EIS+Extension+and+Application

=Application and Extension=

Application and Extension activities and projects are truly opportunities for the student to engage in proficiency activities, and for the teacher to evaluate them. A more detailed discussion of achievement vs. proficiency will be a part of the Assessment/Evaluation Day.
 * Begin with the end in mind: Achievement Versus Proficiency**

Application and Extension activities and projects provide students with opportunities to apply their language skills and cultural knowledge in settings within and beyond those practiced during the unit of study.

It may be useful to think of Application activities as those which ask students to use vocabulary/structure for the current unit, and which MAY require use of earlier taught/practiced material, often in the classroom. Extension activities are not limited to the vocabulary/linguistic structures studies in the current unit, but usually require skills that were taught/practiced and assessed in earlier units/years. In other words, Extension activities often ask students to draw upon their entire bank of linguistic and cultural knowledge. They have to use their vocabulary and structures in new, but still meaningful and authentic, contexts. Extension activities by nature require risk-taking and problem solving, in that students will be asked to make meaning from material that is often unfamiliar, especially in the receptive skills. In the productive skills, students will be asked to make meaning by circumlocution; and facial, body, and hand gestures, in much the same way that linguistically- and culturally-immersed people do when they are in a different country.

The (California) //Foreign Language Framework// reminds teachers that “students cannot apply, use, or extend skills that they do not possess.” (p. 29) It is important to offer opportunities for Application and Extension when the student has demonstrated knowledge and skill. The student’s performance will have been monitored in many ways throughout the entire Effective Instructional Sequence.

Some students may be ready for Application and Extension activities and projects when others are not. It is up to the teacher to use established benchmarks, performance data including curriculum-embedded test results, and other performance guidelines to determine readiness. “If students cannot perform as expected, teachers may need to provide additional language instruction and schedule more language practice using different approaches.” (p. 29) Then the student is ready for Application and Extension activities.

In some cases it may be appropriate to use Application activities and projects as a formal evaluation tool. More frequent and formative evaluations can provide the teacher with more objective information about student knowledge and skill level. An application activity can allow the student to show what s/he knows. Depending on the activity, the evaluation question may become, for example: “How well does the student apply learning and skill to the linguistic task?” Or, more to the point: “How well does s/he get the job done?” The student is evaluated for proficiency in a real-life or close-to-real-life situation.

=Characteristics of Application and Extension= Application and Extension activities and projects

> numerous completed units of study, including the most recently completed unit For more information, see the (California) //Foreign Language Framework//. (pp. 29-30 for “Extended Learning Opportunities.”)
 * Are in the target language
 * Include culturally relevant and authentic activities
 * Engage students in realistic and meaningful communicative tasks
 * Often include a connection to the community (in school and beyond)
 * Often integrate a variety of curricular areas and learning styles
 * Often draw upon linguistic structures and cultural knowledge from
 * May be thematic in nature
 * Are not limited by a focus on specific linguistic concepts or vocabulary
 * Encourage creative use of the language
 * Encourage risk taking
 * Require little or no help from the teacher in terms of language

__Ideas for Application and Extension (from //Foreign Language Framework)//__


 * service learning
 * completing homework
 * reading (with sufficient preparation)
 * writing letters
 * summarizing written material
 * writing a television weather report
 * listening to extra dialogs
 * listening to books on tape
 * listening to anecdotes
 * listening to advertisements
 * listening to instructions
 * telephone calls
 * finding information on the Internet
 * connect with classrooms around the world (target language)
 * intern for local agencies or businesses (target language)
 * research project in communities where target language spoken
 * student exchange opportunities
 * student travel groups
 * using the Internet (comply with your district’s Internet policy.)
 * interacting with businesses and the community
 * participating in exchanges
 * mentoring

__Ideas for Beyond the Classroom__
 * Guest native speakers in the classroom
 * “Hearing Authentic Voices” http://www.learner.org/channel/libraries/tfl/spanish/alston/index.html
 * This is a video from the Annenberg series that features native-Spanish-

speaking guest speakers. While the speakers are asked to speak about a topic that is tied to the current unit of study, we know that any time a native speaker participates in the class, students will have to reachbeyond the current unit in order to understand and effectively participate in the communication. § Outside of class in a normal place (i.e.: coffee shop) § Place where student age group would meet anyway § Some teachers do these during lunch § During lunch, more opportunity for participation § //Focus is on commitment to speak only the target language// § Focus is never on accuracy of students’ language § Any topics that the students will find interesting > > > __Special Opportunities for the Sacramento Area__ > Carnicerías (Sp) > //Día de la Familia// (attend and/or volunteer) > Health Fairs/Job Fairs (Sp.) > //National Theater for Performing Arts// (Sp., Fr., out of New York) > //Read-Around-the-World// (partnership with Sacramento County Library) > (Year of Languages/Discover Languages program) > //World Language Day//, CSUS > Teach song, dance, etc.; facilitate game or other activity) > //Cultural Mosaics, Linguistic Landscapes// > (Year of Languages,/Discover Languages program) > > **BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: Higher Order Thinking Skills** > //Application// > **EXAMPLE:** Create and facilitate a scavenger hunt > **EXAMPLE**: Videotape yourself preparing an authentic recipe > Solving > Transforming > Determining > Demonstrating > Preparing > //Analysis// > **EXAMPLE:** Problem-based learning > Identify problem at school (i.e., trash) > Observe, collate data > Report on why the problem exists > Classifying > Comparing > Making Associations > Verifying > Seeing cause-and-effect relationships > Determining sequences, patterns, and consequences > //Synthesis// > **EXAMPLE:** Make a video: Why students should study a language > **EXAMPLE:** (Advanced): Create a Handbook of (school rules) or ..... > **EXAMPLE:** (Basic): Create signs to be used in (a park) or ..... > **EXAMPLE:** Create an art gallery of ..... > **EXAMPLE:** You are a soldier in ..... Write home about your experiences > **EXAMPLE**: Keep a journal of your trip on the Pan-American Highway > Generalizing > Predicting > Imagining > Creating > Making inferences > Hypothesizing > Making decisions > Drawing conclusions > //Evaluation// > **EXAMPLE:** Budget for ..... > **EXAMPLE:** Persuade > your mother you want to be a mechanic, not a nurse > your teacher to let the class chew gum > your friend to stop smoking, or ..... > **EXAMPLE:** Decide which piece of art is better for your living room > or ..... > **EXAMPLE:** Decide which car to buy, convince your friend > **EXAMPLE:** Make a schedule for how to get everything finished by ..... > Assessing > Persuading > Determining value > Judging > Validating > Solving problems > Feel free to add your own resources to this page by clicking "Edit This Page" at the top. You must be signed in to edit. Don't forget to save! > **Name of Resouce:** > **Where to find it: > Description: > Posted by:** > >
 * Conversation Groups/Coffee Clubs
 * Field Trips/Student personal excursions, in which students only hear and speak the target language
 * Restaurants (check first for wait staff who will speak language)
 * Stores specializing in cultural foods/goods (check first for language)
 * Movies in target language (follow district guidelines)
 * Partnering with a local business with a waiting area
 * Providing student-created materials
 * Story books for children waiting
 * Healthy living for hospital waiting room
 * Dental hygiene for dentist’s office
 * Bilingual story books
 * Advanced students volunteer a local food bank (Sp)
 * High school students teach elementary students
 * ELD Learners especially benefit

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