I got this from a teacher who is new to our PLC:
Dear Ben,
I am a second-year French teacher. I teach in a public middle school, and I struggle a lot with management. Most of my management issues arise when doing TPRS, PQA, and CI (lots of talking to each other in English, shouting out, some disengagement). It feels very unstructured and I think my kids take it as a free-for-all. I have been to a Blaine Ray workshop, and I also purchased and watched your DVD set. I understand circling very well and can do that without a problem — I just somehow can’t get every kid on the edge of their seats and participating the way I need them to to get reps of structures. I am reaching out to you because I read somewhere that you also taught in a very urban school and maybe were in a similar situation. Do you have any tips or suggestions for ways to deal with management during CI? I know that this is the best way for my kids to learn French, and I don’t want to give up on it. Merci beaucoup d’avance!