Robert starts out by presenting some questions he had read on the moretprs listserve: On the moretprs Yahoo group, one of the members made inquiry about dealing with a textbook adoption and questions for textbook company representatives. I replied with some questions of my own. Below are the original query (used by permission) and my […]
It’s odd that the big textbook companies have held dominion over our profession for so long. It’s even more odd how the annual ACTFL conference, in spite of their statements about proficiency and use of the language in the classroom, has become merely an outlet, a big book sale, for corporate book and other (proven
In many ways the new AP exam is better than the old one. There is no cloze exercise, and there are no discrete-item grammar questions. Grading is done holistically. However, scoring is still based primarily on output, and no matter what anyone says, a typical high school program will not get students to the level
For those doing the Star, I am beginning the Zoom trainings on how to use it over winter break. The information is on my website.
So thank you for renewing our courage today, Lord. Thank you for reminding us to just put our trust in you each day and get up and brush off the wounds of the previous day and get back to work. Trusting in you is the motto of our country, after all. Thanks for the reminder!
How I feel about language teaching is very simple, and has been expressed perfectly by the pianist Alice Sara Ott, when speaking about music: “Music is art, and art lives from creativity, and there cannot be any creativity if there is no motivation. And the motivation can only come from the child. So, I don’t
The rise of elitism in our society is paralleled in our schools. It would be unreasonable to think otherwise. When the few take over a class then that class becomes their property. One thing that I fear about our field in 2020 is how the rise of the few in our language classes will subsequently
Some kids engage at the right amount. Some too much. What about the kids who withdraw? It is my position that, generally, kids who withdraw from interacting in a CI class have good reasons to do so. We all know that kids withdraw in traditional textbook classes from pure boredom. But when things are interesting
An academic program is rigorous when there is: depth and integrity of inquiry: Many teachers have expressed concern that there is too much curricular material to “cover” and not enough time to teach it in. Academic rigor implies that sufficient time be devoted to a topic or unit of study and that students would have
The US Department of State on Rigor (article by Robert Harrell): Read More »
It feels a little lighter now. Maybe we can really do it. Whether we win or not, all that is up to you, as the outcome of every battle is up to you. The outcome of every attempt is up to you. The outcome of every failure is up to you. Help us in this
Some kids engage at the right amount. Some too much. What about the kids who withdraw? It is my position that, generally, kids who withdraw from interacting in a CI class have good reasons to do so. We all know that kids withdraw in traditional textbook classes from pure boredom. But when things are interesting
Some of us are lying wounded with varying degrees of injuries, the mental kind of injuries that take so long to heal. It’s hard to work when our minds don’t work as well as they used to. Help us find solace from our teaching injuries in you. Let your will be done in this and
