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Why it’s I Can, not I Need or even I Want

Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell March 28, 2017 1 Comment

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Seeking the future of world language learning at the intersection of comprehensible input, project-based learning, global education, and love.
Why it’s I Can, not I Need or even I Want
Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell March 28, 2017
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Subtitle: The sheer, incomparable power of making meaning.

Other subtitle: Anecdotes from my Russian journey.

The curse of knowledge of this: When we forget the breathtaking power of the sudden "I CAN."
The curse of knowledge of this: When we forget the breathtaking power of the sudden “I CAN.”

When I tell people that I’m learning Russian, I get two reactions, one right after the other.  First,

Wow, that’s neat!

Then,

Why?

I don’t really know how to answer this.  Before I started learning it (this time), I didn’t know anyone who spoke Russian except Natalia, who can speak to me in at least Superior English.  I didn’t have any plans to go to Russia.  But I did have a need.

A year and a half ago, I did a conference presentation in Texas about storytelling.  It was one of the first times I conducted a session entirely in Spanish.  I could tell that so many of the participants had never seen a storytelling demonstration and hadn’t contemplated how to incorporate storytelling into their classrooms.  Afterward, a teacher came up to me gushing about how finally he understood how he could speak high levels of the TL in the classroom and be understood, how he couldn’t wait to get back to his classroom and try it.

I smiled.  I nodded.  “¡Fantástico!” I said.  And in my head, I thought,

That’s because you understood everything I said.  I know I was speaking in Spanish that was too complex and I let myself do it because I knew everyone there understood me.

At that point, I knew I had to finally push my bilingualism to a new journey. I needed to be able to do this in another language, one that was uncommon among my session and workshop attendees.

I am not kidding. This is hard.

Russian was a natural pick for me because I began learning the language via Rosetta Stone (good if you’re self-motivated, otherwise a really expensive shelf decoration) when I spent two weeks in Russia helping at an English camp for teens in 2008.  And because frankly, it’s hard.  I feel like I already know a thousand words in Portuguese and at least half that in French just because of my Spanish, which means my audience does, too.  I needed Russian because I needed incomprehensible.  I needed to remind my participants what it’s like to hang on every word because you are working so hard to figure out what is going on.

Which meant I had to step out and do that myself.

I’m not kidding. This is HARD.

For Camp Musicuentos last year, Natalia helped me put together a game (I wasn’t up to a story yet) that involved choosing from among a set of cards with red, blue, or green balls on them.  Green was bad, blue was bad, and red was good: if you got a red ball, you got chocolate.  Hooray!  A red ball!  Chocolate for you!  Participants were working on asking the question “What is it?” and saying that something was “good” or “bad.”

By the end of the summer, it was pretty successful.  I’d done this game demonstration three times and participants reported refreshed insight into just how confusing new language can be if it’s not made comprehensible, and just how simple you have to get at the very beginning to make it comprehensible.

And then what?  Quit learning Russian?  But I’d put that much work into it.  I still had what’s known as “no measurable proficiency” because I could say random memorized words and phrases but not in connection to anything meaningful, not much anyway.  I would say perhaps I was approaching Novice Low.  But I’d started.  It was time to keep going.

So, I started a Russian playlist on YouTube and fell in love with ImprintBand.  I pulled my Russian children’s book off the shelf where I put it almost 9 years ago.  I started cutting 3×5 cards in half and putting them on a ring clip.  Yes, I downloaded Duolingo.  And I updated my profile on The Mixxer.

Wait… “The Mixxer”?!?!

The Mixxer is a dubiously named personal connection site.  A personal connection site?  Mixxer?  With 2 XXs?  Don’t be fooled: it’s a language exchange website, free, and it’s changed my year.  It’s maybe changed my life.  Because within a week of updating my profile, I got connected with, of all people, a native speaker of Russian from Ukraine who had married a man in Ecuador and moved there.  She was working on her (Novice Midish) Spanish but really focused on her (B2 level) English in anticipation of a test she and her husband were going to take to try to get jobs there.  (They live in the city hardest hit by last year’s earthquake and there is little to no employment for them, though they both have degrees.)

