Cultural competency is a buzzword that has been floating around in education for a few years. But what does this look like in our classrooms? We share best practices for creating an anti-bias classroom and work through case studies that will help put theory into practice. These case studies present instances of microaggressions in the classroom and participants learn and practice different strategies and language to address them.
This presentation reports on “travel-reading” as an approach to teach Asian literature. Travel-reading was a humanities grant project and implemented in a summer study abroad program in Taiwan in 2022. Reading Interior Chinatown worked as a pedagogical mechanism that helped students stay thematically engaged with a text while abroad. Students strategically interpreted and evaluated what they heard and saw in the country in comparison with their reading and developed an evolving framework that enabled them to appreciate differences, examine their beliefs, challenge the stereotypes that they had held about East Asian people, and reflected on how the invisibility of certain minorities can affect our consciousness and distort reality in our society.
An IPA (Integrated Performance Assessment) is an assessment sequence using the modes of communication–Interpretive, Interpersonal, & Presentational–but which can also provide a framework to design curriculum and instruction. We can repurpose the IPA as a framework for designing learning sequences and curricular units. We explore the IPA framework to deliberately move learners from meaningful input to authentic interaction, providing specific classroom examples drawing from our new (2022) ACTFL publication “Proficiency-Based Instruction: Input & Interaction in World Language Education.”
What is the #1 thing learners say they want to get out of their world language classes? They want to speak the language! So, let's get them started in their proficiency journey on day one. Under the right conditions, this is possible! Proficiency and SEL walk hand in hand in creating language learners and users in real-world situations that can forge positive relationships, develop empathy for others and learn responsibility. This session will share some ideas and examples that are proficient-focused, SEL anchored, cognitively engaging, and performance-based driven.
The inevitable transition to online learning in institutions of higher education has increased the necessity to know and understand the learner from across the screen. The digital revolution has not only changed the physical, social, and cultural space, but it has also changed the learner himself, his behavior, and ways of thinking. Along with the challenges of combining classroom language teaching with distance learning, we must pay attention to the learner. We answer questions such as: Do language learners, born and living in today's digital world, experience less anxiety in this space? Has the global epidemic forced us to move to the online space without providing any other options? Would some pedagogical ways, such as the Socratic seminar, provide an answer? (edited)
This session presents practical and readily adaptable instructional strategies to keep young learners interested and motivated. A thematic approach, incorporating stories, music and most importantly, play, captures students’ interest and whets the appetite for a range of language learning tasks, including repetition, listening comprehension and role play. The activities are repetitive and scaffolded and require no writing, making it suitable for young children, and students who learn differently. After modelling various themes and after discussing the instructional strategies, each participant develops a thematic language session individually. A speed date activity follows to sample the sessions and provide constructive feedback to each other.
This presentation demonstrates how to teach Chinese with comprehensible input, an instructional technique in which teachers provide input that allows EL students to understand most, but not necessarily all of the language. The presenter teaches super seven verbs (the most frequently used verbs in all languages) in Chinese and make a story using super 7 verbs together with the participants, who learn the super seven verbs in Chinese in a highly contextualized space.
Participants learn how utilizing aerial pictures taken by drones and flying drones can foster student exchanges in the target language and interact with a variety of activities to re-envision a neighborhood unit by integrating creativity with language, target culture authenticity and technology. The presenter showcases how she led her elementary students to create and describe their ideal LEGO neighborhood.
Music is an invaluable tool in the World Language classroom. Music helps us develop cultural awareness in the target language while lowering the Affective Filter. But the songs we choose are often too complex, with advanced vocabulary and colloquialisms that novice and intermediate learners can't yet grasp. Learn how to effectively use music in your World Language class to provide repeated exposure to target structures, and sustain comprehensible interaction in the L2, all while developing cultural awareness. This session is hands-on, so teachers can take the tools and resources to easily integrate the activities and units right back into their classrooms. No prior experience or background is necessary but come prepared to sing and dance to fully embrace the music!
What does engagement look like in a world language classroom? How do teachers incorporate authentic materials while also making instruction student-centered? Let’s discuss innovative ways to reach students and engage them in using the target language! French and Spanish resources will be shared and participants will have the opportunity to reflect, collaborate and share their own ideas. Take away practical strategies that you can implement in your classroom right away!
