Welcome...
Here at Cleveland Middle School we take seriously our role to help students become well-equipped citizens for the world in which they live. Foreign languages introduce students to the appreciation of other cultures and helps further their interdisciplinary thinking skills. Our goal is to give students a speaking, writing and reading knowledge of foreign languages at an entry level or better; so, when they move on to high school they will already have the basics of learning a language and would be better prepared to choose which one they would like to learn further.
We expect our "iBabel Travelers" to work independently, building their basic listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing skills in their chosen language. "iBabel Travelers" will keep a journal of their growing knowledge and will work on projects to share with other students in their classrooms using Web 2.0 tools.
Cabinet of Curiosities (ca.1695) by Domenico Remps, held in the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence, Public Domain
iBABEL WORLD LANGUAGE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM
Welcome...Please click on the "Learn a New Language" button to the left to access the Mango Language Center and begin your language learning session! Once at the Mango web site you either click on the "Start Learning" button to immediately start learning, or create a personal Mango profile to track your learning progress.
Comprehensive Language Sites:
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Free Video Lessons in Arabic; Mandarin Chinese; Biblical Hebrew and Modern Hebrew.
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Currency Converter: Find out how your countries currency compares to the U.S. Dollar here!
Foreign Language Resources:
Common Core Anchors.
Polish your skills by listening to free Podcasts in your chosen Language!
Names in Foreign Languages...Omniglot...Find out your Name!
How to Learn Languages Online for Free
iBabel
Welcome "iBabel" Independent World Language Learners!
There are three goals we will be striving to meet this new academic year 2015-2016:
1. Learn Survival Skills in a Foreign Language of your choice - September 2015 - February 2016
2. Learn Cultural facts about chosen country - September 2015 - February 2016
3. Create a 2 minute video presentation using iMovie, to fellow classmates, summarizing what has been learned. - March 2016 - April 2016
The Tower of Babel is reference in the Bible. In the book of Genesis, the story tells of a city in Shinar in which Noah's descendants tried to build a tower intended to reach to Heaven. God punished its builders for this presumption and prevented them from finishing the tower by causing them all suddenly to speak in different languages so that they could not understand one another. The expression "The Tower of Babel" has come to mean a place of confusion. With the use of the iMacs and iPads, and listening to podcasts on sites such as iTunes and creating videos using iMovie, calling our CMS Independent Language Learning Program...iBabel, seemed an apt expression for our mission is to develop in the months ahead survival language skills in a world rapidly becoming more interconnected.
Why Learn a Foreign Language?
An advocacy video for foreign language education. ADVANTAGES OF EARLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION: higher linguistic proficiency in the long run; appreciation of different cultures and diversity; greater performance in all academic areas, including native language; increase in creativity, memory, and listening skills; and deeper understanding of own language and culture READ MORE>
iPad Apps offer another way to review new vocabulary in your chosen language!
The best way to learn a second language is through **frequent exposure** to the language in a stimulating and rich learning environment. This “survival skills” training is designed to help prepare students for living in a global society. It will involved reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.
MANGO Language Tutorial
Mango Languages Methodology - Intuitive Language Construction
MANGO Languages in Action
Learn a Foreign Language!
Mango Languages: Introducing Mango Premiere. Language Learning through film
Celebrities Speak Languages
How can we easily memorize new words in a different language? Different people have different techniques for memorizing new words but there are some basic ways that we can make memorizing easier for us.
You may now greet people around the world saying, "Hello!" to them in different languages!
Travel the World Video: an Epic 80 Day Montage
The Benefits of Being Bilingual - Univision Noticias
Does Being Bilingual Make You Smarter?
iBabel 2015 - 2016
World Language Enrichment Study
Three-Part Approach
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Expansion of Survival Skill in Chosen Language - Enhance listening and speaking skills, Foreign Language Acquisition
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Cultural Awareness of Country of Language Origin - Research & Writing component, a Cultural Study Appreciation
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iMovie Presentation of Cumulative Learning
Part 1. World Language Acquisition
September 2015 - February 2016
Resources:
MANGO Online Language Aquisition Program; Memrise Online Language Program; Talk Now DVD for specific language; iPad apps; internet links listed on CMS LMC’s website; podcasts; phrase books and language flashcards
Students will be required to keep a notebook/journal outlining their progress on a daily basis.
The main focus will be on conversation [listening/speaking comprehension] and building a basic lexicon. Topics covered will be everyday activities/situations [introductions, shopping, colors, numbers, ordering from a menu, etc.]. The focus will be primarily on speaking, with the main objective being to have the students speaking comfortably with a general appreciation of the written language.
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Mango Conversations includes 63 foreign languages & 18 ESL courses
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Mango Premiere (online language learning through film & media)
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Testing & assessment built-in to program (Mango Conversations)
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Teacher/ADMIN portal for student tracking - virtual classroom
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Remote access (students can access from home)
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Access to all of Mango's mobile apps
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Access for students, parents, teachers & staff
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Extended content (only available for K/12)
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Color coding technology to help with syntax & grammar
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Phonetic pop-ups -- great visual for pronunciation
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Voice comparison technology built into every slide (Mango Conversations)
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High-Quality recordings from PHD native linguists
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Mobile applications for iPhone, Android & all tablets
Languages Available:
Choose from 63 world languages
Part 2. Cultural Study Appreciation
September 2015 - February 2016
Resources:
TED ED mini-lessons on culture and world history. On Thursdays, each week the group will focus on a TED Ed mini-lesson and will take notes in their notebooks/journal. Students will rate themselves as to their participation.
