Language Residents

an archive of lesson plans

Category: Communication (Page 4 of 11)

About slang, proverbs and expressions, gestures and sounds, jokes, anecdotes, compliments, lies, apologies, pick-up lines, accents, grammar

ES F16 ADV Fake news

December 9, 2016 /

Language Resident Name: Tamara Olivos

Day and Date: September 20, 2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced Spanish

Class theme/topics discussed: current events

 

Goal of the class: To discuss pieces of news about Latin America and the world.


How did you structure the class?

 

Ice-breaker: Scategories: Individually we play this game. I select all the categories and they must fill them using a specific letter.

 

Acitivity 1: in small groups, I gave them headlines of real and fake news and they had to determine which ones were which and imagine what it was about. They shared their ideas. After this, they chose one or two headlines and I gave them the complete piece of news. They read it in groups and then shared a brief summary of it with the class

 

Activity 2: I show them a video from the website www.elmundotoday.com (a satirical news website), we discuss it and then go through the website.

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Printed material, pieces of news

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

 I use the Chilean website www.lalegal.cl and www.elmundotoday.com to get the fake news. They loved these!

 

 

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

 

Noticias verdaderas o falsas 20 min

A cada grupo de 5 personas les entregaré 5 títulos de noticias. Tienen que decidir cuáles son verdaderas y cuáles son falsas. De las verdaderas, tienen que pensar en el contenido de la noticia. Luego nos cuentan sus conclusiones y de qué creen que se trata la noticia.

 

10 min Luego, les entrego la noticia completa verdadera y deben leerla y comentarla con el resto de la clase. Deben darnos un resumen. Pueden elegir una noticia  falsa también y explicarla.

ES F16 ADV Comedy Monologue

December 9, 2016 /

Language Resident Name: Tamara Olivos

Day and Date: September 27, 2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced Spanish

Class theme/topics discussed: Humor Monologues

Goal of the class:

How did you structure the class?

 

We will discuss a monologue about “suitcases”. I introduce the topic by asking what they pack when they travel and how much they pack

We start reading the first paragraph of the handout and then we discuss what kind of text they think it is.

We continue to do this with the following paragraphs, stopping after each one for questions on vocabulary and comprehension (following the handout)

 

We watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy3nL51Nzr8 and discuss the differences between reading the monologue and watching it live.

 

In pairs they create a mini monologue.

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

They were really motivated and participated throughout the class.

The video was a bit too long.

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

monologo

DE F16 INT Describing and Paraphrasing

December 9, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

Day and Date: Monday, September 19, 2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Intermediate Conversation

Class theme/topics discussed:

Description of persons. Description of words. Recent campus events.

Goal of the class:

Students should discuss and talk as much as possible about familiar things. They also (re)learn how to describe people and talk about campus events.

How did you structure the class?

15-20 minutes: Warm-up taboo. Students get into two teams. Regular taboo rules, but the cards are preselected by the LR to eliminate words that are too hard to describe. Also – because this is a warm-up activity – the game is not played all the way through.

20-30 minutes: Students get in pairs. They draw a card from a deck (persons). Then one student describes the person to the other student. He/she tries to draw the person as exactly as possible. Then they take turns. The LR provides vocabulary so the students can describe the persons more easily. The students then present their descriptions first, then they show the original picture and the drawing. There is a prize for the picture that came closest to the original. Both the describer and the person drawing the card are expected to share the prize.

10 minutes: Turf-dinner. The students share how they experienced the turf dinner. How will they get involved? Why? Why not? How was the food? Something they disliked about the event?

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 Taboo game, pictures/drawings of persons, slips of paper so that the students can draw, maybe colored pencils.

What worked well in this class? What did not work? 

All the activities went very well!

How could this class be improved/modified?

I’d keep it as it is.

Personenbeschreibung

RU F16 ADV News From Around the World

December 9, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary 

Language Resident Name: Tatiana Ermolaeva 

Day and Date: Thursday, 09/08/2016 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Russian, Advanced 

Class theme/topics discussed: News from around the world

Goal of the class: practice and improve speaking skills on various topics with the accent on news discussion 

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm up/speaking practice – answering questions:

– If you could be any dessert, what would you be and why?

– If you could be any animal, what animal would you choose? Why?

– If you had to be a superhero, which one would you be? Why?

– If you could have any super power, which one would you have? Why?

– If you could be any character, who would you be? Why?

– If you had to describe yourself in 3 words, which ones would you choose and why?

– If your house were on fire and you only have time to save 3 objects, what would you save?

– What is the most beautiful thing in the world?

– If a movie star had to play you in a movie about your life, which movie star would be you?

– If your life were a song, what would the title be?

20 minutes.

  1. World news. Every student gets a short article in Russian on the recent discovery made in the world by scientist. The task is to read it, understand it and tell the news to everybody.

20 minutes

  1. Expressing your opinion.

– What news was the most unexpected one?

– What news did you like more?

– What would you suggest scientists to explore in the nearest future?

– Is there any interesting news you’ve heard lately?

10 minutes

  1. Wrap up. If time is left listen to the song that was popular this summer in my town.

Pre-listening questions:

  • How many times does the “будильник” word is repeated? (2)
  • What fairy tale personage is mentioned in the song? (Спящая красавица)
  • What request is used in the song? (разбудить)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwxTUXB8peI

Fill in the blanks (Handout 2).

10 minutes

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Handouts, internet

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The class went well. The reading part was a bit challenging as it’s authentic material but the students did great.

How could this class be improved/ modified? 

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

 

Handout 1

Оказывается, жизнь у моря может улучшить психическое здоровье

Группа исследователей из Университета Кентербери в Новой Зеландии и Университета штата Мичиган на примере жителей города Веллингтона выяснили, как проживание вблизи океана сказывается на психическом состоянии людей. После учета таких факторов, как уровень дохода, возраст и пол, был сделан вывод: люди, живущие в домах с видом на океан, менее подвержены душевным проблемам, чем все остальные.

Оказывается, благоприятное воздействие связано не с близостью к природе в целом, а именно с близостью к океану. Проживание рядом с парком или лесом не вызывает такого эффекта. Вот как в своем заявлении соавтор исследования Эмбер Пирсон (Amber Pearson) объясняет этот феномен: «Морские районы не подвергались значительному изменению, в то время как в лесных зонах есть спортивные площадки и прочие объекты, построенные человеком. Если бы это были нетронутые леса, то мы, возможно, получили бы другие результаты».

Ученые намерены продолжить исследование других мест, где есть крупные водоемы — например такие, как Великие озера. Они надеются, что глубокое понимание окружающей среды и ее влияния на наше здоровье поможет нам правильнее строить свою жизнь.

https://www.adme.ru/zhizn-nauka/okazyvaetsya-zhizn-u-morya-mozhet-uluchshit-psihicheskoe-zdorove-1286665/

 

Ученые выяснили, что собаки понимают все, что мы им говорим

Описывая свои выводы в журнале Science, ученые показывают, что собаки используют те же области мозга для распознавания слов, что и человек.

Для исследования 13 питомцев были обучены лежать неподвижно внутри МРТ-сканера, в то время как они слушали голоса своих владельцев.

Собаки слышали слова похвалы, произнесенные с положительной интонацией, эти же слова с нейтральной интонацией и затем то же самое, только с нейтральными словами.

Оказалось, что левое полушарие способно различать значение слов независимо от их интонации. Это означает, что собаки могут различать слова на слух — как положительные, так и нейтральные — с любой интонацией и понимать их значение.

В то же время область правого полушария отвечает за понимание интонации и как бы эмоционально дополняет воспринятые слова.