Effective world language programs support and benefit all students, and it is critical to recognize student differences and ensure that each student receives the resources and supports they need. This session describes resources developed to support teachers’ use of the 2021 Massachusetts World Languages Curriculum Framework, including supports for ensuring equity by differentiating instruction, promoting social and emotional well-being and social justice, and centering student diversity. Presenters will share best practices for supporting proficiency through equitable and assets-based approaches to instruction, lessons learned from developing these resources, and implications for future resource development and implementation of language standards and frameworks.
Why did my Italian friend look at me funny when I asked for an espresso with my dinner? Why does the host keep asking me if I want more pasta? How can I refuse dessert without offending the grandparent who baked it? It’s not only what you say, but how you say it. Learning a language doesn’t just mean becoming “fluent” in communication. It also means being proficient in using the language to navigate the cultural norms of various situations. This session explores classroom applications of the current NCSSFL-ACTFL Intercultural Communication benchmarks. We address how learners can use critical thinking skills to explore intercultural perspectives. The ultimate goal is for learners to accurately convey what they mean, all while staying within culturally appropriate norms.
This presentation is a reporting out of my MEAD Fellowship project work during the past year. I have been researching and curating information on teacher certification requirements in all of the states represented by NECTFL with the goal of creating a platform that allows non-traditional teachers to better navigate the certification process. Additionally, I have created a visual report that highlights potential areas for education and advocacy at the state level.
Do you want to learn how to make your arts unit come to life? Would you like for your students to experience works of art in an interactive and engaging way? Learn how to design these interactive activities using minimal technology, as well as how to make the experience comprehensible for all language learners. Come and experience how we can leverage the Google Arts and Culture app to make art come alive and promote proficiency all while having fun!
Participants examine model units, grounded in authentic United Nations SDGs in which students build intercultural citizenship by addressing environmental challenges. Models of learning progressions at both Novice and Intermediate levels show how students build intercultural communicative competence solving real world problems through action projects. These units serve as models to illustrate the learning activities that build toward the summative tasks. Teachers discuss learning opportunities that allow students to apply communicative competence in action projects addressing environmental problems while demonstrating intercultural citizenship skills.
Photographs from the target culture can be a great way even for beginning language learners to advance their cultural awareness. Have you ever wanted to connect your learners with native speakers abroad? This session showcases a fun project to connect language learners for the purpose of exchanging and discussing their own photos. The presentation summarizes a telecollaborative exchange between learners of German in the US and learners of English in Germany that focuses on the exchange and discussion of photographs taken by students based on assigned topics. The app used for the photo exchange is presented and other possible tools for conducting photo exchanges will be presented and students’ feedback on the exchange will be summarized.
The presenter shares strategies for differentiating content, process, and product using the research of Carol Ann Tomlinson and her team. Through learning how to differentiate, teachers are able to create proficiency-oriented tasks and assessments to meet the readiness levels of all learners. The presenter explains how to create differentiated tasks and assessments and will model differentiated teaching techniques throughout the presentation. The presenter shares examples of activities, assessments, rubrics and templates for teachers to create differentiated activities during the session.
Taking advantage of the best practices in peer review training and guided editing processes in ESL writing courses, a DE instructor and college faculty use the same training materials to help their students to become more effective in their Chinese peer editing. The collaborative process helps students become more effective thinkers and writers. First, we train the students to be specific by identifying the location of strengths/weaknesses as well as the concrete issues using the correction keys provided. Second, we want students to make sure that their feedback is helpful by suggesting concrete ways to improve the composition. Third, we show them how to be polite by using set polite phrases and expressions using the "cheat sheet" created by the two presenters through collaboration.
In an effort to bring Yiddish and German closer, graduate students at Columbia University organized two workshops to foster collaboration between the languages and to conduct a sample lesson. This session highlights the first programmatic steps taken to 1) overcome the isolation of Yiddish within the Germanic department; 2) explore how Yiddish could be integrated into the Germanic language classroom, and vice versa; 3) create resources and strategies for co-teaching of languages that hold close cultural and linguistic ties; 4) evaluate future implications of this interlinguistic collaboration and reimagine the future language classroom. The steps provide the springboard for discussion and generating further ideas. Participants receive materials to adapt for their own use.
