As we move through the fun part of winter, it’s never too early to think about spring and the end of the year, which will arrive with its flowers, as it always does, in spite of how many layers of snow there are outside our windows now in early March. I’m looking out into my […]
Stephan in Peru asks: Do you think no or limited structures are equally valid for absolute beginners? I responded: Some people argue that structures are needed for beginners. This gives them control over the dialogue and gets people to come to their trainings. If no targets worked for beginning teachers, those trainers would not have
Words in new context are less easy for the mind to identify than the same words in previous context. This is a point of importance when we consider what to expect from our students in class and when assessing them. If you use a word from a previous story in a new story, do not
The common practice of mixing two languages in real instructional time negatively affects CI instruction. Don’t do it. So what to do? Just go slower and stay in L2. Ten minutes L2 and ten minutes in L1 is not unreasonable. That may be all you can get. 15 minutes in the TL and 5 in
Trust for things like chanting builds over the course of the year in relationship to the daily increase in kids’ trust when they see that you are not trying to force them to learn, or trick them on tests, and when they see that you genuinely care about them. As the trust builds, you will
Whenever I hear about the imminent disappearance of an indigenous language, my socks start to roll up and down and my intensity level about our work increases. This morning I received an email that I would like to share with the group in hopes that anyone has any possible response ideas to put in the
The repetition of chants can deliver new language deeply into the kids’ minds better than practically anything! Really good chants, chanted from the gut, get past the kids’ minds into their bodies via the repetition. This works wonders for language gains. In my view, chants are even better than songs because they are shorter and
Here are some of the individually created images Carly’s students made today as she powers up into what I think is the best way to do CI of all. I’m very happy to see the beginning of a great gallery for pds 3 and 4 and I’m glad she acknowledges the artists in the gallery
It’s always a high point when we share letters we get from students. Here is one that I got today that makes me rejoice. Please – when you get these – send them to me so that we can all celebrate with you. It’s not as if we don’t need such validation of our efforts,
What Carly said a few days ago about getting a problem going in a story as not that important made me make a connection. Back in 2005 I asked Joe Neilson how he was able to spin such cool stories. Now I realize that not only Blaine but also Joe never targeted. So a key
In what I consider to be a tour de force argument in favor of NTCI, Alisa wrote something a few months ago that I think deserves a repeat post: “Like so much of what many of us do, we can document our work…after the fact. “After you actually create the tableau/story in the Create phase,
I’m updating these. The German needs work. Can anyone check it? ENGLISH with gusto romantically lip-synched like a Munchkin to the left to the right above, up there below, down there laughingly nodding modestly with one foot in the air with head forward with head back with arms in the air while whispering loudly in
