From end to beginning: How to
vertically align your language
program
(speaking and listening)
Martha Pero
&
World Language Department at HHS
Hudson City Schools
perom@hudson.edu
Martha Pero
 B.S. in Ed. Bowling Green State University, OH
 M.A. Spanish Translation Kent State University, OH
 Teaching for 27 years
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2 North Baltimore, OH
25 Hudson, OH
5 years at Kent State University
Ashland University
NBCT
President Ohio Foreign Language Association 2008
CSC Teacher of the Year, Finalist ACTFL TOY
Harvard Award for Excellence in Teaching
To begin
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Hudson’s history
Buy in
Agreed upon grading
Backward design
Familiarity with state standards
Hard to separate all these skills: integrated
Hudson’s history
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7 teachers teaching one language
5 languages being taught
No common assessment
Started at chapter 1 and got to ???
Buy in
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Teachers must be on board
Support of Principal
Support of Curriculum Director
Professional development
Agreed upon grading
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What do you want them to know?
Standards based?
All practice grading different levels.
Holistically or points per error?
Rubric?
Backward design
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Start with your highest level and go backwards.
All teachers understand all levels
Work with teachers in other districts.
Three main stages of design
1.
Identify desired outcomes and results-what do they need to
be able to do?
2.
Determine what performance the students will do to
illustrate competency.
3.
Plan instructional strategies and leaning experiences that
help them attain the goal.
Backward Design
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Clear performance goals based on key questions
Engaging, hands-on approach
Focus on interesting ideas, questions, problems
Real-world application beyond the classroom
Quality feeback system
Choices for students
Familiarity with state standards
 Know your standards
 The book should not decide what and how you teach.
Speaking
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The hardest to do
Find native speakers- Skype, community etc.
Require target language in class
You speak as much as possible in target language in
class- ACTFL guidelines 90% at all levels
 Speaking rubrics (handout)
 Judge on if a native speaker can understand- if can
communicate
Speaking AP
 Formal presentation 2 minutes (handout)
 Read one article, listen to one source, speak 2 minutes
 Informal simulated conversation (handout)
 Do as many as possible during year
 Speaking journals (handout)(Rebecca Wiehe)
 5/2 Students talk about a subject for 5 minutes, then
one person goes to another group and talks for 2
minutes
Level 4
 Give topic ahead of time
 Types of activities
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6 picture sequence to tell a story (handout)
PowerPoint presentation with phrases only on slides
Skype with native speakers
5 words (Joe Moore)
 put 5 words on the screen, half the students have back to
the screen, partner describes words to get the student to
say it in English
5 words
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5.
EXIT RAMP
SHORTCOMINGS
EXPULSION
SEED
THUG
5 words
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
AFFECTION
ASSORTMENT
CATAPULT
CHEMOTHERAPY
CRUTCH
Speaking Level 4
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Odes
Debates/with notecards of facts
Oral summaries of news articles
Ellis Island (vide0)
Speaking Level 3
 Noticias - (handout)
 Planned presentations
 Teach circumlocution to learn new words or explain
them.
 Tell stories- campfire,
 Answer direct questions that are open ended. Prepare
for questions, then be ready for related questions.
 Practice speaking in different tenses, especially questions
 Lip sync songs (example)
Speaking Level 2
 Very direct questions that have been prepared
(handout)
 Tell them what they need to use. Direct object
pronouns etc.
 Use some opened questions that elicit vocabulary
that they know
 Change the verb tenses accordingly in the questions
 Start teaching the transition words to connect
thoughts. Also pause words to think while speaking.
Speaking Level 1
 Very short and to the point
 Frustrating for them because they want to say things they
do not know how to say in target language
 Keep the speaking very focused
 Give a lot of input before expecting a lot of output.
 Use picture flashcards or PowerPoint to elicit a response of
a word or sentence.
 Please work on pronunciation from day one. It is very
difficult to change bad habits 3 years later.
 Sing songs
Speaking all levels
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Let them hear themselves
Have them transcribe what they say
They never believe that they said... until they hear it.
Have peers listen for comprehensibility
Self-awareness it vital
Example
 AP – Interview a native speaker- Make questions and
respond to speaker on own- record
 Fourth year- show and tell no cards, peers think of
questions as they listen
 Third year- Bring show and tell with specific words on
cards, not all written out. Peers take notes on what is
said and summarize.
 Second year – make up questions and answer that is
directed (Handout Barbara Snyder)
 First year - specific questions. (handout)
Listening
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Listen, listen, listen
Do all that you have available with your series
This is often very difficult at all levels
The more they hear you speaking the target language,
the more they will understand others
Listening AP
 Use the computers
 There are many online foreign newspapers with video and oral
clips. Univision in Spanish is excellent
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Watch T.V. in the target language if available
Show movies in class in target language and hide subtitles
Many AP materials out there especially in Spanish- use them
For listening on exam, read questions first, write notes while
listening looking for the questions
 Interview native speakers
 When it goes to fast, tell them to listen fast. 
Listening AP for exam
 Listen to a variety of accents, never know what will
be on the exam
 Listen, read, read
 compare, contrast
 take notes on the listening and reading in Venn, draw
arrows for comparisons, then write
Listening 4
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Teach to stay focused.
Listen for main ideas.
Show them the cadence of the language
Listen more than once– don’t give up
The only way to get better is to listen to as much as
you can
 Use news videos that they can see what is going on to
help create meaning.
Listening 4
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Odes
Stories on tape
Movies in target language with subtitles
Songs
Listening level 3
 Video series
 Extra- Streaming video French, German, Spanish
(example)
 Aventuras Vascas – Spanish
 La Catrina- Spanish
 Suggestions?
 Authentic samples are difficult and fast- use for main
idea only
Listening Levels 1 & 2
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Texbook audio
Authentic commercials in target lanugage
Authentic short cuts- look for key words
Songs, songs, songs– print words so they can see and
sing along
Example
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AP-Listen with no vocabulary available nor video.
Level 4- Listen with video.
Level 3- learn vocabulary before videos
Level 2 and 1- Videos should be very specific or known
to the students. They can pick words out.
Conclusion
 Start with where you want to go.