It wasn’t even close. My post on the biggest mistake we make (and are pushed in so many ways to make) as language teachers was hit more than 40% more than the #2 post. We know we’re covering too much content, and we’re tired of being told that’s the right thing to do. Oh- and HAPPY […]
I hope you had a great, worship-filled Christmas Day! 2015 is almost here! I think it’s kind of unfortunate the #2 post of the year is the one I titled “What I hate about TPRS.” Sometimes I word things very strongly on the blog because I want to make a point, and my point with […]
My first trip to the annual convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages was amazing. Well, there was the thing where I didn’t have any kids with me for a few days. I adore my children, but a few days off was much needed! Honestly, I didn’t get to attend many […]
Since I had my precious Cottrell-itos on my trip to the annual conference of the Indiana Foreign Language Teacher’s Association, I didn’t get to spend as much time involved in the conference as I would have liked to, but I did greatly enjoy the time I did have. I reconnected with “old” friends, made new […]
If you use children’s stories in the classroom, are those stories skilled enough to do double – or triple – duty? Piggybacking on what Helena Curtain advised, to use literature that’s deep enough to come at life and language in multiple ways, I’d like to add a couple of suggestions for books to add to […]
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 […]
Learning vs. play Where did kids get the idea that school was not fun? That learning was not fun? A couple of weeks ago I was interviewing another teacher’s student for a proficiency assessment and I asked about school. He said that he liked learning but didn’t like school. Isn’t that sad? Well, maybe it’s not. I […]
I’m pleased to announce that I’m participating in three sessions you’ll see at the annual conference by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Kick the Vocab Quiz This session will offer reasons and strategies for eliminating vocabulary quizzes from your classroom, in the interest of fostering real long-term memory and deep vocabulary […]
Textbooks can be really helpful. Yes, I did say that. They can give you structure and ideas. They can facilitate communication among you, parents, and schools. They can provide you with assessments, sometimes good ones. Sorry, I still don’t like them. I don’t like doing extra work any more than you do, but I still […]
Last September Martin Lapworth wrote a blog post called “On CI, TPRS, Acquisition, etc. (I so want to believe…)“. As I read it and the comments on it (which, incidentally, include one authored by CI king Stephen Krashen), I found myself asking a question that I’ve felt for a long time is forefront in the […]
I’ve gotten this question several times lately and it’s made me remember I sort of blogged on that when I wrote about taking the leap to standards-based assessment but I should go into it a little more. So, you’re ready to move to proficiency-based assessment and standards-based grading, but if you’re assessment is focused on […]
It occurs to me that putting resources in blog posts is all well and good, but then months pass and the blog post gets buried, and what if a teacher who just found Musicuentos needed that very resource? So, I’m about to begin releasing resources I’ve developed through a special section of the site. You’ll […]