Один из авторов исследования Атилла Эндикс (Atilla Andics) объяснил: это исследование показывает, что собачий мозг «не только анализирует то, что мы говорим и как мы это делаем, но и объединяет в себе два типа информации, чтобы передать единый смысл».

Поэтому разговаривайте почаще со своим питомцем, ведь это отличный слушатель.

https://www.adme.ru/zhizn-nauka/uchenye-vyyasnili-chto-sobaki-ponimayut-vse-chto-my-im-govorim-1349765/

 

В США напечатали первый в мире автобус на 3D-принтере

Автобус работает на электричестве и полностью безопасен для окружающей среды, а за «мозги» отвечает уникальная самообучающаяся программа IBM Watson.

Машину назвали Олли. Это умный автомобиль: водитель ему не нужен, он выбирает дорогу сам.

Кроме того, его можно вызвать с помощью приложения на телефоне и предложить иной маршрут.

Как и любой другой автобус, он рассчитан на перевозку людей. Помимо этого, создатели предлагают использовать такой автомобиль в качестве передвижной комнаты для встреч и даже как кафе на колесах.

Он может принять на борт 12 человек, а в пути поделиться информацией о близлежащих ресторанах и других местах развлечений.

Команда, работавшая над созданием Олли, обещает: восстания машин не предвидится, за всеми действиями автомобиля следят операторы в режиме онлайн, хотя в автобусе с пассажирами разговаривает робот

https://www.adme.ru/zhizn-nauka/v-ssha-napechatali-pervyj-v-mire-avtobus-na-3d-printere-1301265/

 

Нашелся отличный и приятный способ эффективно снимать стресс

Психологи не раз утверждали: если пара предпочитает спать в обнимку, то это говорит о по-настоящему теплых и доверительных отношениях. Что ж, оказалось, что такой сон еще и очень полезен!

Исследователи из Университета Питтсбурга пришли к выводу, что сон в обнимку с любимым человеком снижает уровень кортизола — гормона стресса — в крови. Скорее всего, это происходит потому, что в такие моменты люди чувствуют себя в максимальной безопасности. Тем временем повышенный уровень кортизола может способствовать развитию болезней сердца, депрессии и ослаблению иммунитета.

Также ученые отметили, что такой сон содействует выработке окситоцина — «гормона любви», помогающего устанавливать привязанности. К тому же этот гормон стимулирует иммунную систему и даже может улучшить работу пищеварения.

Наверняка найдется еще не одна причина, чтобы каждый вечер засыпать в сладких объятиях близкого человека. Так что любовь — это не только приятная, но и чертовски полезная штука!

https://www.adme.ru/zhizn-nauka/nashelsya-otlichnyj-i-priyatnyj-sposob-effektivno-snimat-stress-1319765/

 

Ученые выяснили, что любители чтения живут дольше остальных

В Школе общественного здоровья Йельского университета подвели итоги большого исследования о влиянии чтения на продолжительность жизни. В исследовании, которое продолжалось целых 12 лет, принимали участие 3,6 тысячи пожилых мужчин и женщин. Среди них были самые разные люди — от заядлых любителей чтения до тех, кто прикасается к книгам только во время уборки.

Выяснилось, что люди, которые любят читать и регулярно это делают, живут в среднем на 2 года дольше всех остальных. Среди пенсионеров, которые привыкли проводить за книгой от 3,5 часа в неделю и больше, риск смерти в ближайшие 12 лет на 20% меньше, чем среди всех остальных пожилых людей.

Интересно, что «книжная терапия» работает для всех, независимо от уровня дохода, профессии, семейного положения, расы и удовлетворенности жизнью. Помогают дольше жить именно книги. У людей, предпочитающих газеты и журналы, результаты были не такие впечатляющие.

Известно, что чтение — самый эффективный способ снизить стресс и отвлечься от повседневных забот. Оно позволяет мозгу дольше оставаться молодым и повышает уровень интеллекта, увеличивая число нервных связей в мозгу. Привычка к чтению отодвигает старость и болезнь Альцгеймера. Она помогает бороться с депрессией, улучшает социальные навыки и творческие способности.

https://www.adme.ru/tvorchestvo-pisateli/uchenye-vyyasnili-chto-lyubiteli-chteniya-zhivut-dolshe-ostalnyh-1334965/

 

Ученые доказали: ночной сон больше полезен женщинам, чем мужчинам

Крепкий и здоровый сон идет на пользу всем. А еще хороший ночной сон помогает улучшить мыслительные способности, но только в том случае, если вы… женщина.

Как выяснили немецкие ученые, это обусловлено различиями в структуре головного мозга мужчин и женщин, а также гормональными изменениями, происходящими в течение дня.

Ученые из Института Макса Планка в Мюнхене изучили сон 72 женщин и 88 мужчин. Они зафиксировали, что во время медленной фазы сна в головном мозге наблюдаются всплески активности, или «веретена сна» — те самые, что отвечают за связь с интеллектом. Обнаружены они были только у женщин.

Участниками другого эксперимента стали 86 мужчин, которые вздремнули примерно на 100 минут после обеда. Была обнаружена та же связь между всплесками активности мозга и интеллектом, как и во время ночного сна у женщин. Вероятнее всего, мужские и женские гормоны ведут себя по-разному, и, как результат, эффективность сна меняется в зависимости от времени суток.

Пожалуй, это отличный повод как следует выспаться в следующий выходной день.

https://www.adme.ru/zhizn-nauka/uchenye-dokazali-nochnoj-son-bolshe-polezen-zhenschinam-chem-muzhchinam-1315265/

 

Handout 2

[Куплет 1]:

Мой будильник сходит с ума, когда я _________________________.

Ведь она не понимает, что я не люблю.

Просыпаться рано ________________________ для меня бывает трудно;

Эти первые минуты – просто беда.

Так не хочется вставать. Дай мне 5 минут.

Тебя я крепко обниму, дела подождут.

Нас с тобой не будет мучить, мой мобильный

На беззвучном. Недоступен пока.

Открывай глаза “Спящая ___________________________________”.

Поцелуй меня, ведь нам это нравится.

В памяти моей эта ночь останется.

Очень жаль, что это был _________________________________

Припев:

Ты буди-буди-буди, пока крутишь бигуди.

На работу к девяти, зачем тебя я заводил?

Ты буди-буди-буди, пока крутишь ______________________________.

На учебу к девяти, и тебе пора идти.

Ты буди-буди-буди, пока крутишь бигуди.

На работу ______   ______________________, зачем тебя я заводил?

Ты буди-буди-буди, пока крутишь бигуди.

На учебу к девяти, и тебе пора идти.

[Куплет 2]:

Мой будильник __________________     ____    __________________, её пойму –

Ведь сегодня опоздать просто не могу.

Чтоб не проспать – завожу её снова и снова;

Пускай весь мир подождет, мы останемся ____________________________!

Открывай глаза “Спящая Красавица”.

Поцелуй меня, ведь нам это ________________________________.

В памяти моей эта ночь останется.

Очень жаль, что это был ____________________________

Припев:

Ты буди-буди-буди, пока крутишь бигуди.

На работу к девяти, зачем тебя я _________________________________?

Ты буди-буди-буди, пока крутишь бигуди.

На учебу к девяти, и тебе ________________________     _________________________.

Ты буди-буди-буди, пока крутишь бигуди.

На работу к девяти, зачем тебя я заводил?

Ты буди-буди-буди, пока крутишь бигуди.

На учебу к девяти, и тебе пора идти.

Ты ___________, _____________, ________________…

Ты ___________, _____________, ________________…                                            2 раза

DE F16 ADV German colloquial language/slang and its usage

December 9, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

 Day and Date: Thursday, September 8, 2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed:

German colloquial language/slang and its usage

Goal of the class:

After the lesson students should have learned basic ways to sound more German: basic shortenings of expressions, slang and alteration of sentence structures while speaking German.

