communicative activities
May 2, 2024
It’s May, and you’ve got extra time on your hands. Perhaps the proficiency assessment is over, or the last unit went faster than expected. Maybe signing ceremonies or ring ceremonies or a horse race (yeah, I live in Louisville) is messing with the schedule and making it so one period of Level 2 has an […]
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March 3, 2023
Do your learners know each other’s names? Bear with a bit of a long introduction, and keep reading to perhaps discover a new idea for fostering community + target language in the classroom. After twenty years of teaching, when I go to a conference, I often choose presentations based on the presenter – something I […]
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March 28, 2019
Athletic events. Widespread illness. Someone’s unprepared (teacher or students) or arrived late (“Teachers, due to a car accident on the highway, do not count any student tardy in first period today”). Emergency drill – or a passing kindergartener decided to pull the fun red handle on the wall. Half the class gone for an AP exam, […]
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January 29, 2019
By now we’re all back into the language class swing, right? I love my breaks and I love teaching and I confess I have a love-hate relationship with that first day back after a break. I almost always have at least one dream sometime in the few days beforehand with one of the following scenarios: I can’t […]
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May 8, 2018
My class has an infection right now, and it’s called translation. It’s no secret I am not a huge fan of translation as the go-to method of checking comprehension, though I’ve moderated my stance on this over the years (especially for interpretive assessments), and lately I’m remembering why. I’ve based four out of the last […]
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March 14, 2017
You want to include more authentic videos in your class. The question becomes, what do you do with a TL video? Now, there have been several great posts offering options of activities to use with authentic video, like this one from Spanish Playground or this one from Bryan Kandel. My post, in particular, along with my […]
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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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October 28, 2016
What is your all-time favorite, most-used school supply? Your computer? Projector? YouTube? White-board markers? Mine is quite low-tech: sticky notes. I love sticky notes because they come in a ton of colors. Because they come in a ton of sizes. Because they can have lines or no lines, shapes, full sticky back or not. I love sticky notes […]
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December 11, 2015
In March I discovered the catchy, learner-friendly song “El perdón” and blogged about ways to use it in both novice and intermediate classes. That post was the 5th-most popular post of 2015. New song: El perdón for two levels Ever feel behind the times? I just caught the current #1 song on Latin Billboard and […]
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October 21, 2015
Does this sound familiar to you? Via Facebook, Twitter, Edmodo, Google search, or a two-hour plummet down the rabbit hole known as Pinterest, you found exactly the right authentic resource for your upcoming lesson on members of the family. You spent 72 minutes designing a scaffolding activity that would help make it comprehensible and focus your […]
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October 12, 2015
In the last year and a half, I have read a research article, recorded a Black Box Podcast, presented a conference session selected as a Central States All-Star session, and blogged – all on the topic of why we should teach the skill of circumlocution early and often. Aside: Circumlocution is the skill of talking […]
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September 25, 2015
¿Cómo y por qué usamos comerciales en la clase de español? Porque ofrecen cultura, una fuente auténtica para practicar la comprensión auditiva, estructuras útiles para mejorar el dominio del idioma y no son muy largos para agotar a los estudiantes con mucho contenido incomprensible. Aquí les doy las diapositivas de mi presentación para KWLA 2015. […]
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