Learning from my vacation…
7July 18, 2012 by Megan
Ça va? Salut de France! I’m learning so many valuable lessons to bring back to the classroom through my travels here in Paris.
1.) It’s intimidating trying to speak a new language! (Good to remember when my students are scared to speak)
2.) It is so much easier when you have some “survival phrases” handy! (Thanks to Kara for sending me a much needed list WITH pronunciation help)
It’s a great way to learn though- getting lost, trying to figure out the metro, and trying to find a hotel. No PDs, no worksheets, no teacher… but I’m learning AND having fun! On my way to Italy tonight on the night train. I’ll start my crash course Italian then. Wish me luck! 
Megan
rachel573
Kara
So right! We learned about tier 1 vocabulary words in class. Those words are those survival and everyday words. I want to kick up how we use the 100 word list in class. That’s the only way I made it through an outing in Germany without my host daughter.
Kara–do you have a list of the “tier” words to post? I would love to see what these are!
Here are some place to check out: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTIM_10.htm (scroll to #3)
Our post “Little words make a big impact” http://creativelanguageclass.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/idea-41-little-words-make-a-big-impact/
Search for DOLCH lists like: hrrp://literacyconnections.com/dolch1.html
“First 2000 Words” at http://www.harenet.ne.jp/~waring/vocab/index.html
Good for you! I’m so envious! Hope you have a good time. Are you coming to the UK at all?
Please keep posting comments because they are appreciated and inspiring: I’ve been up since 5:30 this morning, because of the last post from Kara: spent an hour and a half on the net researching as a result! Found a great website with French listening material (authentic podcasts with transcripts): http://www.thefrenchpodcast.com
I also loved the stuff on planning with the article on Generation Y. I’m starting a new job in September and planning new schemes of work for 5 year groups, so it was well-timed and gave me plenty to think about.
I find it really interesting to compare the way things work in the US compared to the UK. I’d love to come over and see what it’s like in the flesh!
Anyway, enjoy Italian!
Thanks! (Gratzie) No visit to the UK this time, but hopefully soon. I went to London once and loved it. I’m glad you shared the French audio link- we have some friends that will really appreciate the new source!
PS – let us know when you visit Kentucky! The derby is worth a visit
Agreed, once you have to talk to someone your nerves hit and every thing you planned to say goes right out the window. Those survival memorized phrases kick in and get you past that scary moment when you are scared to talk.
I guess I should have practiced more! My Italian is a mess of bits of French, Portuguese, and Italian backed up with a very Spanish accent on it all. Ha! My boyfriend was laughing at my attempts but I’m improving!