Online Resources available through OverDrive; Maps, texts about countries; travel DVDs; travel guides and internet links to history sites on CMS LMC’s website; and cultural artifacts
Students will cite appropriately all information gathered.
1-Minute Insight: Why Bilingual Brains Rock!
Few of us use all--or even most--of the 3,000 English-language words available to us for describing our emotions, but even if we did, most of us would still experience feelings for which there are, apparently, no words.
In some cases, though, words do exist to describe those nameless emotions--they're just not English words. Which is a shame, because--as today's infographic by design student Pei-Ying Lin demonstrates, they often define a feeling entirely familiar to us.
Objective & Goal:
This exploratory language study is designed to introduce students to a variety of languages and cultures. It will allow students a chance to explore a foreign language of their choice through:
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language practice, limited survival skills
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exercises linking the foreign language with English skills and vocabulary building
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cultural material related to chosen language
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incorporating multi-media resources, apps on iPad, songs and travel DVDs
This approach will build readiness for a more formal study of a foreign language in the future. It is designed to be self regulated as an independent study and to last a semester, with meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the CMS Library Media Center’s Conference Room.
Part 3. iMovie Presentation...Application of Knowledge
March and April 2016
Watching Tutorials
Links are provided on CMS LMC’s website
Storyboarding
Layout of ideas for the presentation by drawing and writing with clear beginning, middle and ending
Researching and Compiling Information for Presentation
Gathering only public domain images, songs, video clips, to compile and use for presentation.
Final Assessment of Independent Study of World Languages
May 2016
Presentation must include the following:
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Map of country
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Student speaking expressions, sharing briefly learned cultural and historical knowledge
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Defining currency in relationship to the dollar and how far city is from Cleveland, Tennessee and how long journey on airplane would take, and how much it would cost
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Playing representative folk music of the country
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Bibliographic information presented at the end
For those students who began their presentation last year they will be expected to add two more minutes to their presentation this year.
Presentation will be shown to fellow classmates through the CMS Raider TV Broadcasting Studio and launched on CMS LMC’s website.
Students will access BlackBoard for further guidance and information in their research....
CLICK on Icon to log-in to BlackBoard!
CLICK on Icon to log-in to OverDrive!
5 Techniques to Speak any Language: Sid Efromovich at TEDxUpperEastSide.
A depiction of the Eiffel Tower at the Exposition Universelle of 1889. By Georges Garen, 1889, Public Domain
FRENCH
//Survival Skills
Learning French - developed in order to persuade upper elementary and lower middle school students to learn French through Portland's foreign language department.
"A View of a Town along the Rhine," by Cornelis Springer 1841, Public Domain.
GERMAN
//Survival Skills
Francisco de Goya, 1746-1828, "Bullflight, Suerte de Varas, 1824. Public Domain
SPANISH
//Survival Skills
RocknLearn provides an entertaining way to learn Spanish words and phrases using catchy music and colorful animation.
"Oregon Trail" by Albert Bierstadt, 1830-1902, Public Domain
ENGLISH
//ESL Students
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Language Guide.org - English
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Capital Letter Games
Learn a thing or two about English Idioms from this amusing teacher!
"Colosseum" in Rome, Italy by Marco
LATIN
//Survival Skills
"The Great Panda" China's National Symbol. Male Giant Panda "Tian Tian" (*1997) at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C.
Mandarin Chinese
//Survival Skills
Hindi
//Survival Skills
Learn HIndi with this interactive animated educational videoclip.
Baruch haba, בָּרוּךְ הַבָּא - Welcome
Hebrew
//Survival Skills
Learn 10 hebrew survival words compliments of The Travel Linguist.
A 19th-century tattooing pattern depicting pre-Islamic Arab hero and poet Antarah ibn Shaddad (left) and his lover Abla (middle) riding horses. The character on the right is called Shayboub.
Arabic
//Survival Skills
This video is an introduction to Arabic language it's good for beginners and those who would like to start learning Arabic from the very beginning.
Greek Theater Performance
Greek
//Survival Skills
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Ancient Greece - The British Museum
Horrible Histories song I'm A Greek, sung by Mat Baynton and Jim Howick. Credits to BBCHorribleHistories.
Dusk darkens the Torii, a gate built as the entrance to a Shinto shrine, on Miyajima. Photograph by Paul Whitton
Japanese
//Survival Skills
Fun Hip Hop track to learn Japanese numbers.
St. Basil Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Russia
Russian
//Survival Skills
Learn Russian with Babel Yak's new system. You read, hear and then speak - the easiest way to memorize a language. Check out: http://www.babelyak.com and click on "Russian"
St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy
Italian
//Survival Skills
http://www.traveltaboo.com. Travelling abroad inevitably exposes a traveler to new cultures, customs and languages. You can get into serious troubles in a foreign land if you are not prepared for the different cultural and language encounters. This video clip, produced by Fasten Seat Belts, aims to introduce some basic Italy Survival Words for Global Travellers in order to break linguistic and cultural communication barriers
Evening in Poipet, Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia.
Kymer
//Survival Skills
Some common Cambodian phrases you might want to use in Cambodia.