1. Wescott School (District 30)
Hear it! Learn it! Use it!
Talia Sussman
Wescott School (District 30)
ICTFL Fall Conference 2012

2. Agenda
Program overview
Getting started
Activities to use
Q&A

3. Why "immersion"?
Learning occurs in meaningful, communicative contexts.
Learns are surrounded by meaningful language.
Meaningful target language (TL) usage.
Cultural learning through language and realia.
Thematic planning.
Instruction through storytelling, games, rituals, drama, etc.
Curtain (2004)

4. Learning to communicate
Interpretive - The appropriate interpretation of meanings, including cultural, that occur in written and spoken from where there is no recourse to the active negotiation of meaning with the writer or the speaker.
Interpersonal - The active negotiation of meaning among individuals.
Presentational - The creation of oral and written messages in a manner that facilitates interpretation by an audience of listeners or readers where no direct opportunity for the active negotiation of meaning exists.
ACTFL (2003)

5. Taking (baby) steps Choose a topic General lesson scenario
Guiding questions
Objectives
Vocabulary
Assessment
Activities to get you there!

6. Stop and brainstorm...
Turn to a partner and brainstorm some topics that might work well for an immersion classroom.

7. But where do I start? Gather material. Use what you have.
Don't reinvent the wheel.
Take it a few activities at a time.
Do what makes sense!
Write the lesson plan.
- use the textbook you already have
- what activities do you already use that are communicative
- how do you encourage speaking?
- use the internet!

8. - Question and answer. Use the questions to guide the lesson
- Question and answer. Use the questions to guide the lesson. Start with the questions you want to answer and create the vocabulary around them.
¡Exprésate!

9. Introducing a lesson - Read the book
- Read it again but give the students a part in answering
- Read it again and ask questions.
- Vocabulary comes from the books I choose - modify the book to be more culturally relevant.

10. Practicing vocabulary

12. In a textbook...

13. Make it communicative

14. Stop and brainstorm...
Turn to a partner and brainstorm some activities that promote communication.

15. Interpersonal

16. ¿Qué comes para el desayuno?
Interpersonal
¿Qué comida sabe dulce?
¿Qué comes para el desayuno?
¿Cómo sabe el tomate?
¿Cómo sabe la sopa?
¿Cómo sabe el plátano?
¿La carne es crujiente?
¿Te gusta el pollo?
¿Qué te gusta comer?
¿Qué comes para la cena?

17. Interpretive - Listen to the teacher and spell a letter.
- Listen to a friend and spell.
- Spell and the class guesses.

18. - Ask each other questions about the animal. Decide
- Ask each other questions about the animal. Decide. Negotiate with group. Does everyone agree? If not, you better be able to explain yourself!
Interpersonal

19. Presentational

20. Activity ideas... Communicative activities (from textbook)
Fortune teller
Inner/outer circle
Games
Flip chart
Book presentations
Create and describe.
- much of the creation work should be done at home (creating collages, coloring, cutting, etc.)
- most activities can be made into activities of communication

21. Questions?

22. Resources
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. (2003).
ACTFL integrated performance assessment. Fairfax, VA: ACTFL.
Curtain, H. & Dahlberg, C.A. (2004). Languages and children: Making
the match. New York: Pearson.
Terrill, L. (2012). Presentations. Retrieved from