In today's classroom, we are faced with a number of obstacles, from overcrowding to reaching diverse, reluctant learners. One thing the COVID pandemic has brought to the forefront in a more obvious way is the recognition of the impact of trauma and how it affects the way we learn. Teachers are accustomed to serving as coaches and counselors in addition to facilitators of learning, but how do we marry those aspects together? How do we address students' emotional needs while also teaching the curriculum? In this session, participants learn how a group of educators from Delaware worked together to align the World Language standards to the competencies of Social Emotional Learning.
How do we take students' language beyond the basic content vocabulary of nouns, verbs, and adjectives? “Level-up” words and phrases are pieces of the target language that are not inherently tied to any content like school, hobbies, or the environment, but rather enhance students’ language abilities and broaden their linguistic repertoire. High frequency phrases like it seems like, this is why, and as a result are a few English examples. Learn why we should include this language in our classes, discover how to incorporate them into everyday lessons, and see examples of how to use Extempore to facilitate exposure and meaningful practice of this language.
Has your teacher heart ever sunk at the sight of a discarded assessment that’s covered in valuable feedback? This session explores how teachers and learners can get more out assessments - after they’ve happened! First, learn to revise your teaching plan when an assessment fails in order to discover what students know or can do. Next, examine how to differentiate instruction post-assessment based on students’ performances. Finally, incorporate opportunities for “feedforward” which prompt student reflection and targeted action.
Explore the world of heroes and legends in the French speaking world through interdisciplinary units which provide a path for learners to investigate and interact with cultural competence in the target language. Lessons on the scientific heroes Marie Curie and Jacques Cousteau, historical figure Olympes de Gouges, and feminist writer George Sand are shared with participants. The lessons provide examples of opportunities to use authentic materials in our classrooms, and to develop critical thinking skills while investigating the people who shaped the world of today. Participants have time to discuss application of this concept for their own unique language learners.
I present ideas on how to teach Guernica (the bombing and the painting) in very interactive classes to intermediate and advanced students of Spanish. Participants will leave with materials and ideas on teaching the topic. The war in Ukraine and many others in our world today make this presentation current. The deep study of art and history makes this unit timeless. No background knowledge is necessary to follow this presentation.
Technology allows exploration of the artistic and social landscape of L2 cities. Design a project-based module on street art and public art using Google Earth, Instagram, and online resources to explore French and Francophone history, identity, and public discourse around racial diversity, social issues, and ownership of public space. Students leverage online access to public spaces and existing social media skills to create and respond to multimodal virtual tours of specific cities while building linguistic, intercultural, and visual literacy skills. This approach supports exploration of social justice and cultural values at all proficiency levels. Attendees develop materials for their students in hands-on activities. Some knowledge of Instagram is helpful but not required.
This presentation showcases the challenges and successes of the Generation Alpha Arabic language learners. Participants learn how to effectively teach the Arabic language and cultures to Generation Alpha in a hybrid format—using various technology tools to promote cultural competence and facilitate communication. The presenter demonstrates the concept, the procedure, and the result of the Alpha Arabic language learners in the hybrid format.
It is possible to have an English-free, target language only environment. I introduce some of the techniques, strategies, and methodology of the Accelerative Integrated Methodology (AIM) that, when combined holistically, create an immersion-like classroom. You have the opportunity to learn and practice some AIM gestures paired with high-frequency words that will quickly move your students to spontaneously communicating their own thoughts in the target language. Student comprehension and oral output will soar once they are freed from memorizing and being passive listeners.
We share the results of focus group research with heritage learners of Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Persian, and Russian about their knowledge of and interest in federal careers that use their language skills. Learn about high school and university students’ perspectives on the resources they use, questions they have, and obstacles they see in researching and pursuing possible careers. Presenters describe how these insights informed development of free web-based resources to help language learners connect their strengths and interests to career pathways, as well as how educators can support students to make these connections.
Feeling stressed by dropping enrollments in your programs? Enrollment in World Language courses at community colleges have been dropping over the last 12 years. This presentation describes the importance of the WL certificate as a valuable option for students to document their language and culture skills, and the process of creating such a program. By offering a certificate program, with the option of credentialing through the Global Seal of Biliteracy, more students can be reached in other disciplines as well as attracting students from local businesses who might want to increase their job skills. Participants find out how two different community colleges have created WL certificate programs to boost enrollment and provide students with skills for transfer and workforce.