Don't be fooled by the name. The Mixxer is awesome.
Don’t be fooled by the name. The Mixxer is awesome.

Lyuda and I have chatted via Skype almost every week since then, for more than six months now, mostly in English, but she helps me dissect the Russian phrases I’m learning and helps me feel more comfortable talking to someone.  It’s particularly challenging and effective because she isn’t a teacher.  She has to look up grammar rules to be able to explain anything to me.  It’s a very organic learning experience!  Her favorite response is,

That’s just the way it is; you just have to memorize it.

I’m learning resilience, I’m making a new friend, and I’m learning Russian.  And I’m getting reintroduced to a power I’d forgotten: the power of making meaning, of realizing and showing for the first time that I CAN.

This book is from the library!

One day Lyuda and I were talking.  I was doing what I usually do, which is talk to her about this phrase I encountered in a song:  Я знаю – “I know,” and talking through a scenario because I don’t know what kind of know this is or if there are lots of knows in Russian!

So if we’re together and someone knocks on the door, and you say “Кто там” (who’s there), and I say “Я не знаю” (I don’t know), that works?

Sure, she said.

Just then, my preschooler came up and wanted to show her his superhero book.  “This is my book,” he said.  “Oh yes,” she said, “I see, you have a Batman book.”  But the book wasn’t his, it was actually from the library, and I was about to tell her that when I caught my breath.

Wait a minute.  This isn’t a scenario, even a likely one.  This isn’t a what if I…. This is something I actually think I can do IN RUSSIAN based on months of previous weekly Skype chats.  So I took a deep breath.

Этo книга из библиотекa.

And she got it.

Oh, so it’s a library book.

SHE GOT IT.  Now, there are actually two errors there, one involving some spelling change there’s supposed to be on “this” and the other involving the case ending in “library” (A PLAGUE ON ALL YOUR CASES, RUSSIAN).  But she GOT IT.

You would have thought someone had just handed me a double chocolate ice cream cone.  Or a Starbucks card.  Or a spa trip.  I was pumped.  Why?  I had made meaning.  Not because I was asked to.  Not because I even needed to.  Because I COULD.

I needed to say “This book is from the library.” No, I didn’t even need to.  I COULD.

That light is too bright!

Anecdote #2: In another recent conversation, I sat down with my computer at my kitchen table and started up Skype and as soon as the video feed came up, I realized the shades on the window behind me were up, and the light was too bright (hello, spring!).  I said, “Just a second” (aw, man, I KNOW how to do that in Russian! Подожди минуту!) and lowered the blinds and sat down and it hit me again:

Wait, this song I’m memorizing, it has the phrase “bright light” and I can’t do “too” but I can do “very”…

Deep breath.

Это свет очень яркий.

And Lyuda’s response:

What light?

Well, the one behind me.  YES!  She got it! There’s something wrong with the word that (I think I used this instead) but I wanted to say, “That light is very bright,” and I COULD.

Like it or not, "I Need" may be on its way out of the list of motivators.
Like it or not, “I Need” may be on its way out of the list of motivators.

These days, I think I’m probably a solid Novice Mid in Russian, and that astounds me.  I’m perpetually considering Babbel.  I actually attend a Russian church service once a month. (Boy, is that a crazy hard experience, and let me tell you, Slavic people do not strike me as being like Latinos.  My first time I introduced myself and said in Russian, “I just speak a little bit of Russian,” and then the pastor introduced me to everyone, “This is Sara, and she doesn’t speak Russian.” Wait! I understood that!  And you said it IN RUSSIAN!  Give me some credit here! Ha. I’ve learned sympathetic listeners in Russian are hard to find.)

