Become a more confident language teacher.
Teaching culture to our students is not easy. Culture is complex. It is messy. But it is beautiful, and it is important. We cannot hope that our students will be able to successfully communicate with speakers of the target language without awareness of the target culture. We can’t teach them every subtlety that they will…
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Beth Lemoine is at it again! Seriously, if you teach French anywhere New Orleans, you need to swing by her school with a bottle of wine (I’m told that would be preferable to a fruit basket ;-)). Well, maybe don’t bring it to school; that could get her in trouble. The point is, she has…
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Time for the obligatory Christmas post! I have found plenty of new activities that you can consider adding to your lessons about traditions in Spanish speaking countries (and even a couple for Francophone countries, hey-o!) We’ll start with the best and most important thing that any language teacher could do at this time of the year…
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I just couldn’t wait. I love the 2015 commercial so much! I have spent the whole afternoon crying in front of my computer as I watch and re-watch it (probably in part due to pregnancy; but who could say for certain). I put together a resource pack with readings and some extension activities that you can…
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This year’s official commercial for the Spanish Christmas Lottery was released early this morning. Kent House shared it on the iFLT/NTPRS/CI Teaching group on Facebook and oh, I am so glad that he did! These commercials make me cry every year. Instead of luck and fortune and indulgence, each year they uphold the values of generosity…
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Let’s talk about Thanksgiving for a moment. First, think back on everything that you have ever done to celebrate or teach about the holiday in your World Language classes. Got a mental list? Great. Now, think about why you decided to do each of the things that you have done in the past. If you’re like…
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Did you know that Mexico is just one of seven Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America that celebrates its independence between September 15 and October 15, the official dates of the Mes de la hispanidad or Mes de la herencia in the US? Dear Spanish teacher, what’s your plan? PLAN FOR EL MES DE LA HISPANIDAD STEP 1: Get the word out to…
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Here are five great Cinco de Mayo resources that I’ve found around the Web. Coming off of a lively #authres conversation during #langchat (that I read post-facto), I want to clarify what makes a ‘great resource’ in my mind: A great resource is interesting [or it can be made interesting] That’s it. If it’s interesting, I’ll find a way to…
Read MoreEvery day is a great day to fill your students with comprehensible input, and Valentine’s Day is no different! There are many ways that you can experience “all the feels” surrounding this holiday with your students using comprehension based activities and strategies to keep the language flowing. Instead of creating a new Valentine’s Day activity…
Read MoreHappy 2015, friends! We celebrated in the car on the way home from a New Year’s party, since the kids made it to 11:30 but would not last one minute longer. Maybe next year! For now, my New Year’s resolution is to sit down with my husband and make family resolutions for the year. I’m hoping that life will continue…
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