February 20, 2018
I saw a tweet by a professor with 41,000 followers. I listened to a podcast by a teacher who wrote a book, and has a sponsor, and knows everybody. I read a book by a consultant who knows I could do better if I could just do it right, though he left the classroom to be a […]
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February 15, 2018
Last fall, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, together with the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages, released a newly designed, re-imagined set of Can-Do statements. Have you taken a look yet? Maybe not, it’s okay. You’re already trying to use all the good pedagogy tips everyone’s been telling you about to plan […]
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January 24, 2018
Mind Mapping Vocabulary
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When it comes to memory, vision trumps all other senses. Did you catch that? If you associate an item with a picture, memory success jumps from 10% to 65%. It’s why I don’t tell stories and I don’t ask stories, I draw stories. And in my class we have approximately 3 key school supplies: something to draw with, something […]
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January 18, 2018
I just opened Bloglovin’ for the first time in… well, long enough that I had to log in. Can you believe it? I had to log in. Honestly, I did almost immediately find a really cool idea: Dom posted about using news headlines as a vocabulary gap activity and it struck me as a great hook […]
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January 11, 2018
We have a habit of resolving things in January, of sensing the newness and opportunities of a new year like an present we’ll unwrap a day at a time for the next twelve months. Old year(s) resolutions I have a habit of posting such things in January. Last year I wanted to be Officer Hopps, though […]
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December 31, 2017
Book Club 2017: All the Fluff
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It’s that time again! Here’s a run-down of what I read in 2017. It’s newly on my bucket list to read all the Pulitzer-winning novels, and this year’s list has 2: His Family, the first one, and The Underground Railroad, the latest one. I prefer the first, and below you’ll see why. Must Read Best of 2017: […]
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December 27, 2017
I was listening to a podcast recently and a successful businessman was talking about the power of a simple thank you. The meditation caused me to think about my year-end posts and how they should change this year. In 2017, I published a grand total of 29 posts prior to this one. I’ll end this year […]
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December 20, 2017
In the month of December I’ve normally taken somewhat of a break from blogging. But wait, Sra. Musicuentos, all of 2017 has been “somewhat of a break” from blogging. I know. And my personal life is appreciating it very much. In any case, in what remains of this December I still hope to post a few pseudo-typical […]
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December 14, 2017
I treat gift-giving like I do many aspects of my teaching life: it’s hard for me to accept that there’s much of anything between mediocre and wild success. (Working on that.) And I love birthdays. I love people birthdays and I love the Son of God’s birthday – I love Christmas. I love the countdown calendar my kids […]
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November 22, 2017
A hand is raised. Or not raised. Maybe something’s just blurted out. And your heart is in conflict. Do I let her speak? Do I ask him to wait? Because I know, if I let this go on, we’re going to spend the next ten minutes talking about stuff – trivial or not – in […]
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November 18, 2017
I’m having a great time at the annual convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages! My co-presenter and I thought we uploaded our handouts in enough time to have them available on the app, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. So, for our attendees and you there on your […]
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November 15, 2017
The tweets and photos and haircuts (yes, #ACTFLhaircuts) have started. It’s that time again, everyone. Thousands of world language professionals are headed to Nashville this week for the annual convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. I’m thankful the convention has come so close to home this time! My schedule this […]
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