This month, Martina also posted about how comprehensible input is fueling her excitement in her French learning journey, and Megan also encouraged us to remember what it’s like to be a novice.  What about you?  Do you remember what it’s like to hang on every word trying to catch even the gist of what’s going on?  Would a return to learning a language – maybe even a totally unfamiliar, “tough” one – make you a better teacher?

I hope this long post with its anecdotes reminds you of what these situations brought back to me: In a world where I need, for English speakers in particular, isn’t going to be much of a motivator for long, the I can still shines.  And that light is not too bright.

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1 Comments

  1. Lernen Deutsch: My German Journey | Lugar para pensar says:
    January 28, 2018 at 12:39 pm

    […] language teacher’s language learning journeys fascinating (such as Martina Bex’s French and Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell’s Russian), so I thought I would share some thoughts on my progress with […]

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      • Upcoming workshop (IN): Proficiency-based lesson planning
      • Stop calling this easy & fast
      • Revisiting Photopeach for the AP Final
      • Stop stressing: It's wrong to do the best you can
      • Three tasks for crafting an effective message: Black Box Podcast episode 4
      • A Year in a Day: Camp Musicuentos 2014
      • Taking care of business: Summer collaboration for a successful year
      • 4 ways to tweak the exit ticket
      • Black Box Podcast episode 3: To Sell Is Human, part 1
    •  April (9)
      • Top 25 Spanish novels
      • Let's play
      • New activity resource: Tweetfest!
      • Black Box Podcast episode 2: Circumlocution
      • An impromptu "langcamp"
      • See you at ACTFL '14
      • 4 ways to keep curriculum relevant
      • Tutorial on the best free PD you'll find in your own home
      • The Musicuentos Black Box Podcast: IT'S HERE!
    •  March (11)
      • Authentic visual illustrations of proficiency (Spanish)
      • Curriculum planning outside the textbook, Part 2
      • A week or more of working with Vivir mi vida
      • Resource release: Complete verb pack
      • Curriculum planning outside the textbook: Part 1
      • Corrections to simple verb pack
      • Musicuentos is on Pinterest!
      • Is this the best we can do?
      • Writing a restaurant review: Activity from Bethanie Drew
      • Putting a number grade on proficiency-based assessment
      • Resource release: Simple verb pack
    •  February (7)
      • My favorite source for restaurant (and other) reviews
      • Guest post: A TPRS rebuttal by Carol Gaab
      • TPRS strategies I don't put in my toolbox
      • What I love about TPRS
      • Repost: Valentine's #authres from Twitter
      • How I use verb charts
      • Guest post: What students need- A leader (David Seibel)
    •  January (10)
      • Every language teacher's biggest mistake
      • My new favorite digital storytelling app
      • Why Genius Hour can't work in a novice classroom
      • Website review: Geoguessr
      • 2014 resolutions #5: Use more authentic sources.
      • 2014 Resolutions #4: Take a step outside the textbook
      • Reviewing 2013: Five blogs to watch
      • 2014 Resolutions #3: Survey your students.
      • 2014 Resolutions #2: Collaborate with someone
      • 2014 Resolutions #1: Read a book
  •  2013 (110)
    •  December (13)
      • The #1 Musicuentos post of 2013 (and the six years before that)
      • Best of 2013: #2 - Tips for the new AP
      • Best of 2013: #3 - Choice in homework, updated
      • Best of 2013: #4 - Novice song for Spanish Class Idol
      • Best of 2013: #5 - Can you control vocabulary?
      • Best of 2013: #6 - Is your lesson plan out of whack?
      • Best of 2013: #7 - Four habits that enrich vocabulary
      • AP Spanish final exam: Controversia navideña y Vacunas para niños
      • Best of 2013: #8 - Novice high vs. Intermediate low
      • Best of 2013: #9 - Using assessment to inform your teaching
      • Best of 2013: #10 - Spot-checking conversations
