World Languages Department
Parent’s Guide
As your son or daughter works through homework activities, we are providing some test-taking tips for World Languages students. You can support their developing skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in the target language being studied.
Test-taking Tips for World Languages Students
Listening Skills
● Encourage your son or daughter to always listen in class and be sure they understand what is being said.
● If they have a hearing problem, let their teacher know.
● In a listening test they will be asked to respond to items spoken by either the teacher or a recording.
● They need to listen carefully for directions.
● It’s important that they concentrate on what is being said--try closing their eyes from time to time while listening.
● When the teacher is speaking, remind them to observe facial expressions and gestures, listen for changes in his/her voice, and watch his/her lips.
● If the test is recorded, remind them that the recording will not wait for them to catch up.
Speaking Skills
● Encourage them to participate in class as much as possible to keep improving their skills.
● In a speaking test they may be asked to demonstrate their ability to pronounce accurately, repeat phrases accurately, describe a picture or formulate answers to questions.
● They may be asked to speak in front of the class, help them to record their answers and speak directly to the teacher.
● Help them to prepare by practicing at home with someone in your family, in front of a mirror or with a tape recorder.
● Encourage them to study with a classmate by asking each other questions in person or talking in the language over the phone.
● Remind them to speak clearly and do not mumble.
● Remind them if they make a mistake, keep going.
● Let them know the importance of do not chew gum or eat candy during oral presentations.
Reading Skills
● Help them to learn vocabulary and verb forms thoroughly.
● They may be asked to recognize vocabulary or verb forms on a specific topic or they may need to answer questions based on their understanding of a paragraph on a specific topic.
● Encourage them to read everything once before trying to answer.
● After reading once, skim (go over quickly) for answers.
● They need to read carefully again looking for information to use in their answers.
● They can focus on what they do know and understand.
● Help them to try to get the gist of the passage if there are things they do not understand.
● Working with them do not spend too long over a single word or phrase.
Writing Skills
● They always need to be observant of the details of the words and phrases you come across in the language.
● In a test they may be asked to correctly spell words or phrases given by the teacher, to compose short sentences or complete sentences or paragraphs on specific topics.
● Practice copying with them.
● Help them to learn to visualize words--try to form a mind picture of the word.
● Remind them to be careful and take time to reflect on what they write so they are accurate.
● They need to concentrate on what they hear during dictation.
● Encourage them to remember groups of words as they write.
World Languages Apps
Dictionary All Languages App- Is simple yet elegant and efficient. Typing a word in the search field, the application will try to find the most watching ones. Nineteen dictionaries to choose from, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese and more!
iCaption App- With iCaption, creating video subtitles or captions from scratch is made easier, even without prior experience in subtitle or transcript creation, its interface utilizes timeline-based editing with audio visualization.
Zaption App- Interact & Learn with Video
Beginner ASL App- My Smart Hands Baby Sign Language Dictionary LITE