Hi. I have started using The Square. The kids LOVE it! Wow! They love saying it many ways, giving it a gesture, and standing up with their eyes closed and showing me! I make them do it silently, so it is a classroom management tool too to get them quiet after trying the word in many different ways! You rock!

Lori K.

In my opinion, every word of this is pure gold and absolutely necessary. I am so glad that you wrote it. Thanks for asking me to look over it, as it reminds me of how I need to be responding to my students.

Anne M.

Star 1 is a beast. The more I read it the more I am amazed by the content. WOW! You can spend your entire career as a teacher growing both professionally and as a human being by teaching from that one single book.

Karin T.

You are right! One trip around the Star – starting at noon and ending at 11:00 through the five phases – provides 3-4 days of a tightly organized curriculum based on a single tableau or story. I’ve been testing it for three weeks now and it really has proven to be foolproof in its ability to deliver a good lesson in each class. The pressure is off!
Amanda B.

Ben writes in the introduction to the Category A book something to the effect that the Star puts an end to “not knowing what to do next” in a language class. I didn’t believe it at first, but now I get it. It performed exactly as advertised, and that has been in my online classes!
Jeff S.

Through the entire [Zoom] class today I felt an energy, a sparkle of magic that flew into my life. It’s so natural: no textbook, no prep, and yet so much more natural! The Star always sets you on the right track. If you get off track the Star will bring you back. I am excited and nervous, because I teach in a traditional, grammar-oriented, test-oriented school. I have felt shackled by this and I often feel an unsurmountable amount of pressure from others to do what they, not I, think is best. It’s forced, unnatural and fake. I am feeling relieved and confident in this new approach. 
Danielle P.

Classroom management is much much much better this year. I know exactly what to do each time the need arises. If it weren’t for you I would have never known how to handle each and every interruption. It has been beautiful, overall. I love teaching my kids, and it’s all because of how your Star 1 curriculum assures excellent classroom management and genuinely engaged kids, so thank you!

Michel B.

It’s a steep learning curve for me but I love the way your material is so clearly and systematically laid out. I’m looking forward to trying again with the clear formula you offer. I can see now where I was going wrong.
Michelle F.

The Star Sequence is amazingly intuitive and allows new people to CI, those with the deer-in-the-headlights look on their faces, to chill out. The concept is solid. The Star Sequence itself is a fabulous support graphic.
Alisa S.

Your work is revolutionary and will save many careers. The StarChart really is a game-changer, a treasure that can be used over and over for an entire career!
Mike J.

The engagement and excitement that I’m seeing, I’ve NEVER seen before.
Chris R.

Ben’s Star methodology has taken SLA research and distilled it down into a practical approach that is easy to follow and makes language instruction enjoyable and equitable for all students.  Simply put, the Star is the modern foreign language teacher’s dream come true.
Jeanne B.

The saving grace that helps me to get up in the morning is teaching the 6/7/8th Spanish grade students with your Star method.

Stephanie R.

Your books provide an instructional routine that I can count on to get me through a class period, but with much lower stress levels than before.
Lillian B.

My school has decided to mandate the Star curriculum and the StarChart for all nine teachers, K-12.
Jay F.

The structure of the Star and the five-phase sequence provides for me reassuring train tracks to proceed along, but without putting my own creativity and spontaneity in a straight-jacket. The Star provides a logical menu. Whether the starting point in the Create Phase is a student card, a one word image or an individually created character, they all lead to a comprehensible tableau, and get more sophisticated as students advance from there.
Corinne B.

l have a full plate! But with the Star I’m ok. Without it, that’s not something I want to think about.
Sarah B.

They were outputting Spanish in short answers in the target language so much that I didn’t know what to do with myself! I was in teaching heaven!

Kat S.

We have started with the tableau vivants and the 6th graders are over the moon about it. The student whose card we were working with today ended up playing video games in a volcano with another classmate for Valentine’s Day! LOL. Even after day one, I love it already because I know it is their creation, and they are acquiring, not playing the old industrialized school game.
Sarah J.

Teaching with the Star has changed me. 10 years teaching with traditional methods has never resulted in the results I’m getting right now.
Ellie J.

The acquisition I’m seeing, the buy-in I’m getting from kids who would otherwise be withdrawn and not caring, the numerous times I’ve had parents tell me that their children won’t stop talking about my class, it’s been amazing.
Chantal F.

This will be my best year teaching so far. I can feel it. Right now, there are kids who are asking me if they can join my class three weeks into the school year because their peers keep talking about it. Thank you, Ben, for this pinnacle of your life’s work.
Carrie B.

TheStarChart is magical.
Cynthia T.

You are the Daniel Boone – the trail blazer who’s marked the trail for the rest of us to follow.  Without your experience, your books and your insight, I and others like me would have CRUMBS to go on – just the theories and articles and workshops that say, ‘go and make it happen!”  You are the reason I will survive the education machine – more than just survive, but hopefully to thrive.  Thank you for all you’ve done and continue to do!
Sandra B.

Trust me, the kids will get the benefit of all the hard work you are doing right now, largely unnoticed, to help change the landscape of our field.
Jadine B.

Totally Brilliant!  Thank You!
Kristy C.

Suddenly, the process seems so much more doable for me.
Jeri C. 

I think you just changed my world!
Anna C. 

