Seven Best Practices of Modern Language Educators
I am taking a college class in Best Practices in Modern Language Education.
Our first assignment is to create a list of the seven best ones, in our opinion.
To me, some are more universal than that:
I. Create INTRINSIC motivation -- lifetime learners is the goal, not grade oriented, hoop jumpers. How? That is the $64,000 question.
A. fire their imaginations -- engage them actively in the activities.
B. total immersion -- devise activities that allow them to hone good guessing skills, practice what they already know, and support their first attempts.
C. back to the basics -- give them a solid foundation in spelling/pronunciation Once they know how to pronounce what they see before them, and can accurately spell what they hear, including the exceptions that might confuse them, they have acquired powerful tools to explore on their own, support further study, and FLY.
D. organize resources -- teach them how to search for things successfully, in a library, on a map, on the world wide web
E. encourage creativity -- provide open ended activities where unconventional ideas are NOT penalized, where flights of fancy are valued. Thinking outside of the box, making connections between seemingly unrelated things are valuable skills that are not necessarily supported in conventional school settings, and we are all the poorer for it.
Current Mood omnipotent
Current Music: Oh, Come Along With Me to My Little Corner of the World
Our first assignment is to create a list of the seven best ones, in our opinion.
To me, some are more universal than that:
I. Create INTRINSIC motivation -- lifetime learners is the goal, not grade oriented, hoop jumpers. How? That is the $64,000 question.
A. fire their imaginations -- engage them actively in the activities.
B. total immersion -- devise activities that allow them to hone good guessing skills, practice what they already know, and support their first attempts.
C. back to the basics -- give them a solid foundation in spelling/pronunciation Once they know how to pronounce what they see before them, and can accurately spell what they hear, including the exceptions that might confuse them, they have acquired powerful tools to explore on their own, support further study, and FLY.
D. organize resources -- teach them how to search for things successfully, in a library, on a map, on the world wide web
E. encourage creativity -- provide open ended activities where unconventional ideas are NOT penalized, where flights of fancy are valued. Thinking outside of the box, making connections between seemingly unrelated things are valuable skills that are not necessarily supported in conventional school settings, and we are all the poorer for it.
Current Mood omnipotent
Current Music: Oh, Come Along With Me to My Little Corner of the World
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