      • First-ever Musicuentos ebook: Reader's Guide to Ciudad de las bestias
      • Happy December!
    •  November (8)
      • AP Spanish essay - Obamacare
      • Vote: Musicuentos proposal for ACTFL '14
      • Setting goals
      • Don't go to ACTFL '13 without TELLing
      • Repost: A story for demonstratives
      • Listen to some Grammy music
      • Caring about the Really Big Deal
      • Calm before the excitement!
    •  October (4)
      • Using assessment to inform your teaching
      • Just some fluff: Makeup for busy mom teachers
      • Top 3 mistakes teachers of novices make
      • Book review: Teach Like A Pirate
    •  September (7)
      • Interacting with authentic materials: a guide
      • Using audio-lingua
      • Seven keys to a great story
      • Stations: Exploring music
      • It's a myth: Equipping students to communicate with... themselves
      • Turn a Novice Song into "Spanish Class Idol"
      • Is your lesson plan out of whack?
    •  August (12)
      • Children's literature for the world language class (Helena Curtain)
      • App review & Giveaway! High School Spanish
      • Choice in homework, updated
      • Back to school: Proficiency posts
      • App Review: Storykit (bonus - meet my family!)
      • Back to school: Evaluate traditions
      • Back to school: Blogs with great ideas
      • App review & giveaway: Word Magic dictionary and thesaurus
      • My authorized AP syllabus
      • Back to school: Musicuentos "first days" posts
      • Back to school: Give them signals
      • Going back to school with Musicuentos
    •  July (6)
      • Tips for the New AP
      • Don't be fooled! What the AP does and doesn't measure
      • Illustrating proficiency with a laugh
      • Snag some free apps while you can!
      • Stop asking for unnatural language
      • Fun video: Animals, present, feelings
    •  June (9)
      • Targeting problems with a pop quiz
      • Song, irregular present, part 4: Tengo tu love
      • It's my birthday - check out our presents!
      • A meaningful approach to grammar
      • Websites for creating online magazines
      • A world with no magazines
      • Guest post: Coaching with choice
      • Screencast: Photopeach
      • Communicative grading made easier
    •  May (10)
      • Health infographic: Novice - Intermediate Activity
      • A lesson in finding authentic sources easily
      • Tips and songs for past participles
      • Foster higher-level thinking from the beginning
      • Summer: Language for the fun of it
      • Novice high vs. intermediate low
      • E-magazines with learner appeal
      • Step outside the textbook: Tell a story
      • Repost: Novice description with Jengibre and Pin Pon
      • Interpersonal communication by choice
    •  April (11)
      • Novice speaking: Describing self with Sie7e
      • Can you control vocabulary?
      • Activities from authentic resources: Future tense
      • Why I love mistakes
      • Maternity leave!
      • Lots of your class gone? Pick up a book.
      • Abandon the multiple-choice question
      • Songs for future tense
      • I choose béisbol: sample "homework" report
      • 300 times thank you
      • Reporting like kindergarten
    •  March (11)
      • Training in circumlocution: Ban the dictionary
      • Fun activity #9: A leer
      • Last tips on avoiding burnout
      • Cortometraje for narration
      • Make developing curriculum even easier
      • Even more tips on avoiding burnout
      • Authentic resource: trivia games
      • Still more tips on avoiding burnout
      • Two more ways to ease into developing curriculum
      • Song, irregular present, part 3: Carmelina
      • More tips on avoiding burnout
    •  February (10)
      • Intermediate news activity for all three modes
      • Easing into developing curriculum
      • If you don't pay attention to comprehensibility...
      • Burning out or burning bright?
      • Keeping the class engaged: Change activities
      • Fun activity #8: A cantar
      • Twitter/relationships activity, just in time for Valentine's
      • Tech tools gone wrong
      • Grading regular free-topic writing
      • Add more music to homework choices
    •  January (9)
