Tag Archives: communicative activities

221: Hands-On Activities that Motivate and Engage with Heidi Lechner

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Have you ever noticed how students light up when language learning feels real, active, and connected to their world? In this episode, I’m joined by Heidi Lechner, an inspiring German teacher and instructional coach in Illinois. Heidi shares how hands-on, student-centered activities keep learners motivated, curious, and communicating authentically. We’ll talk about why teachers benefit from stepping into the learner’s shoes, how collaboration transforms language use, and strategies you can use to make your classroom come alive.

Topics in this Episode:

  • activities that spark curiosity and keep students motivated in the German classroom
  • Why it’s important for educators to experience activities from the student perspective and how can shift shift the way they teach
  • strategies to move students beyond individual practice into authentic, communicative tasks with their peers
  • examples of how to help students see themselves in the content and connect the language to real-world contexts
  • Klett World Languages Sessions at ACTFL

Connect with Heidi Lechner:

  • Email: heidi@heidilechner.com

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

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219: Design Activities That Are Fun and Communicative

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You just wrapped up a fun, high-energy activity. The room was buzzing, students were laughing and moving, but now you’re wondering: Did they actually communicate? In this episode, we’re unpacking what makes an activity not just fun, but truly communicative. You’ll learn how to spot the difference, adapt your favorite games, and keep language use at the center, without losing the fun and joy. 

Topics in this Episode:

  • Here’s the lens I want to offer you in this episode: Just because students are participating doesn’t mean they’re communicating. With just a few tweaks, your fun activities can become communicative and support proficiency and performance objectives.
  • We don’t have to throw out our favorite games or routines. We don’t need to make everything serious or structured. But, we do need to look at each activity through a new lens: Does it give students a reason to use the language with purpose?
  • Classroom Strategies:
    • Add Purpose and Personalization
    • Use the “Does It Build Proficiency?” Checklist: 1. Are students using the target language to express meaning?2. Is there a real-world connection or purpose? 3. Are students interpreting, negotiating, or producing language? 4. Will this support what they’ll do on an upcoming assessment?
  • Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD Course: Design Activities that are Fun and Communicative

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

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Quick Win PD For Language Teachers: Design Fun and Communicative Activities

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You’ve planned a high-energy activity. Your students are laughing, moving, maybe even competing. But at the end… you wonder: Did they actually communicate in the target language?

It’s easy to fall into the trap of using activities that feel fun but don’t lead to meaningful language use. As language teachers, we want our students to enjoy class and build proficiency, but not all engaging activities are truly communicative.

Quick Win PD For Language Teachers: Design Fun and Communicative Activities; French, Spanish

This 30-minute mini-course, for the small price of $10, will help you confidently evaluate and design activities that go beyond surface-level engagement. You’ll learn how to:

  • Spot the difference between fun and truly communicative tasks
  • Adapt your go-to games and routines to maximize language use
  • Design new activities that support real-world communication
  • Use a simple checklist to keep proficiency at the center

You’ll hear directly from me, Joshua Cabral, host of the World Language Classroom Podcast, as I guide you through this practical, encouraging audio course designed to support your teaching and not add more to your plate.

By the end of this course, you’ll feel empowered to make intentional choices that transform classroom fun into purposeful communication. Your students will not only enjoy your class, but they’ll grow in confidence and skill as real-world language users.

What’s Included in This Quick Win, 30-Minute Course for $10?

  • Audio to Listen to All Material – perfect for on-the-go listening
  • Detailed Note Sheet to follow along and refer back to
  • Reflection Activity to deepen your understanding
  • Examples at the novice, intermediate, and advanced levels
  • Planning Template to design your own communicative tasks
  • Additional Resources to go further with the topic
  • Personalized Certificate of course completion

Whether you’re just getting started with proficiency-based teaching or you’re looking to fine-tune your approach, this mini-course is a supportive and practical tool to help you design activities that are not just fun, but truly communicative.

Click Here to Get Started

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119: Teacher ToolBox Episode (Vol 5)

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This is the fifth 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 lots to share with you.

Sorry (not sorry), But They Will Keep Asking

“Can we play a game?” Embrace the request and discover 15 activities that can be easily adapted to any language or level. Fill your teacher toolbox with ways for students to engage enthusiastically with the target language in all modes.  

Activities mentioned in this episode:

This Google Doc has all of the links.

Interpersonal

Interpretive

Presentational

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 as a guest on the podcast.

You  can also be a part of Leveling Up coaching episode if there is an area of your teaching that you like to improve or enhance.  Join me on the podcast for a Leveling Up Coaching Episode.  

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104: Revisit Teacher Toolbox Episodes

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This is episode 3 in my 2023 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 28th, you will see new episodes with exciting new topics every Monday.  For today we take a look back at episodes 69 and 85, 2 of my Teacher Toolbox episodes with activity that you can use right away in your classroom. 

Activities Mentioned: 

  • Quiz-Quiz-Trade
  • At the Table
  • Shipwreck
  • The Card Path
  • The Die Decides
  • Logic Puzzles
  • Learn/Practice/Apply
  • Time Capsules
  • ChatGPT 

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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99: Planning Communicative Activities Efficiently with Hope Anderson

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Do you find it time-consuming to create effective communicative activities? We can all feel that way at times.  In this episode, we are talking about how to do this more efficiently.  Hope Anderson, a Spanish instructor in Arizona, joins me to offer suggestions for going about our communicative practices a little more efficiently, while also being quite effective. Something for all of us to learn.

Topics in this Episode:

  • breaking down exactly what we mean by communicative teaching
  • how to determine if an activity is truly and authentically communicative
  • the value and benefits of authentic communication in the language classroom.
  • ways to engage students in communicative tasks without taking a ton of time
  • using templates when creating tasks

Connect with Hope Anderson:

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.

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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