September 16, 2016
Sometimes, a mildly interesting idea takes root and then morphs into something you never expected. That has happened to me this year, and I cannot contain how excited I am about it. A toe in the PBLL waters At the beginning of this past summer, I was planning for Camp Musicuentos, deciding on what unit […]
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September 8, 2016
Missing the Black Box videocasts? This newest research-based videocast about language learning and teaching was completed months ago and I’ve been quite remiss in not blogging about it yet. This one is quite different: the whole team divvied up the work of bringing you a Throwback ThurSLAy version of our videocast. Normally we review articles […]
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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 5, 2016
Have you thought about adding student choice to spice up your concept of homework and increase student motivation? Have you already been using student choice in homework for years but could use a few new options or a change in assessment system? Here is my kind of prerequisite annual post on options for homework choice. […]
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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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August 1, 2016
Have you thought about helping your Intermediate Mid+ students navigate an authentic novel? Spanish-learner novels definitely have their valuable place in the classroom, but in my experience authentic novels can’t be beat for exploring in-depth culture and rich language. At the same time, that rich language can be so rich that it becomes incomprehensible at worst or […]
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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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July 28, 2016
Do you remember Kodak and Blockbuster? I do. My students do not. Listen to the man in the NYT video about the death throes at Kodak: What if? What if somebody else would have been a little more innovative? What if the board would have thought, let’s think a little bit farther out? And Blockbuster? When baby […]
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July 20, 2016
When I graduated from my master’s program in Linguistics with an emphasis on Second Language Acquisition, I suffered from a fundamental misunderstanding. I thought that there was a consensus on the general principles guiding how language acquisition works, what that means the second time around, and what that understanding ought to mean for the classroom […]
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July 11, 2016
Quiz for you: What percentage of target language use does the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages recommend teachers and students use in the classroom? Almost every teacher I know and work with can answer this question. How could we not when it becomes such a torment for so many? Answer: 90% or higher. […]
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