How did you structure the class?

15-20 minutes: The students each receive one or two slips of paper with English expressions/filler words. They try to describe, what function the respective filler word has. The LR helps in explaining the German usage or word for it.

10-15 minutes: The students get in groups of two. They tell each other how their days of the week went (or what their last essay was about, what they learned in the last lesson) and use as much of these filler words as possible. They should also try to explain certain things. After that, they should present their “filler word”-stories to the class.

20-25 minutes: Idiom taboo. Students receive each a paper slip with an idiom (in English). They try to explain their idiom to the other person. They should also attempt to translate it as much as possible to see later if it matches the “official translation”. Quick groups receive more sheets. 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Whiteboard to write down mentioned vocabulary, paper slips for the Idiom taboo, paper slips with the filler words.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Everything worked as expected. Students were very motivated to engage in class and were really interested about the colloquial sentence structures. 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 I would keep it as it is.

 

RU F16 INT Discussion on Varied Topics

December 9, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Tatiana Ermolaeva 

Day and Date: Wednesday, 09/28/2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Russian, Intermediate 

Class theme/topics discussed: Discussion on varied topics

Goal of the class: practicing speaking skills 

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm up. Questions board game (Handout 1). A student rolls the die and moves the marker to the correct place. Then a student reads the question out loud and answers it. Student gives the die to the person sitting on the right. The person who gets the finish first wins.

15 minutes

  1. Discussion. Each student chooses a piece of paper with a topic on it (Handout 2). He/she has 3 minutes to prove to the other students the importance of this thing for mankind. The other students should bring counterarguments.

20 minutes

  1. 10 ways to say you don’t care in Russian (Handout 3). Read the article and discuss. Make you own sentence with the vocabulary from the article.

http://blogs.transparent.com/russian/10-ways-to-say-you-dont-care-in-russian/

20 minutes

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Handouts

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The class went well; students talked a lot. I had a student who didn’t want to participate and I had to make him talk.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

For the second task the students decided that they want to make others guess what they were talking about so it turned out to be even more fun!

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

Handout 1

Начало Что ты любишь делать в свободное время?

ààà

 Сколько чашек кофе в день ты пьешь? Что ты любишь смотреть по телевизору?

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Как часто ты ходишь в кино?

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 Сколько раз в неделю у тебя курс русского языка? Где ты завтракаешь? Куда ты ходишь гулять?

<-<-<-
Куда ты ходишь за покупками? Что ты делаешь по вечерам в пятницу?

->->->

 Что ты ешь на ужин? Во сколько ты ложишься спать?

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Куда ты ездишь на праздники?

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 Какая у тебя людимая еда? Где живет твой лучший друг? Куда ты ходишь в выходные?

<-<-<-
Какую одежду ты любишь носить? Как часто ты видишься с друзьями?

->->->

 Во сколько ты встаешь в воскресенье утром? Сколько времени ты делаешь домашнюю работу?

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Конец Кем ты хочешь работать? Куда ты ходишь, чтобы отдохнуть? Какой твой любимый цвет?

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Handout 2

цветы Нью-Йорк опера корабли
пластиковые ложки открытки на день рождения паспорт часы
Современное искусство детективные романы школы носки
бумага пекарня застежка на молнии колесо

 

Handout 3

10 Ways To Say You Don’t Care In Russian

Russian has many ways to say you don’t care about something. They range from neutral to decidedly low-register to downright vulgar.

Normally, we say “[adjective/noun in the dative case] + всё равно́” to mean “I don’t care.”

Мне всё равно, куда́ идти́.

Note that “всё равно” is followed by a subordinate clause. Literally, it means “It’s all the same (to someone).”

A more formal way of saying this is “[dative] + безразли́чно” — “makes no difference to someone.” Note that “безразлично” is used similarly to “всё равно” to introduce a subordinate clause. In addition, безразлично can refer to a noun (something you don’t care about), in which case it has to agree with that noun in gender and number.

Пото́м мы по-пре́жнему и́зредка ви́делись, она́ мне нра́вилась, и, как мне каза́лось, я то́же ей не был безразли́чен, хотя́ она́ не подава́ла ви́ду. 

  1. По бараба́ну

A colloquial way of saying you don’t care is [dative] + по бараба́ну. Бараба́н is a drum.

Нам тут всем по барабану, что в Москве́ о нас напи́шут. (All of us here couldn’t care less what they write about us in Moscow.) 

  1. Фиоле́тово

“Фиоле́товый” is the Russian word for the color purple. Its derivative adverb, фиоле́тово, is thought to refer to the purple color of the neutral litmus test.

― От того́, что бу́дет про меня́ говори́ть типи́чный москви́ч, мне абсолю́тно “фиоле́тово”.

  1. Паралле́льно

This is an adverb that, literally, means “parallel.” The idea is that if something is “parallel” to you, you don’t cross paths, so you have nothing to do with it.

Э́тому чува́ку вообще́ всё паралле́льно (This dude doesn’t care about anything).

  1. Плева́ть

This verb means “to spit.” To say you don’t care, you can say “мне плева́ть на + accusative noun.” This colloquial turn of phrase is a bit more established in the general language and appears in general dictionaries. You could also say “Плевать, что…” to introduce a subordinate clause.

Плевать на жену́, лишь бы де́ти бы́ли дово́льны! (Who cares about the wife as long as the kids are happy).

  1. до ла́мпочки

Лампа is the diminutive of ла́мпа (lamp) and usually means “light bulb.” [Noun/pronoun in dative] + до ла́мпочки is yet another synonym of “I don’t care.”

Я прошу́ их помо́чь мне, но им всё до ла́мпочки (I’m asking them to help me, but they don’t care about anything).

  1. до фе́ни

“До фе́ни” works the same way as “до ла́мпочки” in that it is followed by the person in the dative case. As most words on this list, this is a slang expression that should not be used in formal situations.

Ему́ все до фе́ни, лишь бы буты́лки сдать (He doesn’t care about anything other than returning bottles).

  1. до фонаря́

Фона́рь is a lantern or a street light. The etymology of this expression is disputed, but it is considered a variation of “мне до ла́мпочки.” Grammatically, it is followed by a noun/pronoun in the dative case, like many of its synonyms.

Пра́вда, тако́му челове́ку, как она́, все эти бана́льности до фонаря́ (Actually, a person like her doesn’t care about these trivial things).

  1. по́ фигу

Yet another synonym is по́ фигу + dative. You may also come across this slang word spelled по́фиг or по́фигу. Фи́га is the Russian for “fig (tree).” Фига is also the non-offensive gesture meaning “You’re not getting anything.”

― Мне то́же ра́ньше бы́ло стра́шно. А сейча́с ― по́ фигу. 

  1. чиха́ть

Чиха́ть is literally “to sneeze.” This word is followed by the person in the dative case + на + the thing they don’t care about in the accusative case.

Изве́стно ли вам, что есть лю́ди, кото́рые воспринима́ют шу́тки сли́шком серье́зно? ― […] Но мне чиха́ть на э́тих серье́зных, прости́те!

 

 

 

 

 

RU F16 INT Giving and Following Directions

December 9, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 Language Resident Name: Tatiana Ermolaeva

Day and Date: Wednesday, 09/07/2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Russian, Intermediate

Class theme/topics discussed: Directions vocabulary

Goal of the class: to memorize the patterns of giving directions through the game; to make them feel like a team where every one trusts and respects each other

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm up. Catch the ball. The aim of the game is to tell an embarrassing or secret fact about you when catching a ball. 10 min
  2. Introducing the vocabulary to give directions (направо, налево, вперед, назад)

5 min

  1. Trust Walk Teambuilding activity.

There’s a labyrinth on the floor made of the blue tape. The class is divided into pairs. One person doesn’t see anything; the other person has to guide him/her to come to the finish line. Then they change their roles. If they step on the tape, they have to start over again.

