curriculum
October 10, 2019
One thing at a time: Step Four
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So you want to become a better language teacher, and that’s awesome! You’ve laid a good foundation in getting to know some sound research principles involving how people acquire and learn languages thanks to Steve Smith. You’ve figured out what to expect kids to build as they continue on their journey to being proficient in another language. You […]
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September 23, 2019
One thing at a time: Step Three
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So you want to become a better language teacher, and that’s awesome! You’ve laid a good foundation in getting to know some sound research principles involving how people acquire and learn languages thanks to Steve Smith. You’ve figured out what to expect kids to build as they continue on their journey to being proficient in […]
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August 19, 2019
Supercharge a “News” unit
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And now, for the nightly news. For students approaching or solidly sitting in Intermediate Land, a unit focused on news reporting can add some real power to world language class. Consider what pops up in the news: high-interest stories (engagement!) narration interviews (multiple voices!) culture (practices + perspectives!) the perfect tenses (“17 people have gotten sick […]
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August 6, 2019
If you asked me about the most frequent dilemma questions I get/see in professional interactions, including teacher development communities, workshops, social media, and email, this would have to be way up there: What am I supposed to do about this PBL thing? Rewind please… You probably know this, but for clarity’s sake, let’s do a […]
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May 30, 2019
I’m about to let you in on a well-kept secret. (clears throat) I love textbooks. You read that right- I truly do. And the more worksheets, the better. I love grammar exercises, finding the patterns and replicating them, filling in all the blanks. That is, I love them for me. Because I’m a grammarian, a linguist, an analytic learner […]
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August 2, 2018
In the post-vocabulary list era, we know that vocabulary presented repeatedly in context is the higher road. In that light, what are some practices teachers have found to help learners acquire rich vocabulary without developing, assigning, and drilling long lists of words? I’ll present here one of mine. But first… Let me give a bit […]
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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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March 15, 2016
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 used to. They often use bite-sized portions of language and lots of numbers that make them extra comprehensible. And because they are intended for […]
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February 26, 2016
CAMP MUSICUENTOS IS A WRAP FOR 2016! Thanks everyone for all the learning! Seven days. Three locations. It’s a new year and an all-new format for the collaborative, intense curriculum planning workshop that is Camp Musicuentos. I can’t wait! What’s this about? Camp Musicuentos is a workshop I hold with a limited number of teachers […]
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December 26, 2015
In the twelfth year of designing syllabi, you may not have “the syllabus to end them all” – of course not! We’re always changing based on successes and challenges, right? But by this time I knew the five ingredients I had to have in a syllabus, and you wanted to hear about them. This August […]
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August 1, 2015
Can language that’s learned be used in spontaneous communication? Yes. No. Maybe. It’s a big debate in the field of Second Language Acquisition research, and the authors of this article want to encourage all sides to take a more nuanced view of the issue. This question is really complex (when I was unpacking the article […]
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July 10, 2015
What if every task students did in class had a real-world application? I asked that question during last night’s #langbook chat. This summer we started what we hope will be an annual summer-break chat to encourage language teachers to read quality professional books. For the inaugural #langbook chat, we polled and participants chose the book […]
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