Author Archives: jos76

72: What Does it Mean to “Teach” a Language?

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What does it mean to “teach” a language? In this episode I look at this question, particularly considering the shifts in language teaching and learning over the past 10 years or so. My approach to this question is grounded in a quote from Larson-Freeman and Long that a professor shared with me in graduate school. It continues to guide my approach to teaching.

“[It is not] because some plants will grow in a desert, [that] watering the ones in your garden is a waste of time. In fact, of course, while the desert may provide the minimum conditions for a plant to grow, watering it may help it grow faster, bigger, and stronger, that is to realize its full potential.”    [Diane Larsen-Freeman, Michael H. Long; An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research (1990)]

Links mentioned in this episode

Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

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Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom.
Join me on the podcast.
We record conversations remotely, so you can be anywhere.

 

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Posted in Classroom Procedures, Podcast Episodes, Teaching Methodology and Research

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71: Supporting Students in Leveling Up Their Language

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In this episode I’m taking on the question of leveling up.  We often talk about proficiency levels and the output that goes along with each level.  We’ll take a look at some concrete examples of language produced at each level and I’ll share some suggestions for how we can support students in leveling up their language.

Topics in This Episode:

  • The ACTFL Proficiency Levels (Interpersonal)
  • Novice Low/Mid/High: single words, chunks, chunked phrases.
  • Intermediate Low/Mid/High: discrete sentences, strings of sentences, moving toward paragraphs
  • Advanced Low/Mid/High: paragraphs, multiple paragraphs
  • Concrete examples of the language that students produce at each level and sub level and what can they do to move up a level or sub level.

Links mentioned in this episode

Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

Follow wherever you listen to podcasts.

Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom.
Join me on the podcast.
We record conversations remotely, so you can be anywhere.

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70: Simple Ways to Make Activities More Communicative with Julie Baker

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In this episode, we are talking about how we can create a supportive classroom environment so that learners, particularly those new to language learning, feel comfortable speaking the target language.  Julie Baker, The Director of the French Intensive Language Program at the University of Richmond,  joins me to take this a step further with simple ways of modifying speaking activities that we all are likely doing so that they are indeed communicative. 

Topics in this episode:

  • what it means to have a “safe space” for speaking the TL, why this is important, and how we can create this type of classroom
  • motivating students to speak and interact in the TL with some ways to facilitate this in the classroom
  •  how to determine if our activities are truly communication, rather than simply practicing structures and vocabulary
  • simple ways to make our activities more communicative with concrete examples
  • assessment and evaluation of communication, compared with assessment of language structure and vocabulary

Connect with Julie Baker

Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

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Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom.
Join me on the podcast.
We record conversations remotely, so you can be anywhere.

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69: Go-To Activities for Your Teacher Toolbox (Vol 3)

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This is the third teacher toolbox episode.  I hear from listeners all the time that they like the actionable tips and suggestions for activities that they can use with students next week, or even tomorrow. That usually means effective and beneficial, but somewhat minimal prep.  That’s what I bring you on these Teacher Toolbox episodes.  I have another 4 activities to share with you.

Activities Shared in this Episode:

Previous Teacher Toolbox Episodes:

Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

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Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom.
Join me on the podcast.
We record conversations remotely, so you can be anywhere.

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Posted in Activities and Games, Podcast Episodes

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68: Teaching Content and Skills with Andrea Isabelli

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In this episode, we are talking about skill building and how we can help guide students in moving beyond content mastery and using all that vocabulary and those language structures to communicate.  Andrea Isabelli, a French teacher in Illinois, joins me to talk about how she supports communicative skill development with her students.

Topics include:

  • Transatlantic Educators Dialogue Program (TED)
  • Defining skills, curriculum, proficiency and  competence.
  • What language curriculum has traditionally focused on.
  • Some guidance with skill development.
  • Using content to build skills throughout units and on summative assessments.

Connect with Andrea Isabelli:

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Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

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Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom. Join me on the podcast.  We record conversations remotely, so you can be anywhere.

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67: Checking for Understanding

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In this episode I’m taking the idea of input a little further.  Most of us are on board and understand the importance of making input comprehensible for students.  But, how can we check that the language is actually being understood by students? Because if they’re not understanding they’re not acquiring. I’ll share tips for checking for understanding and what to do with the info we get.

Topics covered in this episode:

  • The quick rundown on input and why it’s beneficial
  • The role of comprehensible input
  • How to make input comprehensible
  • Why check for understanding
  • Why the checks are useful and what to do with what we learn
  • How to check for understanding
  • Strategies for checking for understanding

Podcast episodes referenced in this episode:

Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

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Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom.
Join me on the podcast.
We record conversations remotely, so you can be anywhere.

