facebookrsstwitterinstagram

Growth & Change

CORONA/LLORONA PARODY SONG

Here's a fun parody rewrite of the traditional Mexican song La Llorona, updated for this trying time. The original La Llorona song is definitely one of the Songs All Spanish Students Need to Know. This parody version is written with simple Spanish, it repeats every line like the original (which increases comprehension), it acknowledges our students' situation—and it encourages them to stay home so they don't get themselves or others sick. Click here to download the lyrics to the parody in a printable form (with English translation). This lyrics document contains: The lyrics to the parody version, with English translation. How [...]

By |2020-04-08T06:34:37-06:00April 2nd, 2020|Categories: Compelling Input, Encouragement, Growth & Change, Music|Tags: , |0 Comments
Read More

QUESTIONS ABOUT TEACHING WITH TPRS/CI

In September I was a guest lecturer in Nyssa Knarvik’s Teaching Methodology for Foreign Language Instruction graduate course at Colorado State University. I talked about Krashen’s hypotheses and gave a demo of a TPRS-style story. I have been invited back in November. Here are some questions the students have about TPRS/CI. These are good questions by a sharp group of graduate students, all of whom are currently teaching. I have some answers in mind, but I am interested in finding out what members of the group are thinking. Please share what you would add or alter in the responses below. [...]

By |2019-10-22T10:44:29-06:00October 22nd, 2019|Categories: Acquisition vs. Learning, Administrators, Growth & Change, Teacher Training|Tags: , , |0 Comments
Read More

LAWSUIT ON BEHALF OF LANGUAGE STUDENTS MOVES AHEAD

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Federal authorities confirmed yesterday that a nationwide class action lawsuit has been filed to sue school districts across the USA for financial compensation to generations of dissatisfied world language students. If the case is successful, thousands of teachers, administrators and school district officials will be held liable for failing to deliver quality instruction and ordered to pay multiple billions of dollars to students that did not acquire language they could use in the real world. Legal experts believe that school districts may be ordered to pay up to $130,000.57 for each affected student. Lawyers seek to prove beyond a [...]

By |2019-04-07T20:06:31-06:00April 7th, 2019|Categories: Fake News & Satire, Growth & Change, Issues in Second Language Education, Satire|Tags: |0 Comments
Read More

HOW TO USE “CONEXIONES”

Mike Peto wrote this blog about how he uses "Conexiones" in his classroom--as a break from fiction and to acknowledge the interests of all students. Conexiones by Bryce Hedstrom A collection of short, non-fiction entries that excite a different kind of reader People sometimes ask me how I keep students from getting bored of my schtick creating class stories day after day. The key, of course, is that I am not doing the same thing every day. On some days we create class stories together, some days I tell a fable, some days we discuss the plot of short video clips [...]

By |2017-10-11T13:22:12-06:00May 7th, 2017|Categories: Geography, Growth & Change, Reading|0 Comments
Read More

THEORIES? WE AIN’T GOT NO THEORIES!

“The overwhelming majority of teachers ...are unable to name or describe a theory of learning that underlies what they do in the classroom.” —Alfie Kohn, Punished by Rewards, p. 10 This quote challenges me to evaluate why I am doing what I am doing as I plan and teach. Am I making it up as I go along or can I describe how each of my lessons relates to theories of learning? Certainly teaching is both art and science, but according to Kohn, far too often we fall short in the theory realm. There are tested theories of learning that [...]

By |2018-01-16T12:44:39-07:00March 24th, 2017|Categories: Growth & Change, Satire, SLA Theory, Uncategorized|0 Comments
Read More