35 min

  1. Discussion of the activity:

– What was it like to be the guide?

– What do you think was the purpose of this activity?

– Did you have any difficulty trusting your partner while blindfolded? Why or why not?

– Why is it important to trust your teammates?

– How did it feel when you successfully completed the task?

– Was it hard to work as a team? Why or why not?

10 min

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Blue tape, whiteboard, a ball

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

I can tell now already that it’s one of the best lessons in this class. I had to modify it a little bit as the number of people was not even so 2 people were giving directions in turns and 1 person was following them. They changed their roles when someone moved too far and stepped on the blue tape. The game was vey exciting and challenging for them.

Advice: don’t forget about a back up activity in case the game will over faster (if the students are good at giving directions in Russian).

How could this class be improved/ modified? 

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

An example of the Trust Walk for activity 3:

picture1 

ES S16 INT Job Interviews

May 6, 2016 /

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Spanish Intermediate

Class theme/topics discussed: Job interviews

 

Goal of the class: To learn vocabulary and to learn how to act in a job interview in Spanish

How did you structure the class?

Activity 1: to introduce the vocabulary I will give some students a word and others students will have a concept. They have to match the word with its concept by talking with their classmates. (see attachment)

Activity 2: We watch a video about a job interview and comment it as a class.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKsyFrHSqC0

Activity 3: We watch a second video, a less serious one, a comment it as a class as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAoWdQa1hzo

 

Activity 4: We try to come up with the structure of an interview, what language they use.

Activity 5: Role playing. In pairs they will get one situation. They must act out an interview and deal with the problem written on their card. After this, so they can change roles, they will act out another card.

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The first video was a little dark but they enjoyed the second one. They were very into the roleplaying.

The first activity was harder than I expected, I had to help them a lot and we ended up doing it as a class instead of everyone finding the answers on their own.

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that). Please attach any handouts as well.

 Lesson Summary Apr 13 copy

DE SP16 ADV Finding topics (1st class)

May 6, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Charlotte Eisenblaetter

 

Day and Date: Tuesday, 19 January ‘16

  

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German advanced

 

Class theme/topics discussed: Introduction and ice-breakers

 

Goal of the class: To get to know each other, assess students’ interests

 

How did you structure the class?

 

  • 2 truths and a lie: students tell three facts about themselves, of which one must be false. The other students try to guess what is wrong. (10 min)
  • Selecting topics of conversation and discussing which is interesting: Students get 14 cards with possible topics in the conversation class, e.g. German-American relations, culture, news, history, etc. They each pick 4 of them and explain why they find these topics interesting. They reveal interests and hobbies, course of studies etc. (30 min)
  • I asked the students what kind of topics they would like to add. They added some topics related to American politics. (10 min)
  • Class agreement and announcement of the welcome party. General advice on going to the language tables and information on my website, upcoming events. (10 min)

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 

Flashcards with topics written on them (see Lesson Plan and also German lounge folder “advanced”)

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

 

Both students are pretty good at speaking, so the flow was very dynamic and I did not have any problem to fill the hour even though they are only two students in the class. Selecting topics worked very well because it gave me an idea of their interests and it gave a lot of opportunities to ask further questions about their hobbies, stories etc.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 

The first game: 2 truths and a lie. Instead of guessing, students should ask tricky questions in order to make the student reveal what is not true by answering vaguely.

 

Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan 19. Januar

DE SP16 ADV Carnival speech

May 6, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Charlotte Eisenblaetter

 

Day and Date: Tuesday, 9 February ‘16

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German advanced

 

 Class theme/topics discussed: Die Büttenrede (Carnival speech in Germany)

 

Goal of the class: Writing a funny speech and rhyming about Pomona college

 

How did you structure the class?

 

  • Warm-up: I gave them some rhyming words and they had to come up with two lines for each pair. (10 min)
  • I explained to them what a “Büttenrede” is and that at carnival, people make funny speeches about things that the audience can relate to, like institutions, places and people. Then I asked them to think of typical places and persons representing Pomona college and interesting characteristics of these. From this information, we started to make rhyming couples and wrote a little speech. (50 min)

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Paper and pen

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

 

This worked great! The students told me that they had a lot of fun.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 

For intermediate, you could also write a speech. But instead of rhyming, you set a rule that each sentence has to start with the last word of the sentence before.

Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan advanced 9. februar 

 

 

 

RU SP16 ADV Social Networks in Russia

May 6, 2016 /

Language Resident Name: Tatiana Ermolaeva

Day and Date: Thursday, 01/21/2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Russian, Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed: Social Networks in Russia

Goal of the class: to introduce social networks used in Russia; discuss advantages and disadvantages of social networks in the world in general

How did you structure the class?
1. Warm up. First time the students just listen to the “song” and try to find out what is going on in the video. For the second time they watch it and should be able to guess what we’re going to discuss. http://rutube.ru/video/4fd7c75ec003c5b2f7de3b9da2e985ae/

5 minutes
2. Quick discussion:
What social networks popular in Russia do you know?
Do you have an account in any of them? Are you an active user there? What do you use it for? (example, talking to Russian friends, following the events in Russia, sharing your photos with Russian friends)
5 minutes
3. Introduction of the Russian social networks. And I also show to the students how the pages at different social networks look like.
15 minutes
4. Discussion: advantages and disadvantages of using social networks.
Students write statements on the board in two columns, then we discuss it together.
15-20 minutes
5. Wrap up. Video about internet and social networks from a famous Russian comedian:
http://rutube.ru/video/a03c459ff636505c14271d0652421aba/
8 minutes
6. Conversation Class Agreement.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)
Internet, TV
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
The lesson went very well! The students seemed to be really interested in the topic and they were very engaging during the conversation. Both videos worked great.
How could this class be improved/ modified?

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that). Please attach any handouts as well.
CC RUS13 Summary 2

RU SP16 INT Introductory lesson

May 6, 2016 /

Language Resident Name: Tatiana Ermolaeva

Day and Date: Wednesday, 01/19/2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Russian, Intermediate

Class theme/topics discussed: Introduction lesson

Goal of the class: to get acquainted with the students and make them learn something new about each other

How did you structure the class?
1. General questions on how they spend the day, what courses they take this semester, how they spent their winter break
8-10 minutes.
2. The game “Human Bingo”.
Every student gets a piece of paper with a bingo chart on it. The boxes are filled in with the phrases. The task is to find a student who answers “yes” to the statement from the box. Wins the one who get a bingo combination with names first.
15 minutes
3. Tags on back. Names of famous people (not necessarily Russian) are written on a piece of paper and put into students’ back. Students must ask each other yes/no questions about the personality on his/her back (the other students can see the name) until he/she guess the personality.
15-20 minutes
4. Discussing topics for the new semester.
5 minutes

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

What worked well in this class? What did not work?
The games took more time than I expected. In general the lesson went ok though most of the students are still not so enthusiastic about learning Russian and keep on switching into English.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that). Please attach any handouts as well.

Handout for task 2. Human Bingo

CC RUS11 Summary 1

DE SP16 INT Reading a city map interactively

May 6, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Charlotte Eisenblaetter

 

 Day and Date: Wednesday, 3 February ‘16

  

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German intermediate

 

 Class theme/topics discussed: Reading a city map

 

 Goal of the class: To practice the preposition “zu”, to name different places in a city, like theater, parking spot, crossroad, etc.

 

How did you structure the class?

