Thursday, June 23, 2016

Upper School Summer Reading Suggestions - French



French II/ French II Honors

The goal is just to read an article or to do one thing on each visit that might lead you to say “Now I know how to say….” or “I  was able to understand what I read.”  Try something new this summer to maintain your French skills. Try these useful sites.



French III/ French III/ Honors/ French IV

Please keep your review packet from French II/IIH/III and review it over the summer.

AP-French

Lire Le Petit Prince et faire les activités basées sur le livre. On vous enverra des activités individuellement. (Vous les trouverez aussi ce-dessous en PDF à télécharger).  Ce livre peut être acheté sur Amazon et vous pouvez l’ acheter déjà utilisé plutôt que neuf. Seule version française est acceptée!
Revoir le guide de révision (French III-H) surtout pour la grammaire.
Visitez ces sites utiles:  compréhension auditive  et exercices de grammaire

Upper School Summer Reading Suggestions - Spanish

Spanish AP Language and Culture
Follow the link for AP Spanish Language and Culture 2020-21

Spanish II/IIH and III:
Study Spanish This website has an index of various grammar points and features both simplified and in-depth explanations. The examples of different grammar rules clearly model what each principle looks like in action. There are also free quizzes to check student comprehension.


If you miss grammar and want to practice some exercises, these sites have pretty much anything you would need! Duolingo starts out with easy exercises, but it’s not a bad review. Think you are ahead of the basic starting point? Try taking the placement test for the best fit!

Grammar reviewThis site is great for grammar practice. It offers a variety of practice options per grammar topic. It also includes some interesting cultural contexts for grammar skills.

Conjuguemos Need to practice conjugations of a certain type? Only have 5 minutes? Use this site to time yourself in working through conjugations. Get immediate feedback and guidance. Select to include or not include the vosotros form. Watch your average improve! Is vocabulary your area of need? Use this site to review vocabulary specific to your textbook and chapter. You can use this resource with or without a student account.  



Español III and IV/IVH:
Here are some sites to continue practicing your Spanish over the summer, and perhaps learn a bit about what is going on in Spain. A quick way to add some Spanish reading to your day is to add some of these sites to your Twitter or Instagram account and you can keep up to date on the news, etc., and read further if a tweet is of interest to you.

Choice Board: Activities to practice Spanish This choice board includes links to all kinds of activities to practice your Spanish. Many of them are also listed below, but it's an easy way to practice all of your skills in Spanish outside of class.


Netflix adds more and more programming from other countries all the time. “Gran Hotel” is a great series from Spain which is very easy to follow, and a bit like a telenovela, and “El Tiempo entre Costuras” is another historical series from Spain which deals with Spain during the civil war. "Velvet" and "Casa de Papel" are other popular series. You can add the subtitles in Spanish which is a great way to see the grammar and vocabulary as you listen. Here is a Google doc with other links to program and movie suggestions. Some of these shows come and go from Netflix, but you can search the titles to see the latest streaming updates.


Notes in Spanish podcast This is a website with podcasts about all types of topics related to the Spanish speaking world. It is hosted by a Spanish woman and her British husband, so they incorporate both of their opinions culturally, and usually my students enjoy it when she corrects his Spanish!


RTVE-Radio Televisión Española This is a website from Spain with television channels, radio feeds, podcasts, news reports, almost anything you could want media wise from Spain. Find a telenovela to watch over the summer, or one of the many television series you can access via this site.


Casa Real This is the official website of the Spanish Royal Family.


Here are two major newspapers from Spain. If you search online, there are many, including ones from the different regions, but this can give you a start in Spanish press.


FIFA (Fútbol) Keep up with the world of soccer en español…

Study Spanish grammar review

National Spanish exam/various review exercises This site is great for rote practice with grammar and conjugations and some cultural topics.


If you miss grammar and want to practice some exercises, these sites have pretty much anything you would need! Duolingo starts out with easy exercises, but it’s not a bad review. They also have simple podcasts to practice your listening skills.


Instituto Cervantes: lecturas This website has online books with questions to help you as you read. The books are split into three different levels.




Middle School Language Study Suggestions

Summer is a great time to take your learning beyond the classroom. You can read in a different language, listen to music, or watch movies and change the language!

Here are some sites that are useful at various levels of language study.  See how inventive you can be at keeping up to date with your language study.  If you get to travel overseas, send your teacher a postcard. We would love to see how you are using your skills beyond the classroom – because that is really why we learn!   Bon voyage!!

Happy vacation time!

Middle School Language Study
French I   
The goal is just to read an article or to do one thing on each visit that might lead you to say “Now I know how to say….” or “I  was able to understand what I read.”  Try something new this summer to work on your French – C’est cool et si amusant!
A bientôt!



Spanish

Teacher Resources


Summer provides some time to review or catch up on ideas in Second Language Acquisition.  Here are some of the offerings that have been recommended on ACTFL sites.


Empowering Student to Use the Target Language 

Videos to make language acquisition research more accessible from Sarah Elizabeth Cotterell Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell
http://musicuentos.com/blackbox/

This site is to help teachers feel ready for the start of a new year:
http://campmusicuentos.wikispaces.com

Bill Van Patten at Michigan State University has his own program to talk about second language acquisition.  You can access the podcasts on Soundcloud:
Tea with BVP - bill Van Patten

For excellent and thoughtful articles on language teaching and learning:
The Language Gym - Gianfranco Conti

http://frenchteachernet.blogspot.com/2015/01/teaching-in-target-language.html?spref=tw

Site excellent et compréhensif - les défis mondiaux
http://frenchteachingresources.wikispaces.com/D%C3%A9fis+Mondiaux

Vidéos pour comprendre l'économie politique
http://dessinemoileco.com/videos/

Article on how learning a language can improve tolerance
how-learning-a-new-language-improves-tolerance