Weekend Chat: 10 ways to talk with students about the weekend

When I first ditched the textbook, Weekend Chats was one of the very first routines that I learned about and started using in class. I was introduced to it by Michele Whaley, and I remember reading about it on Ben Slavic’s blog soon thereafter. I used Ben’s idea of having students illustrate posters of places…

Read More

What to do when you’re done but the school year isn’t

It’s May. If you’re lucky, you are wrapping up your last week or two of school. If you’re on the East Coast, you are staring down another month and a half of classes. Either way–the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and you.are.done. Here are ten activities that you can use to carry through…

Read More

MovieTalk + TPRS® = Magic

MovieTalk has quickly become a favorite strategy for providing comprehensible input to language learners since Michele Whaley brought it to the TCI world in 2012. Developed by Dr. Ashley Hastings as the listening module for the Focal Skills ESL program, MovieTalk is an incredibly effective activity because it provides loads of comprehensible input to students. I just…

Read More