We Teach Languages

In ep 108, Stacey interviews Lance Piantaggini, known as Magister P to his students and blog readers, about how language teachers can keep school work at school, avoid burnout, and provide as much input as possible for their students. Lance teaches in a way that is consistent with his principled approach to language acquisition and writes comprehensible readers in Latin while also keeping his work...

In ep 107, Stacey discusses the terminology we use to describe the languages we teach. Terms like foreign, world, second, modern, community, classical, and others all came up in a recent poll we ran on Twitter. Stacey discusses the results of that poll, shares insights from past guests Amy Andersen, Mandy Manning, and Ellen Toubman. Then we hear from Dr. Shannon Mason about her research on how the...

In ep 106, Anne-Sophie Dubosson interviews Professor Virginia Scott about teaching literature and other kinds of texts in the language classroom. We also hear from two past guests, Michael Leeser and Ryan Rockaitis, about how they promote critical thinking and deeper learning through engaging with texts. For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/05/31/ep-106-with-virginia-scott/...

In ep 105, Stacey shares the second half of a conversation she recently had with two remarkable language teachers. Mandy Manning is the 2018 National Teacher of the Year. She teaches new immigrant and refugee high school students learning English in Spokane, Washington. Amy Andersen teaches American Sign Language to hearing students at a high school in Ocean City, New Jersey and was one of the fin...

In ep 104, Stacey shares the first half of a conversation she recently had with two remarkable language teachers. Mandy Manning is the 2018 National Teacher of the Year. She teaches new immigrant and refugee high school students learning English in Spokane, Washington. Amy Andersen teaches American Sign Language to hearing students at a high school in Ocean City, New Jersey and was one of the fina...

In ep 103, Maris Hawkins interviews French teacher and SCOLT Teacher of the Year Heidi Trude about tech tools for the language classroom. You'll want to to take notes and visit the show notes to learn more about all the things you can do with Gimkit, Quizlet, Flipgrid, Google Cardboard and many more! For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/05/10/ep-103-with-heidi-trude We welc...

In ep 102, Stacey talks with professor, researcher, and textbook author Michael Leeser about how he views language and language teaching, how he approaches the Methods course, and the roles of input and output in language learning. Michael also discusses the approach he takes in the two college-level Spanish textbooks he co-authored. For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/05/...

In ep 101, Thomas Sauer sits down with teachers from North County High School's World and Classical Languages Department including department chair and German teacher Katrina Griffin, German and Spanish teacher Cora Hoffstetter, and Spanish teachers Nea Baker, Jennifer Howard, Will Klotz, Cassie Krawczyk, and Mallory Newcomer. The group discusses how they develop instruction collaboratively--even...

In ep 100, Maris Hawkins takes the lead to talk to listeners about episodes of the podcast that have been particularly meaningful for them. We're so excited to celebrate this milestone with everyone! For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/04/19/ep-100 We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, leave...

In ep 99, Rebecca Blouwolff interviews her favorite educational podcaster, Jennifer Gonzalez, creator of the Cult of Pedagogy blog. Rebecca and Jennifer talk about four specific blog posts/podcast episodes: To Learn, Students Need to DO Something, Is Your Lesson a Grecian Urn?, Retrieval Practice, How Accurate Are Your Grades? The episodes were crafted from the perspective of Jennifer, an ELA teac...

In ep 98, Ellen Toubman and Ryan Rockaitis discuss the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and ACTFL proficiency guidelines. For teachers who want to know more about how to use the proficiency levels to design instruction that moves students along the proficiency path, this episode is full of big ideas and practical examples you can apply to your own classroom. For links and show notes, visit https:/...

In ep 97, Stacey interviews Valerie Shull about the early language program she leads at a Montessori school where she has taught Spanish for 18 years. Valerie talks about her approach and describes specific strategies that she uses to promote proficiency among her 4th-8th grade students. For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/03/29/ep-97-with-valerie-shull We welcome feedback...

