Here is where I got the term “language fabric” used in this last series of posts: http://www.cafe.edu/genres/n-conver.html#3 Below is the key phrase from that article, the one that truly makes the case – in my mind at least – for non-targeted input: Function sociale de la conversation. La conversation constitue un tissu langagier grâce auquel les membres […]

David Ganahl in the Inland Empire is not just a Spanish teacher but also a swim coach. He has told me that in the classroom and at the beautiful outdoor pool they have at his high school there in Los Angeles (Tina and I visited him at his school last summer) his main wish is to

This is from Amy Marshall, who listens to her students when make their own statements about how they want to learn in her classroom: Hi Ben – I just wanted you to know that my students, without prompting, confirmed everything you are telling us about teaching language. Everything you say in your books that would help

I object to the way they do reading in TPRS. They do the same things described in the previous post on auditory input here of getting the kids focused consciously on individual words chosen from high frequency lists. How? It is by a subtle repetition of targets in awkwardly written texts which only attract the attention of

If the research shows us that acquisition occurs when the students are focused on meaning, and not on individual words, which raises Monitor activity and hence blocks the natural unconscious flow of input that alone results in authentic acquisition, then we must strive in our instruction to make the meaning of what we are saying

One of our PLC members is being asked to teach a Dual Credit class. Here is her question: There seems to be a big push for Dual Credit over AP these days. In your opinion, can students acquire this content using CI/TPRS in 16 weeks with 9-12 graders (mixed classes)? This is taken from the

It’s hard to express. A little kid growing up feels stupid in school because he can’t memorize all that stuff like the really fast processors, becomes an adult, tries teaching, tries to accomplish through his brightest students what he couldn’t in school , burns out after 24 miserable years trying to do it in the

In my own opinion, TPRS has been in a tailspin for a long time, with the targeting and the circling and all the too-early reading options all being presented as gospel. It was getting very “traditional” and always the new people were told that they had to attend a conference in order to learn how to

I have long dreamed of a documentary on how comprehensible input instruction informs and supports the practices of teachers. This summer in Portland – only a few weeks away – I have arranged to do impromptu interviews with attendees of the Cascadia CI conference throughout the week. But I need some questions to ask. Does

Tina just left the Comprehensible Iowa  conference. She said that the people there were wonderful and kind and easygoing, vs. this stereotype: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV7ZcVFSWWU One such Iowan, a member of our PLC for ten years and one whom we admire for his straightforwardness and honesty about teaching, Jim Tripp, is saying good things about NT. It

More thoughts during this nice time of recent reflection in the soft month of June: Honestly, I always have tried to understand why I have been so angry at traditional teachers. After all, I was one of them myself for 24 years and I got away with not aligning with the research and the standards because