What can teachers do when colleagues or administrators suggest that teaching for acquisition isn't "rigorous enough?" What that statement really tells us is that the person saying it doesn’t yet understand what language is—or how it develops. The good news? There's still time to help change their understanding.
When you’re teaching Novice Low and Novice Mid students (especially learners in early Year 1) it’s tempting to think class should be about “covering” grammar points and vocabulary lists. But consider centering class around meaningful, communicative activities instead.
Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) have gained traction in many districts as a way to assess language performance. They sound appealing in theory: assess all three modes of communication through a real-world task, wrap it in authentic context, and align it to ACTFL proficiency levels. In theory, it’s a complete package.
But at The Comprehensible Classroom, we don’t use IPAs. Not in our Vamos Curriculum, not in Somos, and not in any of our programs.
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