Have you heard the mantra "adapt the task, not the text"? When we take sentiments like that and apply them universally in every situation, we're often missing out on how much we could benefit from a compromise. Learn how you can adapt an authentic text to make it more comprehensible for your students - a win for everyone.

1. GO
AHEAD-
adapt the text.
#ACTFL17
Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell
@secottrell * MUSICUENTOS.COM
#AdaptTheText

2. “
“Adapt the task,
NOT THE TEXT.”

3. AUTHENTICWhat does that even mean?

4. “
“...written by members of a language
and culture group for members of the
same language and culture group.”
Vicki B. Galloway

5. “
[A] resource aimed at an L1 speaker
rather than at a language learner.
Martin Lapworth

6. “
A text, audio or video created by a
native speaker for a native speaking
audience.
Amy Lenord

7. ACTFL-NCSSFL CAN-DO
STATEMENTS
for interpretive mode refer only to
authentic resources.

8. Mid
-basic facts-
Novice Interpretive Can-Dos
High
-topic and some
isolated facts-

9. Intermediate Interpretive Can-Dos
Low
-topic
-related
information from
simple
sentences
Mid
-main idea
-key information
in short,
straightforward
informational
texts
High
-follow main message
-various time frames
-sometimes descriptive
text
-paragraph-length
informational texts

10. What’s the purpose of
WL class?

11. “A resource has to be authentic to
assess proficiency.
It has to be comprehensible to build
proficiency.

12. “
You can build proficiency without
continually assessing it.

13. “
Authentic usually means not
comprehensible. Where is the value
in that?
Martin Lapworth

14. “
I don’t use authentic documents as
much as I do ‘authentic looking or
derived’ documents.
Colleen Lee-Hayes
(Japanese teacher)

15. “There are usable texts for all levels,
but sometimes it's about putting in
the work to find the right one and
giving the students the right task to
go with it.
Erin Carlson

16. “Why would I use authentic resources
that I have to dumb down? Video,
newspapers, novels are
incomprehensible to my students, unless
at a very low level. I want useable
language in all skill areas, for my
students!
Pauline Galea

17. “I expose my students to authentic
resources, and I do so with the idea
that I want them to be "comfortable
with being uncomfortable."
Hollin Wakefield

18. “
Don't overwhelm students by using
authentic text just because that's the
way the pendulum is swinging.
Jen Gieniec Wade

19. “
Adapting an (otherwise) authentic
text is often more purposeful than
creating a text to suit the purpose.
Danielle Horne

20. “The use of authentic texts ... unless
heavily adapted, is more likely to
hinder than facilitate learning
especially when we are dealing with
less gifted, motivated and resilient
learners.
Gianfranco Conti

21. SOUND OFF:
What’s OK to adapt?
What’s not OK?

22. “Adapting the text makes it
comprehensible.
Adapting the task makes the text
useable. (But not comprehensible.)
Martin Lapworth

23. YES
◍ errors (almost always)
◍ length
◍ new vocabulary
(footnotes)
◍ formatting (bold, boxes)
◍ speed (at first)
What does Mrs. Musicuentos adapt?
NO
◍ high-frequency
vocabulary
◍ sentence structure
(almost never)
◍ images
◍ speed (every time)

24. “If I find the perfect text, I will adapt
it, usually by glossing difficult words
and phrases. Sometimes I will
remove sections if they are not
pertinent to the task.
Rebecca Davis

25. “We are real people living and working in
the real world, so, sometimes, it's ok to
adapt the text, too. Sometime I take out
extraneous or inappropriate info, for
example, but try to leave the text as close
to authentic as possible.
Erin Carlson

26. “If I find the perfect text, I will adapt
it, usually by glossing difficult words
and phrases. Sometimes I will
remove sections if they are not
pertinent to the task.
Rebecca Davis

27. Let’s try this.

28. a couple of
tools...

29. printfriendly.com

30. YouTube speed setting

31. Thanks!
Any questions?
@secottrell
musicuentos.com
secottrell@musicuentos.com
👍

32. Credits
Special thanks to all the people who
made and released these awesome
resources for free:
◍ Presentation template by
SlidesCarnival
◍ Photographs by Unsplash

33. SlidesCarnival icons are editable
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