Practical Proficiency Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered: am I teaching the right things? How do I know that my units are getting the job done? This episode mini-series on unit and skills to include in each level was inspired by a common question from the Practical Proficiency Network membership. Here, we'll dive into years 1 & 2 of your world language program. DOWNLOAD THE PDF OF UNIT IDEAS HERE Submit your quest...

Send us Fan Mail Intermediate Low is the most misunderstood proficiency level. Let's dive in with a teacher-friendly description of what your intermediate lows can actually do with language. We'll also talk about how to adapt your curriculum to better serve your novice highs to transition into intermediate low. The new ACTFL Proficiency guidelines for 2024 are HERE! This final episode in...

Send us Fan Mail The Practical & Comprehensible conference is back for 2024! Meet presenter Kia D. London to hear more about her awesome presentation and focus on teacher longevity and maintaining joy, especially as an introverted middle school teacher transitioning to high school. Sign up for this free conference July 29-31 here: https://lalibrelanguagelearning.mykajabi.com/a/2147894883/GJRfM...

Send us Fan Mail The Practical & Comprehensible conference is back for 2024!  Meet presenter Pav of Fle avec Mme D to hear more about her awesome presentation and focus on beating teacher burnout through her journey of having no designated prep time since covid hit her classroom.  Sign up for this free conference July 29-31 here: https://lalibrelanguagelearning.mykajabi.com/a/2147894883/hcrEUR...

Send us Fan Mail The Practical & Comprehensible conference is back for 2024! Meet presenter Allison Perryman of The Cultural Classroom to hear more about her awesome presentation and focus on social justice, representation, and identity self-exploration through culture in her Spanish class.  @theculturalclassroom   Sign up for this free conference July 29-31 here: https://lalibrelanguagelearni...

Send us Fan Mail Practical and Comprehensible is the premiere conference event each year for  proficiency-oriented world language teachers!  This year, come meet the speakers on the Practical Proficiency Podcast to get a sneak peek and bonus content from the presenters! Meet Timothy Chávez, who is presenting this year on thematic units with social justice as the focus.  Use this link to register f...

Send us Fan Mail The Practical & Comprehensible conference is back for 2024!  Meet presenter Courtney Bonino of Llearning Llama to hear more about her awesome presentation: ARTful Lesson Planning!  Her presentation this year is all about how to use Art in your Spanish classes and world language classes at large.  Sign up for this free conference July 29-31 here: https://lalibrelanguagelearning...

Send us Fan Mail This one is for novice high - the level you'll spend the most time with in your career! Listen to get in-depth examples for exactly what novice highs can do with language, in teacher-friendly language of course!  Submit your question here Download the free audio training "The Joyful CI Classroom System" here  Find out more and join the Practical Proficiency Network...

Send us Fan Mail We're continuing this series on the new 2024 ACTFL guidelines. This answers a common question I get - what level should my students be in and how do I know that?  Let's talk about what Novice Mid actually looks like and what it means for your world language program. Check the ACTFL 2024 Proficiency Guidelines here  Submit your question here Find out more and join the Pra...

Send us Fan Mail The new ACTFL Proficiency guidelines for 2024 are HERE! Our new series comes from a common listener question - what level should my students be in and how do I know that?  Let's talk about what Novice Low actually looks like and what it means for your world language program.  Check the ACTFL 2024 Proficiency Guidelines here  Submit your question here Find out more and join th...

Send us Fan Mail It's here, the one we world language teachers have been waiting for - culture lessons! However, culture is complex. Our solution to exposing students to widely diverse cultures should be equally complex and thoughtful. Here's some practical ideas to get you started. Find the mentioned free French Units for back to school here  Download the 10 Elements PDF GUIDE here   Go...

Send us Fan Mail Hey hey hey, it's assessment day! This could be a giant deep dive.  Today, we're focusing on how to switch mindsets from our assessments being an occasional to a REGULAR and CRUCIAL piece of the proficiency-oriented classroom.  They help your students as much as they help inform you! Download the 10 Elements PDF GUIDE here   Go to Blog Post of the 10 Elements of Proficie...

Send us Fan Mail Today's element - input! This is a proficiency teacher favorite. We always talk about how important it is, but that doesn't always mean that YOU need to be the source.  Download the 10 Elements PDF GUIDE here   Go to Blog Post of the 10 Elements of Proficiency Oriented World Language Instruction (contains image printout) Take action - pick 1 element from today's epi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we discuss a list of the people I enjoy learning from to further my journey into equity-driven education. These are the trusted speakers, writers, and teachers to follow and keep in your feed! Head here to the accompanying blog post for the list of DEI speakers and leaders in the world language space.  Download the 10 Elements PDF GUIDE here   Go to Blog Post of t...

Send us Fan Mail Today's element - the class! Everything should be a conduit for conversation in world language. So where does that leave teachers? As the party host, of course! Download the 10 Elements PDF GUIDE here   Go to Blog Post of the 10 Elements of Proficiency Oriented World Language Instruction (contains image printout) Take action - pick 1 element from today's episode and see...

Send us Fan Mail Let's dive into how to use movies in your classroom! Allison of Mis Clases Locas is an expert in utilizing culture-rich movies as a source of input and cultural perspectives, especially for multiprep teachers. Connect with her below and be sure to join the conference in June!! Allison Wienhold of Mis Clases Locas has over a decade of experience as a #deptof1 secondary Spanish...

Send us Fan Mail Today's element is all about the speaking and the signing: how to make sure we're doing the right speaking activities at the right time. Download the 10 Elements PDF GUIDE here   Go to Blog Post of the 10 Elements of Proficiency Oriented World Language Instruction (contains image printout) Take action - pick 1 element from today's episode and see where you can make...

Send us Fan Mail This is the essential world language teacher framework for each piece of your target language rich classroom based on proficiency practices. If you're into proficiency-oriented instruction, here's where to start. Today's element deep dive is on how to finally get interaction with your students through 2-way communication: rejoinders, hand signals, the works! Go to B...

Send us Fan Mail This is the essential world language teacher framework for each piece of your target language rich classroom based on proficiency practices. If you're into proficiency-oriented instruction, here's where to start. Today's element deep dive is on the one we use the most in class: a target language delivery system. Learn one of the key elements of making proficiency WO...

Send us Fan Mail Dive a little deeper into the #1 element - curriculum, scope, and sequence. This is the essential world language teacher framework for each piece of your target language rich classroom based on proficiency practices. If you're into proficiency-oriented instruction, here's where to start. Go to Blog Post of the 10 Elements of Proficiency Oriented World Language Instructio...

Send us Fan Mail This is the essential world language teacher framework for each piece of your target language rich classroom based on proficiency practices. If you're into proficiency-oriented instruction, here's where to start. Today's element deep dive is on real-world context. We teach one of the most useful skills in the world. Let's keep it that way! Download the 10 Eleme...

Send us Fan Mail This is the essential world language teacher framework for each piece of your target language rich classroom based on proficiency practices. If you're into proficiency-oriented instruction, here's where to start. Go to Blog Post of the 10 Elements of Proficiency Oriented World Language Instruction (contains image printout) Today, we're doing an overview of the 10 el...

Send us Fan Mail This is my story of what proficiency-oriented instruction for world language teachers means to me. How I got started with comprehensible input, how much I loved it, messed up, and then learned there was a more practical approach to teaching language.  New to the Practical Proficiency Podcast? Start here! Submit your question here Find out more and join the Practical Proficiency Ne...