Category Archives: Podcast Episodes

84: Movies, Video, Shorts and Clips with Allison Wienhold

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Do you use movie or film clips in your classroom?  Allison Wienhold, a Spanish teacher in Iowa, joined me back on episode 30 to talk about using music in the classroom. She left us with so many useful and actionable tips for music that I had to have her back on to share ideas and suggestions for using movies, film clips and other types of visual media.

Topics in this Episode:

  • the essential benefits of using video clips or movies in the language classroom from  linguistic and cultural perspectives
  • where Allison finds the video that she uses
  • looking for themes or finding a good clip/scene and planing a lesson around it
  • various types of video and what to do with them:
    • short films (clip chat, EdPuzzle)
    • TV Series (authentic input)
    • full-length films (culture, themes, seasons, units)
  • Allison’s thoughts and suggestions around subtitles and modifying audio speed

Episode 30: Music in the Language Classroom with Allison Wienhold

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83: Supporting Students with Learning Disabilities with Danja Mahoney

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How do you, your department or school support and integrate students with learning disabilities into your language program? In this episode, we are talking about teaching all students, with a particular focus on students with learning disabilities.  I’m joined by Danja Mahoney, a Latin and Spanish teacher in Massachusetts, who has done extensive research on this topic.  She is here to speak about her doctoral research with actionable tips and advice for all of us.

Topics in this episode:

  • Can every student succeed in a language class?
  • Are there students whose disability prevents them from learning a language?
  • The research on the success of students with disabilities learning a language.
  • What teachers can do to build the type of engagement necessary for students with learning disabilities to learn language.
  • Examples of accommodations and modifications that teachers can implement to support all students in their language classes.

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

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82: Engaging Language Activities With Wendy Mercado & Valérie Greer

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Could you use a few new ideas to reinvigorate the energy and productivity in your classroom? In this episode, you will get lots of new ideas and suggestions for authentically engaging your students in their language learning.  I’m joined by 2 teachers in New York. Spanish teacher Wendy Mercado and French teacher Valérie Greer.

Topics in this Episode:

  • the essential benefits of authentic engagement and excitement in the language classroom
  • how“games” or “activities”  address skill development and standards
  • lots of ideas for engaging activities and games
    •  High Tech
    •  Some Tech
    • Low Tech
    • No Tech

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Posted in Activities and Games, Podcast Episodes

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81: Do Nows and Exit Tickets in the Language Classroom

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Do Nows and Exit Tickets in the World Language Classroom (French, Spanish) Podcast Episode
What’s the first thing students do when they enter your classroom and the last thing they do before they leave? In this episode we look at Do Nows and Exit Tickets and how they can be very effective ways of setting up the class for the day and providing quick formative assessments and recaps of the class objectives.  Yes, you’ll hear some reasons that support both, but you’ll also get some quick, and in many cases no-prep, ideas to add to your teacher toolbox. 

Topics in this Episode:

  • what Do Nows and Exit Tickets are and why they are useful and effective in the language classroom
  • examples of Do Nows and Exit Tickets at various proficiency levels
  • logistics: where to write the prompts; where and how students record response; what we do with the responses

Blog post with all details and suggestions for using Do Nows and Exit Tickers in the language classroom. 

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Posted in Activities and Games, Classroom Procedures, Podcast Episodes, Writing

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80: The Teacher’s Roadmap to Proficiency with Devon Gunning

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Where would you say that you are on the path toward teaching for proficiency?  World Language Classroom Podcast. French teacher, Spanish Teacher.
Where would you say that you are on the path toward teaching for proficiency?  In this episode, we look at the Roadmap to Proficiency framework. This is the framework that Devon Gunning (from La Libre Language Learning) uses as she mentors teachers working toward the goal of teaching with a proficiency objective. Devon joins me today to help us all see where we are on the roadmap with guidance on how we can move further along.

Topics in this Episode:

  • Devon’s  proficiency journey, where she started and what she has learned along the way
  • a teacher’s journey (roadmap) to proficiency broken down into 5 phases/steps of where a teacher might identify on their journey
  • the identities with a description of each phases/step so that listeners can see where they might be
  • guidance for teachers to move themselves along the roadmap
  • suggestions for leveling up: Wanderer to Explorer, Explorer to Navigator, Navigator to Globetrotter,  Globetrotter to Local

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79: How to Do a Write and Discuss with Ben Fisher-Rodriguez

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Have you tried a Write and Discuss” in your classroom?  Are you hearing about this procedure for the first time?  No worries if it is, because in this episode, Ben Fisher-Rodrigues, a German teacher in Washington, joins me to talk about the benefits and logistics involved in implementing Write and Discuss as part of Comprehension-Based Communicative Language Teaching.

