"…(A) mother emailed me that her daughter rarely talks to her about school anymore, but she did

come home excited about "living" in Madrid this year.  Mom remarked, "What a great way to teach a foreign

language!" Thanks for all your inspiration! Marie Dzielak, NY

If we can't take our students to Paris , Mexico City, Berlin , Madrid , Rome , Tokyo , etc. to teach them the language, then we can do the next best and most logical thing. We can simulate that they "live" in a world city for the entire year as the curriculum premise. "Living" in a city for the year has a far greater impact on students than the typical "two-week trip" unit. It communicates that people do live abroad for more than two-week periods, and that 3 years of language study offer far more than a few travel phrases for a possible "two-week" vacation.

"Virtual Residence Language" is an approach to language teaching and learning.

Based on experiential learning, it gives everything taught in a language course – no matter what text is used – a common denominator or framework.

Take a crash course in the language, take the flight, and "move" students into their own apartments for the year and present the course from that perspective. Teens love even the idea of having their own apartments. Plus they get to have their apartments in an exciting world city! After a "city tour", the students choose addresses, furnish and decorate their apartments, explore the city, go places, visit the sights, have appointments, do errands, take courses, make plans, consult documents, and do leisure activities – all the things typical residents do. Tourist guide books, travel phrase books, authentic books, and Internet websites in the target language are primary resources. Daily culture details and city "experiences" perpetuate the illusion all year long. VOCABULARY & GRAMMAR ARE GIVEN DIRECT PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS IN REALISTIC EVERYDAY CULTURE CONTEXTS IN THE CITY. Speaking is a cornerstone. The mantras are "How can I get my students to SAY this?" and "WHERE in the city do people SAY this?" Specific city locations are given for everything.

Suddenly, students start paying more attention and become more motivated…and language has purpose and meaning. The course is no longer taught "en masse" and language is not based on rote memorization. Each student is engaged and sees language though his or her own eyes. The students create their very own "reality shows" – and they can never be voted off! Students make choices, "personalizing" their lives and experiences in the city, using language along the way. They learn real world skills and become intimately acquainted with the city, their "second home". The course is more visual and dynamic and taps the students' imagination and creativity.

CURRENT BOOKS in the VIRTUAL RESDIENCE SERIES:

Move Your Students to a World City (basic guide book with the set-up)

Paris Apartment –"Move-In" Voccbulary & Clip Art

Paris Apartment – "Move-In" Crossword Puzzles (118 puzzles)

Move Your Students to Paris (resource of 900 websites, culture details)

Faisons les courses (vocabulary and Paris food shopping activities)

Coming soon: Madrid Apartment – "Move-In" Vocabulary & Clip Art