Authentic Sources
December 21, 2016
We’re up to the third most popular post on Musicuentos for 2016. It’s a post on Five ways to use infographics in language class I’ve often said that infographics are a go-to authentic resource, particularly in novice classes. They are ready-made materials that help you provide input in the visual ways students are increasingly becoming […]
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December 8, 2016
It’s December and time to look back at the best of 2016 on the Musicuentos blog! If you missed some posts, never fear – here we begin the top five of what posts people found worthy to read this year. The fifth most popular post of 2016 was published as part of #Authres August and […]
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December 6, 2016
I tell you what, I’ll not be terribly sad to see 2016 go. It’s been a tough one. How would I label this year? It’s been- The Year of Confused– about my teacher and professional identity. The Year of Bridges Burned– when I stopped being an island I discovered this: When people discover I get it […]
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October 10, 2016
Rabbit trails aren’t always a bad thing. Sometimes they turn out to be the yellow brick road with the Emerald City at the end. Here’s the one I hit today: I subscribe to Richard Byrne’s Practical Ed Tech blog’s Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week. Weekly, I get Richard’s great tip of the week […]
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August 30, 2016
Let’s do one final round of #AuthResAugust on Musicuentos and talk interactive websites! We well know how much the internet has revolutionized language teaching, making authentic language and culture accessible at the touch of a few buttons. One of the best opportunities the internet has presented us with is, in my opinion, websites that don’t […]
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August 22, 2016
I just posted about some great newish songs I’ve found, but the majority of songs I use in my classroom are tried-and-true successes from the last 12 years of teaching. The fact is, most new music that comes out, however engaging it might be, is not comprehensible and does not repeat enough to be useful […]
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August 15, 2016
#AuthResAugust: New(ish) Music!
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My first summer out of grad school, I went to an AP Spanish Language workshop that was generally uninspiring except in one respect: the leader was the first person who connected pop music and pedagogy for me. Now, I wouldn’t be Musicuentos without the música, so let’s go with a music version of #AuthResAugust! Las recientes que […]
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August 3, 2016
For those of you who are still avoiding Twitter to streamline your social media life or for whatever reason (I know you’re out there!) I have good news – you don’t have to join Twitter to leverage it as a resource for your teaching, and WOW what a resource it is. Twitter is tailor-made for comprehensible authentic […]
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July 30, 2016
A call to #AuthRes August
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Tried stepping outside the textbook to use the target-culture world instead? This stuff is hard, people. Or at least, incredibly time-consuming. Textbooks aren’t so expensive because they weren’t a lot of work. Shall we start the school year by sharing the load? Wherever you are and whatever you’re teaching, I invite you to join me in […]
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April 19, 2016
Have you seen the movie Canela? This semester I’ve been so grateful that Kara Jacobs and Elena López introduced me – FINALLY – to an authentic Mexican family film that’s appropriate for any classroom and any student anywhere (a rare find in Spanish-language cinema available in the U.S., as I’m sure you know). So grateful, in fact, […]
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April 1, 2016
Not for novices, anyway. It’s too hard for them. I’m giving up. They simply cannot navigate them in a meaningful way to provide the comprehensible input necessary for language acquisition, so why even try? I’m buying into what a teacher trainer told me this week: “Authentic language isn’t comprehensible for beginners.” Take this, for example. […]
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February 10, 2016
Who doesn’t want to talk about cute kids in awesome clothes? I’m sure you’re aware yesterday was Carnaval. Thanks to Allison Wienhold’s post on great Carnaval resources, I was able to give my students an Edmodo assignment that exposed them to some culture (cute culture at that!) and asked them to practice our current ongoing targets, description […]
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