codes. I add them to unit packages for links for Quizlet sites or my YouTube channel – hoping that the ubiquitous phone in the teenagers hand will help them find support outside of class time. Some educators use them as a required part of the lesson. I know that not all of my kids have smartphones capable of reading codes so I don’t require them. Even when I provide them for support I also provide a shortened link to the same material. In a previous post I wrote about a number of practical ways to use them but I didn’t really focus on another reason to use them in your teaching.

To me, the fact that they are a visual, and don’t come with any ‘words’ attached also means that we can use them to reward the curious. This year I am trying an ‘experiment’ in my room – just to see who is curious enough, or aware enough to want to know more. I won’t be giving out extra marks for this, but I will wait to see if any students comment on what I have done.

On The Door

I used an app called “Tellagami” to create a short animated video introducing who I am and what I teach. Then using a free QR code creator I generated a. It’s on window of my door – right where students might notice. If they are curious they will find out a bit about who I am. Almost as important to me is the message it sends “We try new things in here!”

On A Bulletin Board

One of the reasons that I like QR codes is that they don’t come with any words attached. This semester I set up a bulletin board with areas in Japan – outside of the major cities. I dug up some older picture cards I had and put them on the bulletin board together with a map. The only information provided is a arrow to a part of the map and a QR code. The code links to a page for the city or region. This bulletin board will come into play later in my grade 12 course but for now I notice kids looking, pointing and sometimes scanning.

A ‘What is This’?

I receive a magazine a few times a year and one of its pages features objects/items that are photo(2)unique to Japan. In this case I have the picture/explanation but I remove the title (and black out the word in the text if needed). Instead I substitute an audio QR code. They are easy to make via the qrvoice website and available for many languages. Students can read about the object but won’t know what it is until they scan and hear the word.

If you need a code reader on your phone – search your appropriate app store – there are a lot of free ones there. Making QR codes is easy too – there are several sources out there including:

kaywa – make sure you select “static” not dynamic for the easy creation

goo.gl – it will shorten a url and, if you click on ‘details’ create a QR code

qrvoice – type your text, select your language and the code is generated

I’m hoping that the lack of information, and the ease of scanning the code, will reward the curious. And curious learners will, I hope, be more willing to risk in my classroom.

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The 12 Best iPad Apps For The World Language Classroom

By Sarah Loyola

The iPad has fundamentally changed how and what I teach in my Spanish classes. First of all, I no longer use textbooks. Ever. Why would I when everything I need and more is available online or through an app? As educators, we are often told to teach students “21st century skills”, but let’s be honest, more often than not; it is the teachers who need to become more proficient in how to reach young people through technology.

Six years ago, I did not know how to download photos from my digital camera to my computer and annoyingly had to ask my husband to do it for me. Finally, I decided that I had had enough, and I blindly dove into the technological revolution. Now, I teach a paperless high school course of my own invention called “Spanish through Technology and Social Media”. In this course, I constantly make an effort to reach my language students through the use of the latest apps, presentational platforms, and project based learning. As you can imagine, through the process, I have tried a lot of what is out there.

15 Essential Apps For The Language Classroom

No matter what level of world language you teach, there are a lot of apps available. Here is a list of 15 I consider essential:

For Gaming

1. Duolingo

2. Mindsnacks

For Presentations

3. iMovie

4. Haiku Deck

5. Explain Everything

For Annotation

6. iAnnotate

For Studying

7. Quizlet

8. Memrise

9. Wordreference

For Recording

10. HD Recorder for iPad

For Creating Comic Strips

11. Pow! Strip Design

For Brainstorming

12. Corkulous Pro

13. Pinterest

For Writing Stories

14. Book Creator

For Organization, Document Sharing, and Collaborative Work

15. Google Drive

Teachers are often terrified to try new apps or websites because they do not fully understand how to use them, and they do not want to seem unknowledgeable in front of their students. But remember, what is especially wonderful about the iPad is that it is intuitive. As you start using apps, they will seem less and less complicated. If you can’t quite figure one out, I can assure you that someone has made a YouTube video on how to use it. Also, let your students help you. I love Twitter and Pinterest and was shamelessly taught to use them both by past students. Young people are always flattered and empowered by being asked, and you get to learn a new skill. Win. Win.

