Teaching Resources

The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Language Learners

Presented at Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Dearborn, MI, April 2004 and at the Wisconsin Association For Language Teachers Conference WAFLT, Appleton, WI, November 2002 “Best of Wisconsin: The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Language Learners”

  • Resources from my presentations on “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Language Learners”
  • Here is my list of 7 habits and many sample activities and strategies that I developed for each of them (these materials are currently being used in my third-year French language and culture course)
  • Link: WAFLT_7__habits_handouts1.doc

Play to Win

Presented at the Wisconsin Association For Language Teachers Conference WAFLT, Appleton, WI, November 2003, “Play to Win”

  • Here are the handouts my follow-up presentation “Play to Win” with playful suggestions for teachers and advanced language learners to update and polish their skills:
  • Link: WAFLT_play_to_win_handouts.rtf

Encouraging Words: Teaching La Grammaire est une chanson douce

Presented at the American Association of Teachers of French Conference AATF, Quebec, Canada, July 2005, “Encouraging Words: Teaching La Grammaire est une chanson douce”

  • Resources for teaching Erik Orsenna’s La Grammaire est une chanson douce (compiled and created by Anita Alkhas and Lawrence Kuiper)
  • Link: La grammaire est une chanson douce

Home is Where the Art is

Presented at the American Association of Teachers of French Conference AATF, Quebec, Canada, July 2005 & at the Wisconsin Association For Language Teachers Conference WAFLT, Appleton, WI, November 2005 “Home is Where the Art is”

  • Resources for teaching about Art in French (compiled and created by Anita Alkhas, Mary Mann, Julie Rose & Margaret Schmidt-Dess)
    1. Here is a comprehensive glossary of art terms that I have compiled for teachers and/or advanced students (NOTE: this is a work-in-progress – I am adding new terms regularly). My suggestion is to use it to create ‘mini-glossaries’ for students that are tailored to a specific assignment or artist or genre (see my example below for a Fragonard painting in our local collection at the Milwaukee Art Museum).

      Link: A glossary of art terms in French

    2. Here is a mini-glossary that I created using the larger glossary:

      Link: A mini-glossary on Fragonard

    3. Here is a webography of resources for art and French:

      Link: AATF_WAFLT_webography_with_links.doc

    4. Here is a fun activity/project (adapted from the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s project http://www.wildlifeart.org/ArtTales/index.html )

      Link: Vous êtes le conservateur

    5. Here is a chart that compares and contrasts the experience of viewing an actual art work vs. a reproduction:

      Link: Real versus ‘virtual’

    6. Here are suggested speaking activities (suggestions for using art to target the Interpersonal communication standard)

      Link: Art and interpersonal communication

    Regional Accents: How the French Define(d) the Midwest

    Presented at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Conference ACTFL, Chicago, IL, November 2004, “Regional Accents: How the French Define(d) the Midwest”

    • Resources for teaching about Regions in France and the U.S. (compiled and created by Anita Alkhas, Lawrence Kuiper and Denise Phillippe)
    • Here is a PowerPoint presentation discussing the notion of regions in general and on French roots in the Midwest:
      Link: Regional Accents: How the French Define(d) the Midwest:
    • Here is a compilation of web resources on French and the Midwest (including sites on the “Voyageurs”):
      Link: Region Webography
    • Quinze par quinze: Multiculturalism and Music in France

      Presented at the American Association of Teachers of French Conference AATF, Denver, CO, July, 2001, “Quinze par quinze: Multiculturalism and Music in France”

      • Resources for teaching about multiculturalism and music in France through music videos from “Clips pour apprendre” (compiled and created by Anita Alkhas and Mary Vogl)
      • Here are lesson plans and background information for four music videos: ROCCA’s Les jeunes de l’univers; I AM’s Une femme seule; SCHKOONK’s La source de mon bonheur; and TONTON DAVID’s Sûr et certain

        Link: Four music videos

      Tolerance: a French/English cognate

      Presented at the American Association of Teachers of French Conference AATF, Atlanta, GA, July 2004, “La Tolérance est une langue en soi” (some of the materials were also presented with Anne-José Villeneuve at the Wisconsin Association For Language Teachers Conference WAFLT, Appleton, WI, November 2003, “Tolerance: a French/English cognate”)

      • Resources on tolerance for the French classroom (compiled and created by Anita Alkhas and Anne-José Villeneuve)
      • These resources will be added soon.

      La Tolérance est une langue en soi

      Presented at the American Association of Teachers of French Conference AATF, Atlanta, GA, July 2004, “La Tolérance est une langue en soi” (some of the materials were also presented with Anne-José Villeneuve at the Wisconsin Association For Language Teachers Conference WAFLT, Appleton, WI, November 2003, “Tolerance: a French/English cognate”)

      Resources on tolerance for the French classroom (compiled and created by Anita Alkhas and Anne-José Villeneuve)

      These resources will be added soon.

      Sink or Swim: Planning an Immersion Weekend

      Documents from the ACTFL 2006 Presentation “Sink or Swim: Planning an Immersion Weekend” (Presented with Larry Kuiper and Denise Phillippe)

      • A General Overview of the Immersion Weekend
      • A Sample Cover Letter to Immersion Weekend Participants
      • Some icebreaker/nametag ideas
      • A Template for Treating Authentic Documents and Realia in the (Immersion) Classroom
      • Powerpoint from the presentation