#4 - Element 2: Real World Context | 10 Elements of Proficiency-Oriented World Language Instruction

This is the essential world language teacher framework for each piece of your target language rich classroom based on proficiency practices. If you're into proficiency-oriented instruction, here's where to start.

Today's element deep dive is on real-world context. We teach one of the most useful skills in the world. Let's keep it that way!

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Take action - pick 1 element from today's episode and see where you can make some tiny tweaks to add more target language into your world language class today!
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Transcript

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What's up Kloke a saloo World language teachers welcome to the practical proficiency podcast where we make the transition to proficiency oriented instruction in your world language class in a way that works for you, your unique context and teaching style, and doesn't sacrifice your well being along the way. I'm your host, Devin Gun, the teacher author, conference host, curriculum creator and consultant behind La Liba Language Learning. This podcast is for the creative world language teacher like you, who's ready to ditch the overwhelming pressure of switching to acquisition driven instruction and CI overnight. You're ready to discover how using more target language in class can actually bring you and your students more joy. Instead of adding to your plate with practical, authentic, and down to earth strategies that don't require reinventing the wheel or more training, we'll work together towards the magic of a community based, target language rich classroom rooted in the power of community and comprehensible input. Let's go. Hey everybody, welcome back to the Practical Proficiency podcast. We're getting into our ten elements of world language proficiency oriented instruction today, and today is a great element of proficiency instruction. It's something that will run a current through your classroom of rigor, meaning and stuff that matters. And there's nothing better to teach than stuff that matters, stuff that your students can actually use. Are you ready for this one? It is real world context, so let's get into it. I'm going to show you here. If you're watching this podcast episode, which is fun, you'll be able to see a visual to go with it, but if not, you can download in the show notes a PDF to go with this. So just check out the show notes afterwards and you'll be able to see exactly what we're talking about here. But it's just a guideline. It's just text to follow along with what we're doing here with some very engaging photos. So if you're into that, then jump on in and you can grab that PDF so that you can keep it with you while you are planning your instruction. So without further ado, let's get into this one here. My name is Devin and I am your instructor. Today we are talking about the ten elements of world language proficiency instruction, and I can't wait to talk to you about this one because working with real life, real context stuff is, oh my gosh, the stuff of dreams for teachers, right? The question of when am I ever going to use this doesn't exist for language teachers. It is glorious, but sometimes we forget that. How did we forget this? I say this all the time in trainings, and I hope that the math teachers across from you can't hear it while and while we're doing these trainings that we teach, one of the most useful, relevant skills in the building firmly believe that there is nothing more. No, that's not true, but certainly is in a lot of instances, there is close to nothing so relevant and so useful as acquiring a new skill like a world language. There is very little in the building that compares with the usefulness of being able to use a world language. Am I right or am I right? So we need to keep it that way. That means that we need to be grounded in what we do with real world context. This means that in a proficiency oriented classroom, your students have no trouble identifying things that they're doing in class that they can use as soon as they leave your classroom. Language in class is not only needed to communicate in your class, they literally needed to get around the room. They needed to get things in the room. They needed to interact with you and with other people in the room. Your classroom is the communicative event. It is the communicative context. But even better than that, your students are using language, your language, that you're helping them acquire to learn more about themselves and the world. So that means that when you're designing lessons, the lessons are not focused on how the language works. The lessons are focused on, we're going to use French today to learn more about who has access to water in the world, who has trouble with access to water, and why that might be, and what does this look like in our community? And that sounds like a really complicated topic, but I promise you that I made a unit for this for French, one where it's just systemdu ilia insistendexi in Yapadi. You can do this. Promise you, it's all about learning more about themselves in the world through task based teaching, through picture talks, which is that unit that I was talking about, or any ways that they can authentically communicate with a target language speaker in their immediate environment or community. So what does this look like? Because this is a tall order. It's a very, very tall order. It's not going to look like this every day, but this is what we're striving for, how? Well, you're focusing in on what students need to understand and interact with you. That means that they need to use target language to interact with you. That means that you're using a lot of target language that they need to understand and getting them to understand you and having ways to interact with you is a whole nother element that we will dive deeper into later. But focusing in on real world context, there's nothing more real world than needing that skill in class itself, right? Also, class is all about students using that target language. They are using it to get to know their classmates and to learn more about the world as we talked about. And you can do this in a myriad of ways. Also, you're only asking them output questions that they would see in a real conversation. That means that anytime that you are asking students questions or you're doing any type of output activity, it's going to be things that they would really see in real life that they would actually use in a conversation with a target language speaker. Now, sometimes you're going to need to use what I call teachery questions, like, what did that person say in the article? What do you think their intention was? Now they're never going to see that in real life. I get it. But most of the time when you're using output questions, it's going to be like if you're reading perhaps an article about what are good things to wear during cold weather, especially if you're traveling, like things that you can bring on a plane. That's a great, authentic article that you could put in front of your class. That you could put in front of your class. That means that when you're asking them, output your responses that you're asking for students to do would be things like, what are some things that you recommend on an airplane? What are some things that the author recommended from the airplane? Do you like wearing big sweaters? Yes or no? Do you have a lot of hats? All your output questions are very conversational and things that they would see in a real conversation. Or do you pack the day before, or do you pack right before the flight? Conversational questions. That really makes a difference. Also, here's a way that you can tell whether your material is very real world context or not. If they can't use it right now, it's not a great use of your time. So if what you're working on in class is a skill that they literally cannot go to there. If you're teaching Korean, they can't go to their neighbor who speaks Korean, and they can't use it with them right now, then what's the point? If you cannot answer to yourself, what is the point of this skill that my students are learning? If they can't use it right now, then you have two problems. One, it's a skill that is probably not really a skill. Like, maybe it's something that will, quote unquote, theoretically help their language be more accurate one day down the road, which is not a good use of your time. Or maybe you're focusing on something that's a bit above their level. That's usually the problem with that. So if your students cannot within the next week or two weeks or so, eventually use that skill by knocking on their neighbor's door and inquiry and using that phrase, or using that skill that you're working on them with, that's not a good use of your time. Maybe you should reevaluate that lesson or be looking at that curriculum to say, what would be a better use of their time here? What would be something that they would actually talk about with their neighbor? That's what we mean with real world context. That's a good gauge to see where you're at. If you use this gauge with a lot of the materials that you're using right now or a lot of the curriculum that you're using right now, you might not be that happy with it. And that's okay. That's where a lot of us are at right now, is that we're working towards real world context. Keyword being working towards. That's the goal, and we're all trying to get there together. That's why we're talking about it and putting emphasis on it, because it's so important to understand what the goal is as we move towards it together. Thank you so much for sharing some of your commute, your lunch break, whatever it might be with me, and I really look forward to hanging out with you for the next piece for number three. So in the meantime, be sure to rate the show that really does wonders for it. And I will see you in the next lesson. All about the next element. Bye for now. See.