World Language Classroom

#156 This is episode 5 in my 2024 summer headspace series. This is a chance to revisit episodes from the previous school year during the summer months when you may have a little extra time. Beginning August 26th, you will see new episodes with exciting new topics every Monday.  For today we take a look back at episodes 117 where Jamie Rodriguez talks about guided conversations and episode 121 wher...

#155 This is episode 4 in my 2024 summer headspace series. This is a chance to revisit episodes from the previous school year during the summer months when you may have a little extra time. Beginning August 26th, you will see new episodes with exciting new topics every Monday.  For today we take a look back at the Leveling Coach episodes where I coach several language teachers who are working on a...

#154 This is episode 3 in my 2024 summer headspace series. This is a chance to revisit episodes from the previous school year during the summer months when you may have a little extra time. Beginning August 26th, you will see new episodes with exciting new topics every Monday. For today we take a look back at episode 135 where Fadi Aboughoush talks about class pacing and brain breaks and episode 1...

#153 This is episode 2 in my 2024 summer headspace series. This is a chance to revisit episodes from the previous school year during the summer months when you may have a little extra time. Beginning August 26th, you will see new episodes with exciting new topics every Monday. For today we take a look back at episodes 124 and 125 where I talk about trying something new in your classroom. Episodes:...

#152 This is episode 1 in my 2024 summer headspace series. This is a chance to revisit episodes from the previous school year during the summer months when you may have a little extra time. Beginning August 26th, you will see new episodes with exciting new topics every Monday.  For today we take a look back at my episodes about the book Honing Our Craft .  In episode 111 I talked about Comprehensi...

#151 Now that the school year is over hopefully you have a little less on your mind and have a little extra time. This is the perfect time to get into your summer headspace.  What do I mean by that?  You’ll soon understand.  Let’s jump in. time to reflect without other pressing priorities and issues opportunity to revisit themes and episodes with a fresh lens catch something new. finish an episode...

#150 How often do we stop to reflect on our teaching?  Hopefully we take the time and opportunity to do it regularly so that we are teaching our students as effectively as possible.  In this episode I’m going to talk about reflective practice and how we can use this as language teachers.  I’ll also include a discussion of success criteria and how this can work into our reflective practice.  I know...

#149 As teachers, and proficient second language speakers,  we have figured out ways to communicate words that we don’t know. We can teach this skill to students early on so that they can begin doing it right away. Circumlocution is a strategy for describing or defining a concept instead of saying or writing the specific words (when we don’t know it). We can teach students how to do this and give...

#148 What is your understanding of the word proficiency? This is a concept that we use all the time in our language classrooms. How about the word performance? This concept is also becoming more commonplace in our teaching vernacular. When we say that we are proficiency-oriented or teach toward proficiency, are we also able to assess proficiency in our language classrooms, or should we focus on pe...

#147 Throughout the school year I published Leveling Up Coaching episodes with language teachers who are taking on a challenge area in their teaching or simply wanted to improve in a particular area. As part of this collaborative relationship we talk through some possibilities and come up with an action plan. After some time implementing I check back in to see how things are going.  On today’s epi...

#146 When it comes to providing comprehensible input, is it possible to use authentic resources? In this episode, we explore how to use authentic listening resources as a form of comprehensible input with Steven Lopez, a Spanish teacher in New York. Steven shares his process for preparing and scaffolding listening tasks so that students are able to confidently understand the target language in aut...

#145 In this episode I’m taking on the question of leveling up.  We often talk about proficiency levels and the output that goes along with each level.  We’ll take a look at some concrete examples of language produced at each level and I’ll share some suggestions for how we can support students in leveling up their language. Topics In This Episode: The ACTFL Proficiency Levels (Interpersonal) Novi...

#144 What do you do with the information that you learn from the assessments that you give students? Even if we are talking about end–of-unit summative assessments we should look at the overall results and see if there are any changes we should make to instruction.  This is our own consistent way of doing action research in our classrooms.  In this episode, Wyatt Crane, a Spanish teacher in New Yo...