      • Spot-checking conversations
      • Song, irregular present, part 2: Hace tiempo
      • Four habits that enrich vocabulary
      • Paragraph form
      • Myths 8 & 9: I don't do it because they can't handle it.
      • Assigning homework
      • Song, irregular present, part 1: Sigo con ella
      • More choice every day
      • A novice cross-curricular activity from authentic materials
  •  2012 (39)
    •  December (2)
      • 5 New Year's resolutions for every WL teacher
      • It pays to have a focus
    •  October (2)
      • Best and worst games I've seen
      • Example: authentic text for novices
    •  September (7)
      • Success with Stations
      • More student choice in homework
      • Prezi: The Choice is Theirs (KWLA 2012)
      • Prezi: Kick the Vocab Quiz (KWLA 2012)
      • Take the leap to standards-based assessment
      • Fun activity #7: Conecta cuatro
      • A song for feelings
    •  August (11)
      • Screencast: Edmodo
      • Myth #7: Spanish Mike is a taco.
      • A study in motivation, part 2: Self-assessing abilities
      • It's my blogiversary - but you get the gift
      • Menus
      • Reading guides: Cajas de cartón & Esperanza renace
      • A re-post for your first days back: Abecedario
      • Screencast: Finding authentic sources for prompts
      • Maintaining personal proficiency
      • Ideas for the first days of school
      • AP redesign: Units & EQ's
    •  July (9)
      • A study in motivation
      • Advice for teachers in training
      • More uses for Amor de mi tierra
      • Book review: The Talent Code
      • Songs for 'duele'
      • The Case for Commands
      • Got idioms?
      • Like Musicuentos? Like it on Facebook.
      • Very short times with very young kids
    •  June (1)
      • 5...4...3...2...1... LAUNCH!
    •  March (4)
      • Another change: Survey says...
      • Design your own final exam
      • What I'm changing this week
      • Repost for CSC12: Increasing target language
    •  February (1)
      • A storytelling success story
    •  January (2)
      • Not going to ACTFL again, but for the best reason ever
      • Free Ebook for WL educators
  •  2011 (57)
    •  November (1)
      • Dear novice-learner teacher - love, an AP teacher
    •  October (3)
      • Learning from #langchat
      • Not your average health unit
      • Presentation: Target Language: Expect More, Say Less
    •  September (6)
      • Spanish 3 assessment documents
      • For KWLA 2011: Media from Reel to Real
      • Accuracy vs. proficiency: an illustration
      • Fun activity #6: A escribir
      • App review: Tour Wrist
      • Myth #6: Memorizing vocabulary
    •  August (5)
      • Trending topic = authentic comprehensible input
      • Got the rubric!
      • New year, new units, new assessments
      • Jumping on the Animoto bandwagon
      • Rethinking "late" work
    •  July (1)
      • A song made for early Spanish 1
    •  June (9)
      • Proficiency & tacos
      • Proficiency levels shouldn't be a secret
      • Flipbook illustration
      • Ethics in the language class - we aren't their parents
      • Activity #5: Gira la botella
      • Symbol Illustration
      • Connecting your classroom
      • Myth #5: The textbook is all I need
      • Taking paperless to the blog
    •  May (2)
      • Combat the 'este tiempo' monster
      • Children's DVD giveaway!
    •  April (6)
      • Activity #4: Drama Inmóvil
      • Myth #4: The Time Whine
      • Have you used PhotoPeach?
      • The myths aren't going to ACTFL
      • Fun activity #3: ¡Arriésgate!
      • Fun activity #2: A conversar
    •  March (3)
      • Dismantling Myths 2 and 3: Learning about language and its cousin, Grammatical Terms
      • Activity 1: Cuento poco a poco
      • (Trying to) Make learning fun
    •  February (10)
      • Two new options for out-of-class fluency
      • Great resource from la Sra. Birch
      • Dismantling Myth #1: What's a qualified teacher?
      • Keep singing: 189 pages of Spanish lyrics
      • #Charlando para aprender
      • Vote for this week's #langchat topic
      • It's time for them to use their time
      • For tonight's #langchat: A game for description
