FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDY ACTIVITIES

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 LISTENING COMPREHENSION

  Read aloud,

listen to yourself, then copy it and listen a lot more.

Team up with someone (classmate, tutor)

to rehearse listening and speaking exercises.

Listen to songs and try to write the words

(or download lyrics from Internet).

Sing!

Spend time on local TV's foreign language channel or go to the

Multi-media Lab.

Go to subtitled movies in your foreign language and try to

listen for comprehension first, reading afterwards.

Spanish: Motorcycle DiariesThe Sea InsidePan’s Labyrinth

French: Intimate StrangersJoyeux Noel

CacheGerman: Lives of Others

Mostly MarthaThe Counterfeiters

Rent English DVD’s and put on the foreign language subtitles

underneath the English dialogueor

rent foreign language DVD’s and watch a second time with the foreign

subtitles on to see how it was translated

Get copies of lab CD’s:

• Listen and read simultaneously• Listen and write what is said (like

dictation)• Copy the questions, answers,

dictations, etc. for further listening• Listen, stop the CD, and repeat• Carry CD’s with you for down-time

listening (waiting, walking, etc)

 

 LEARNING WORDS Vocabulary Verbs

Grammar

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Flashcards:- 3x5 for individual words

- 4x6 for families of words and verb conjugations

Include sample sentence to put word in context and to use more of the language

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Use color to differentiate parts

of speech

Verbs

Use color on verb cards to highlight the pattern

of changes

andare (future, to go)andrò andremoandrai andreteandrà andranno

Put synonyms and antonyms on the back to

expand association

Test yourself in both directions – the back's answer and the front's

prompt

Keep various sets rubberbanded together because:

- they're related materials-a language builds unit by unit-you want to use association.

Have a partner or tutor drill you on

your cards

Shuffle the cards occasionally so you don't get dependent

on a sequence.

Separate into "I know" and "Don't know" piles

each time you test yourself.

Retire words you've mastered into a file box to make room for new

ones

Use language lab tapes to focus on: - specific grammar

points, - verb forms

Take dictation from the CD’s, check that you’re right

and then practice it aloud to yourself.

Use computer programs in language lab.

Consult current newspapers and magazines

in your foreign language.

Start a journal in your foreign language.

Label everyday objects in your room with foreign

language names on post-it's.

La puerta

Bring the language into everyday conversation with *foreign songs*foreign nicknames for your friends*foreign catch phrases

“¿Qué está sucediendo, Dude?”

Language learning is MEMORY-intensive

• Vocabulary• Verb tenses• Idioms• Diacritical marks: ä á â ã å ç č • Punctuation: ¡ ¿• Pronunciation, accent, inflection

MNEMONICS(GREEK FOR “MEMORY TRICKS”)

• ASSOCIATE – MAKE CONNECTIONS

• GROUP AND “CHUNK”

• USE SOUND Handoutonline

Some Limitations of Mnemonic Devices

• They don’t always help you understand material

• They can be complicated to learn or develop

• They can be forgotten, too

ASSOCIATE = MAKE CONNECTIONS

redondoJaune, rot oreja

GROS le roi vs. Petite

l’etiole L’argent

LITERAL ASSOCIATION

J’ai la grippe

Visual reminder

OPPOSITESHier aujourd’huiPremier denierSeul ensembleJamais toujoursArriver partirEn avance en retard

malade bien

CHUNK into logical groups

hablar

comer

vivirSPANISH VERBS

CATEGORIZEby function

le ditala manoil braccio

il ginocchiola gambail piede

Words that belong with body parts

Spanish furniture

silla – el sentarse abajo cama – el dormir

escritorio – el estudiarestante – el almacenar

SETS OF WORDS

Los deportivosLos días de la semana

La ropaLos juegosLos países

Los muebles

La medicinaUn dentistaUn doctor

Un enfermeroUn veterinario

RELATEDWORDS

schnell schnellerseul seulementmolto moltissimopoco pochissimoFa … (caldo, freddo, fresco)comer + la comida

•MALADE• FATIQUÉ• CHAUD• SANTÉ

ORGANIZE…Alain

ChristopheDavidEric

HélènJeannePierre

tailleminiscule

petitgrand

enormecolossal

PARTS OF SPEECH

Los verbosLos nombres

Los pronombresLos adjetivosLos adverbiosLos idiomas

•NOUN•VERB

•FEMININE• IDIOMS

SOUND is the SHAPE of WORDS

ALLITERATIONWho? Qui

What? QueWhat? Quoi

When? QuandWhich? Quelle

What is? Qu’est-ce que

Italian questionsChe cosa?

PerchéChi?

Quando?Dove?Come?

FOREIGN LANGUAGETIME MANAGEMENT

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A foreign language is different from most courses: you need to study every day not just MWF.

DO’S

DO keep up with classwork! It’s harder to catch up than to keep up.

Language is cumulative with the current lesson built

on the previous one. Neglect and falling behind will snowball.

DO schedule your time to allow daily study time.

The rule is at least two study hours for every hour in class…

but language study should bespr e a d o u t

through the week.

DO try to divide your study time so that as much as 80% of it is spent

in recitation and practice.

DO try to schedule some of your study hours BEFORE

you go into class.

As a participation-type class, you need the material fresh in your mind

to be used or performed

in class.

DO schedule language study hours ASAP

if they have to be after class

in order to minimize forgetting.

Immediate reinforcement helps solidify new material longer and more accurately.

DO study when you’re most alert, when you feel you can absorb and retain

the most material for such a memorization-heavy subject.

“Prime time” will vary, obviously,

from person to person...

DON’T’S

DON’T try to cover the whole assignment in one sitting – break it up into smaller chunks of time.

Break it up into “digestible” portions of material,

probably following the sectioning already done by the

textbook publisher.

DON’T cut class – you will get behind, (possibly irretrievably).