Our gradebooks must reflect the following truth: All students can succeed, as long as they are being evaluated according to their own internal timeline. We must reward growth, focus, and interaction with the language. We must NOT base our grades on the ability to produce (usually memorized) language on an arbitrary timeline set by external, […]

Everyone can effortlessly achieve proficiency in their second language just as they did in their first. But to fully absorb that truth, teachers must finally begin to look at their work with their students through the lens of how people actually acquire languages. If we do that we will know that the only factor preventing

Those familiar with the Invisibles Star Sequence may be interested to read how Tina and I introduce it in our new book. It gives an example of what we are trying to share with teachers in the book. This segment is from Chapter 6: This sequence of five types of activities undergirds all the sessions

Got this from brother Brian. It’s a repost from years and years ago: Hey Ben, I’ll get right to the question: What are your thoughts on the student sense of boredom?  In their world, it seems the only dichotomy sometimes is between activities that are fun and those that are boring.  Their ability to be

There are only variations on what we do and there are no experts. All each of us has to do is tap into a human way of teaching and so it doesn’t at all surprise me that all CI teachers are really similar! I am learning that there is very slight variation only in this

I had an insight about our work this morning. I think that 90% of what young people need when they are growing up is to learn social skills. And yet most of what they are trained in, in schools the way they are and have always been set up since the Greeks, probably, is for

Greg asked: Ben, what’s your view on “CAN” – “Confidence, Accuracy, No Hesitation”? It’s the Blaine Ray idea that we should not go on in a story or in our instruction until actors or students respond to questions accurately. Specifically, see page 6 on this document: http://www.mena.northwestern.edu/documents/TPRS-workshop-handout.pdf Here is the passage from that document by

A rant in support of fudging grades: I would like to see some administrator who is aware of the truth of the research, the sobering truth that we can only learn a language by focusing on the message and not on the mechanics of the language, which is merely the delivery system, I would like

From Alisa: Hi, Ben, I got this letter from a 1st grader today. If you can’t read 1st graderese, it says: “From Camilo You teach me different language so I can speak with more people.”

Udo clarifies: “I’m sure that creating flow is essential, but on the other hand I believe students can be in their conscious minds when they are trying to comprehend. For me it’s more a matter of keeping them out of their intellectual, analytical minds during a story.” That’s it! So well said and thank you,

We all know about this phenomenon of “helicopter parents”. In a recent email exchange between Alisa and me, she made some points worth sharing. (By the way, anything I share here from private email correspondence will have always been approved by the sender, just fyi.) Ben, I believe this particular [helicopter] parent was listening to

If anyone wants some good simple stories to read in French, Meg has provided a link and thank you Meg: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MORNMH9OfnQWWjbADpxb5R1gn9guLFF4