Looking to strengthen your German program, to add depth and attract eager learners? Join us to learn about SPARK for German. We found success in our first year and are excited to share the building blocks that lead to success. We provide step-by-step action plans and share our actual experiences initiating this program to inspire participants to start their own SPARK lab. The SPARK program offers organic opportunities that support inclusion among student facilitators and student participants.
To aid their future careers as military officers, the United States Air Force Academy teaches its cadets a brand-new course, “French for Professional Purposes”, through the new pedagogical practice of “Inclusive Learning”. Participants hear how the instructor and her cadet co-presenter built a curriculum to meet the needs of a student body diverse in background, learning styles, age, and gender, with material curated through cadet research. Participants engage in inclusive activities and content representative of the course’s novel approaches to assignments and assessments, and leave with new techniques to make their courses even more inclusive for students.
Many students choose to study a language, because they want to use it for their enjoyment and advancement in their communities. In this session we explore using Communities standard to engage students, present them with real world opportunities to use their newly acquired language in their schools and communities. During the height of the pandemic, many people disengaged from the community. We re-examine how local communities can be a language learning resource and how learners can use their language skills in their communities.
Gifted students frequently abandon language study in favor of what they consider more useful subjects. We examine how these other subjects can become part of the language program. Students may be able to integrate the language they know in various ways in courses such as history, art, political science, or business. This promotes greater collaboration among teachers and better connections for students. The presenter gives examples and show how Language across the curriculum can become part of a language program. Participants are invited to share ideas.
Teachers know that every minute counts in the classroom, so multipurpose instructional routines can be instrumental in maximizing student learning. Number talks are a low-investment, high-reward practice that offer students and teachers a daily opportunity to build both computational and target language fluency while increasing student confidence in their mathematical skills and creating a classroom community in which everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas. In this session, learn the basics of how and why number talks are effective, hear and see examples from a first-grade Spanish dual language immersion classroom, and leave with everything you need to adapt and implement this tool with your own students!
Interacting in a language class can be intimidating for the best of us. However, engaging in oral interactions is paramount to becoming proficient in a language, to believing in one's own abilities and engaging in the learning process.
Sergio is a 3rd grade student at {Insert your school name}. Sergio has many strengths, but has a hard time seeing them. He often says negative things to himself, especially in school. Come see how your students will come to the rescue and help Sergio go from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, all the while internalizing these messages and strategies for themselves. Thanks to the Power of Positivity, Sergio takes these lessons and applies them, seeing how his outlook can change every aspect of his day!
The emergence of multiliteracies as a key component of Foreign Language Education has led to a re-evaluation of translation as a pedagogical tool. With their focus on multiliteracy, translation activities provide access to authentic texts, and help students develop intercultural competence, as they engage with cultural narratives, in various modalities (films, graffiti, commercials…). The aim of this panel is to reflect on the potential of textual/audiovisual translation and translanguaging in the L2 classroom. It will showcase examples of student performance (in Greek and French), and reflect on the significance of translation as an instrument of mediation between cultures and as a tool for inquiry into the ways language constructs, and is constructed by, identity, culture and gender.
How can social media platforms like Instagram be used to expand the scope of “classroom” and build a virtual learning community? The presenters introduce a year-long community-building project conducted at an elementary Chinese course in college. We focus on how it successfully fosters a deeper connection among members of the Chinese course (teachers, tutors, students, and beyond), enhances meaningful interaction in their life, and helps learners get immersed in the target language and culture – all in a cohesive community. The participants learn how the project was seamlessly integrated into various parts of the course, and jointly reflect on potential ways to adapt the project into their own instructional contexts especially in the post-pandemic era.
In the last few years, CANVAS has become increasingly important for many of our classes. Many of us are required to use it, but have we been using it effectively? We explore ways to combine best practices for language instruction with existing CANVAS tools to deliver instruction and assessment in the most pedagogically sound way possible and explore ways to promote and assess all modes of communication within the canvas platform. We look at different strategies for formative and summative assessment using the CANVAS tools that allow us to go beyond discrete point grammar and vocabulary activities
This session focuses on the development of multimodal skills through culturally relevant, thematically appropriate authentic resources. Participants will learn to use carefully crafted templates, adaptable for all languages, to create choice boards that explore the products, practices and perspectives of the target culture through all three modes of communication. Choice Boards are engaging, hands-on, student-centered lessons that appeal to all learning styles. Guide students to discover, understand, and connect with the target cultures and empower them to show their transfer of knowledge through self-selected activities that appeal to their strengths or interests
This session highlights the development and sequencing of a proficiency-oriented unit that uses a feature film in the target language as its base. Participants discover how to gather supporting authentic resources, utilize engaging discussion techniques, underscore targeted grammatical structures and develop appropriate assessments that support the themes of the film aligned with proficiency goals. By using high-frequency vocabulary and high-interest topics these engaging units of film study provide optimal comprehensible input and boost language acquisition.
