Gianfranco Conti

Memory: What Every Language Teacher Should KnowHow do we help students remember? If teachers understand how memory works, there is more chance of helping students do well through effective curriculum and lesson planning. This book is an introduction to memory written specifically with language teachers in mind. Taking evidence from the fields of cognitive science and second language acquisition, the authors examine a range of important aspects of memory. These include working memory, phonological memory, long-term memory, cognitive load, implicit and explicit knowledge, prospective memory, metamemory, learning from mistakes, the emotional factors affecting retention and curriculum design with memory in mind. Full references, questions for reflection, and suggestions for further reading and viewing are provided at the end of each of the 16 chapters. The authors apply research evidence to the languages classroom, with suggestions for pedagogy and specific classroom activities. Previous books by the authors are The Language Teacher Toolkit (2016) and Breaking the Sound Barrier: Teaching Language Learners How to Listen (2019)

This book is meant as a revision resource for GCSE French. It can be used independently by students as well as for teacher-directed classroom practice. It contains 16 units which focus mainly on the themes: myself, family and relationships, daily activities, my role model, hobbies and leisure. Each unit consists of a knowledge organiser recapping the target sentence patterns and lexical items, a series of receptive vocabulary building activities; a set of narrow reading texts and activities; a set of translation tasks. The tasks are graded in order to pose an increasingly demanding but manageable cognitive load and challenge and are based on Dr Conti's P. I. P. O. framework: Pre-reading tasks (activation of prior knowledge and pre-teaching)In-reading tasks (intensive exploitation of texts)Post-reading tasks (consolidation)Output (pushed-output tasks)Consistent with Dr Conti's E. P. I. approach, each of the 16 units in the book provide extensive recycling of the target lexical items both within each unit and throughout the book, across all the dimensions of receptive and productive processing, i.e.: orthography (single letters and syllables), lexis (both words and chunks), grammar/syntax (with much emphasis on functional and positional processing), meaning and discourse. The recycling occurs through input-flooding and forced retrieval through a wide range of engaging, tried and tested, classic Conti tasks (more than 20 per unit). These include student favourites such as slalom writing, faulty translation, spot the missing detail, sentence puzzles, etc. Table of contents1 Introducing yourself2 Describing yourself, your family and friends3 Talking about your hobbies and interests4 Describing a typical day in school5 Describing what you do after school6 Talking about a typical weekend7 Talking about what you did last weekend8 Talking about when you were younger9 Discussing the qualities of a good friend10 Describing the qualities of a good partner11 Saying why you don't get along with people12 Saying why I get along with people13 Saying why I argue with my parents14 Discussing why couples break up15 Talking about a person you admire16 Bringing it all together - Parts 1-5

Italian Sentence Builders is a workbook aimed at beginner to pre-intermediate students co-authored by three modern languages educators with over 50 years of extensive classroom experience between the three, both in the UK and internationally. This 'no-frills' book contains 19 units of work on very popular themes, jam-packed with graded vocabulary-building, reading, translation, retrieval practice and writing activities. Key vocabulary, lexical patterns and structures are recycled and interleaved throughout. Each unit includes: 1) A sentence builder modelling the target constructions;2) A set of vocabulary building activities;3) A set of narrow reading texts exploited through a range of tasks focusing on both the meaning and structural levels of the text;4) A set of retrieval-practice translation tasks;5) A set of writing tasks targeting essential micro-skills such as spelling, lexical retrieval, syntax, editing and communication of meaning. Based on the Extensive Processing Instruction (E. P. I.) principle that learners learn best from comprehensible and highly patterned input flooded with the target linguistic features, the authors have carefully designed each and every text and activity to enable the student to process and produce each item many times over. This occurs throughout each unit of work as well as in smaller grammar, vocabulary and question-skills micro-units located at regular intervals in the book, which aim at reinforcing the understanding and retention of the target grammar, vocabulary and question patterns.

Breaking the Sound Barrier: Teaching Language Learners How to Listen. To cite use Conti and Smith (2019). This book is for language teachers who want to help their students become more effective listeners. It focuses on the processes involved in aural comprehension, blending the latest research evidence with over 200 engaging listening activities, as well as lots of useful practical classroom ideas and lesson sequences. Chapters include the principles of "listening as modelling", developing phonological and lexical retrieval skills, grammatical parsing, interpersonal and task-based listening. There are also chapters on how to make the most of songs, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, assessment and preparing for examinations. The final chapter offers a framework for language teachers or departments who wish to develop a strategy for improved listening. The book aims to place listening at the forefront of lesson planning. Gianfranco and Steve have around 60 years of classroom experience between them and a track record of offering instantly usable, low-preparation activities for the classroom, supported by second language acquisition research. Their handbook The Language Teacher Toolkit is already widely used around the world. Too often, classroom listening is neglected by teachers and a source of fear for learners; how can we make it a successful and enjoyable experience for all? This book is truly unique in its genre, in proposing a different and more impactful answer to this question. We sincerely hope you enjoy it.

Breaking the Sound Barrier: Teaching Language Learners How to Listen. To cite use Conti and Smith (2019). This book is for language teachers who want to help their students become more effective listeners. It focuses on the processes involved in aural comprehension, blending the latest research evidence with over 200 engaging listening activities, as well as lots of useful practical classroom ideas and lesson sequences. Chapters include the principles of "listening as modelling", developing phonological and lexical retrieval skills, grammatical parsing, interpersonal and task-based listening. There are also chapters on how to make the most of songs, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, assessment and preparing for examinations. The final chapter offers a framework for language teachers or departments who wish to develop a strategy for improved listening. The book aims to place listening at the forefront of lesson planning. Gianfranco and Steve have around 60 years of classroom experience between them and a track record of offering instantly usable, low-preparation activities for the classroom, supported by second language acquisition research. Their handbook The Language Teacher Toolkit is already widely used around the world. Too often, classroom listening is neglected by teachers and a source of fear for learners; how can we make it a successful and enjoyable experience for all? This book is truly unique in its genre, in proposing a different and more impactful answer to this question. We sincerely hope you enjoy it.