 

  • My German language fellow came to class and introduced the fellow program at Mason Hall. We talked also about the upcoming FLRC Open House and Oldenborg Open House. (10 min)
  • I put a large map of Berlin on the table, in which metro stations, sights, and public places were indicated (a typical tourist map of Berlin). Each student had a figure from a board game to mark a place in the city. Students said sentences like “Go to a parking lot”, and every student looked for a parking lot on the map to put their own figure on. Then the next student called another category, and everyone searched again. (50 min)

 

 What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 

A tourist map of Berlin

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

 

This worked really well. Students were very creative and wanted to learn all the symbols on the map. The acitivity went on for more than 45 min and it was so simple.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 

This could also work for beginners. Works with any city map (even of L.A., if you don’t have a large German city plan here).

 

 

 

DE 13 FS15 Adv. Soul Kitchen

December 11, 2015 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Charlotte Eisenblaetter

 

 

Day and Date: Thursday, 1 October 2015

 

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German advanced

 

 

Class theme/topics discussed: Movie “Soul Kitchen”

 

 

 

Goal of the class: To practice fluency and listening comprehension

 

 

 

How did you structure the class?

 

  1. Activity: I showed them the first 6 minutes of the movie “Soul Kitchen” without sound. The students exchanged seats: one facing the screen and describing, one turning backwards to the screen and listening to the other student. Every minute they exchanged seats. (10 min)
  2. I watched the first 6 minutes again without sound, this time both students could see the screen. After that, I asked them to tell me what characters they remembered from the scenes and how they might be related. (10 min)
  3. We watched the 6 minutes again with sound and they had a bingo chart with words from the scenes. They should listen for these words and try to find a row of four words. We watched part of the scenes twice because they had to listen again before they recognized enough words. (15 min)
  4. We analyzed a scene of 2 minutes (both sound and pictures) and I stopped the scene repeatedly, asking the students to explain what had been said/ seen. We watched the scene 3 times. (15 min)
  5. We talked about the class project again and found a better topic, deciding on a cook book. We plan to go through the cook books in German lounge together next week.

 

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 

Movie from Youtube (“Soul Kitchen”, Fatih Akin, Adam Bousdoukos, 2009). Handout with bingo grit.

 

Link to movie:

Movie Soul Kitchen

 

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

 

The describing part (Activity 1) was really fun and they enjoyed it. They had to talk fast and think less about vocabulary. It would have been useful to have a script for the movie since it was hard to understand the dialogues for them. However, the most important part was not understanding the content, but producing and recognizing speech.

 

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 

Skip the second showing of the first 6 minutes without sound; it took too much time. Have a dialogue from the movie printed out and let students act it out themselves. Then watch the scene.

 

 

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that). Please attach any handouts as well.

Lesson Plan Soul Kitchen

Handout Soul Kitchen

RU F15 ADV Everyday Life

December 11, 2015 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Tatiana Ermolaeva
Day and Date: Thursday, 12/03/2015
Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Russian, Advanced
Class theme/topics discussed: Everyday life
Goal of the class: spontaneous speech practice

How did you structure the class?
1. Warm up. Dice talk.
Students throw dice. The number on it corresponds to the number of the topics on the list below:
1. What is your biggest dream?
2. How do you make friends with people?
3. Tell about the book you’ve recently read.
4. What would you like to change in the world?
5. What would you do if you won 1 billion $?
6. What places would you like to visit?
7. Would you change anything in your life if you could?
8. What is your most pleasant memory?
9. What is your favorite holiday? Why?
10. What bothers you most of all in present moment?
10 minutes
2. Guess what the movie is about
a) http://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/839253/
Listen to the trailer (no video). Try to find out what the movie is going to be about. Develop the story. Watch the trailer again with the video this time. Does it correspond to the story you’ve invented?
b) http://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/840258/
Watch the trailer without sound this time. Try to guess what the movie is about. Watch the video for the second time with the sound.
20 minutes
3. Look at the pictures of my friends and try to guess what their life looks like.
20 minutes.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)
Internet, TV, dice

What worked well in this class? What did not work?
The warm up activity worked great (thanks to the previous Japanese LR for the idea with the dice!). I chose questions that can be developed into serious and long conversations so the students were able to talk a lot but not endlessly. It’s a great exercise for spontaneous speech in a target language (if questions are adequate). As to the other tasks, they were not so exciting for the students though one of them now wants to watch one of the Russian movies that I showed a trailer of. In general the class went well.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that). Please attach any handouts as well.

Questions for the 1st task:
1. Расскажи о своей самой заветной мечте.
2. Как ты заводишь друзей?
3. Расскажи о книге, которую ты недавно прочел.
4. Что ты хотел бы изменить в мире?
5. Что ты бы сделал, если бы выиграл 1 миллион долларов?
6. Какие места ты бы хотел посетить?
7. Изменил бы ты что-либо в своей жизни, если бы мог?
8. Расскажи о своем самом приятном воспоминании.
9. Какой твой любимый праздник? Почему?
10. Что тебя беспокоит больше всего в данный момент?

RU F15 ADV Stereotypes about Russia and Russians

December 11, 2015 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Tatiana Ermolaeva
Day and Date: Thursday, 09/10/2015
Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Russian, Advanced
Class theme/topics discussed: Stereotypes about Russians and Russia
Goal of the class: to find out the stereotypes American people have about Russian and vice versa.

How did you structure the class?
1. Warm up. Brainstorm on what stereotypes Americans have about Russian people. 5 minutes
2. Watch the video on how would a film about Russians look like if it was shot in Hollywood. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5KYZb178kI
Discuss what stereotypes are included in this video (enumerate them one by one); which of them to the students’ opinion might be true?
Discuss what stereotypes do people have about Americans.
25 minutes.

3. Watch commercials and guess which stereotypes about Russia and Russian people are used in them.
http://golbis.com/pin/this-is-russia-10-stereotipov-o-rossii-v-reklame-globalnyih-brendov/#.VfE0vrRTDbo
20 minutes

4. Wrap up. The video about what Americans find strange about Russian homes.

4 minutes.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)
Internet, laptop, TV, handouts

What worked well in this class? What did not work?
The class went well, students talked about stereotypes with pleasure. We had laughed a lot as well. They also shared their experience of staying in Russia and confirming or ruining the stereotypes.
How could this class be improved/ modified?

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that). Please attach any handouts as well.

