Once we have decided that the goal is fluency or communicative competence, we have to decide what method best helps us accomplish that goal. To answer that question, we need to know something about both Second Language Acquisition and how the brain works. Some of the things we know include the following: 1. The brain […]

Just thought I’d turn these two paragraphs (from a comment by Robert in response to a question from Libby) into a post. We need to gear up for next year when we start defining rigor and defending our positions in terms of ACTFL and the Three Modes. We must make it clear to all concerned – students,

And the last “variety pack” question is from jen directly: I have 3-4 kids who will continue to Spanish 3; another CI based teacher (also the department head) in her building has 4 kids who will continue to Spanish 4, more likely it will be 2-3, so a total of 8 at the most. I strongly recommend

This from Carol in NJ: Hi Ben, Even though my grammar crazed colleagues can be a real pain, sometime things can work out for the CI team! Every year I undergo a summative evaluation at the end of the school year. When I began with TPRS, I also began the process of schooling my administration

We can look forward to a series of four really excellent posts by Robert Harrell this week, starting here today and running through Friday. This first one addresses how we got off track in methods historicially: Far too few teachers think strategically about their teaching methodology. Yet Socrates’ statement that “the unexamined life is not

I got this question from someone: Hi Ben, I’m an ESL teacher who’s been introduced to TPRS and your website recently and I really like what I see. The approach makes a great deal of sense and I’d love to make TPRS a major part of my teaching approach. I’d like to order some of

Got this from a group member. It speaks to me in that it represents where a lot of us are right now in our teaching, if we were to to as honest as this group member (my responses added here). It is a long read but a gripping one due to its level of honesty

I also got this question from Kevin about the same thing jen asked about: Hi Ben, A quick question for you and/or the blogsters: How much personal responsibility do you feel for students that you know are going to be transferring to other schools in the near future (i.e. out of a CI environment into

In her third “variety pack” question, jen brings up the question of transferring students: When students leave a comprehension based program to go to another school/traditional program, there is always the fear on the part of the TCI teacher that the students won’t do well on the placement test and whether they will have to take the level

Mary Beth is in Maine. Like many teachers, she has benefitted from all the hard organizational work done over the years by our own Skip Crosby. Here is her bio, and it is well worth the read: I went to college right after high school, but then got kicked out after 1.5 years.  I’m now

Grades are an illusion. They reflect nothing real. They show how hard kids work and if they attend class and that is all. There is a huge disconnect between the fact that we give tests and homework to kids and the fact that language learning is an unconscious process. We claim to deliver flow of language and we know that

Just reviewing Robert’s numbers in case anybody is working on this right now: 5 = Advanced 4 = Proficient 3 = Basic 2 = Below basic 1 + Far below basic