#143 If you’re not a native speaker, how do you maintain your proficiency and confidence in speaking the language that you teach? Today’s episode is a Leveling Up episode, where I coach Stephanie, a middle school teacher in Maine. Maintaining and improving her personal confidence and proficiency is the area where she wants to level up. Suggestions: Set Realistic Expectations: Understand that langu...

#142 How do you address current events with your students? In this episode we take on the topic of current events in the language classroom with Ben Tinsley, a French teacher in Pennsylvania. This is Ben’s third time on the podcast and he is here again to share his practical insights for discussing current events in the target language and using these events as a tool for engaging students and pro...

#141 What have you heard about language functions? I see this as the idea of using the target language to communicate or convey a message rather than only being able to describe the grammatical structures, patterns and vocabulary. In this episode we are going to take a look at this shift in focus, and sometimes mindset, from a primary focus on grammatical forms to language functions with examples...

#140 Have you heard of the term “Translanguaging?” In this episode, we are going to explore this emerging concept in language teaching with Dr. Uju Ayna,  an Associate Professor of Second Language Acquisition at Carnegie Mellon University. She helps us to understand exactly what Translanguaging is and how beneficial it can be in the process of acquiring language. Topics include: what translanguagi...

#139 Do you feel that you provide comprehensible input to your students?  Do you have a solid understanding of how beneficial this is to their language learning? Hopefully you are thinking, yes indeed. An important part of this process is checking that students do, in fact understand. In this episode we are going to look at effective strategies and techniques that you can use in your classroom to...

#138 How do you take a unit plan and translate that into daily lessons? Today’s episode is a Leveling Up episode, where I coach Liz, a Spanish teacher in the Northeast of the US. Translating a unit plan into daily lessons is the area where wants to level up her teaching practice.  Suggestions: Take more general Can Do Statements and make them more specific. This will help to eliminate the overwhel...

#137 Are your students confident when speaking the target language in your classroom and with speakers of the language? This is not always easy for students. Building speaking confidence in language learners is a gradual process, and it starts with tailoring activities to their specific proficiency levels. In this episode we will look at strategies and procedures that progressively build speaking...

#136 Have you ever found yourself in a classroom where the atmosphere was so positive and engaging that you couldn’t help but feel excited about learning? Have you wondered how some language teachers seem to easily manage their classrooms while fostering a sense of community and respect among their students? Classroom management is a critical aspect of language education. In this episode we will e...

#135 In this episode, we talk about pacing in our language classrooms.  How do we determine the amount of time that students should spend on particular activities? Part of this involves when and how to use Brain Breaks.  Fadi Aboughoush, an Arabic teacher in Chicago, has a wealth of information and ideas on this topic.  Topics include: class structure and pacing and why it is important to plan in...

#134 Are your speaking activities as communicative as they could be? Are students creating language spontaneously? Today’s episode is a Leveling Up episode, where I coach Stephanie, a Spanish teacher in New Hampshire. Creating speaking activities that allow students to create language on their own is the area where wants to level up her teaching practice. So let's start the conversation.  Sug...

#133 How much do you connect the language that you teach with the culture where that language is used? Today, Rabbi Daniel Atwood, a Hebrew teacher in Chicago, joins me to explore this idea in depth.  We look at how he teaches a language that is deeply connected to a faith tradition and how he brings this to life in his classroom.…So let's jump in.  Topics in this Episode: how Daniel introduc...

I'm a creature of habit for sure.  It's Wednesday (and not Monday) and I'm popping into your episode feed. It must be for a good reason. I want to tell you about a FREE virtual workshop that I will be presenting as part of the World Language Teacher Summit   from March 4th-8th.  My workshop is called "CI Through Interpretive Reading ... Then What?" and I will give you lots...