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Use Google Slides™ to Create Interactive Stacks

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Once in a while I see a post on or tweet and it sparks a new idea.  Maybe I don’t do it the exact way that it was shown, but it gets the wheels turning.

This happed last week when I saw a tweet from Meredith White, a Spanish teacher in Georgia.  She shared a Google Slide™ tip and I got to thinking right away about all the ways that I could use it to engage students with their language learning.

Use Google Slides™ to Create Interactive Stacks (French, Spanish)

Essentially, Meredith showed that you can pile up text boxes and then have students work through the “stack” and move the boxes around the screen.

Here is the run-down of how to do it:

🖱 Click image
🖱 Duplicate as many times as you want
🖱 To turn those into a stack, select all images
🖱 Click arrange, choose left
🖱 Click arrange, choose top
✨ Now students can drag & drop from a stack.

And here is a quick video that shows how to do this and an idea that I came up with that uses the stack:

I hope this inspired you in the same way it inspired me.

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Posted in Activities and Games, Grammar and Structures, Online Activities, Technology

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66: (2) Finding a Common Ground with Florencia Henshaw and Maris Hawkins

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This is part 2 of my conversion with Florencia Henshaw and Maris Hawkins, the authors of Common Ground: Second Language Acquisition Theory Goes to the Classroom by. We had so much to cover that I had to break it down into 2 episodes. Today, Florencia, Maris and I discuss engaging the communication modes at different developmental levels, moving from input to output, particularly when working with learners progressing from novice to intermediate, collaborating with colleagues and understanding what “progress” looks like in a proficiency-based classroom.  We also have a rather amusing “this or that” conversation.

Connect with Florencia Henshaw:

Connect with Maris Hawkins Henshaw:

Get your own copy of Common Ground.  Hackett Publishing is generously offering a 25% discount when you use the code WLC2022.  [Available through December 31, 2022].

**The 25% off discount code can be used for any book through the end of December, 2022.  Hackett publishes several intermediate language-learning textbooks in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Latin, and Classical Greek. New releases include Cinema for French Conversation, Cinema for Spanish Conversation, and Les Français.

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Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

——————————————————————————————-

Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom. Join me on the podcast.  We record conversations remotely, so you can be anywhere.

——————————————————————————————-

Follow wherever you listen to podcasts.

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65: (1) Finding a Common Ground with Florencia Henshaw and Maris Hawkins

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These are the episodes that we have been waiting for. The  first of a 2-part conversion with Florencia Henshaw and Maris Hawkins, the authors of Common Ground: Second Language Acquisition Theory Goes to the Classroom. We had so much to cover that I had to break it down into 2 episodes.  This is the first part and next Monday (episode 66) you will hear part 2. Today, Florencia, Maris and I discuss what prompted the writing of the book, their collaboration, what they hope teachers get out of Common Ground, how and why their approach is effective, and the all important topic of input.

Connect with Florencia Henshaw:

Connect with Maris Hawkins Henshaw:

Get your own copy of Common Ground.  Hackett Publishing is generously offering a 25% discount when you use the code WLC2022.  [Available through December 31, 2022].

**The 25% off discount code can be used for any book through the end of December, 2022.  Hackett publishes several intermediate language-learning textbooks in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Latin, and Classical Greek. New releases include Cinema for French Conversation, Cinema for Spanish Conversation, and Les Français.

——————————————————————————————-

Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

——————————————————————————————-

Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom. Join me on the podcast.  We record conversations remotely, so you can be anywhere.

——————————————————————————————-

Follow wherever you listen to podcasts.

Leave a comment

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64: Spark Enthusiasm in Your Students with Amy Haney & Katie Acosta

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In this episode, we’re talking about inspiring and sparking enthusiasm in our students.  Katie Acosta and Amy Haney, Spanish teachers in Ohio,  join me today to explore this topic.  Their blog, sparkenthusiasm.com, is dedicated to building student excitement and genuine interest in the language classroom.

Topics include:

  • the benefits of positive energy in the classroom, both from a student and teacher perspective.
  • what enthusiastic students look like and how we know it’s authentic.
  • ways  teachers can initiate (spark if you will) enthusiasm in students.
  • how teachers can continue to foster enthusiasm.
  • concrete ideas for inspiring student interest;  class activities, compelling inout and output.
  • how teachers can keep their own spark and flame going.

Connect with Amy and Katie:

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Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

——————————————————————————————-

Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom. Join me on the podcast.  We record conversations remotely, so you can be anywhere.

——————————————————————————————-

Follow wherever you listen to podcasts.

 

Leave a comment

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