I got a few questions from a group member. All are invited to respond. It’s a big ass question: Hi Ben, I just read the whole rebar/pqa blog posts.  Under Rebar 3 you state that some weeks you don´t even know what the day’s structures are going to be or what the story will be […]

After the classes we (a few principals and ELA people from the district and others were there – he had kind of an entourage) I was able to ask him about how much reading he felt was the best in a TPRS/CI type of class. I was trying to determine if my recent decision to

Brian’s back and for that we are happy. He sent some questions that I thought I would post here instead of placing them in a comment field within that thread we had going on PQA here about ten days ago at: https://benslavic.com/blog/2012/01/30/bummer/ Brian’s questions below are about the overall nature of PQA, and when to use PQA

This is a reposting of a comment from Grant, a short conversation between us, that describes a way that Grant starts his classes playing with accent. I put it here again so as not to forget it. I want it to become part of my routine when I introduce those few words per day that

I got this from Angela: Have you seen this? Very interesting read and a constant reminder as to why I am fully committed to TPRS. http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2012/01/23/essay-foreign-language-competency-new-phds-languages Angela

After yesterday’s learning lab, three teachers, all ninja level storytellers, asked me why I kept looking back at the script during the creation of the story. The first answer I gave was that the script is emotionally reassuring to me. I always know that when the big circling and all the language and energy created from

John sent this: Ben, This is an interesting article, because it shows just how revolutionary (and difficult) it is for someone under 25 to interact with friends without making use of social media. The author learned some important lessons which, though common-sense to you and me, are becoming lost in this world. http://news.yahoo.com/90-days-without-cell-phone-email-social-media-015300257.html   This

I have turned the comment below from Judy into a separate blog post. As Ardythe’s words make the conceptual/theoretical point about how people really acquire languages, Judy’s makes the point from the actual classroom. It supports what we do in a way that I consider the best way, the most convincing way. It shows what happens with kids wh0,

Most language teachers, or teachers in general, in the past, went through their weeks thinking, “Hmm. I wonder what I will teach today.” And then the book told them. Now the new computer programs are doing that, along with the teachers’ neatly and loboriously planned pacing guides. How wonderful. Nobody ever really thought of teaching

This is actually a story that Judy wrote up after one of her classes, based on “He Talks Too Much” by Anne Matava. It is not a reading but it sure gives insight into how detailed these stories can get in class. Then, after that, there is an embedded reading about Vincent, which is not connected to the first, but which I

Below is a good final exam from Robert focusing on reading. Like the one just posted, it is from last January. Robert explains: Hi Ben, I am attaching my final exam for level 1, first semester. Out  here in California we tend to run a bit behind the rest of the country on the timing

Last week Kate was called out in a post observation email by an administrator who doesn’t yet understand how people acquire languages. (That is an understatement.) We asked for help from the group, not just academically in terms of pro-Krashen statements of support that she could share with this administrator, but also emotionally, to deal with the