Text for the task #3
Стереотипы в рекламе
1. Huawei Honor 3. Телефон для России
Cтереотип: в России все вопросы решаются силой
Невероятную популярность ролик приобрёл благодаря истории о типичных русских бандитах из 90-х, пытающихся «выбить» информацию из молодого человека в офисной одежде. Во время разборки клерка окунают в чан с водой, но разговор по понятиям прерывает телефонный звонок. Смартфон в кармане жертвы оказался водонепроницаемым, что вызвало интерес у главаря банды. В результате разборка заканчивается фотосессией.
2. Nissan Almera. Машина для российских дорог
Cтереотип: в России плохие дороги
Если автомобиль купят в России, значит, он будет ездить по плохим дорогам. Эту довольно очевидную мысль взяло себе на заметку сетевое рекламное агентство TBWA\Moscow в 2013 году и разработало кампанию для автомобильного бренда Nissan под названием «Забудьте о плохих дорогах».
3. Audi. Любые условия — идеальные условия
Cтереотип: в России очень холодно
Благодатную тему плохих дорог и тяжёлых погодных условий автомобильные бренды используют довольно часто. Креативное агентство Instinct (BBDO Group) показало в рекламном ролике системы постоянного полного привода Audi Quattro настоящую русскую зиму. Главный посыл — эти системы идеально адаптируются к российской действительности, поэтому на Audi вы вернётесь домой к ужину в любой мороз и по любой дороге.
4. Nike. Just do it – Play Russian
Cтереотип: в России живут сильные духом люди
В преддверии Олимпиады спортивный бренд Nike запустил рекламную кампанию Play Russian. На экране опять суровая русская зима, но главным объектом внимания на этот раз становится невероятная сила духа и стремление спортсменов к победе любой ценой. Одним словом, русская зима закаляет людей, делает их сильнее и позволяет играть по-русски.
5. IKEA. Отдыхайте за границей дома
Cтереотип: русские любят отдыхать на даче
Загорать на траве, жарить шашлыки, поливать друг друга из шланга и не прерывать отдых на природе, несмотря на дождь, — таковы правила русской дачи. За роликом о летнем отдыхе россиян на их любимом курорте IKEA Россия обратилась к агентству Instinct и получила знакомую многим картинку.
6. Snickers. Хорошо, что не все мечты сбываются
Стереотип: все мальчики в 90-х мечтали стать бизнесменами
В 2011 году компания Mars отмечала 20 лет со дня выхода батончиков Mars, Snickers и Twix на российский рынок. К этой дате рекламное агентство BBDO Moscow подготовило для компании несколько рекламных роликов про то, о чём мечтали дети 20 лет назад. В рекламе Snickers мальчик, чьё детство пришлось на 90-е, рассказывает о том, как мечтает стать бизнесменом, торговать видиками и носить крутую кожаную куртку, когда вырастет.
7. Mars. Хорошо, что не все мечты сбываются
Cтереотип: все девочки в 90-х мечтали выйти замуж за бизнесмена
Ещё один ролик кампании — реклама батончика Mars. Он повествует о том, как светловолосая девочка с бантом, к счастью, не стала секретарём и не ходит на дискотеки в розовых лосинах, как мечтала.
8. Lay’s. From Russia от бабушки
Cтереотип: русские бабушки не дадут замёрзнуть и проголодаться
В 2011 году рекламное агентство BBDO Moscow запустило рекламную кампанию чипсов Lay’s со вкусом малосольных огурцов и укропа. Её лицом стал бывший капитан российской сборной по футболу Андрей Аршавин. В ролике рассказывается о том, как бабушка прислала любимому внуку Андрюше в далёкую Великобританию тёплую спортивную форму и картошечку с огурчиками и укропом.
9. Google. Для тех, кто любит читать
Cтереотип: Россия — самая читающая страна в мире
Ролик Google из цикла «То, что вы любите» рассказывает о том, как продукты компании помогают любителям литературы. Если верить стереотипам, в России любителей литературы особенно много. В ностальгическом ролике появляются кадры, напоминающие те времена, когда за книгами в России выстраивались очереди. В рекламе снялись писательница Виктория Токарева и её внучка Екатерина Тодоровская.
10. Hitachi в России. Непонятно
Cтереотип: русские ничего не понимают в технологиях
Этот ролик можно было увидеть на японских телеканалах в 2012 году. Компания Hitachi сняла добрую, но в то же время ироничную рекламу о своём сотрудничестве с Россией. Японский представитель пытается наглядно объяснить российским товарищам, как работает продукция Hitachi, но на его уточнение «понятно?» получает единогласное «нет». В то же время в ролике можно увидеть пример идеального российского тимбилдинга с дружескими кулачными боями и баней.

DE 13 FS15 Adv. Commercials

December 11, 2015 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Charlotte Eisenblaetter

 

Day and Date: Tuesday, 8 September

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German advanced

 

Class theme/topics discussed: Commercial language and commercials in general

 

Goal of the class: Understand and analyze German TV commercial spots

 

How did you structure the class?

 

First activity: Smalltalk with my two students, telling them some German commercial slogans and see if they recognize them (5 minutes)

 

Second Activity: I showed several German commercial TV spots on Youtube (Bueno chocolate bar, Krombacher, Warsteiner, Ritter Sport chocolate, Edeka… and asked them to identify adjectives used in the commercial and special strategies of the companies to make their product look good. (20 minutes)

 

Second activity: I gave them three objects from my apartment (instant coffee, shampoo) etc. and asked them to make up an advertising for one of them. (5 minutes)

 

Third activity: I asked them general questions about their opinion on commercials, whether they pay attention to commercials, whether they think that commercials help people make decisions and we talked about various topics until the end of the lesson. (30 minutes)

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 

Wordlist on handout

 

Youtube videos, products from my apartment (instant coffee, shampoo, a cushion)

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

 

It was fun to watch the commercials and make fun about their strategies.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 

Give some more theoretical input in form of a podcast to make the discussion a bit more profound (less superficial). I had planned to do this, but felt that it was more important to keep them talking.

 

 

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that). Please attach any handouts as well.

Lesson Plan Commercials

 

ES F15 ADV Telenovelas

December 11, 2015 /

Class theme/topics discussed: telenovelas

Goal of the class: to learn specific vocabulary about the topic

How did you structure the class?

To introduce the topic we brainstorm about the key characteristics of a telenovela. What are the common topics etc.

Activity 1: In pairs, while one student is facing the TV and the other faces the opposite wall, they must describe what is happening in the video (the video will be silent)

After this, I play the video again so everyone can see it (still silent)

Activity 2: In the same pairs they must come up with a dialogue for the scenes. They share their ideas with the class. For this activity I give them a handout with useful typical phrases of a telenovela.

When all the groups have shared their work I show them the video with dialogue and explain some vocabulary if necessary.

Activity 3: In groups, they pretend to be the producers of the next big telenovela. The need to pitch the idea and create the story and characters.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

They loved it so much! I chose a very ridiculous seen of a well known Mexican telenovela, a classic. They laughed and everyone participated a lot, even the shiest students.

 

Handout vocabulario telenovelas

DE 11 FS15 Int. Party Committee

December 11, 2015 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Charlotte Eisenblaetter

 

Day and Date: Wednesday, 16 September

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German intermediate

 

Class theme/topics discussed: 2nd part of free time activities / planning a party

 

Goal of the class: To repeat vocabulary of free time activities. To be able to talk about organizational topics and organize a (fake) Halloween-party.

 

How did you structure the class?

 

First activity: Repetition of the verbs of leisure activities from last time: Every student got a slip of paper with the beginning of a sentence. For example: On rainy days, I… / When my friends come over, we… etc. (5 minutes)

 

Second activity: We had some small talk and my students wanted to know about my experiences in California so far, general topics. (10 minutes)

 

Third activity: I presented them two choices: Would they like to work all together (there were 4 students present) or in pairs? And would they rather plan a Halloween- or a Thanksgivng-party? They decided they all want to work together on a Halloween-party. I gave them a handout with some expressions to use when planning a party and they talked about their ideas. For example, food, decoration, costumes, and who to invite. (10 minutes)

 

Fourth Activity: We also wrote an invitation together to show them some expressions for written invitations. (10 minutes)

 

Fifth activity: I gave them a handout with scenarios at partys and they had to discuss whether it is a do or a don’t. For example, dancing on the table, having a weird costume, bringing friends etc.

 

Sixth activity: We played the party game “Guess who”. Everyone gets a piece of paper with the name of a famous person. All the others can see the name, but not themselves. They have to ask yes/no questions and find out who they are. (20 minutes)

 

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 

Handouts, sticky notes

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

 

Everyone had fun and there was a good atmosphere.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 

Insert a simple role play of “You meet an old high-school friend at a college party. What do you say?”. This would be a bit more natural than the party game “Guess who”.

 

 

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that). Please attach any handouts as well.

 Handout Party Kommittee

 

DE 11 FS15 Int. Free time activities

December 11, 2015 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Charlotte Eisenblaetter

 

Day and Date: Monday, 14 September 2015

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German intermediate

 

Class theme/topics discussed: Freetime activities / hobbies

 

 Goal of the class: To be able to speak about likes and dislikes in connection to free time activities, repeat vocabulary of sports and leisure activities

 

 

How did you structure the class?

