#170What do you know about calendar talks? Maybe you have tried them yourself and maybe you’re hearing about them for the first time. In today’s episode I speak with John Sifert, a Spanish teacher in Iowa. John, aka Padre de Cinco, walks us through the many benefits of using calendar talk activities, along with actionable suggestions for engaging students in speaking about a variety of topics that go beyond simply saying the date. Whether calendar talks are new to you, or if you're look...

#169What role does student choice have in your classroom? We know that when students have some ownership over their learning that they are more intrinsically motivated and this leads to real agency in their learning. Today’s episode is a Leveling Up episode, where I coach Jen, a Spanish teacher in Missouri. Providing students with regular and authentic choices in her classroom is the area where wants to level up her teaching practice. So let's start the conversation. Suggestions:Cr...

#168How well do you navigate change? Are you open to it? What do you need to reduce any resistance that you might have? How do you support colleagues through the process? In our ever-evolving world of language teaching and learning there are opportunities for change in our practice. But, is it easy? In this episode, I speak with Tim Eagan and Mike Travers, who are teachers and administrators in Massachusetts. They share some actionable insights and suggestions for approachin...

#167Do you use authentic texts in your language classroom? To make sure that we are all on the same page with the concept, the simple definition is materials created by and for native speakers not for the purpose of language learning. These materials reflect real-life language use and cultural contexts. They expose students to natural language and cultural nuances. In this episode I share practical strategies to help students interpret and engage in meaningful ways with these materials. Are t...

#166Community. Is this a word that you would use to describe your classroom? Do you and your students feel like you are a part of a supporting and encouraging community each time you and they walk in your classroom? How do you create this type of learning environment? Today, Elodie Channa, a French teacher in British Columbia, Canada, joins me to bring us into her classroom community. We discuss how she uses CI (Comprehensible Input) techniques and methodology to support the class...

#165How much of the target language is used in your classroom, by both you and your students? I’m talking about truly communicative language. Today’s episode is a Leveling Up episode, where I coach Helen, a German teacher in Wisconsin. Using the target language more regularly and authentically is the area where she wants to level up her teaching practice.Suggestions:Develop consistent classroom routines that naturally incorporate the target language.Greetings and farewells, instructions, and ...

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #164The topic of grammar is always up for discussion. Does the question of teaching grammar have a simple yes or no answer? Is it an either or? Is there a place for a both/and? I will suggest that there is this episode by focusing on form. Focusing on form involves drawing students’ attention to linguistic elements within a communicative context. Teaching grammar in context helps students see how grammati...

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #163We’ve heard this idea of working smarter and not harder. Does that sound like something that is easier said than done? Do you feel that efficiency might sometimes compromise your teaching and how and what students are learning. In this episode I take on this idea with Amy Marshal, Spanish teacher in Massachusetts. Amy offers lots of tips, insights and suggestions for saving yourself time as a language teacher, wh...

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #162We talk a lot about making language comprehensible in our language classroom. This is essential now that we understand how critical this is to language acquisition. When students understand what they hear and read, they begin the acquisition process. It also boosts their confidence, making them more willing to participate and take risks in using the language. In this episode, we’ll explore practical strategies to...

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #161Is your world language classroom a welcoming space for students? Would you describe it as warm and welcoming? Can it be? Should it be? Is it helpful for learning? My guest today, Allison Perryman, sure believes that it is. Allison joins me to discuss how she makes her Spanish classroom a warm and welcoming community where students feel recognized, valued, understood and ultimately completely supported by th...

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #160What is a discourse community? Essentially, it’s a learning environment where students actively engage in meaningful communication, using the target language to interact, collaborate, and build relationships. It’s a space where every student’s voice is valued and encouraged. Is that what you would like to see in your classroom? I’m guessing you’re thinking, Yes! But, how do we create this space for our stud...

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #159I have something that I want to share with you as we go into this new school year. If you know me you know that I have talked a lot about my experiences in Nicaragua and I have been there this summer. I had an opportunity to sit down with Paulette Goudge and talk about what this Mariposa experience is and to bring it to you on this episode of the podcast. I can wait for you to hear all about what goes on in...

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #158This is episode 7 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 119 and 132, which were teacher toolbox episodes. Episodes: Teacher Toolbox Episode (Vol. ...

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #157This is episode 6 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 141 where I talk about transitioning from grammar to language functions and episode 145 where I ...

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #156This 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 where Christina Marg...

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #155This 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 challenge area ...

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #154This 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 136 where I discuss cl...

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #153This 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: Try Something Ne...

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #152This 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 Comprehension-Based Com...

Send me text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #151Now 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 issuesopportunity to revisit themes and episodes with a fresh lenscatch something new.finish an episode that you st...

Send me text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #150How 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, t...

Send me text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #149As 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 them tools to help...

Send me text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #148What 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 performance, and what doe...

Send me text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast. #147Throughout 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 episode you will be a...