{"id":1793,"date":"2021-08-06T13:41:42","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T17:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madameshepard.com\/?p=1793"},"modified":"2021-08-06T13:42:38","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T17:42:38","slug":"3-critical-thinking-strategies-for-language-learners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madameshepard.com\/?p=1793","title":{"rendered":"3 Critical Thinking Strategies for Language Learners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve taken a quick break from working on the second semester of my French I curriculum to finish up my presentation for this year\u2019s ACTFL conference. Because I wrote a proposal for a topic that I\u2019ve never presented on, I\u2019m starting from scratch this time around. Talk about overwhelming! After a period of utter terror as I stared at a blank Google Presentation, I did some research and started filling in those slides.  Here are three of the strategies that I\u2019m including in my presentation along with some French examples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

#1: Debate Team Carousel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This particular strategy is one that I had been introduced to during a professional development workshop in my last teaching position.  While so many of the school-wide PD sessions I have attended seemed to lack relevance for language teachers, in this case I found that I could apply many of the strategies to my own classroom. I especially liked this one, as it was a great way to incorporate interpersonal writing and can be used alone or as preparation for a class debate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the steps for implementing this particular strategy which is described in detail here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The teacher creates a prompt that requires students to take a position and passes out this graphic organizer<\/a>. <\/li>
  2. Each student fills in the first box with their position and a rationale.<\/li>
  3. Students pass their paper to the right and add a rationale to support their classmate\u2019s position, even if they don\u2019t agree. <\/li>
  4. Students pass their papers to the right, read the first 2 boxes and add an opposing rationale to the 3rd box.<\/li>
  5. Students pass the papers to the right and add their own opinion, supporting it with a rationale.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Here\u2019s an example I created on the topic of grades: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    #2: Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This strategy was a new one to me, but I thought it was a great way to encourage students to think critically when interpreting authentic resources. Here are the steps to implementing this strategy, which is described here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. The teacher presents a question.<\/li>
    2. The students write a 1-sentence claim that answers the question. <\/li>
    3. Students look for evidence in the text to support their claim.<\/li>
    4. Students write a conclusion to support their claim by citing and explaining the relevance of the evidence.<\/li>
    5. Alternative: Students identify Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning in a text they are given<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      I decided to incorporate this strategy in my recent Bon Appetit unit<\/a>, but adapted it slightly for Novice learners.  Rather than having the students write a claim, I gave them a list of possible claims from which to choose. I also gave them sentence starters to guide their writing in the conclusion. Click here<\/a> for the activity, which is based on a reading about breakfast in France. I\u2019d love to have feedback about how this activity works with students!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      #3: Always, Sometimes, or Never True<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Although very simple, I think this strategy (described here<\/a>) could be used in a lot of different ways.  In this example<\/a>, which I created for a unit I\u2019m working on for the second semester of my French I curriculum, I used it as an interpretive task over an infographic about the French school system. I think this strategy can be a great alternative to the True\/False with Justification task that I so often fall back on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I hope to see some of you during my ACTFL session where I\u2019ll be sharing a couple dozen additional strategies!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I also wanted to take this chance to thank all of you who have purchased my French I First Semester Curriculum.  When I set the goal of creating this resource over the summer, I had no idea whether there would be any interest.  I was so thrilled by the response to the resource that I created a Facebook page for teachers to ask questions, provide feedback and share ideas.  Here\u2019s the link for those of you that have purchased the curriculum: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/1794760194060624<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      I\u2019ve taken a quick break from working on the second semester of my French I curriculum to finish up my presentation for this year\u2019s ACTFL conference. Because I wrote a proposal for a topic that I\u2019ve never presented on, I\u2019m starting from scratch this time around. Talk about overwhelming! After a period of utter terror […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musings"],"yoast_head":"\n3 Critical Thinking Strategies for Language Learners - Madame's Musings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/madameshepard.com\/?p=1793\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Critical Thinking Strategies for Language Learners - Madame's Musings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I\u2019ve taken a quick break from working on the second semester of my French I curriculum to finish up my presentation for this year\u2019s ACTFL conference. 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