These are some good questions that Alex, the lead teacher of a school I am working with, has asked: What habits have you observed in excellent Spanish programs? This is what has worked for me and what I have observed: • Routines. Regular, well though-out routines and rituals. - [...]
I did a demonstration for teachers this week. The students were from a 7th grade middle school Spanish I class. All of the middle school world language team leaders in the school district observed. The students were in the middle of a unit that focused on: Greetings Classroom expressions [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
I was invited to be a guest lecturer for two sessions in the EDUC-462-001: Methods and Assessment in Teaching Languages class at Colorado State University. It was a mix of graduate and undergraduate students. All were either teaching college language courses or doing student teaching at the secondary level [...]
Here is an idea that will work if your curriculum demands you explicitly teach direct object pronouns: tell an interesting story that requires DOP's. Here's the outline of one that will work: Somebody sees something that another person doesn’t and they both get frustrated. It would be even better [...]