Become a more confident language teacher.
Many of us learned language through an explicit instructional model, in which words and concepts were taught, practiced, and memorized. When I began teaching, I started out with that same explicit model of instruction: working from a textbook curriculum that laid out thematic vocabulary to memorize and grammar concepts to practice and master in each chapter.…
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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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Can you believe that I didn’t realize what a glyph was until last year? I mean, I had been using them, I just didn’t know what they were called. I kept seeing the word ‘glyph’ on Pinterest and ignoring it because it sounded like something I wouldn’t like. Some kind of a really intense reading…
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Check out my guest post on the CI Peek blog! Follow http://www.cipeek.com to get ideas from CI teachers from around the world every Tuesday!
Read MoreBeing a comprehensible input teacher demands that students have opportunities to produce output. Read why here. Once we understand output is not a taboo for a TCI teacher, we can start the search for fun ways to allow students to build productive confidence and competency! “People searches” are one of the fastest, easiest, and lowest-anxiety output…
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Generate comprehensible input and provide opportunities for output from a traditional vocabulary-review game that is played with a partner! This activity makes for a great sub plan component, even when your sub doesn’t speak the target language. PREPARE THE WORD RACE STORY WORKSHEET To get started, download the game template here! Once you’ve got the…
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“There is” or “There are” is one of the highest frequency word(s) in any language. In Spanish, the word “hay” is nearly unavoidable as we share stories with our students. Because it is difficult for students to form a mental picture for the word, however, the lack of visualization presents a challenge for getting the…
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Pencil Grab is a super simple activity that I learned from Carmen Andrews-Sanchez via Kristin Duncan’s blog (update: her ‘TPRS Teacher’ blog is no longer active). Pencil Grab requires zero preparation, is easy to play, and it’s fun for students! Update: You may also know this activity as “The Marker Game“! What is Pencil Grab?…
Read MoreIn my PQA Hooks presentation at iFLT, I shared several activities that I use to get repetitions of target structures other than traditional PQA or Storyasking. For each of the activities, I asked participants to brainstorm ways that they could use them in their classes, and I’ll be sharing their ideas over the next few…
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