AIM is a methodology designed to develop language proficiency so that students can successfully deal with real-life tasks in the target language. The strategies, techniques and content with which you are provided till ensure that your students achieve a communicative competency that will allow them to rapidly move through language levels A1, A2 to B1 in four to five kit levels (200-250 hours of instruction). Throughout each kit, there are many reminders to look for ways every day to engage in authentic, meaningful discussions around topics that are important to students.
Taking an AIM play and using it as a starting point for taking the language into real-life scenarios is a natural step that many AIM teachers do often. We did have requests from some teachers for specific suggestions and concrete materials that would model for teachers explicitly how to thread opportunities for real-life tasks throughout the AIM kits. Using the play as a starting point, and carefully scaffolding through both whole-class and partner/group activities, AIM students successfully engage in the authentic tasks found in the book, in each of the five language areas: Listening, Reading, Spoken Production, Spoken Interaction and Writing.
In response to this request, we now have our newest resource, called ‘AIM Action-Oriented Tasks’.
Tasks in this book include:
• Going to the store to purchase items
• Reading instructions to play a new game
• Engaging in an interview for a sports club
• Posting a profile in French on Facebook
• Introducing oneself to a friend’s Francophone relatives
• Listening to a conversation between students at recess
There is a series of activities that will provide you and your students with the opportunity to experience the action-oriented tasks at each language proficiency level of the CEFR, scaffolded through the known context of the play and out to manageable real-life tasks. As we move from one kit level to the next and proficiency improves, we will be able to gradually release responsibility to the students so that they may successfully compete tasks that are increasingly linguistically challenging.
A script for gestured teacher-led self expression will guide you through the modelling recommended during whole class activities in order to ensure that students will be successful in engaging in these activities with a partner during partner/group activity time.
You will find learning goals and success criteria for each of the five language skills as outlined in the CEFR :
• listening (listening to conversations and listening to instructions/directions)
• reading (reading correspondence/literary texts and reading instructions)
• spoken production
• spoken interaction (interact in exchanges of information, interact in conversations and interact in transactions)
• writing (write descriptions, write correspondence and write informational texts and complete forms)
You will also find a description of the AIM Kit activities that support students’ ability to develop language skills in each of these areas and that will allow them to successfully engage in the tasks presented in this book.
We hope that you will enjoy this resource and that it will help you to see how AIM will support you to successfully meet the requirements of the new Ontario Curriculum!