Category Archives: Podcast Episodes

259: Revisit CI Activities

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This is episode 4 in my 2026 summer headspace series. This is a chance to revisit episodes from the previous school year during the summer months when you may have a little extra time. Beginning August 31st, you will see new episodes with exciting new topics every Monday. For today we take a look back at CI Activities in episodes 218, 222, 228, 231 and 232.

Topics in this Episode: 

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258: Revisit ACTFL 2025

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This is episode 3 in my 2026 summer headspace series. This is a chance to revisit episodes from the previous school year during the summer months when you may have a little extra time. Beginning August 31st, you will see new episodes with exciting new topics every Monday. For today we take a look back at ACTFL 2025 in episode 225.

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257: Revisit Sustainable Teaching

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This is episode 2 in my 2026 summer headspace series. This is a chance to revisit episodes from the previous school year during the summer months when you may have a little extra time. Beginning August 31st, you will see new episodes with exciting new topics every Monday. For today we take a look back at Sustainable Teaching in episodes 230 and 250.

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256: Revisit Student Motivation

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This is episode 1 in my 2026 summer headspace series. This is a chance to revisit episodes from the previous school year during the summer months when you may have a little extra time. Beginning August 31st, you will see new episodes with exciting new topics every Monday. For today we take a look back at Student Motivation in episodes 235 and 237.

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255: Get into Your 2026 Summer Headspace

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As the school year winds down and we go into summer mode, hopefully your schedule begins to open up a bit and you have an opportunity to reflect with a little more space and a little less urgency. This is the perfect time to get into what I call your “summer headspace.”  What do I mean by that?  It’s about taking some time to perhaps revisit episodes from the past year in a fresh way that can spark new insights. So, let’s jump in.

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254: 5 Things You Can Do This Summer to Be Ready for the New School Year

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When was the last time you had enough time to actually think about your teaching instead of just keeping up with it? If you’re like most language teachers, the school year is a constant cycle of planning lessons, grading, answering emails, attending meetings, and preparing for the next day. Summer offers something different: space. Space to reflect, learn, create, and prepare for the kind of teaching you want to do next year. But I also know that summer doesn’t look the same for everyone. In this episode, I’m sharing five ways language teachers can use whatever time they have this summer to grow professionally without sacrificing the rest and balance they deserve.

Topics in this Episode: 

  •  summer is one of the few opportunities teachers have to work on their teaching instead of simply surviving their teaching
  • five things language teachers can do during the summer that are genuinely difficult to find time for during the school year.
    • reflect on what actually worked this year
    • earn one new teaching skill deeply instead of ten superficially
    • explore ideas you’ve been curious about all year
    • start next year feeling prepared instead of panicked
  • Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win Course

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253: Global Connections and Partnerships in the Language Classroom

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What if your students could use the language they’re learning to build real relationships with peers across the globe? In this episode French teacher Heidi Trude joins me to explore how authentic global connections can transform language learning. Heidi shares how a partnership that began with a simple idea grew into meaningful collaborations that deepen students’ language proficiency, cultural understanding, and confidence. We talk about virtual exchanges, international partnerships, practical starting points, sustainability, and the role of technology in making it all possible.

Topics in this Episode:

  • Heidi’s initial spark for building global connections and moving from “this would be nice” to actually making it happen
  • the benefits of global connections for students and the teacher and some unexpected benefits that Heidi has seen
  • the various types of global connections (virtual connections, in-country visits) and what it looks like in practice
  • a few realistic entry points for a teacher who wants to create authentic global connections
  • making these connections sustainable
  • tech tools for global collaborations and ensuring the technology enhances communication rather than distract from it
  • Heidi’s Resource: Making The Global Connection

Connect with Heidi Trude

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251: Balancing CI and Explicit Instruction

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Have you ever felt like you’re not allowed to say this out loud? That Comprehensible Input works beautifully with novices… but something feels different at Intermediate High and Advanced? That maybe your students plateau, avoid complex structures, or fossilize errors and you quietly wonder if you’re doing something wrong? What if the issue isn’t you… and it isn’t your students… but the choice we’ve created between CI or explicit instruction?

Topics in this Episode: 

  • The tension around CI and explicit instruction: CI has become dominant; Some spaces treat explicit instruction as regression; Teachers feel pressure to claim “pure CI;” Meanwhile, many quietly supplement.
  • Most SLA studies focus on novice/intermediate learners; there simply aren’t many rigorous studies examining how advanced learners.
  • When you attend CI workshops or read CI literature, the vast majority of examples, materials, and strategies target novice learners. This isn’t because CI can’t work at higher levels. It’s because we haven’t developed robust models for what it looks like there.
  • The ‘bandwagon effect’: CI has achieved near-ideological status in some circles. Teachers feel pressure to claim ‘pure CI’ success even when they’re supplementing with explicit instruction.
  • The research does NOT support abandoning CI at advanced levels. It DOES support integrating strategic explicit instruction, particularly for complex features that are infrequent or non-salient in input.
  • Blog Post with Cited Research: Balancing CI and Explicit Instruction Across Proficiency Levels

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

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250: Making Teaching Sustainable with Dr. Allyson Power

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What if a few intentional moments of gratitude each day could help you feel more connected, energized, and sustained in your teaching life? In this episode, I speak with Dr. Allyson Power about how gratitude practices can help world language teachers reconnect with what they enjoy most about teaching. Drawing from her doctoral research and years in the classroom, Dr. Power shares practical insights on teacher well-being and resilience while also creating space for reflection, connection, and renewed energy in our schools and classrooms.

Topics in this Episode:

  • what drew Dr. Power to gratitude as the focus of her work, especially as a world language teacher and department chair
  • the assumptions and hypotheses that Dr. Power had about how gratitude might support world language teachers
  • how she gathered and analyzed data
  • what she saw in journals and why these moments of noticing and recognizing gratitude matter teachers’ day-to-day well-being and resilience
  • avoiding “toxic positivity” and staying realistic for educators who are under real stress
  • what teachers can do right away to notice moments of gratitude and how that can support their and well-being

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249: Quicker and More Effective Writing Feedback

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Have you ever spent hours correcting student writing—marking every error, fixing every verb, circling every agreement mistake—only to see those same exact errors show up on the next assignment? What if the issue isn’t your students… and it’s not your effort… but the way you’re giving feedback? Today we’re talking about how to shift your writing feedback so students actually use it, improve their accuracy, and build confidence—without you spending your entire weekend grading.

Topics in this Episode: 

  • The core issue: When we correct everything, student writing doesn’t seem to improve.  Why? Because:
    • There’s no clear focus
    • There’s too much cognitive load
    • There’s no pattern recognition
    • There’s no prioritization
    • And most importantly:  Students don’t know what matters.
  • Instead of correcting everything, it is more effective to focus on a few things that actually move learning forward.
  • Two key approaches: Focused Error Correction (Gianfranco Conti),  Focus Correction Areas (Collins Writing)
  • When you make this shift:
    • Students actually read your feedback
    • They know what to fix
    • They improve in targeted area
    • You spend less time grading
    • And here’s the big one: Writing starts to feel doable for students
  • Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD Course: Quick and Effective Writing Feedback

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