Quitting Our Jobs
We should not quit a job because we have been given too much to do and we can't handle it. We keep our jobs by simply doing less. We don't coach that team. We don't volunteer for that activity. We
We Are Not Tired – We Are Blocked
I hear comments about how teaching using CI can be exhausting. I don't agree with that position. It's about FLOW. (Search that category for more articles on this important TPRS/CI concept.) Flow is one of Krashen's favorite words, judging by
Teacher Lacks Confidence in Language Skills
I got this email: Hi Ben, At this point, I am just wishing I could read your books faster, as my students come on Wednesday. I have loved the storytelling approach but felt the same difficulties that you describe in your
Keeping Our Jobs
Our reaction to the COVID crisis has so far been to frantically search the internet for band-aid solutions, activities that do little for us or for our students. Our reasoning seems to be that if we can just find the right
Prayer That We Might Remember Our Real Purpose in the Language Classroom
I'm on a roll with the prayers: Dear God - Please help us understand that teaching is not a competition, and that whether or not our students achieve high test scores does not reflect on our value and our worth as teachers.
Job Interview Strategies – 1
It's that time of year when some of us are interviewing. John Piazza wrote here on the PLC on the topic, posted first back in 2014: Hi Ben, I wanted to let everyone know officially that I have emerged from my unemployment
Eugene Williams
This article is about an old friend - Eugene Williams. He is pictured at the bottom of this article. Eugene was one of my assistant track coaches at Myrtle Beach (SC) High School. He mainly coached the sprinters, having run the
Can WL and ELA Be Brought Together?
Here's a possible start in finding some common turf between ELA and CI instruction. Way overdue: There are many terms used to describe ESL/ELL and EFL instruction. For now let's just use the acronym ELA English Language Acquisition to make it
Questions for Textbook Companies – 6
Of the many questions Robert asks of the textbook companies in this series of articles, this is my favorite: How does the textbook align with the current emphasis by Advanced Placement (College Board), ACTFL and many State Standards on the Three
Questions for Textbook Companies – 5
Robert continues with his questions for textbook companies. It would be nice if they would answer. But they won't. Their involvement in education is not spurred by the same interests that prompt these questions from Robert: How does the textbook take