May 14, 2024
Because I write about good ideas on the internet, it’s easy to assume I’m full of good ideas (lie: most of them I stole from someone else). Let’s be open about some of the bad ones. I’ll go first. It’s nearly the end of the school year and as the good proficiency-focused language teachers we […]
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May 2, 2024
It’s May, and you’ve got extra time on your hands. Perhaps the proficiency assessment is over, or the last unit went faster than expected. Maybe signing ceremonies or ring ceremonies or a horse race (yeah, I live in Louisville) is messing with the schedule and making it so one period of Level 2 has an […]
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April 23, 2024
O say, can you see, by 2024’s bright sunlight? O’er the schoolyard’s chain link fence, we watch another school day unfurl. Saintly teachers never glare, lest they hurt children’s delicate sensitivities. Bubbles don’t burst in the air, because everyone is too busy evaluating opportunities to use AI. Friends, buckle up for a Sara-Elizabeth post on […]
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December 11, 2023
In 2017, I posted a guide for 20 gifts for the teacher you love. This month for the “throwback” section of my somewhat-monthly newsletter for teachers, I wanted to re-share the post, but alas- it’s the internet, and so many of my links had broken! I fixed a lot of them, but a lot changes […]
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November 18, 2023
Meet Jack, the mean clown who wants to help you remember the map to TL Memory Lane. Earlier this year, I blogged about the lessons we can learn from Lisa Genova‘s book Remember. Check out that blog post for a more in-depth look at the content of the book. I mentioned there that my dear […]
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October 4, 2023
It’s so sweet to be back, y’all. Last weekend, the annual conference of the Kentucky World Language Association returned to Lexington, Kentucky. Last year, KWLA was my first conference since I paused blogging while I wrapped my mind around a diagnosis of MS. I embraced friends, sat quietly, absorbed the learning– but I didn’t present. […]
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September 15, 2023
It’s a new season for Musicuentos. You know this. You probably also know it’s going to include regular breaking news, like the return of the Musicuentos Monthly newsletter, or the new Facebook group Musicuentos Tips, Tools, & Talk for Spanish Teachers. JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! My next announcement involves travel itineraries– eventually, for every Spanish-speaking […]
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August 7, 2023
This is the journey of teachers – another set of graduates moved on, another crop of kindergarteners coming in, another summer gone, another year just around the bend. Perhaps you’ve moved schools, or grades, or classrooms. Perhaps you’re making a really big change like when I was first asked to teach preschoolers when all of […]
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July 1, 2023
Hey dear readers, a quick post to invite you to connect with me in an all-new way! Many of you are already following the Musicuentos public page on Facebook. But now, by joining my private Facebook group especially for Spanish teachers, you’ll see… constructive questions & tips new songs blog posts from the vault suggested […]
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May 9, 2023
Remember that car that was parked two spaces down from you, at that store you went to, for that thing you wanted to buy? Of course you don’t. Every day, thousands of events pass through our experience, and they do not stay with us. For most of us, these experiences go in, they’re briefly acknowledged […]
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March 3, 2023
Do your learners know each other’s names? Bear with a bit of a long introduction, and keep reading to perhaps discover a new idea for fostering community + target language in the classroom. After twenty years of teaching, when I go to a conference, I often choose presentations based on the presenter – something I […]
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October 19, 2022
In the language teaching field, we have a long, treasured history of arguing and drama. We may agree or disagree on classroom setup, teacher recruitment efforts, and the best ways to encourage learners to study abroad, but primarily, our arguments center on one question: What works (or doesn’t work) for successful language acquisition? In true Sra. […]
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