LINC 1-4 Classroom Activities

Background

Each book is a miscellany of language learning activities organized by the 12 themes in the LINC 1-5 Curriculum Guidelines. Each is intended as a supplementary resource of self-contained and reproducible activities to complement existing LINC programming.

The choice and development of activities was determined by a wide range of factors, including:

• the LINC 1-5 Curriculum Guidelines;
• a survey of needs of LINC instructors in Ontario;
• the requirement to adhere to the appropriate Canadian Language Benchmarks;
• the classroom experience of the writers;
• a mandate to address the specific needs of women, youth (school-leaving age to 29 years old) and seniors, as identified in the Consultations on the Settlement and Language Training Services Needs of Newcomers in Support of the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, 2006.

Every activity has been assessed by a CLB-trained editor to ensure alignment with the appropriate benchmarks.

A general methodology is provided for each activity, but it is anticipated that instructors will make modifications based on the needs of their particular classes.

Each book contains a wide range of tasks that can be used as assessment tools. They adhere to the Competency Outcomes outlined in the Canadian Language Benchmarks.

The activities target the following benchmark levels:

About the E-Resources

What is the purpose of the e-resources?

The purpose of the e-resources is to both stimulate and challenge learners using web-based multimedia technologies. Good teaching practice necessitates the use of a variety of learning activities, and these resources give teachers another mode of delivery to enhance learning.

Who are the e-resources for?

These e-resources are appropriate for use by students working independently outside of a LINC class or inside a computer lab facilitated by a classroom instructor. In fact, the e-resources are ideal for use in a computer lab; each learning object has a lead-in page to introduce the background language and any requisite knowledge.

What is the best way to introduce students to an e-activity?

As with any learning activity, the e-activities will be more meaningful and students will have a greater chance of success if they are introduced to the task. The lead-in page for each activity addresses this by providing suggested discussion questions and a link to a related website, which can extend these discussions. These introductory activities are optional; instructors may use their own introduction or they may use the activities in the print version as the lead-in to the e-activities. This lead-in page also has links to the e-activities, and a link to a password-secured answer key. The password is “lincesl”.

Are the online activities the same as the paper-based activities?

While some of these e-activities are very similar to the paper-based activities, many are different. Instructors should check before using both the print- and e-activities.

What is the role of the teacher using these e-activities?

Instructors using this book are encouraged to incorporate the e-activities into their lesson planning using a balanced approach. Generally, with the exception of the communication during the introduction, there is no collaboration in these self-study activities. In addition, because of the limitations of technology in providing feedback on written work, there is little opportunity for students to write, other than completing cloze exercises, correcting errors in texts, and filling in short answer type questions. Instructors should ensure learners have a balanced opportunity to practice all of the language skills, especially writing and speaking.

What is the password for the instructor’s answer key on the introduction pages?

The password is “lincesl”. Do not give learners the password. They do not need the answer key because all of the activities are self-correcting.

Why do I need an answer key if the e-activities are self-correcting?

The purpose of the answer key is to help instructors who are facilitating in a computer lab. The answer key is to assist them make more effective use of their time when they are helping students at work stations.

What are the technical requirements for using these resources?

The e-activities have been tested with the following specifications:

• Broadband internet access
• Windows XP or later; or Mac OS X (v. 10.5)
• Browsers: Windows: Firefox 3.5.5/ Macintosh: Safari 4.0.3
• Screen resolution: 1024 X 768 (or higher)
• QuickTime Player plug-in (version 7 or higher)
• Adobe Flash Player

Classroom Activities and Audio Files

Please note: Audio Zip files (to open those files, hover over the zip file link, right click and select open in new tab or window, the file will download after this).