 

First activity: Every student got a picture of an activity, e.g. hiking, swimming, surfing… and had to describe the activity to all others. The other students had to guess which activity is on the picture. (It was said beforehand that the pictures all show some kind of leisure activity). (5 minutes)

 

Second activity: The students worked in pairs with a handout that I prepared. On the handout, there were 12 different pictures of activities. The students should interview each other and find out which activities the other one liked, disliked, or liked the most. After 7 minutes, I had the students report on the information to the larger group. (10 minutes)

 

Third activity: I divided the group in two groups and had each group write down as many verbs about leisure activities as they could think of. After appr. 2 minutes, I collected the results on the whiteboard. (10 minutes)

 

Fourth activity: The students worked in pairs again. They should imagine that they have a whole day off and make an appointment with their friend. They should plan their whole day together and make a schedule for the day. (For example, in the morning, they bake a cake, after that, they make a tour with the bikes, etc.) After 10 minutes, they reported their plans to the others. (15 minutes)

 

Sixth activity: We talked in a group. I asked them what they did on the weekend (to practice the verbs of leisure in the past tense). At last, we played a round of “Black stories” : A game where students have to guess the story behind a crime scene together. In the end, we even made one up together because we did not like the stories in the game. (20 minutes)

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 

Handout with pictures, whiteboard

 

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work well?

 

The handout and partner work went well, but it did not take as much time as I thought, partly because there were less students than expected. The game black stories is in theory a great game but the stories are so absurd that students never get to the right answer without major hints. That´s why we came up with the idea to create our own stories.

 

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 

Add some material to read and discuss, so that the students see how the verbs are used in context, have an exercise with verb conjugation

 

 

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that). Please attach any handouts as well.

Handout freetime activities

JP F15 ADV Humor

December 8, 2015 /

Language Resident Name:

Tasuku Sasaoka 

Day and Date:

Tue. Sep. 15th, 2015

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):

Advanced Japanese

 

Class theme/topics discussed:

Japanese humor

 

Goal(s) of the class:

Students will be able to do basic tsukkomi, or Japanese comedy retort

Students will be able to make simple Japanese boke, or gags 

How did you structure the class?

Time Title Notes (T: teacher, S: student)
5(5) Attendance check and announcement T checks the attendance of the students. At the same time, teacher talks about the coming events and cultural activities.
5(10) Warm-up Brainstorming

Ss participate in a brainstorming to activate their background knowledge related to Japanese humor, or gag culture.
4(14) Presentation and practice 1: Tsukkomi T gives basic tsukkomi expressions to students using powerpoint presentation. Ss familiarize themselves through practice and repetition. After the practice, T tells a simple joke to Ss and they do tsukkomi to the T.
10(24) Presentation and practice 2: Boke T explains some basic strategies to make gags in Japanese using a powerpoint presentation. Ss do tsukkomi to the examples that comes with each explanation.
12(36) Practice: Boke and tsukkomi integrated T gives students a handout on which expressions shown on the screen are. Ss get into pairs and practice boke and tsukkomi taking turns. T walks around them and gives advices on Ss’s tone, pronunciation, speed, and so on. When they finished their practice, teacher asks some pairs to present their boke and tsukkomi in front of the class and gives feedback to their performance.
14(50) Activity: Role play Ss in pairs create their own boke and tsukkomi and present it in front of the class. They work with their partners to make sentences, practice speech, and decide the roles. T gives advice to the students who find difficulty. After the presentation Ss give feedback to others’ performance.
10(60) Consolidation Ss watch a comedy video and teacher briefly explain what they learned today, using the expressions in the video as materials.

 

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

powerpoint presentation, background music, and handouts

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

   What worked:

Students enjoyed talking and making gags. They successfully made their original ones and in the process students activated their own vocabularies and sense of humor through Japanese.

   What did not work:

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 

RU S15 ADV April Fool’s Day

May 26, 2015 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary 

Language and Section: Russian Advanced 13 

Date: April 2, 2015

Class theme/topics discussed:

April Fool’s Day

 Goal of the class:

Talk about pranks and practical jokes for April Fool’s Day

Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below): 

Activity 1 – Warm-up Talk about April Fool’s In Russia and the US: differences – 10 minutes

Activity 2 Discuss my fake “Translation prize” 🙂 – 5 minutes

Activity 3 Best April Fool’s pranks of the 20th century – 15 minutes

Look at pictures, predict what the prank is, then read and discuss http://lifeglobe.net/entry/1557

Activity 4 More April Fool’s – 15 minutes

http://www.adme.ru/svoboda-kultura/samyj-krasivyj-v-mire-uchitel-po-matematike-887860/

http://www.adme.ru/svoboda-narodnoe-tvorchestvo/15-genialnyh-shutok-na-1-aprelya-884060/

Activity 5 Create your own prank! – 15 minutes

Work in pairs, describe what you would do and how

What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It was super fun 🙂

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 Please attach your lesson plan and handouts for this class below – if you used any.

 

 

RU S15 ADV Register and “Activity” Game

May 26, 2015 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language and Section: Russian Advanced 13

Date: April 7, 2015

Class theme/topics discussed:

Register, style, politeness

Goal of the class:

Discuss register and its cultural connotations, play “Activity” (simplified rules)

Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below): 

Activity 1 Warm-up – What is register? Examples – 15 minutes

We discuss linguistic register and stylistics. Appropriate levels, situations, context. I write the continuum on the white board. Examples.

Activity 2 Define style, paraphrase in as many registers as possible – Handout 1 – 20 minutes

Each student gets one phrase from Handout 1. They have to locate the phrase on our register continuum and then paraphrase it in as many different styles/situations as possible

Activity 2 Discussion – 25 minutes

Experiences in Russia. Cultural differences between register in Russia and the US. The thou/you (ты/Вы) distinction in Russian. Feminism in Russia

What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The class went well and we discussed some important cultural differences.

How could this class be improved/ modified? 

Please attach your lesson plan and handouts for this class below – if you used any.

Handout 1

Ты меня задолбал!

Приносим извинения за причинённые неудобства.

Ты мой зайчик миленький, какой ты молодец!

Мне глубоко безразлично Ваше мнение.

Я тут сходил в клуб, снял такую тёлочку – улёт!

Да вообще он козёл!

 

RU S15 ADV Lying

May 26, 2015 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary 

Language and Section: Russian Advanced 13

Date: February 10, 2015

Class theme/topics discussed:

Lying

 Goal of the class:

Review different ways of referring to lying – and different ways of lying!

Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below): 

Activity 1 Warm-up Video Liar liar trailer in Russian – 5 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g8ZvLSyjxI

Activity 2 – Vocab brainstorm – 10 minutes

Lying, telling the truth, fooling… on the whiteboard. Also discuss the difference between “правда” (truth, also accuracy) and “истина” (higher truth, philosophical truth)

Activity 3 – Rules of lying – HANDOUT 1 and HANDOUT 2 – 20 minutes

Adapted from “How to lie: user’s manual ” http://kyky.org/mag/life/kak-pravilno-vrat

Each student gets the list of rules of lying (Handout 1) and each of them gets one or two descriptions of the rules (Handout 2), which they read out loud.

Activity 4 – I’m telling the truth! – 20 minutes

Each student comes up with a situation in which lies are necessary – and their partner acts it out. We evaluate the lies in terms of believability and all the factors/aspects discuseed in Activity 3.

Activity 5 – Wrap-up – 5 minutes

Handout 3 – Funny/absurd Russian expressions

What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The class went very well, but even though I adapted the text quite a lot, it was still a little too much reading. But great to practice textual coherence! And despite a very high level of fluency, reading aloud still poses quite a challenge for these students, so it is good to practice it every now and again. The last part was very funny!

