TA Training Videos
The following videos are designed to help TA's at the University of Arkansas to be better Foreign Language teachers. These videos will be used primarily during the TA Orientation week offered each August but can be reviewed at other times as well, including as a part of teaching methodology and language teaching and technology courses. Please review each video prior to discussion with your Professor and peers.
Cultural issues in the Language Classroom*.
Teaching assistant supervisors sometimes encounter problems resulting from cross-cultural differences between American students and international teaching assistants in second language courses. Such differences can negatively impact student participation and the overall classroom atmosphere. The teaching assistants' prior knowledge of potential cultural misunderstandings can reduce classroom difficulties and ameliorate the relationship between themselves and their students.
- Closeness and Students / Touching - In the United States, personal space is very important. Physical contact between an instructor and a student is inappropriate despite the intention. Contact such as this may be mistaken for sexual harrassment. Review the two videos presented to gain a better understanding of how touching and closeness can be misinterpreted by students.
- Compliments and Students - Certainly everyone enjoys a compliment now and then. However, certain comments can be deemed too forward or out of place within the context of the teacher/student relationship. Such compliments can make students feel uncomfortable and can be misinterpreted as being sexual in nature.
- Inappropriate Dress and Teaching - How both students and teachers dress can be a distraction within the classroom environment. Care must be taken in selecting appropriate attire when teaching. Take a look...
- School Jargon - Every school has its own jargon that faculty, staff, and students must learn. The University of Arkansas is certainly no exception. Teachers must take care in how they discuss particular activities with their students when unfamiliar terms are used.
- Students and Grade Privacy - When materials are handed back to students, care must be taken that students' grades are not revealed to others. Embarassment or shame can occur either as a result of a bad grade or even a good grade. The best policy is to return material in a random order, without individual comment.
Classroom Techniques in French (Applicable to other languages as well)**
The following videos are designed for our French basic languages program which uses Français Interactif. However, TA's in other languages may also benefit from the strategies used.
At the Start of Class
- Writing on the Board - Before each class session, write the day and date on the board as well as the homework. Since some students may come in late, leave the homework assignment on the board for the entire period. (e.g., Bonjour! Aujourd’hui c’est lundi le 3 octobre 2005.)
- Beginning Activity - At the beginning of class, it’s important to prepare the class to start using French by asking a few questions that they probably all understand. Jessica asks “Quel temps fait-il?” and “Quelle est la date?” Since it’s a “holiday” ?, she gives the word for April Fool in French and then asks, “Pourquoi est-ce que c’est le poisson d’avril?” She then explains in simple French. Because she may be using vocabulary that some students will not understand, she asks for a very quick English summary of what she said.
Oral Exams
- Oral Exam 1 - Oral exams have to move quickly so that you’ll be able to test all students within the allotted time. It’s also important not to go too fast. Remember that many students find this a very stressful experience. Notice how Jessica briefly greets the student. She also does not react negatively to mistakes, but she documents these for feedback
later.- Oral Exam 2 - Notice how Jessica keeps eye contact when she poses a question and gives a personal response to the student’s answer, making the interview a bit more conversational.
In-Class Activities - Devinettes
- Devinette 1 - Students were to prepare devinettes as outside of class homework. Notice the strategies that Jessica uses to keep the class going in French. At the beginning of the clip, a student asks for a word definition. Teach your students the two questions “Comment dit-on _________ en français?” and “Que veut dire ________?” so that they ask for word meanings in the target language. If you don’t know the meaning of a word, quickly go to wordreference.com, and enter it there to remind students of this very useful on-line tool. Jessica asks for volunteers: “Qui veut lire sa devinette?” She asks the student to repeat what she said to be sure that the entire class hears and understands the question. She quickly corrects “sur la télé” (“à la télé”). Another student answers in English, and Jessica asks her to say the word in French, not “scolding” the student for speaking English, but constantly responding in French. The second student uses the unfamiliar word “haut” in his devinette. In order to be sure that the entire class understands, Jessica indicates its meaning using a gesture (again, not using any English). The third student comments in English before reading her devinette, and Jessica, again, responds in French. She also has the student to repeat her devinette. Then, she asks, “Des volontaires?”
- Devinette 2 - Jessica quickly explains the homework (which will be based upon classroom activities) in English. Then, she switches to French. Jessica projects the textbook exercise (“Devinettes”) to eliminate any confusion about which exercise is being covered. Notice that she verifies that students understand the word “Devinette” (referring to the verb “deviner”). Many of the exercises in Français interactif provide input that requires a minimum of production on the part of students. For this exercise, Jessica reads the devinettes aloud, and students only have to respond with the correct answer. Thus, they are obliged to understand language conveyed by the
grammatical structure, and later in the chapter students will actually have to produce the structure. Notice how Jessica “breaks apart” the adjective “doré,” which the class obviously does not understand. Note also how she uses a followup question: “Est-ce que vous adorez la bière?” to personalize the activity. She then asks students to write their own “devinettes”.Homework Review
- Homework - It is not always necessary to review homework during class. Sometimes, however, if the assignment has proven to be particularly difficult, this can be a helpful activity. Be careful to keep the homework review short and to the point. It is appropriate to do this activity in English. Notice how Jessica avoids turning an answer to a student question into an extended overview of the grammar point. Notice also how she asks students to answer the individual items in French.
Class Activities - Remaining on Task, Clarifying, Avoiding English...
- Un Jeu - Notice how Jessica gives instructions for the game in French: “Jouez le role d’une célébrité que vous admirez.” When a student asks a question in English, she answers in French. Jessica circulates to make certain students are understanding and are remaining on-task.
- Activity 1 - Notice that Jessica avoids the use of English by telling students in French “Tournez la page,” and by projecting the exercise. She also uses gestures and points in order to avoid English. Note also that sometimes students will forget expressions (e.g., “faire la fête”), so it’s important to verify that they understand the meaning of sentences in exercises. Jessica constantly checks that everything is being understood.
- Activity 2 - Since students know “Conseils” by now, Jessica gives all instructions in French. In order to avoid confusion and wasting of time, Jessica does three things: 1) she gives students a time limit for the exercise (3-4 minutes); 2) she circulates (without being too intrusive) to make certain students are on-task and understanding what to do; 3) after about two minutes, she assigns another exercise for students who finish this activity before others.
- Question Activity - Jessica begins by giving instructions to set up the activity in French. If you continue to use the same commands (e.g., “Prenez une feuille de papier.”), students will quickly understand, and it won’t be necessary to use English. Because parts of the activity are somewhat unfamiliar to students, Jessica uses a judicious mixture of English and French to explain the activity (e.g., “Does everybody understand?”; “What was the question?”) Notice also that she reads the statements fairly rapidly and repeats only once, preparing students for test conditions. An activity such as this could be used as a quiz.
The use of technology in foreign language classes is definitely on the increase at the U of A! More and more smart rooms are being developed and publishing companies are providing more and more technology-based materials with their publications. The following videos provide simple but informative examples on how to use video technologies or Internet-based activities in the FLAN classroom. You will also find a video that focuses on the BA smart classroom, a room most often used within the French program of our department. Nevertheless, all videos are applicable to all languages. (Note, some of these videos are quite old and small - the results of older technologies but the point is still made throughout!)
*Videos produced by Linda Jones, Zac Hagins, Virginia Bellott
and Joan Turner.
**Videos produced by Linda Jones, Zac Hagins, Jessica Clark and Jim Davis.
***Video produced by Jeff Kendrick
and Leah Karp.
****Videos produced by Linda Jones.