When I first started teaching, all of my files were paper and I organized them in hanging file folders. Eventually, I graduated to beautiful binders filled with page-protected worksheets separated with colorful dividers for each unit. As I began to gather more and more materials from the Internet (blog posts, videos, lesson plans, images, etc.),…
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For the last several years, I have participated in an annual event at a local college. I have used more or less the same lesson plan each year, and you can read through it in detail and download the materials that I use for it here. This year, I had taught two 55 minute classes. In…
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Have you ever gone to a session at a conference and been SO EXCITED about whatever you learned that you don’t eat, don’t sleep, don’t shower, and ignore everyone that you care about until you finally get the chance to try it out? No? That’s just a Martina thing? Shoot. Well this last summer, everyone…
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I have dedicated any computer time this week to formatting and finally publishing my Sistema Solar unit, but I keep being distracted with conversations that I just have to share with you!! One of my [many] great takeaways from Terry Waltz’s fantastic manual TPRS with Chinese Characteristics is the idea that it is important to do TPRS® “by…
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This is the sixth post in the series “TPRS® 101: Teaching Proficiency is Really Simple“. The first week back from winter break is like a re-start for many teachers. You set goals back in August, and you’ve accomplished some but fell short of others. You spent a semester learning and growing as a professional, and…
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The second to last session that I attended at ACTFL 2015 was with Amy Lenord. Amy has written fairly extensively on her blog about why and how she has moved away from giving traditional vocabulary lists to her students. As I was busy covering the session on Twitter (search Twitter for #unlistvocab #actfl15 for my…
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So you want to use authentic resources in your language class. Where do you start? CHOOSE A RESOURCE THAT YOU CAN HELP STUDENTS UNDERSTAND. This interview is incomprehensible for a Novice. There is just way too much language! The time and frustration that it would take them to sort through it all to find answers…
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This is the fourth post in the series “TPRS® 101: Teaching Proficiency is Really Simple“. STEP FOUR: DEBRIEF By now, the acronyms TPRS®, CI, and TCI are rolling off your lips without a second thought. You understand the goal of a TPRS® lesson, and you’ve seen one in action. Maybe you used this list to…
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If you missed the live EPC Show #15 this afternoon, have no fear! You can still access the content and engage with the presenters. View the hour-long iFLT15 preview on YouTube (click here), or check out its Google Plus event page to watch the archived show and read through the during and after-show Q&A (click here).…
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This is the second post in the series “TPRS® 101: Teaching Proficiency is Really Simple”. Click here to read other posts in the series. STEP TWO: UNDERSTAND THE GOAL Once you have deciphered the acronyms ‘TPRS®’, ‘CI’, and ‘TCI’, the only thing that I’d recommend doing before heading off to watch a teacher demonstrate a…
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