Content-Based Foreign Language Instruction

DARMOK: The Power of Metaphor & Cultural Stories

By |2025-06-11T13:28:17-06:00June 9th, 2025|

I've been teaching Latin almost exclusively with Roman myths for the last three years - with very positive results. I shared this Darmok activity some time ago. Since teaching with mythology is working so well, talking about Darmok bears repeating. Download the updated Darmok classroom activity here. If you love [...]

I’LL BE IN COLOMBIA THIS SUMMER!

By |2024-11-12T16:03:41-07:00November 12th, 2024|

I've been invited by Experiencia Colombia to train Spanish teachers from the U.S. in Colombia in the summer of 2025. We'll be in the charming mountain town of Bochalema. Trust me, this is an experience you won't want to miss. Click here for more information. I've been there before [...]

Introducing the Subjunctive with a Story

By |2023-01-18T19:34:25-07:00January 18th, 2023|

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 [...]

LA VIRGEN DE GUADALUPE: A Culture Changed by Art

By |2022-12-04T18:13:53-07:00December 4th, 2022|

Language is more than mere vocabulary and grammar. Authentic cultural stories like this one can help students to communicate. Students need to know the background information that these kinds of stories provide to understand the metaphor-laden speech and imagery that every native speaker uses all the time—up to six [...]

WHAT TO TEACH BESIDES LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD LANGUAGE CLASSROOM

By |2022-10-22T10:31:38-06:00October 22nd, 2022|

In a Professional Coaching session with a friend and veteran Spanish teacher last week, she mentioned an issue that was troubling her regarding curriculum and instruction at her school: Some colleagues are spending a lot of class time promoting politics that are tangentially related to Spanish-speaking countries and populations [...]

LA VIRGEN DE GUADALUPE: A Culture Changed by a Work of Art

By |2022-10-22T10:37:00-06:00December 10th, 2019|

  The day of the Virgin of Guadalupe is December 12. Spanish students deserve to know about this holiday and it's deep religious and cultural symbolism. Students need to know that this image sparked one of he greatest sociological and cultural shifts in history and changed the mental landscape [...]

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