For those feeling harried and harrassed by too much to do at this time of year, and you just want to let the train coast along the tracks for awhile, don’t forget that that is the intent of the new bi-weekly schedule. When we use it, we start with two or three structures and can […]

This is a new feature here. I would like to focus on one teacher per month and their struggles and successes. The first teacher I would like to focus on is Jeff Brickler in Cincinnati, OH. The two of us have talked via email recently and the one outstanding quality I see in Jeff is a most important quality for

Carol Gaab is in Chicago now for a training Sabrina but it’s full so I apologize for not publishing that here sooner. Next week she is at these places: Monday – White Plains Tuesday – Newark Wed. – Cherry Hill Th. – Charlotte Fri. – Roanoke Sat. – SPRING TRAINING… Yes, as in spring training

Hi everyone! I was an avid reader of the blog before it became private, and just recently have gotten reconnected. I cannot begin to explain how much I have needed to be back here, as I have found myself drifting back to the old ineffective methods due to pressure from students & parents who fail

Ben, I am in my third year (as of 2013) of teaching Latin at Central High School in St. Joseph, Missouri. I am the only Latin teacher in my district, which gives me a lot of freedom. I started on a path of CI at the beginning of this year. Actually it has felt more

I was encouraged to join this group by John Piazza, of San Francisco, before the winter break. Here’s my bio. I currently teach Latin at Westlake High School in Southwest Atlanta. I use TPRS and some WAYK methods in my classroom – as well as just random shit that I think works and that kids like. I

Hi Ben, I was wanting to submit my bio but I was unsure of where to submit it so I thought I would just send it to you.  I am not a “trained” teacher.  I didn’t go to school to be a teacher.  I learned Spanish in another country and because of the requirements of

Grant’s essay and the ensuing conversations have just hit the spot for me.  I am doing “Creating CI Classroom” workshops this spring and summer.  March 8-9 I will be offering a 3 hour workshop at the Foreign Language Association of Georgia for World Language teachers–Creating a CI Classroom.  April 8 I have been invited, thanks

Grant asked Darcy Pippins for some harder numbers, those referred to in the previous article, and here is Darcy’s response: Our numbers in the upper level classes are very high and we added a part time position this year to compensate.  It’s a high school of approx. 1800 students, title 1 school with approx. 40%

What Grant has written in the previous article here is significant. It was directed to us, but, if it were slightly rewritten, it could be directed to and made more palatable to those whom I describe as on the fence with comprehension based instruction. It could even be handed to skeptics and naysayers. So I

Grant Boulanger has written the folowing passage about the change we are in. It is free of venom and refreshingly clear. If even half of us printed and shared some variation of this text at at our next department meetings, submitting it to our administrators as well, we would reach a lot of people who

Robert requests ideas from the group: Hi Ben, As you know from my recent comments, I have been elected Department Chair at my high school. At the urging of our French teacher, I am going to move ahead at the school site level with trying to introduce TCI/TPRS into the curriculum across the board. With