Participants learn and apply best practices for establishing an LGBTQIA+-affirming German classroom environment. First, participants receive a foundation in orientation, gender identity, and expression, as well as a crosswalk between the ACTFL World Readiness and Learning for Justice Social Justice standards. Next, suggestions for using inclusive/affirming language and representative authentic resources, such as web shows and children's books, are shared. Following these examples, in small groups, participants workshop common lesson themes to be more inclusive. Finally, participants discuss challenges they still face in being inclusive. While examples are from the middle school German classroom, other languages and levels are welcome.
The presentation focuses on approaches to balanced literacy in a Chinese immersion setting to help students achieve high proficiency levels of ACTFL standards and meet the grade-appropriate Common Core Language Arts standards. Presenters use Grade 3-7 classroom examples to demonstrate the setup of the literature circles and the roles and jobs and walk through a narrative writing unit. Students are introduced to different writing strategies and apply them effectively to pick the right “tiny topic”, brainstorm, plan, and draft to help students tell their life stories in Chinese.
Do you struggle with ideas for how to empower your students to use the language beyond the walls of your classroom? Come and learn from the 2022 NECTFL Teachers of the Year state finalists! From empowering your students to teach younger students in your school community, to showcasing student work around town, Teachers of the Year from the northeast region share some of the strategies they implement to practice the Communities standard and advocate for their language programs in their broader communities. Examples are in Spanish, French, Latin, and Chinese across all age groups.
How do we get students to engage with content so that meaningful learning happens? How can educators gradually release responsibility for learning over to students, so that students do more of the work? Join this ACTFL Teacher of the Year and experience hands-on learning of activities that engage students in communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving. Most activities are low or no-prep and can be reused at various levels and with varied content. They hit multiple modes of communication, use authentic resources, support social justice themes, and require students to speak interpersonally. The learning routines require students show what they are thinking and learning decreasing grading. Step away from the copy machine and say good-bye to your turn in work bin!
This session examines how to teach the Holocaust through French Literature in Translation with a study abroad component as well as interviews with Holocaust survivors. The session examines the curriculum and how to integrate various disciplines in order to further delve in the content. Furthermore, the session examines how students performed on a pre-test and post-test of the content and how the impact of integrating the curriculum allowed for further development of knowledge.
John Conner, Spanish teacher and author of the acclaimed Breaking the Barrier series, leads participants through ten activities guaranteed to make classes more productive and exciting. The ideas presented can be used in your classroom the very next day.
A Rountable Discussion and Open Forum on the varied programs of the Goethe-Institut and the way teachers can work together to build their networks, featuring the work of the SPARK program and the study abroad exchange program GAPP. Join us to share your insights and strengthen your program.
Discussing meaningful topics with Novice learners in the target language can feel hard. They are able to speak about themselves, but can they really dig deeper into questions of identity with their limited language? Focus on one French teacher's attempt to use existing literature (Everyone's an aliebn when you're an aliebn too by Jonny Sun) to create identity-driven activities for her students. Examples and resources are shared and participant feedback is sought on how this work could continue to be developed and improved.
How can we move beyond sporadically teaching about culture and identity, and integrate these concepts into our lessons on a daily basis? This session will explore interculturality and identity in the language classroom and demonstrate some simple strategies for making important cultural connections and comparisons. We will also look at how EntreCulturas and EntreCultures from Wayside Publishing help teachers achieve their interculturality goals while also focusing on language acquisition.
How can we plan common learning experiences for students who learn at different rates? How can we develop proficiency, when they need different things? We provide strategies for meeting students where they’re at by leveraging thematic units to appropriately challenge each student through a common learning experience. This includes how to provide students with opportunities to self-differentiate during instruction, assessments, and learning activities, so that they are all talking about the same thing, but each working on their own proficiency growth. Let's meet them where they're at!
