What does it mean when we say we focus on meaning in our comprehension based instruction? And how does that question impact our work with verbs as described in the previous eight articles here on using Look and Discuss to teach verbs? In my opinion, the term “focusing on meaning” means focusing on a big […]
f. After you have established meaning in the way described in the previous article, ask some general questions. Does William work? Circle that exhaustively in the normal way. Use “where” and “with whom” as a springboard question for cute answers. If no cute answers are suggested, after you have circled those first general questions, go
If the answer to it every problem in second language acquisition is more comprehended reps with the students’ minds focused on the message and not the words, then how do we get as many comprehended reps as possible on a single verb to make sure that we have given it enough attention so that it
So far in this series we have talked about how, in the past, we have used CWB and word walls to start out our academic years. We have agreed that CWB is a strong option and I have suggested that those of us who have found success with CWB to start the year continue to
TPRS/CI should focus more on teaching verbs. Can we improve our word walls so that they help our students gain greater success with the driving force of language – verbs? Can our students by mid year be much stronger in this key and pivotal area than they have in the past, if we turn our
This begins a series of nine articles on teaching verbs to start the year. It is called the Verb Slam Activity (SVA), so named by our group member Polly Fuller, and thank you Polly. I go into great detail in these articles. It is because the idea of starting all of our classes next year
Now that I am retired and trying to grasp what that means, I see that the feeling of being under water and not being able to get anything done is just inherent to our culture of education in the U.S. In schools, there is a feeling of being in a constant state of failure. At
This is a repost from 2011, updated. It is a personal reflection on my career, as I end it up today. What I said then, and the comments made then by other group members, still apply: I never felt like I was any good at school. It was always a competition in all areas. Who
When I was a teacher, before I retired, I always felt that I had to be “good”. Being “good” meant being a good teacher, being “on”, knowing what I was doing, and pretty much acting like the other teachers in the building, even though I wasn’t like them. I don’t have to do that anymore.
This comment from Jennifer Schongalla was supposed to go under the Last Sunday Night article but it got blocked by that security rule (503) so I will post it here as a separate article. I welcome what jen says below with arms and heart wide open in deep appreciation on this very last day that
Leah will be on maternity leave from October through January. She needs sub plans for that amount of time for a level 1 class. Anyone with ideas please respond below in the comments fields.
[Note: I actually dreamed this on Monday morning but I needed time to edit before sharing it with the group so I share it this morning.] I had one of those crying dreams this morning, the rare kind. It was the first day of the second semester at UT Austin and for some reason I
