I know that more than a few people in the PLC are going to be making copies of this for ammo in discussions with administrators this year. Robert has graciously provided the full article to some of us here even though he is not back yet, and I found a way to load it into his message: Hi everyone, Skip […]

This morning Robert sent in a coda to his Scope and Sequence articles: Since writing my response to my administrator, I have thought of another reason that some students do not speak: the impatience of the teacher. We as teachers do not give students sufficient time to process before we either supply an answer or go

This last article in this series is Robert’s reply to his colleague’s last e-mail in which he mentions pushing lazy students: Hi again, Thanks for continuing the conversation. I agree that sometimes some kids need some “nudging”. However, the truly lazy student is, in my experience, a rarity. Once you get through the veneer of

This is the penultimate article in this exchange between Robert and the WL rep, in which we see a second response to Robert’s points. The WL rep responds to Robert in a way that does not honor the depth and breadth of the conversation. His reference to King Grammar is an entirely insufficient response to Robert’s

Robert’s response to his WL rep continues: In addition, I disagree with what seems to be the assumption behind the statement, “I suggest that this period needs to be relatively short for a 14 year old”. The phrase “needs to be relatively short” implies that the teacher determines how long the silent period lasts. Second

Another script from Anne, who shares: “This is not a hard-core, high-frequency, work-it-for-a-week-or-two script.  It is a way to build fun and laughter into the class, at a time when the class may sorely need it.  Note that soccer is a variable that you can replace depending on the season, but be sure to change

Robert’s response to his WL continues: As far as writing is concerned, delaying Written Presentational Communication as an emphasis does mean that students do no writing. Writing is a part of both Interpersonal and Interpretive Communication. As practiced by many deliverers of instructional services, however, students are asked to “present” in writing before they have

Here’s a good level 1 script that can be embellished for upper levels. It’s from Anne Matava: needs store/saleslady/man doesn’t understand Sebastian is on vacation in China. He needs a razor. He goes to a cheese store. (He doesn’t know that it’s a cheese store; he doesn’t understand Chinese.) He says to the saleslady, “I need a razor!”

I got this from Laurie. Laurie please remind me to post this once a week up to the registration cut off date of March 2nd: Hi Ben, Could you put this info on the blog? I’ll be presenting two three-hour presentations at Nathaniel’s district (Dudley, Mass.) on Friday, March 13th. The Director of Curriculum has

Robert’s email discussing Scope and Sequence with his district World Languages representative continues with Robert’s response to his WL rep, which was posted in the last article: My reply to him: Hi, Thanks for your response. I think I understand your position, and we are perhaps not as far apart as at first may seem.

Robert’s email discussing Scope and Sequence with his district World Languages representative continues with a response. The man is wrong on his point. It is such a weak response to all that Robert wrote to him about so many things up to this point in the exchange. Is this the response of a leader? Hi

Anybody who doesn’t believe in America and in our potential to dance, and by extension I suggest that we can dance in our language classes because now we know how people learn languages, is invited to watch this video. Why not? They are dancing in the hallways in Dallas, but one day they will be