Teaching writing in a foreign language is an interesting challenge, especially if it’s the focus of a particular course. Last semester I taught an advanced German writing and conversation course. The communicative aspect during class sessions is clear. But how do you have students write in class? On the surface, it is often perceived Read more…
My experiences with Storybird this semester were great. I wrote part one of this a few weeks ago, and now that the projects are in, I’d like to write a few lines about the final results. First of all, we did not have any technical glitches, and the administrative side of Read more…
I have been using Storybird this semester with my German introductory and advanced writing courses this semester. the browser-based software provides a very large amount of artwork as prompts and allows writers to add text to their stories. You cannot use your own images, you have to rely on the provided ones. I Read more…
Wordcloud creators are very popular tools for educators. I have long been a fan of wordle and have used in many times to create pre-reading images, brainstorming activities and various student projects. Another service, Tagxedo, adds an interesting feature: using shapes for your word clouds. It’s really easy, and you can simply download your Read more…
Padlet (formerly called Wallwisher) is a shared virtual space which can be used and shared in a variety of ways (moodle, blog, e-mail, facebook, twitter, etc.). Accounts are not necessary, but it helps to get a free account if you want more control over the site and use it frequently. Read more…
I’ve been using Quizlet for my courses for a number of hers now. Last year I purchased a teacher license ($25 for one year), and I am glad I did. It’s been really easy to monitor progress, avoid ads for my students, and see which vocabulary items are more difficult Read more…
I recently found out that I will be able to teach the advanced writing seminar (in German) in the fall again. A course that is supposed to be filled with constant writing exercises and grammar reviews does not sound to be the most exciting thing in the world. But I Read more…
Teaching grammatical concepts like two-way prepositions can be difficult, especially translating the theoretical concept into meaningful and possibly even interesting or motivating exercises and tasks. I’ve always liked using small browser games in my classes to have students do something concrete and see the outcomes. Papert called these little helping Read more…
The 20 Questions game is a great game for language students. A person thinks about an object, say a table, and the other players (or player) have to ask questions that can be answered with yes or no, or a few select answers such as probably, rather not, or Read more…
I and many of my students have used Quizlet for a while, and since many of them like it so much I thought it would warrant a blog post. Quizlet is a free study system (think digital flashcards) for computers and mobile devices. It’s particularly good for vocabulary, but can be Read more…