Topics in this Episode:

  • Comprehension-Based Communicative Language Teaching (CCLT) and what this looks like in Ben’s classroom
  • the benefits of using Write and Discuss
  • Logistics of doing a Write and Discuss
    – when you us it
    – how you do it
    – the procedure
    – what you can do after
  • Ben’s pro tips

Connect with Ben Fisher-Rodriguez:

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78: Seeing, Hearing & Tasting Culture with Allison Perryman

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What is culture and how do you engage your students in cultural topics?  In this episode, we are looking at culture, but with a lens of seeing, hearing and tasting so that culture comes alive for students in the classroom.  Allison Perryman, a Spanish teacher in Virginia, joins me to talk us through how she uses the senses to engage students in the diversity of target language cultures. We also talk about why it is beneficial to honor our students’ individual lived experiences as they approach their language and culture learning.

Topics in this Episode:

  • what culture is and how culture can be an entry point for student engagement
  • why it is necessary, and ultimately incredibly beneficial, to talk about diversity in the language classroom and how can we use this as an opportunity to affirm students
  • formats for presenting and engaging students in diverse cultural experiences
  • Allison’s approach of seeing, tasting and hearing diverse cultures with students

Connect with Allison Perryman:

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Posted in Classroom Procedures, Cultural Exploration, Podcast Episodes

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77: Reflective Practice for Language Teachers

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How often do we stop to reflect on our teaching?  Hopefully we take the time and opportunity to do it regularly so that we are teaching our students as effectively as possible.  In this episode I’m going to talk about reflective practice and how we can use this as language teachers.  I’ll also include a discussion of success criteria and how this can work into our reflective practice.  I know, this all sounds way up there in the theory world.  I promise you it’s not and that it’s fairly simple.

Topics in this Episode:

  • Reflection can help you to be more creative and try new things. It’s very easy to get stuck in a rut and it can be helpful to think about what you are doing and why you are doing it. This can help to spark new ideas and ways of thinking.
  • Reflection in Learning and Professional Development: Theory and Practice, Moon, J. (1999)
  • Reflective Practice for Language Teachers:
    1. Teach
    2. Assess the effect your teaching has on learning
    3. Consider what can improve the quality of teaching and learning
    4. Try the new ideas
    5. Reflect on effectiveness 
    6. Repeat
  • The Success Criteria Playbook John T. Almarode, Douglas Fisher, Kateri Thunder, Nancy Frey (2021)
  • Tim Eagan on Episode 60: Leading a Proficiency Focused Language Department
  • Success Criteria:
    • What will be learned?
    • Why is it going to be learned?
    • How will I know that it has been learned?
    • What will I do with what I learned?

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Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom.
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76: Interpersonal Activities with Meredith White

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Are you getting the most out of the interpersonal activities that you use in your classroom?   In this episode, THE Meredith White, a Spanish teacher in Georgia, joins me with lots of ideas for interpersonal activities that you can use right away in your classroom.  So many of my guests have mentioned Meredith White and the activities that she shares. I had to get right to the source …So let’s jump in. 

Topics in this episode:

  • Meredith’s  personal journey with interpersonal activities
  • feedback from Thomas Sauer : “But what’s the point?”
  • what makes an activity communicative and what about those partner activities that appear to be interactive and interpersonal, but might not be
  • how prescribed (curriculum) grammar and vocabulary come into play with communicative activities?
  • effective interpersonal (and communicative) activities that we can use in our classrooms

Connect with Meredith White:

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75: What’s to Come in 2023?

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In this episode I want to give you a preview of what is coming up this winter and spring on the World Language Classroom Podcast.  The themes I will personally cover as well as the guests and topics that I have lined up to share with all of you. I am incredibly honored and appreciate each and every guest’s willingness to share with me and the World Language Classroom Podcast community.  Can’t wait to tell you about everything coming up.

Links mentioned in this episode

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