President’s Letter

  GWATFL Spring WorkshopsMarch1, 20088:30-1:00 GEORGETOWN DAY HIGH SCHOOL4200 Davenport Street NW
Washington DC 20016-4560
(202) 274-3200 Note: The conference will be held at the GDS High School campus on 42^nd& Davenport ST, NW. (near American University and the Tenleytown metro. It is not in Georgetown.) The entrance to the  GDS High School is on Davenport Street, NW, accessible only from 42nd Street. Limited campus parking is available. There is street parking and it is metro accessible. Program 8:30-9:30     Meet, Greet and Eat

                   Join us for breakfast and the You Tube Swap Shop.

 You Tube Swap Shop (Plenary)

Bring the URL for your favorite language-related digital video to share with colleagues in the new GDS forum from Teacher Tube, YouTube or wherever you like. The GWATFL Board will be ready with theirs.

 

9:45-11:45   Workshops  Chinese Workshop (Ruihua Dong)This workshop, led by the lead Chinese trainer at the World Bank and facilitator in the 2007 NVCC STARTALK workshop, will examine the role of culture and technology use in the Chinese classroom. Hands-on and participatory. Tareas que suenan bien:  Canciones y poemas en la clase de español (Carmen Velasco Martin, Embassy of Spain)
Songs and poems are very valuable teaching materials, and very motivating
resources to help learn a language. Among the most evident benefits of using songs and poems in the language classroom are their countless possibilities to practice listening and reading comprehension, but they may also be of great help to develop activities of written expression and
work aspects of literary competence. In this session we will present different songs and poems that can be used in the Spanish classroom with students of different ages and levels of
knowledge. We will share different tasks to integrate these resources,where all communicative skills will be involved.  Improving Interpersonal Communication and Creative Writing in
Immersion Classes Grades 1-6 (Pat Barr-Harrison)
This session will showcase creative and interesting ways of engaging
students in speaking and writing accurately. There will be
demonstrations of interpersonal techniques, creative writing
activities (that are checked by students) and ideas for learning
centers.  Participants will have a little time for “Swap Talk” by
grade levels and time for questions.

 Teaching with Video in the Foreign Language Class (Victor Vazquez)
During the session participants will watch short segments from different
video courses and get practical demonstrations on how to create activities
in order to build meaningful contexts in their Foreign Language class.
The session will be conducted in English with examples in Spanish.                     

From Silence to Confident speaker: Using Free Software to Transform your Students(Takako Shigehisa)

This presentation discusses examples of activities for students to encourage oral communication among themselves by using free software.  The examples include asynchronous and synchronous communication in Japanese, but applicable to any language class.  The free software: Audacity, Photostory3, Skype, Powergramo and Chinswing will be introduced.  The presenter will talk about how to obtain, use, and incorporate these programs into classroom using an easy to understand, step by step approach.  Participants will spend time making and producing materials of their choices using software.  Please bring a microphone and headphone set if you have one.  If not, please let Takako, tshigehisa@nvcc.edu, know in advance.

  Multiple Intelligences Workshop ( Monica Mullholland)Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory is a powerful tool for language learning and a source of enhanced motivation and creativity in class. With this in mind, we will explore technology and other real-life scenarios to easily engage our students. Come to this very practical workshop and take with you a wide range of ideas for your classes.  Science, Mythology, and Nature in the Latin Classroom  (Evan Smith)In this workshop, participants will develop ways of incorporating projects
and lessons on ancient and early modern science and math into a Latin
curriculum at the introductory to intermediate levels. Participants will
also work on how to incorporate such lessons into activities beyond the
classroom so that students bring their knowledge of Latin to the natural
world.

 

 12:00-1:00      Breakout Sessions Special PanelAround the World with Fulbright_Hays Summer Seminars for TeachersGail Massot, Georgetown Day School, Carla Arnold, Sligo Middle School,  Virginia Von Reichbauer, Moorestown Upper Elementary School  What are they? How  to apply?  Learn about the experience of three teachers in     China this past summer and their curriculum projects that grew out of that experience.
Audience and Language:  All language teachers interested in broadening their global horizons and those of their students.   Other breakouts ·         Tech Talk Session: Emerging Trends, Tips and Tricks with the Co-Editor of MERLOT (Laura Franklin)·         Engaging Our Language Students: A few quick ideas (Amanda Trostle)                          Networking Sessions

• Chinese Forum/ Startalk Reunion
• Arabic Forum/Startalk Reunion
• Latin Forum
• AATF French Swap shop (Bring your best French teaching activities) 

  

 info@gwatfl.org