In ep 96, Meghan McGinley interviews Jonathon Reinhardt about the relationship between learning and games, specifically the practical and theoretical connection between language learning and digital games. For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/03/22/ep-96-with-jonathon-reinhardt We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conv...

In ep 95, Stacey interviews Becky Peterson and Kelly Scheetz from TFLTA, Maris interviews Luis Deocares from GWATFL, and we revisit a few past guests as well. Learn more about how local professional organizations are providing affordable professional development, engaging in advocacy work, and shaping the ACTFL teacher of the year program. For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/20...

This week, we're replaying one of our favorite episodes from last summer, episode 58 with Steve Smith. In ep 58, Steve Smith discusses principles for language instruction that will help teachers navigate the complexity of the current post-methods era. Between book/blog writing, academic study, and classroom teaching, Steve is a perennial source of useful information for language teachers.  For lin...

Caroline Schlegel interviews Stefanie Neal about how she made the transition from a grammar-based syllabus to proficiency-oriented, spoken Latin. Stefanie share advice for teachers and some of her favorite comprehensible input strategies for the language classroom. For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/03/01/ep-94-with-stefanie-neal We welcome feedback, resources, and divers...

Rebecca Blouwolff interviews the Creative Language Class masterminds, Kara Parker and Megan Smith. Rebecca asks Kara and Megan about trends among teachers trying to move towards proficiency, about how to get a diverse department on the same page, and why you might want to get feedback on your teaching among other topics! For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/02/22/ep-93-with...

Stacey interviews Elena Mangione-Lora from the University of Notre Dame about her work using meta-reflection and ePortfolios as a final assessment. Elena discusses why and how she made the transition to portfolio assessment. She also shares some of the scholarship she consulted and the data she collected during implementation.  For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/02/15/ep-...

Three teachers discuss their work teaching private language classes as freelance teachers or tutors, Diane Neubauer, a Chinese Teacher, Vivek Tripathi, a Hindi teacher, and Meg Saunders, an English teacher. Our guests will explore questions like: How is language teaching different one-on-one? How does an online environment affect teaching? For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/20...

Stacey talks with her colleague Kylie Korsnack about some of the concepts they explored in their recent series of workshops on how to promote presence and interaction in the online classroom. Among other topics, Kylie introduces listeners to the community of inquiry framework as a tool for online course design. Whether you are teaching fully online, in a hybrid/blended format, or face-to-face with...

Dr. Claire Knowles continues her conversation with Dr. Errol O'Neill about Google Translate. In this part II, Claire and Errol discuss what student training on Google Translate might look like, what features teachers should become familiar with, and how to communicate about the tool with students. For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/01/25/ep-89-with-errol-oneill-part-ii/ W...

Claire Knowles interviews Errol O'Neill about Google Translate in the first part of a two-part episode. In part I, Claire and Errol discuss what Google translate is and how it works, a bit about what the research says about its use in language classrooms, and why teachers might want to take advantage of its abilities to help students communicate effectively in the real world. For links and show no...

Stacey interviews Heather Sherrow about the novice-level unit on descriptions that she developed called Soy Yo: Bringing Life, Purpose, and Meaning to Your Novice Descriptions Unit. This unit tackles stereotypes, celebrates differences, and encourages students to be themselves using songs, memes, commercials, tweets, infographics, and other authentic resources. Heather has presented this unit at s...

Caroline Schlegel interviews Dr. Arlene White and Mrs. Paula Moore, two educators who have made a difference in her own professional development, about how they provide relevant, meaningful, and effective professional development for new and veteran educators. The topics of discussion include how professional development contributes to teacher recruitment and retention and how technology and metho...

Stacey talks about how the podcast made its way in 2018, some off the themes and highlights from the year, and how listeners can get involved as guests and contributors in 2018. For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2018/12/14/ep-83-with-maria-carreira/ We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, leave us...