We Teach Languages

In ep 131, Maris Hawkins interviews Inga Paterson-Zuniga about all the ways her language teaching has changed over the years and how she got started writing comprehensible novels for Spanish learners. Inga shares how her teaching approaches have evolved over the years to be more equitable and focused on success for all students.  For links and show notes, visit https://wp.me/p88mlO-5WS We welcome...

In ep 130, Stacey talks about how the podcast made its way in 2019, how we met our goal of being a contributor-driven podcast, and how we plan to do a little more and a little less in 2020. For links and show notes, visit https://wp.me/p88mlO-5TV We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, leave us a voicemail or send a te...

In ep 129, Stacey interviews Lynne Jones and Louise Whyte. Lynne is a Professional Development Officer at SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages where she supports pre- and in-service teachers across Scotland to develop their languages pedagogy. Louise also worked at SCILT until May 2019, and now is Principal Teacher Languages at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary in Glasgow and the Chair of th...

In ep 128, Jiaqian Chen interviews Holland White about her experiences teaching bilingual students in her high school English language arts classroom. Jiaqian and Holland met as graduate students in an English Language Learners program. In this interview, Holland discusses the importance of developing positive, trusting relationships with students and why teachers sometimes struggle to get around...

In ep 127, Stacey and Dr. Rhoda Núñez-Donnelly met up after #ACTFL19 to discuss some of their takeaways and thoughts from a particularly meaningful session. Rhoda is a resource teacher in her school system and also shares with listeners her best advice on reaching reluctant learners in our classrooms. For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/12/06/127-with-nunez-donnelly/ We we...

In ep 126, Dr. Claire Knowles, whom you might remember from episodes 9, 88, 89, or 100, returns to the podcast with a list of questions from the teachers in her language teaching methods course. Claire and Stacey sat down during a break in the action at the 2019 ACTFL Convention to talk about how Stacey ended up obsessed with language teaching and producing a podcast, along with questions about ho...

In ep 125, Melanie Forehand interviews Peter Ecke, Professor of Second Language Acquisition and German at the University of Arizona. They discuss the benefits and challenges of short-term study abroad and resources for getting started with study abroad research. For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/11/22/125-with-peter-ecke We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspe...

In ep 124, Stacey interviews Cheyenne Staten, who is studying Spanish and Special Education, and Dr. Julie Glosson, her professor and co-investigator in a recent case study. Stacey met up with Cheyenne and Julie at the recent TFLTA conference (Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association) where they presented on teaching students with disabilities. In this interview, they discuss general princi...

In ep 123, Carolyn Siegel interviews Sarah Aguilar-Francis about her department's path to proficiency and how their multi-year transition has been going. For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/11/08/123-with-sarah-aguilar-francis/ We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, leave us a voicemail or sen...

In ep 122, Stacey continues her conversation with Dr. Gwen Barnes-Karol, who specializes in teaching literature, and Dr. Maggie Broner, a sociolinguist,  about how a content-based curriculum has transformed the language program at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. St Olaf's Spanish program focuses on textual analysis and academic language starting in the third semester, and they have no grammar revie...

In ep 121, Stacey interviews Dr. Gwen Barnes-Karol, who specializes in teaching literature, and Dr. Maggie Broner, a sociolinguist,  about how a content-based curriculum has transformed the language program at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. St Olaf's Spanish program focuses on textual analysis and academic language starting in the third semester, and they have no grammar review or intro to literat...

In ep 120, Margaret Kelly interviews Dr. Katie Angus about her dissertation research on graduate teaching assistant (TA) development and her own approach to supporting TA instructors at the college level. For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/10/18/120-with-katie-angus/ We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation...

In ep 119, Stacey interviews Dr. Victoria Gilbert about her work as a teacher and department chair in a Pre-K through 8th grade all-boys Catholic school in New York. Victoria discusses her context and some of the changes she has made over the years including a shift towards authentic audiences and IPAs as assessments. Stacey and Victoria also discuss how to invite colleagues into change. For links...

In ep 118, Shannon Mason interviews Pete Swanson about the language teacher shortage and how recruitment and retention efforts may help address the issue. Shannon and Pete are two of the leading scholars researching the issue, and the show notes link to a bit of additional research so listeners can follow up after hearing the episode. For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/10...

In ep 117, Melanie Forehand interviews Angelika Kraemer about university language centers. They discuss how the the old-style language labs have morphed into more modern, social spaces called language centers, and how those centers help to support language teaching and learning on campuses and in communities. Melanie also asks Angelika about her experience transitioning into the role of language c...

In ep 116, Carolyn Siegel interviews Dr. Damian Vergara Wilson, Associate Professor at the University of New Mexico. As a graduate of the program he now directs, his ultimate goal for his heritage learners is for them to view themselves as legitimate Spanish speakers. In this interview he shares what that looks like both in a broad view and in specific projects students undertake. For links and sh...

In ep 115, Stacey ponders the question "Who should be talking in the language classroom?" Drawing on past guest interviews, Stacey breaks down the main question into several smaller parts by asking about who is talking, when, and in what language.  For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/09/06/115-who-should-be-talking/ We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives...

In ep 114, Maris Hawkins interviews her former colleague and friend, Kristin Kvasnyuk about teaching in a blended format and about student inquiry projects.  For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/08/30/114-with-kristin-kvasnyuk/ We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, leave us a voicemail or send...

In ep 113, Janina Hanson interviews Justin Slocum Bailey about the content of his recent workshop for language teachers: Mind, Body, and Voice Skills. Among other topics, Janina and Justin discuss the value of silence in the classroom and of paying attention to our minds and bodies. For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/08/23/113-with-justin-slocum-bailey/ We welcome feedbac...

In ep 112, Stacey talks with Gianfranco Conti in the second part of a two-part interview. Gianfranco discusses how anxiety and failure affect language learning, and goes into more detail about his system for organizing a listening lesson.  For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/08/16/112-with-gianfranco-conti-part-ii/ We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives o...

In ep 111, Stacey interviews Gianfranco Conti about how to teach students to listen well. In this first part of a two-part series with Gianfranco, he discusses how bottom-up processing works, how typical listening activities overwhelm students, why interpersonal listening is best for students, and how teachers can use their expertise and instincts to nurture student listening.  For links and show...

In ep 42, Stacey interviews Daniel Woolsey, an associate professor of Spanish at a liberal arts college in Michigan, who teaches courses including fourth-semester Spanish and Hispanic linguistics. Daniel explains how language teachers can focus on critical cultural content, let go of explicit grammar instruction, and trust the acquisition process to take place.  For links and show notes, visit htt...

In the month of July, we are re-running some of our favorite episodes from the first year of the podcast. In this rerun of episode 23, Stacey asks Paul Sandrock, Director of Education at ACTFL, about performance assessment. Why should teachers use performance assessment, how does it work, and what resources does ACTFL have to help? For links and show notes, visit https://weteachlang.com/2019/07/05...