      • Short listening activity tailor-made for beginners
      • Ciudad de las bestias: Guides public & streamlined
    •  January (11)
      • Instead of the vocab quiz
      • Best songs for stem changing irreg. present
      • Do something drastic - kick the vocab quiz
      • Topic for #LangChat 1/27
      • Topic for the first #LangChat 1/20
      • Low-level learners can't understand authentic media, what?
      • They can't speak, and it's our fault: Dismantling the myths
      • Don't teach a health unit without this song
      • New: A language teachers' weekly chat on Twitter - choose our first topic!
      • Since I stopped teaching to the [AP] test
      • Faith and Culture: help me decide our AP topic
  •  2010 (38)
    •  December (4)
      • 9 ways to increase students' TL use
      • I love collaboration
      • The problem with translation (from a student)
      • Why music is more powerful than anything (& how to use it)
    •  November (2)
      • iPad giveaway!
      • A collaborative project for our Spanish-teacher PLN
    •  October (2)
      • And the winner is...
      • In the spirit of open source: Ciudad de las bestias
    •  September (10)
      • Books recommended as 'easy'
      • Pure present tense & at least 22 repetitions of 'ya no'
      • For a conference attendee: resources in math
      • Searching BBC Mundo
      • Prompts with Power: writing/speaking prompts
      • Prompts with Power: Prezi
      • Prompts with Power: German & French resources
      • Prompts with Power: Dating in high school
      • KWLA Presentation: PLN-ology
      • Tweet with double objects
    •  August (6)
      • Interactive comic creator using Maya & Miguel
      • Ads of the World | Creative Advertising Archive & Community
      • Added some great new links
      • First 12 days of Spanish 1
      • My supply list
      • Scope & sequence, word list for Spanish 1
    •  July (4)
      • 5 tips for increasing (your own) target language use
      • A warm-up from @samocamila: por vs. para
      • Camila's all on board! (well, on Twitter)
      • Getting vocabulary from a tweet
    •  April (3)
      • Huge toy giveaway from SpanglishBaby
      • A case for avoiding "pet" grammar
      • Authentic audio with future tense
    •  March (2)
      • Interesting blog post about iPod as language lab
      • News article: appeal + subjunctive for influence
    •  January (5)
      • A high-interest exercise for imperfect/pasado continuo
      • A song with 17 verbs in past subjunctive
      • My corporate Spanish links, all in one place
      • "Adora la Exploradora"-the week we didn't feel like a boring past-tense review
      • My level 1 and 2 stories (for Bethanie, and whomever else)
  •  2009 (80)
    •  December (2)
      • A song with 37 repetitions of "más que"
      • Switch to a communicative set-up
    •  November (10)
      • Print & audio sources for AP synthesis essay re: efficient energy
      • Two songs for voy + a + infinitive
      • A case for free-topic blogging
      • It's 19 de noviembre!
      • Camila's new single: "Mientes" (release date 11/24!)
      • A case for pleasure reading
      • Noviembre - a popular month for songs
      • Zachary Jones's "Clozeline"
      • Two songs + resources for Ojalá + subjunctive
      • A song just for @mamitati
    •  October (13)
      • You can't buy this in a textbook
      • Cultural connections: Four songs to explore using Google Earth
      • David Bisbal's YouTube channel
      • Correction on Pin Pon in Shrek
      • Four songs for contrasting que & lo que
      • Nominados en la 10a entrega de los Latin Grammy
      • Story and songs for subjunctive: indefinite/negative antecedent
      • AP sythesis essay sources: Los indocumentados y el sistema de salud
      • Blog that does what I do, only better
      • My October playlist
      • We must not ignore the Paz Sin Fronteras (video)
      • Build your perfect tenis (en español)
      • Video with por, haber, past participles, commands, from Coca Cola
    •  September (10)
      • Latin Grammy website gets a cool makeover... and nominations!
      • Songs for the elusive 3rd pers. sing. preterite
      • I just made my first Yodio