About The Author:

Sarah Wike Loyola has been teaching middle, high school and university courses in Spanish for nearly 14 years. She received a B.A. in International Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill and an M.A. in Romance Languages from UNC-Greensboro. She currently teaches and is Spanish Team Leader at Providence Day School in Charlotte, NC. In addition, she works as a technology mentor on her campus, which allows her to help and encourage colleagues to use technology to meet their individual teaching goals. She teaches a paperless course that is a hybrid of language learning and exploring new technologies titled “Spanish through Technology and Social Media”. Each student in the class has been given an iPad which they use to further their knowledge of Spanish through project-based learning. This class was named one of the “5 Classes Most Likely to Pique Student Interest” by South Park Magazine in Charlotte. Her goal is to marry learning Spanish with the use of authentic materials easily found online in an attempt to better relate to students. She refuses to use a textbook to meet her pedagogical goals and enjoys showing her colleagues at Providence Day and beyond how this is possible. In 2013, she presented “Marrying Technology and World Language” at the iPad Summit in Boston. Also, her lesson plan titled “Connecting with our Immigrant Nation” was published in the fall 2013 edition of EdTech magazine, and she has had two recent blog posts on Edutopia titled, “10 Social Media Tips for Reaching World Language Learners” and “In the World Language Classroom du Jour, Communication Rules”. However, her most important job by far is mother to her three young children. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys making jewelry, Crossfit, and blogging.

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How To Use Smartphones For Language Learning

By Colleen Lee on February 16, 2014

“Have you mastered what we are working on?”

I am working on trying to balance the need to know that my students ‘have it’ with the practical realities of a modern language class. For that reason I have been looking at more and more choice in not only what language students use to demonstrate learning but also in how they do it. This year I have been making more use of the ‘quick conversation’ as a means of measuring learning. So an interaction, recorded on the phone, and then forwarded to me is a new way to offer some formative assessment.

What? They all look like they’re working hard to me!

Supplies

You need one mobile phone per conversation pair. I am aware that there are students without mobile phones so I also have a handheld digital recorder ($30) that can also be used. Almost all smart phones have some form of audio note recording app built into them – and they can use any one.

Requirements

I am careful to lay out the criteria beforehand. This is not onerous but a task designed to hear the desired pattern or structure in context, and more than once. For example, in my grade 12 course I needed to hear that they understood the difference between 3 types of conditionals. It is easy for me to tell who is ‘getting it’ and who isn’t.

Preparation

I allow about 15-20 minutes depending on what we have studied. This is enough time for them to consider the requirements, ensure that they are comfortable with what they have to demonstrate and run through it a couple of times. This is also a key time where partners affirm their knowledge and even help their partner to understand a concept they might not be as clear on.

Sending

I will not accept any files until after the end of the school day and it is sent from a student’s home, via a wireless connection. The last thing I want to do is push a cost onto a parent for data. If I receive the file prior to that it is not marked.

Listening

You will receive files in a variety of formats. Typically I click on it and it opens in a program that will play it. However I use a Macbook Pro and files that come from Android phones initially look incompatible. Well – internet searching to the rescue. I know what kind of files my computer reads – and so I search “converting .api to .mp4″ – the answer is easy to find. After doing of few of these I am comfortable altering the file extension to what I need to hear it.

Marking

I wanted to be able to credit students for completing a task as required, but also encourage them to show a bit more range in the language they choose to do this. So I looked around at various rubrics and came up with one that measures “Task”, “Vocabulary” and “Grammar”. Students also receive some feedback in written form. The rubric isn’t perfect but it provides feedback that students can use.

The phone conversation homework is popular with my students who like the timeliness and authenticity is provides. More of these to come.

Post Source: http://www.edudemic.com/phones-language-learning/

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