Have you ever explored how your past, present, and future show up in the classroom? Do you wonder how you can uncover and examine the roots of your identidad in order to grow your competencia sociocultural alongside the students you serve? Through a Two-Way Immersion Lens, we will guide you to reflect on your past, present, and future, and how to apply these guided reflections in your Pre-K to 12th grade classrooms. A few of the tasks we will investigate together will be: memoirs, challenging games, how-tos, inspiring videos, and a map of dreams. Join us as we incorporate critical consciousness and social justice into our planning, collegial conversations, advocacy, and instructional practices.
William Lee, the 2023 ACTFL National Langauge Teacher of the Year, shares instructional strategies to engage and motivate students, combining language and culture to develop learners' language performance. These strategies, both technology-based and non-technology-based, can help you reach all kinds of learners in the classroom and are applicable to all languages and levels. Be inspired with new ideas and examples that can have immediate impact in your classroom.
Intercultural communicative competence (ICC) plays a critical role in language learners’ growth and success during study abroad. The Chinese Flagship Culture Initiative (CFCI) aims to design cultural materials and embed them in the development of pragmatic and intercultural competences in intermediate and advanced proficiency Chinese learners. The presenters share results from a needs assessment survey identifying areas of weakness in their cultural preparation, podcasts in which students reflect on their study abroad experience, and new cultural materials developed to address current gaps and strengthen students’ ICC. Feedback on the materials from teachers and students as well as effective instructional strategies for using CFCI materials are also discussed.
During an unprecedented time in history, teachers have demonstrated unparalleled resiliency. Many have learned new technology and strategies almost overnight to best serve our students and have done so with grace. Going forward, what happens now? How can teachers apply newly acquired skills to enhance instruction and support all students? Teachers should not only reference Bloom’s Taxonomy for educational objectives but also reflect on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to support students’ social and emotional needs. Reimagine the framework and place importance on the intersection of culture and social emotional learning. Aim to reboot students’ learning experiences to include reflective practices, mindful activities and meaningful affirmations.
Music is an essential element of all cultures, and all proficiency level language classes celebrate cultures through music related activities integrated into the curriculum. A content based language course on popular music products, practices and perspectives deepens students’ cultural competencies, engages students beyond their language requirements and meets students’ various learning styles and interests.
Your classroom walls have no limits! Are you a language educator who would like to create global partnerships via dynamic exchanges for your students? Would you like to empower your students to use their voices and investigate the world through empathy-building opportunities without revamping your curriculum? You will be given practical tools to start your own partnerships and connections in order to have your students exchange stories and gain new perspectives while building confidence in their language skills. See dynamic examples of Spanish language students building their global competency with partners around the Spanish-speaking world without a passport and how your students could do it too!
How do we guide learners from input to output while also making our students more independent learners? The Gradual Release of Responsibilities (I do, we do, you do) is a framework to help scaffold our lessons and units to achieve those goals. Explore this framework and how it applies to learning a second language. We examine lesson examples in the 3 modes of communication as well as how to apply this framework to planning thematic units that gradually guides students to communicating independently
Empower students to value and honor the rich diversity of target language cultures through authentic resources that integrate language and culture, building from cultural products and practices to understanding diverse perspectives. Also train students to reflect and understand their own culture by "bringing it home," as they compare target language communities with their own, focusing their cultural lenses to respect and honor both cultures. Guide students to develop vocabulary and language functions as they move from interpretive to interpersonal and presentational communication activities.
Empower students to value and honor the rich diversity of target language cultures through authentic resources that integrate language and culture, building from cultural products and practices to understanding diverse perspectives. Also train students to reflect and understand their own culture by "bringing it home," as they compare target language communities with their own, focusing their cultural lenses to respect and honor both cultures. Guide students to develop vocabulary and language functions as they move from interpretive to interpersonal and presentational communication activities.
Short film is a powerful authentic resource and tool to be used with L2 students. However in our class many times short film does not go beyond a set of comprehension questions. This session uncovers how short film can build a unit that incorporates AP themes, 3 modes of communication, builds interpersonal communicative competence with the 3 P’s (products, practices and perspectives) and promotes language aquisition.