      • KWLA Fall 09 Conference presentation
      • Found Juanes on Twitter
      • For you French teachers
      • Bilingual toy giveaway, gracias a @mamitati
      • Keeping your eyes open for gold nuggets
      • CNN launches Latino in America
      • Bob Esponja on Mundonick
    •  August (4)
      • A correction on the correction of La Frase Tonta
      • I am in technology heaven
      • An AP oral presentation, with past tense: "Consecuencias"
      • I love crossover songs
    •  July (2)
      • Raimundo, the bilingual Latin American snail
      • A song for object/refl pronoun 'te'
    •  June (6)
      • A song for your hip-hop fans
      • Developing world citizens
      • Follow me on Twitter
      • Aquí Estoy Yo: video oficial
      • A new group on my radar
      • Two months later, back to the blogosphere (with a companion)
    •  April (5)
      • A most fantastic performance at Premio Lo Nuestro
      • The heroes speak Español
      • A brilliant pair of songs contrasting por/para
      • Useless grammar I used to teach
      • Adding some links--check 'em out
    •  March (7)
      • Negative commands + culture
      • Winds of change
      • Our students aren't the only ones who have speaking problems!
      • Activity: News interaction (present perfect)
      • A new smash hit with a subjunctive benefit
      • A shout out for Jacob & Joshua
      • El campesino y la princesa (a Spanish 3 story test, with a bit of subjunctive)
    •  February (15)
      • More interactive websites, courtesy of my students
      • A product I love
      • Good stories for commands
      • a story for imperf. vs. pret. and subjunctive influence
      • Interactive websites: practicing house/location/color vocab
      • Subjunctive for doubt: Story, song, activity
      • A good story for 'tiene'
      • A song for subjunctive/nosotros commands
      • A story for demonstratives
      • Rules in a communicative class
      • Cause and effect
      • Relating everything to English
      • A correction on La Frase Tonta
      • Equipping and informing, for free
      • A project based on motivation
    •  January (6)
      • "How much is estuvo de pie?"
      • One more song for subjunctive
      • A couple more subjunctive songs
      • An example of vocab
      • Internet scavenger hunts
      • A Spanish 2 story test
  •  2008 (51)
    •  December (7)
      • Videos from Jesús Adrian Romero
      • Alex Campos's YouTube channel
      • A story test
      • A video for Navidad
      • Great new song for subjunctive
      • ¡Nueva música!
      • A fantastic blog post
    •  November (14)
      • Ever heard of Patito feo?
      • Two groups you just can't go wrong with
      • Things to be thankful for
      • Grammar learning vs. acquisition
      • Forced to give grammar tests?
      • High aptitude is a beautiful thing
      • Another Spanish 1 reading
      • New media list!
      • At the ACSI conference in Dayton
      • Story success: Huevos verdes con jamón
      • Another story source!
      • Words we don't use
      • Song success: Hace tiempo
      • El carro de sus sueños
    •  October (12)
      • Overgeneralizing, again
      • Spanish 2 Story: La llama se llama...
      • Song success: Me voy
      • Not posting lately
      • overgeneralizing
      • The outcome of Pin Pon
      • Pin Pon in Shrek?
      • Best practices
      • Reading in Spanish 3
      • SCORE!
      • My media list
      • Awesome YouTube video
    •  September (18)
      • KWLA '08: Assessing comprehension without English
      • Song success: La llave de mi corazón
      • Spanish 1 Story: Insectos grises para el almuerzo
      • Finding stories
      • How do I find the music?
      • Modeling the billingual lexicon
      • Summaries of some classroom SLA articles
      • Love/Hate Krashen
      • Another article that rocked my world
      • More sunshine
      • When it's not all coming up roses
      • What on earth is going on here?
      • So, what are the cuentos?
      • The verdict on pop test 1
      • People I love
      • A pop test
      • Some assumptions
      • Starting to share my journey

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