After participating in a number of ACTFL webinars last semester, I now focus regularly on providing a communicative, culturally rich frame for my classroom assessments. Here, my 3020 students are using Futur to indicate what will happen during next year's Karneval events. Beyond mere mechanical manipulation, students first learned about how the Kölner celebrate each Karneval event from a short description. Next, they wrote about next year, and then I asked them which separate event did they want to learn more about. It was no surprise to me that Weiberfastnacht was the most popular...it is the most challenging to discuss, given the tradition of women cutting off men's ties. The students found the dwtv video I played very entertaining and informative, their laughter seemed to suggest!
