myths
January 30, 2015
For the original myths post, click here. You can also view all of the myths posts. This, my eleventh post on myths I believe make us ineffective in the world language classroom, is about saying we’re assessing something without actually asking students to do it. 11. A multiple-choice question counts as a valid assessment of […]
premium
May 27, 2014
Stop calling this easy & fast
premium
As you navigate the internet, and particularly with Google and Facebook getting so smart and marketing to what seem to be your interests based on your internet activity, I’m sure you’ve seen some of these advertisements. You know- the ones that promise that you can learn any language you want. It’s easy! It’s fast! It’ll […]
premium
September 8, 2013
For the original myths post, click here. You can also view all of the myths posts. In world language teaching, somehow we’ve come to believe that communication among learners is really going to equip them to communicate with native speakers. For sure, it’s a start. It’s a necessary, good start. But it’s a myth. Now, I’m […]
premium
January 16, 2013
For the original myths post, click here. You can also view all of the myths posts. Because myths 8 and 9 are related, I want to address them together. The connection between them is that they both make us give up on giving novices authentic materials. When I wrote about myth 7, I compared Taco […]
premium
August 28, 2012
Myth #7: Spanish Mike is a taco.
premium
It’s about time I picked up the task of finishing my myths posts! For the original post, click here. Myth #7: Media produced for language learners counts as authentic materials (or, “The ‘First Semester of Spanish Love Song’ is the best video ever!”) Most media in the world language classroom is a taco. It’s not just […]
premium
September 1, 2011
Myth #6: Memorizing vocabulary
premium
For my original post about the myths, look here. Myth #6 is this: Students learn vocabulary in long lists of isolated words (or, we just went over bosque, why can’t they remember it and remember it’s masculine?). What a mistake I used to make, and textbooks make. To think that we can give students a […]
premium
June 8, 2011
For my original post about the myths, look here. Textbook companies make a lot of money off of telling us that they’ve done all the work and they’re all we need. Audio? They’ve got it. Video? That too. Activities? Structure? Assessments? It’s an all-in-one package, for a price. And out-of-date as soon as it’s printed. […]
premium
April 25, 2011
Myth #4: The Time Whine
premium
If you don’t know what I’m talking about when I say this post is about dismantling myths, go back and read this post. photo by TonyVCOnly the very young or students who have high aptitude are going to succeed anyway (otherwise known as the ‘time whine’). I don’t know if you’ve heard or said this […]
premium
April 19, 2011
The myths aren’t going to ACTFL
premium
photo by azmichelle I meant to post this two weeks ago when I got the news but forgot. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages did not accept my proposal for “Dismantling the Myths that Prevent Proficiency.” I’ll still continue to blog about them, though– I’ll probably reach a wider audience that way […]
premium
March 31, 2011
If you don’t know what I’m talking about when I say this post is about dismantling myths, go back and read this post. Photo by T. Hart Myths 2 & 3:2. Learning about language is enough (Or, “I don’t have to speak the TL in the classroom”). and its cousin 3. Grammatical terms are actually […]
premium
February 17, 2011
If you didn’t catch my post about my ACTFL proposal, Dismantling the Myths that Prevent Proficiency, you’ll need to back up a bit and read this. Myth #1: A speaker who isn’t proficient can be a language teacher (or, “I have a degree in this; of course I’m qualified.”) Photo by Susheela Willis I remember […]
premium
January 25, 2011
Ah, the vocab quiz, I remember them well. I used to have all my students do what I had to do in college- put all the new vocab on spiral-bound 3×5 cards, English on front, Spanish on back. I would drill myself and drill myself for that dreaded weekly (or whenever) vocab quiz, the one […]
premium