- What prevents 100% of language educators from using core practices?
- What can we do to support language educators to implement the most effective practices?
- Use the target language 90%
- Design communicative activities
- Plan with a backward design model
- Use authentic cultural texts
- Teach grammar as concept
- Provide appropriate feedback
The questions this conversation raised for me were:
Have instructors even heard of these core practices?
I try to stay connected to the profession and follow the trends; however, today was the first time I've ever heard of these grouped as "core practices." I believe most of the instructors around me do use many of these practices, but they wouldn't necessarily recognize them.
How are they supported for professional development to be able to implement them?
Even for instructors who have heard of these practices - and possibly even trained in them - they are not easy to implement. They take time and are not practices you can adopt on short notice. Add to that the fact that access to professional development opportunities can be limited.
What we need are more support networks for language instructors. Attending a conference session is great, but the difficulty arises when you step back into the classroom after the conference ends. Instructors need support in the form of mentoring, sample materials, and virtual and live networks.
While some of these are familiar, I don't remember learning them as core concepts. I'm curious to know how these particular ones became core and what the main goal is behind teaching this? Are they proven to help students acquire and retain the language best?
ReplyDeleteI suppose a workshop or powerpoint that defines each and gives some examples and practice would be useful.
I like the summary of these principles, but yes, they can be challenging to implement. I have never heard these referenced as a "core" either. I'm glad they actually mention grammar because it is a natural part of language. It's so long been a dirty word I think, and the pendulum needs to correct just a bit. I don't think we should be doing all grammar all the time, but it is a concept (as they say) to address.
ReplyDelete