This is reprinted from 2008: When we teach isolated “activities” that are connected to teaching certain grammatical concepts, we are not teaching wholistically. Yet, language is learned wholistically, if Krashen is right. And Krashen is right. Doing such “activities” without providing a steady stream of uninterrupted L2 in our classes is like planting flowers in pots. The […]
A repost from 2009: I suggest that we endeavor to respect the continuum of hearing and seeing in L2 – the auditory part in stories, and the visual part in readings. When I say continuum, I mean flow of L2, as in din of L2, in stories. Readers unfamiliar with Krashen’s term Din are invited to
The focus of any comprehensible input instruction program should be on the fact of communication and not on the vehicle being used to bring it. Even a small amount of focus on the vehicle results in serious constraints on interest which greatly hampers the flow of the communication, and the comprehensible input cannot thrive. For
This post is from a few weeks ago but we had the wrong link, now corrected. It’s a request from Jonathan in VA: Ben – Been away for a while. Wondering if the folks here on the PLC could throw me some feedback on my Daily Interpersonal Communicative Engagement rubric. Shareable Link here: https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1s1K329evaOijCKxA6m8rl8qMZNtXzHFDDFcy5HfVTkM/edit?usp=sharing A
As we move through the fun part of winter, it’s never too early to think about spring and the end of the year, which will arrive with its flowers, as it always does, in spite of how many layers of snow there are outside our windows now in early March. I’m looking out into my
Stephan in Peru asks: Do you think no or limited structures are equally valid for absolute beginners? I responded: Some people argue that structures are needed for beginners. This gives them control over the dialogue and gets people to come to their trainings. If no targets worked for beginning teachers, those trainers would not have
Words in new context are less easy for the mind to identify than the same words in previous context. This is a point of importance when we consider what to expect from our students in class and when assessing them. If you use a word from a previous story in a new story, do not
The common practice of mixing two languages in real instructional time negatively affects CI instruction. Don’t do it. So what to do? Just go slower and stay in L2. Ten minutes L2 and ten minutes in L1 is not unreasonable. That may be all you can get. 15 minutes in the TL and 5 in
Trust for things like chanting builds over the course of the year in relationship to the daily increase in kids’ trust when they see that you are not trying to force them to learn, or trick them on tests, and when they see that you genuinely care about them. As the trust builds, you will
Whenever I hear about the imminent disappearance of an indigenous language, my socks start to roll up and down and my intensity level about our work increases. This morning I received an email that I would like to share with the group in hopes that anyone has any possible response ideas to put in the
The repetition of chants can deliver new language deeply into the kids’ minds better than practically anything! Really good chants, chanted from the gut, get past the kids’ minds into their bodies via the repetition. This works wonders for language gains. In my view, chants are even better than songs because they are shorter and
Here are some of the individually created images Carly’s students made today as she powers up into what I think is the best way to do CI of all. I’m very happy to see the beginning of a great gallery for pds 3 and 4 and I’m glad she acknowledges the artists in the gallery
