Along with reading (less interesting to the kids but vital), Star of the Week (much more interesting to the kids) may hold the key to the upper level CI class activity conundrum. It may hold the answer to putting the upper level rubik cube curriculum right.

We need to ASK THEM what they want to talk about before we start talking. This is as per Star of the Week. Why not ask THEM what questions they want to be asked? It’s not that hard to do and the results are fantastic. Just given them time to tell us what they want

So we were talking about how lesson plans lead to less interesting classes in TPRS. Canned TPRS lesson plans are based on insecurity about what is going to happen in the class. In that way, it kind of resembles life when it is too planned out – a bit stifling and devoid of any real interest.

This is going up on the Primers hard link and also staying here as a sticky post for awhile. Since it is in the Primers, we can all just go and copy it when we need it. This is a must-have document.  I will share it with my students next week by projecting it up

I usually write volumes here and apologize for that. But today I am getting one of those crystal clear insights about this work. So here it is: Let’s just enjoy this work. Before stories we couldn’t make it fun. It was too boring. OK that was then and now is now. Now we have stories.

It’s about time that Robert had his own blog site and so this is to announce its launch this week. I will be a regular reader, as many of us will be, since we know very well what the Chevalier de l’Ouest has brought and continues to bring to our careers in the way of leadership and

Two of the biggest things that make a story interesting to the kids in a TPRS class are the elements of suspense and surprise. But if the one directing the story, asking the questions, making those split second decisions about where to take things during the creation of the story already knows what is coming,

Who has oppressed us, who are asleep at the testing barrier? Oh, nobody in particular, except the textbook companies and a legion of freak memorizers-turned-language-teachers who don’t want us to wake up and who now are about to get the wake up call of a lifetime if only we can wake up at the assessment

One might ask right about now, “Who has time to read the recent barrage of articles and comments on authentic assessement? I’m too busy!” I would ask, “Who can risk not reading them?” Why? Because we are sleeping and need to wake up! We just spent, some of us, almost twenty years studying this Krashen and

Diane Neubauer was listening to the Tea with BVP show last week and reported back to us here: …they had done a poll of people following them on Twitter. If I remember correctly, 85% either said “yes” or “yes, but…” to this question: “Do you think we should move to language instruction without tests and grades?”….

Russ and Alisa made a couple of points that would be well go ponder before we give our next assessment on a story: Russ: “I think we need to differentiate between language and content. The students create the content; the teacher provides the language. Just don’t think you can assess the kids on the structures. Because