Uncategorized Archives - Bryce Hedstrom - TPRS Materials & Training

I Want My Students to Produce More & Better Output!

We all want more and better output from our students, but how does that happen? The iceberg is students' total acquisition. The part above the water line is what they can say and write–the messages they can produce. The bigger part under water is what students can comprehend by listening and reading–the messages they can understand. If the iceberg is a reasonable analogy for language acquisition, there is only one reliable way to do that: make the whole iceberg bigger. The top of the iceberg increases when the bottom gets bigger. The more students understand, the more they will be [...]

By Bryce Hedstrom|2020-02-27T16:09:51-07:00February 27th, 2020|Categories: Acquisition vs. Learning, SLA Theory, Uncategorized|Tags: Acquisition, Comprehensible Input-based teaching|1 Comment

A BUNCH OF BOOKS OR A COUPLE OF CLASS SETS?

Brett, an experienced Spanish teacher in South Carolina, writes: Hi Bryce, I was just reading your article about 9 Steps to FVR. I'm trying to build up my reading materials. I basically have none at my new school. Would you recommend prioritizing based on getting a bunch of different books or buying class sets of a couple of select books? Good question. I would go with a bunch of different books. Here's why: Students acquire more language when they can choose their own reading materials. The free choice aspect gives them more buy-in and more engagement. When they can decide what [...]

By Bryce Hedstrom|2019-11-29T17:43:38-07:00November 29th, 2019|Categories: Books, Classroom Library, Light Reading, Novels, Questions, Reading, Uncategorized|Tags: Comprehensible Input-based teaching, Light Reading, Reading, Reading in a Foreign Language, Word Frequency|0 Comments

THIS YEAR, FOR SURE!

SEATTLE, WA—Veteran local Spanish teacher Y.A. Basta, 37, reports he is still confident that this year his attempts will finally be fruitful and yield classes full of fluent speakers after 14 consecutive years of frustration. Basta admits that in the past, students could not remember anything, or even order a cup of coffee in Madrid, despite up to 4 years of intensive study in his classes. While most teachers would cry out, “Enough!” and seek different methods after such a run of failure, Basta is not swayed, confirming to sources that he will “stay the course” until he is successful [...]

By Bryce Hedstrom|2019-04-01T16:34:54-06:00April 1st, 2019|Categories: Just for Fun, Satire, Uncategorized|0 Comments

SPECIAL PERSON STUDENT INTERVIEWS

Engaging students at a personal level is the way to their hearts and minds. Aaron Mendelsohn, a high school teacher in Massachusetts, sent me this note the other day: I just want to share with you that I have gotten A LOT of mileage out of Persona Especial! What a great activity. Thank You! When I asked him to elaborate, he replied with this: Persona Especial has been a success for a number of reasons. I'm gonna start off by sharing what was on my mind when I wrote to you a few days ago: PE is almost a O [...]

By Bryce Hedstrom|2018-12-01T10:52:54-07:00November 30th, 2018|Categories: Acquisition vs. Learning, Compelling Input, Persona Especial Activity, Special Person, Uncategorized|0 Comments

FORMER STUDENT GETS PHD IN SPANISH

The student has excelled the teacher, the ultimate wish of any educator. I received word the other day from a former student, David Dalton, that he has a PhD in Spanish and is now an assistant professor at The University of North Carolina. He has a book coming out next month called Mestizo Modernity: Race, Technology, and the Body in Post-revolutionary Mexico. Here is a pdf where you can get a discount on the book: file:///C:/Users/bryce/Downloads/Mestizo_Modernity_INDIVIDUALS_AU718.pdf Dr. Dalton's faculty page is here: https://pages.uncc.edu/ddalto14/

By Bryce Hedstrom|2018-07-29T16:04:49-06:00July 29th, 2018|Categories: Books, Hope, Uncategorized|0 Comments

LEVEL 3 PASSWORDS THIS YEAR

These contraseñas are ones that we have used to enter the class this year. They are well-known Spanish cultural sayings, quotes by famous Spanish speakers, phrases that require a subjunctive, useful idiomatic expressions, or just for fun. Write in Spanish. (Answers and commentary will be shared in an upcoming blog here.) “Little by little one goes far.” _ I was born the (#) of (month) of the year (#). “Zamora was not won in an hour.” What English saying conveys a similar message? I forgot! / It forgot me! It left me. / It went away from me. [...]

By Bryce Hedstrom|2018-05-21T16:30:16-06:00May 21st, 2018|Categories: Passwords, Uncategorized|0 Comments