One of the hardest aspects of being an Assistant Language Teacher, ALT, in Japan, is working with other teachers of varying levels of enthusiasm for English. This can be especially true if your own Japanese language skills are less than fluent—communication barrier and all that. The problem this creates is that the children sense their teacher’s hesitancy, and become less excited about learning
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It’s time to honor an American hero, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Through his leadership of the American Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King also stood up for the rights of all of the peoples in the world. Bring Dr. King’s historical significance in to your Spanish, French, or ESL classes by teaching the historical basics
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Join Foreign Language House for our first annual Facebook Turkey Trot Down countdown to Thanksgiving Break. Click this link to join our FB community. Beginning Monday, November 8, we’ll be “talkin’ turkey” with our foreign language teacher friends. Each morning around 9:00 a.m. EST, we’ll post a discussion question. When you leave a comment, you’ll
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My 5 year old memorized this Bible verse this week for Sunday School: Ephesians 4:32 It got me thinking that a nice Sunday feature to my Foreign Language Fun blog would be a multilingual Bible verse that kids can memorize in English, French, and/or Spanish. Today’s verse is the first half of Ephesians 4:32: Be
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A jolly, green-haired leopard named Zakumi is the official mascot of the 2010 FIFI World Cup in South Africa. The ZA in his name stands for South Africa, and KUMI means “ten” in various African languages. Find out more about Zakumi by visiting this page of the official FIFA website. Go to the top
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So, are your kids swept away with the Silly Bandz craze yet? I just read this article from Time Magazine about schools beginning to ban the colorful, fun rubber band shapes. Personally, I love them! Here at the “Foreign Language Fun House” I’m taking full advantage of my kids’ obsession. First, I sprung for a
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Turn your garden into a language lesson! My kids are growing some vegetables on the deck this year. Every single morning the four year-old runs outside to check on his pots. Luckily, beans grow at a quick pace that is satisfying to a preschooler. Check out our tomatoes, beans, and peppers: We started to learn
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Sorting recycling in a foreign language is an excellent lesson for Earth Day on April 22. You can count, sort, identify colors, and talk about materials (plastic, paper, etc.) Try using the natural approach of a Gouin Series to present language in context. A simple, novice-level ESL gouin might go something like this: It’s recycling
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I was just looking through my son’s Highlights magazine (www.Highlights.com) and I came across a fantastic game that can be effectively adapted to help kids practice numbers in Spanish, French, Chinese . . . any foreign language. In the March 2010 issue there’s an activity on pg. 38 by Jennifer Coleman called “Make 11.” Two
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null The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are finally here! One way to engage your French or English language learners is by reading about the Vancouver mascots on the official website. Just go to the French or English version of the site to meet Miga, Quatchi, and Sumi. I prepared worksheets for your students to
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