Teachers are engaged while also being reminded what it feels like to learn a different language.

 

 

Mustafa leads us in an Arabic lesson.

Today is Sunday and the feeling within the group is more relaxed. We started our seminar a little later than usual, and enjoyed a large brunch together. The focus of today was to tie together all of the pieces we have been discussing during the past week. We finished our conversations surrounding the 3 modes of communication, and had some time to work on our Integrated Performance Assessments. Built into this time was the opportunity to share with colleagues, brainstorm ideas, research authentic and relevant artifacts and materials, and develop appropriate activities that would assist with teaching of language through our thematic units. 

 

One thing not previously mentioned in our earlier blogs is the fact that each of the teachers within our group must present a “micro-teaching” lesson to the rest of us. Today our group was treated with two very different, yet very interesting lessons – both taught in Arabic. The lessons were engaging and very useful for those of us who don’t speak Arabic – to remind us of how our students feel many days in our classrooms. I won’t say that the Arabic was easy to pick up, but the two teachers did a great job of using a variety of engaging strategies to keep us, the learners, engaged, focused, and involved in learning the Arabic we needed to to be successful in their lessons. 

“What can I say about today? Incredibly enriching…a lot of interaction, exchange of opinions, questions about various topics, explanations, and pertinent discussions.” -Lamia, French as a second language teacher from Tunis, Tunisia