This was surprising to me. I had never used flashcards as a teacher, thinking the practice was too old school, too random, too decontextualized, and not hearing based. Even though I have used flashcards myself to learn specialized vocabulary quickly for medical mission trips in Mexico and Guatemala, I [...]
SONGS FOR CINCO DE MAYO This is a set of 11 traditional Mexican songs—lasting favorites that will not go out of style in 2 weeks. The songs are in Spanish, with English translations and colorful graphics, and there are historical and cultural notes in English for each song. You [...]
NOTE: This is from a unit that teaches the subjunctive with a story-based approach and compelling comprehensible input. You can get the entire unit here. The example in from a Spanish 3 class, but the principles apply to any language and any level. FOCUS STRUCTURE: quiere que vaya [...]
A reader of this blog asks: I'm curious to know, do you have a criterion or standard of what grammar should be included in level 1, level 2, level 3 and level 4 books? Our general standards for grammar follow the levels in a traditional grammar syllabus with a [...]
Numbers Brain Breaks World language students often need help with numbers. Numbers are useful, but they are abstract and many are not high frequency, plus teachers do not always incorporate numbers into lessons. So students begin to forget them. I hate it when level 2, or even 3, students [...]
It's here! I have been working on this book for a year and a half, (well, actually, my whole career). And it's finally done. This is the best of what I teach teachers. It is some of the best work I have ever written, a distillation of all my [...]