C4T #1

For this project, I was given the task of reading over Joe Dale's blog. The most recent post I came across was a list of people who participated in a program called Links into Languages and near the bottom I cam across some sad news. The UK government has decided to stop providing funds for Links for Languages. After doing a bit of reading on what Links into Languages was exactly, I realized just how horrible it was that the UK government decided to cut funding. Links into Languages strives to improve the field of teaching languages. It looks to improve the curriculum and the quality of teaching.


Anyway, I find it quite awful that funding has been cut. This program is a wonderful thing and I agree with everything it's about. Knowing more than just your native language these days is very important, but it's hard to find a class that's effective enough to where students actually remember the material. I myself have had three Spanish classes over the course of my high school and college careers. My teachers were pretty good, but there were such huge gaps in between each class, I'd forgotten most of the material. Not to mention, I really had no way of holding onto what I learned. I simply went through the classes and learned what I had to to pass them. I'm sorry that funding was cut, but I hope the program can continue in its efforts in finding better resources and ways of teaching.

The second post on Mr. Dale's blog consisted of a video and a short explanation of what the video was. I read the explanation and my initial thoughts were "That's neat." After watching the video I was absolutely in love. The video is a group of French teachers who took the "Happy Days" theme song and put their own words to it (in French) in order to help students learn daily routines (like brushing your teeth, eating breakfast, etc.).

I think more teachers should use this method. It makes it more entertaining for students to learn, not to mention it makes it easier. In all my years of school, I've only heard of one teacher in my school (I, unfortunately, was not able to have her as a teacher) used this method. A few of my friends were lucky enough to have her (I think it was our Sophomore year of high school) and to this day, they still remember the songs she taught them. Again, more teachers should use this method.