Settlement Language Training PD

I would like to use a glossary for students to introduce themselves to their classmates including a brief description, a photo, and a link to their profile. Classmates could comment or ask questions using the comments feature of glossaries.

Best of all, I could set up a Random Glossary Entry block (with an appropriate title like Introductions) so that the student introductions cycle through randomly in a block on the course page - in the same way the Instructor Ideas block is set up to link to the Ideas for Applying glossary in this course.

This would be a good way to encourage students to communicate with each other online.

"Learning is not a spectator sport.... They must talk about what they are learning, write reflectively about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives."  

Based on this statement from good teaching principles; at the end of each session ask students to write in their blog one thing they learned during the session and how they could apply what they learned to their life. 

Adding links to the course is a convenient way to introduce your students to finding information on  the internet.  At this level, some learners still struggle with typing and searching in google.  I've found that adding the links directly to a wiki page or a course like this eliminates the "teacher I can't find it" element of an activity.  

Add an activity or resource gives the Instructor an opportunity to add course material that is relevant to their specific region. For example, Travel & Transportation L4, I added a link to the ICBC Road Signs practice test. Student will be able to practice reading signage in preparation for the driving knowledge test. I also added a pdf document explaining the ICBC Graduated Licensing Program which students will use for an in class speaking activity.

In some scorms in LINC2 course ware, we can find pictures and definitions for vocabulary learning. My students like the pictures. However, they usually need to use their dictionary to understand the new words in definitions. I hope we can actually have sample sentences in the vocabulary learning part so that lower-level students can learn both the meaning and usage of the word instead of getting stressed with more and more new words.

I like to add an authentic material that is relevant to the topic,  aligned with the CLB -level and based on the needs' assessment of my learners.  For example, after leaning about Tim Horton, I added an application form for those who are interested in applying for jobs.

Adding a list of community web links could help students easily access important information, for example government services, health information and local events. 

By providing a web link to a course (eg. You Tube - possibly performed by native speakers), TL can naturally be highlighted. Learners can recognize at understanding of language through real life situation and communication.

I love adding links to various websites. Motivation plays a significant role in the process of learning a language. New activities such as quizzes based on musical and other kinds of videos, as well as various games can be a fun way to practise English in the computer lab or at home. Links to websites with word searches could be a fun way to introduce or reinforce new vocabulary. Web sites could also be used in assignments.

A co-worker (Debbie Taniguchi - thanks Debbie!) has a great activity she shared where students research local events and then present them to small groups. The listeners are then jigsawed and present about the events they heard about. Afterwards I post the event website links on our class site to encourage the students to participate in said events when possible - and many report back that they do.