Does anyone have the DPS videos link? I know I’m supposed to have them, and I know they are on SchoolTube, but I can’t find them. We get that request from Michele as well as an update on her trip here:
Dear Ben,
I seem to have lost the link to the DPS teacher videos. Could you share that with me? For some reason, the one I had now links to the iFLT conference page!
In other news, I am in Iowa attending a Russian Language Distance-Learning workshop. We’ve now spent two entire days on standards, first of our country, and second of Russia. (That means the standards for teachers, the standards for students – ACTFL – and the specific standards for Russian as well as a Framework for Russian language learning.) It has been a sleep-inducing couple of days. The four HS teachers here are a bit frustrated, though the Russian information was very new and somewhat jarring to us. It turns out that Russians have a completely different perspective that I am having trouble wrapping my mind around. They started the presentation by saying there can only be a standard, not standards, and went on to explain that the very elementary level was control of 760 words. And more stuff, including the ability to process 50-100 words a minute on familiar topics. And then more, which I won’t even try to start to explain. There’s an ocean between the two countries, figuratively as well as literally. I didn’t know that people could think so differently, and I’ve been studying the Russians for many years now. I thought I knew it all.
One of the HS teachers is quite frank about his belief that until the kids can control nouns and adjectives in all twelve possible case endings, they will not be able to speak Russian. Out of the other side of his mouth, he says that he himself doesn’t control them perfectly after all these years. I wish Katya were here to give the inspiring discussion she offered at NTPRS. In fact, her presentation needs to be beamed into the minds of all language teachers, nation, or maybe world, wide. It is incredibly inspiring to know that she is making a real difference at DLI. I can’t wait ’till the country has to adjust, based on their dawning comprehension of this better way.
Anyway, I’m not much closer to having any clue of how to get a distance course off the ground, especially without any technological support to speak of, and time is short. I need to be able to do this in just a couple of weeks. I just now realized that Nathan probably could help me better than anyone here, so I’m copying this to him. Nathan, I need you!!!
But Ben, since two of the teachers here are fascinated by everything I’ve told them about TPRS, I really need those links.
Greetings to all!
Michele