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for the questions, but they do not have enough
time to type the answers. However, we suggest
that fast typing is a skill that everybody should
have and practice in the 21 st century. Therefore,
this activity has the added benefit of providing
practice in rapid typing skills.
[Th4] Fast pacing . This activity was fast-paced,
which made students thoroughly focus on
the activity. Research reports that learning
under pressure might make learning more
productive (Joƫls et al., 2006). For language
learners alike, a certain amount of anxiety
is reported to have a beneficial effect on
focusing and on learning (Lightbrown &
Spada, 2006).
Theoretical Underpinnings: Activity #3
[Th1] Revision of old material . Revision of old
material is necessary for improving mental
connections. The more connections estab-
lished, the better the chance for a quicker
and more accurate retrieval of the word from
long-term memory in the future (Lesgold,
1984).
[Th2] Self-Regulation. In addition to the cognitivist
procedures of learning, learners monitor and
direct themselves through self-regulation
(metacognitive awareness) in order to attain
their goals (Paris & Paris, 2001). Such an
approach increases the chances for effective
learning (Schunk, 2008). In this activity,
students were to return to the previously-
tested vocabulary and evaluate the correct
answers on their own. They were thereby
given a sense of responsibility for their own
learning.
[Th3] Automaticity . In language mastery, it is often
insufficient only to remember words. It is
often necessary to be able to recall vocabu-
lary instantly. Imagine wanting to talk on the
phone with somebody in India. Your slow
and broken Hindi might lead to impatience
from your listener and frustration for yourself
because you cannot quickly remember the
word you need. Not only will your phone
bill be exorbitant, your conversation partner
may hang up on you in disappointment and
impatience. This slideshow quiz activity
allows for practice of automaticity, which
is important when striving for fluency in a
foreign language (Spolsky, 1989).
Activity #4 : Vacation in the
Alps and at the Seaside
Material practiced: vocabulary related to weath-
er, the seasons, vacation activities, the Present
Simple Tense, grammatical gender.
Description
At this stage of learning German, students were
introduced to vocabulary related to the weather.
The activity was designed with two portions: (1)
weather vocabulary exploration and practice;
(2) teleporting to the virtual Alps and then to the
German seaside [Th1] and writing postcards from
the two locations using vocabulary and phrases
related to weather.
Part 1: Weather Vocabulary Exploration and
Practice
The teacher asked the students to go to specially
designed blocks. These blocks were color-coded
(blue for masculine, pink for feminine and green
for neuter) [Th2]. The color-coded blocks had
textures representing weather vocabulary. The
pictures had labels with German words corre-
sponding to the pictures. The students' task was
to walk around the blocks, explore them, to try to
learn words related to the pictures, and to associate
those words with color-coded blocks denoting the
corresponding grammatical gender.
Next, students were asked to teleport to the TV
screen for vocabulary practice [Th3] [Th4] ( for a
detailed description of the way this activity was
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