How could this class be improved/ modified?

Please attach your lesson plan and handouts for this class below – if you used any. 

CC_RUSS13_Lying_Feb10

HANDOUT 1

http://kyky.org/mag/life/kak-pravilno-vrat

  1. Разработайте легенду заранее
  2. Подкиньте подробностей
  3. Вовлекайте минимум третьих лиц
  4. Контролируйте тело
  5. Контролируйте голос
  6. Поверьте во все сами
  7. Нападайте!
  8. Отрицайте все
  9. Соглашайтесь со всем
  10. Тренируйте память

HANDOUT 2

Любительство и небрежность — залог немедленного провала. Легко врать детям до пяти лет. Их оперативная память все равно сотрет все без остатка, и назавтра вы получите чистую версию, только что из-под пресса. Но если вы собрались врать взрослому человеку, то не отказывайте ему в способности к критическому анализу. Ваша версия событий должна быть логичной, вытекать из обычного для вас образа жизни и распорядка дня.

Дьявол скрыт в деталях. Они делают легенду правдоподобной. Именно детали запоминаются лучше всего, а вовсе не последнее из сказанного. Врите только о местах и событиях, которые способны описать достоверно, — вы там бывали. Но имейте чувство меры — слишком яркие подробности вызывают подозрения.

 

Во-первых, четко оговорите с соучастниками ход событий. У вас уже готовы убедительные детали? В идеале число свидетелей должно быть минимальным. Чем больше лиц вы втянули в свой план, тем больше вероятность провала.

 

Помимо языка во рту, у вас имеется еще и язык тела, который часто ведет себя совершенно предательски. По выразительности язык тела ни в чем не уступает вербальным средствам и выдает не хуже отпечатков пальцев. Язык тела анализируется подсознательно: достаточно быть зажатым, избегать взгляда в глаза, сложить руки в защитной позе – и вас уже подозревают. Это все проклятый адреналин, вызывающий потоотделение, прерывистое дыхание и неестественные движения. Попробуйте сперва наврать по телефону — так вас не будет видно. Если надо врать лично, сделайте дыхательную гимнастику, успокойте нервы и действуйте: прямая спина, открытые руки, твердый взгляд. Только не вздумайте пить, чтобы снять напряжение!

 

Мужчину обмануть легче, чем женщину. В силу генетических причин женщины гораздо тоньше улавливают нюансы речи. Высшая категория сложности — это жены и мамы. Отклонения в привычном тембре и темпе немедленно регистрируются и вызывают подозрения. Врите лучше мужчинам, так риск попасться гораздо меньше. Но во всех случаях придерживайтесь простых правил: расслабьте мышцы брюшного пресса, освободите дыхание, дышите ровно. Смейтесь в нужных местах, нет ничего более полезного для отвлечения внимания, чем смех.

 

Универсальный и непобедимый способ врать — самому поверить в то, что так оно и было. Это высшая лига, номинация на «Оскар» в категории «Ложь». На подобное, правда, способны только истинные артисты. Вдохновенная трепотня этих граждан найдет путь к любому сердцу: глаза горят сдержанным блеском, голос убаюкивает, жесты внушают доверие, и вот Константин Сергеевич Станиславский утирает старческую слезу, говоря: «Голубчик, я верю вам». Здесь требуется время и подготовка. Репетируйте свою партию перед зеркалом, глядя себе в глубину души, выучите ее наизусть от начала до конца и обратно, пока ваша легенда не начнет вам сниться.

 

Политики — генетически предрасположенные ко лжи существа, населяющие нашу планету. Помимо природных гипнотических данных, они обычно владеют еще и методами отвода внимания. В случае, если вы попались на вранье, пользуйтесь их ноу-хау. Нет лучшей защиты, чем нападение — припомните оппоненту эпизод из прошлого, когда он повел себя предосудительно. Демагогия и уверенность в себе здесь лучшие помощники: «Как же ты мог мне врать?» — «А как ты могла не любить мою бабушку? Она переехала из Щучина, только чтобы быть поближе к тебе!», — и разговор немедленно получает выгодное вам направление.

 

Здравый смысл, логика, даже видеозаписи — все пасует перед железобетонным словом «нет». Если вы врете близким людям, задача облегчается — они заведомо настроены вас простить.

Жена моего друга однажды нашла у него в сумке пачку презервативов. Она аккуратно разрезала каждый пополам и положила пачку назад, застегнув замочек. С тех пор ни один из них не заикнулся об инциденте, но каждый сделал для себя соответствующие выводы.

Главное — не вздумайте проявить слабость и начать извиняться!

 

Парадоксально, но этот метод работает не хуже предыдущего, особенно с мужчинами. Даже самому последнему из мужчин по душе роль великодушного готового все простить Цезаря, глядящего из ложи на гладиаторский цирк.

 

Вступая на скользкую дорожку лжеца, помните, что вам придется держать в голове все подробности ваших сочинений. Хороший врун похож на шахматиста: в случаях многоходовых комбинаций он держит все нити под контролем, как паук в паутине. Никогда ничего не записывайте!

Ложь сродни высокому искусству. Она сочетает в себе актерское мастерство и математические способности, тренирует гибкость ума, память и в долгосрочной перспективе способствует долголетию мозга. Если бы не морально-этические нюансы, я бы рекомендовал вранье в курсе средней школы. Увы, в настоящий момент нам остаются кроссворды, головоломки и курсы макраме.

 

HANDOUT 3

 

  • Старый новый год
  • Принуждение к миру
  • Детская пластмассовая железная дорога
  • Свежие консервы
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  • Туалетная вода
  • Среднее ухо
  • Холодный кипяток
  • Ресторан Макдональдс
  • Сухое вино
  • Миротворческие войска
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  • Молочный зуб
  • Два градуса тепла
  • Начинают заканчиваться
  • Деревянный стеклопакет
  • Битый час!
  • У пациента сильная слабость
  • SMS—сообщение
  • Убить насмерть
  • Пойду съезжу в магазин
  • Жидкий стул
  • Сделай огонь тише!
  • Предельно допустимая норма
  • Смертная казнь
  • Федеральная служба по контролю за оборотом наркотиков

RU F14 INT Going crazy + Expressions of necessity/need

May 26, 2015 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language and Section: Russian Intermediate 11

Date: September 17, 2014

Class theme/topics discussed:

Going crazy and expressing the need (in that order)

Goal of the class:

Watch a couple of fun videos to remember the expression “to go crazy”, revise expressions of need, necessity, obligation

Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below):

 Activity 1 – General discussion + Warm-up Video 1 – 5 minutes

More vocabulary in HANDOUT 3

Activity 2 – Video 2 t.A.T.u. Ya soshla s uma (I have lost my mind) – 5 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F-JfWqMG6g

Lyrics in HANDOUT 1

Activity 3 – Video 3 Non cadenza Ne soiti s uma (Not to lose my mind) – 15 minutes

Lyrics in HANDOUT 2

Discussion: What is going on in the video? Where are they? What are they doing? Why does it end the way it does? Is this a happy ending?

Activity 3 – “I NEED…” – REVISION – 20 minutes

I need something (Мне нужен/нужна/нужно/нужны + Noun ) vs. I need to do something (Мне нужно/надо + Verb)

Short adjectives revision (structure)

Он уверенный (всегда) – он уверен, что (сейчас)

Examples, vocabulary work

Activity 4 – I NEED – exercise – HANDOUT 4 – 15 minutes

Two types of pair work:

  • Read your sentence in English out load and your partner translates it into Russian
  • Read your sentence in English (not say it out loud), translate into Russian, the partner translates back into English, you verify

LESSON PLAN WITH HANDOUTS

CC_RUSS11_Going_crazy_9172014

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