Become a more confident language teacher.
If you are in need of a low-prep, low-key interpretive activity, Mind Reading is for you! Mind Reading is a Language Gym activity from Dr. Gianfranco Conti. Dr. Conti and his colleague and frequent partner-in-crime, Steve Smith, have taught me much through their shared resources, training materials, and critical questions over the years. Mind Reading…
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Tuesday and Wednesday, many schools will be closed to support students in observing Rosh Hashanah, which begins Monday evening. If your school is not closed, your Jewish colleagues and students will likely be out of class. As you work toward your goal of creating CONNECTIONS between your students and between them and the world, take…
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If you are already feeling confident about your language instruction (the why, what, and how of Comprehension-based teaching), but not so sure about assessment, then we have just the thing you need. Assessment for Acquisition Boot Camp, starting soon! ASSESSMENT FOR ACQUISITION BOOT CAMP (A-ABC) is a two-week, self-directed learning experience designed to introduce you to…
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Over the last decade, I have come to realize that I entered the profession of language education with a lot of beliefs about language and language teaching, but those beliefs were based on impressions that I had from my own personal experience, not on facts. I began learning about language when I began learning about…
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More and more teachers are heading back to school each week. While many things are “back to normal”, many things aren’t. In addition to the typical needs of a school year, the pandemic continues to create problems that need to be solved. One of the big challenges that I am already hearing about the 2021-2022…
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Ready for the easiest listening activity you’ve ever rolled out? “BEEP!” Is a simple listening activity in which students listen to the teacher read or describe a familiar text or familiar information that contains errors. Whenever the students hear an error, they interrupt the teacher with a loud, “BEEP!”. Listen to me describe the game…
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Alphaboxes is a fairly common activity that is most often used at the elementary level for the purpose of reviewing content. As I worked with Meghan Loveless to finish up the last of the Flex units this spring, she suggested we find an Acquisition-friendly way to use it in the curriculum. We did, and we…
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Playing input-focused games in class can be a great way to boost student motivation, and Arcoíris, or ‘Rainbow’, is a game that you’ll be excited to add to your repertoire for the coming school year. Arcoíris is a simple group game in which group mates are competing against each other to earn the most cards…
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