What was your first impression of This is School?

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This is School was introduced by my supervisor around 2017 or 2018 at a high school in New Jersey. It proved to be an excellent addition to class, particularly beneficial for high school students who adapt well to video-based learning.

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The tool provided interactive activities and authentic resources, such as real people being interviewed in the target language, making it culturally appropriate and insightful.

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As a French and Italian teacher, I found it especially helpful since Italian resources are scarce compared to French and Spanish.

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Do you use this school alongside other resources?

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This is School complements our existing curriculum, reinforcing topics we study. For example, I use videos, activities, speaking components, and worksheets, sometimes adapting them to fit specific needs.

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In French, I often print transcripts due to the non-phonetic nature of the language. The tool has been particularly useful for lower-level language students, with difficulty ratings helping select appropriate content.

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It saves significant time, providing estimated completion times for activities and a variety of resources like vocabulary practice and hyper sheets.

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Do you have a particular way that you use the Speaking feature especially?

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I assign videos followed by speaking exercises. Students can record their speaking exercises in the hallway or spread out in the classroom.

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Over the years, I've noticed that students feel more comfortable speaking to a computer than to peers or teachers, likely due to their familiarity with technology and social media.

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Would you say This is School saves you time?

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Oh, so much time!

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I love how it says how long activities might take, giving me an estimated completion time so I know whether I should be planning an entire lesson around it or can assign it for students to complete independently.

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The star rating for difficulty is also excellent. Vocabulary practice and hearing the words is so important, as is typing out spelling the words and being able to offer a worksheet, because I'll often take these and adapt them to whatever I need. But just having that option like, wow, and the hyper-sheets are already there. It saves a tonne of time for us.

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Do your students have a favorite activity?

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While students find the content challenging, they appreciate the ability to redo exercises for better grades.

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The authenticity of the videos, featuring real people, slang, and different accents, resonates with them. This exposure to various dialects and real-life situations has positively impacted their grades and confidence.

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The exercises help them practice vocabulary, verb tenses, and listening skills, contributing to their overall improvement.

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Are there any particular impacts that you've seen in your classroom while using This is School?

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I think the reinforcement and exposure hearing other people speak the language besides the teacher is so important. The real life situations have been very impactful.

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And I think the drills and the practice that the exercises provide has really helped their grades. If they can practice certain vocabulary, certain verb tenses, even just listening, I think that's impacted their grades in a very positive way. 

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Would you recommend This is School to other teachers?

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Oh, absolutely. It just saves so much time and preparation for the teacher, provides excellent reinforcement, authentic resources, and really appeals to the students, as far as video and listening interaction on the computer.