My new best buddies are your two newest books.
Sandra J.

One of the things I love about your trainings is that they challenge your “teacher soul.”
Karin T.

The humanitarian aspect of this method/movement has deeply touched me.
Jesse S.

You are Mr. Comprehensible Input! I wrote to Dr. Krashen right away and he is pleased that I had met you and saw your classes. He told me that he respects you. When I went to class to teach this morning, I thought about you and your classes. You have taught me something very valuable about the method.

Dr. Beniko Mason

I am recommending your new books to my colleagues. It is because of the step-by-step way in which you present the information – clear and concise and easy to follow.
Laura A.

Honestly, what you’ve written is about 5 times more advanced than what I had in my mind of what language teaching could be at its best!!
Robin Ann M.

It is already much more enjoyable to be back at work this year, feeling so inspired by your ideas and way of teaching. I know that it has lit a fire in me that will never be put out. I never thought I’d say THAT about teaching online!
Joseph M.

The Star and the Square have changed my life, for real. Forever grateful….
Danielle P.

This book should be the ‘go to’ book for new learners and older ones alike.
Laura A.

I’m just starting to settle into the PEACE you offer in these newest books.
Sheila J.

These books are a work of art and probably one of the most important books ever written on foreign language teaching. In terms of making the research come alive for real in the instructional process, I have found nothing better. Congratulations!
Sarah S.

It’s all there – the no-planning thing. I no longer plan anything, and it all aligns perfectly with the Communication Standard. I’m amazed!
Carl E.

My students are already much more fun to teach because of the love and freedom you bring to the strategies you invented. I think this is why your book is so deeply resonating with me and why my horizon is SO bright – because we have a lot of teachers in our school who already teach for those things since our administration wants to lower the role of testing here. I can’t wait to report to you how as this unfolds!
Carissa G.

Ben has written some good books about language teaching in the past, but for all you connoisseurs out there, this last contribution is truly fine wine….
Amy S.

Thank you for sharing this new book. I am loving the simple elegance and logic. I also really like how you go through step by step, but still sum it all up at the end of each section.
Craig W.

Your explanations of how to simplify and streamline language education is exactly what I think teaching should be, as teachers have a strange tendency to want to overcomplicate everything.
Abigail M.

You are truly a wonderful support to FL teachers. I have learned and implemented so much from you and your Patron site and your books!
Marcia P.

Your early work changed the way I teach languages, but what you’re on to now is even more aligned with the research and with honoring the student as well as the teacher.
Marko S.

I would love to start doing something similar in my ESL classes.
Carrie S.

Your ideas and your writing give me strength and make me stand taller.
Jenna E.

I love thinking about the Invisibles; they are true genius.
Carly E.

I need to understand the entire picture. Your books get into the nuts and bolts and from what I’ve read so far they explain all aspects of the topics from top to bottom. Exactly what I was looking for.
Lupe S. 

The work we have been doing in the Zoom training group has been incredibly valuable. This is something I did not learn in my Master’s degree course of study. No piece of technology could ever substitute for the role that the teacher plays in your approach.
Jesús H. 

This opportunity to learn in the Zoom group is unique. Last week online I heard Dr. Stephen Krashen say that teaching languages that is not based on research cannot bring progress. When I see the teachers in the Zoom group in action, and listen to Ben’s explanations, THAT is progress.
Marie S.

Thanks Ben, for all your work on teaching with more integrity than we’ve ever taught with before.
Carl S.

I SO appreciate these new books. I’m using them the best I can, reading your book and then implementing. Love it!I
Marcia P.

In the introduction to this book, you have provided us teachers with a way to bring a glimpse of joyfulness into our classrooms. It shows us exactly how to do it!  I’m rocked. You see my vision.
Ellen H.

I’m so excited! I’ve been trying to figure out so much and your new books have been a godsend!”
Jenna E.

You have broken down the process of teaching a language to its very minimal elements so as to make it easy to grasp – even for the person who is completely new to teaching. The Square is the book for the complete beginner.
Laura A.

I have to say that, from someone who has been a language teacher for a very long time, this is exciting to watch and be a part of.
Jadine B.

I would have quit teaching if I hadn’t had your materials.
Vernon L.

I’m going back to teaching after a long hiatus.  God only knows how I so immediately stumbled on to your materials when I learned of my new position, but I consider myself very blessed to have done so.
Randall B.

Thank you for your passion, energy, and appreciation for us World Language teachers. We are grateful for your expertise and enthusiasm.  The teachers in our WL department came away from their three days with you excited, purposeful, and wanting to continue learning and collaborating. We couldn’t ask for more.
Cory Stutts
Head of Middle School
The Catherine Cook School
Chicago, IL

There are many new ideas and strategies in here that just can’t be found anywhere else.
Hanna S.

I absolutely love the new books. With four preps and two languages I know that they are going to help me stay organized and keep my students engaged. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Linda M.

Ben’s focus on relationship-building has made a huge difference in my approach this year. I am so glad I came across his work.
John K.

I am in Canada so everyone has to take French! Relationships are everything with my kids, so I am grateful to have a methodology that puts building relationships at the centre.
Maya L.

I have been inspired.
Erica R.

I’m thrilled about this emotionally-connecting-with-characters world of the Invisibles. It’s like finding a Golden Ticket.
Robin M.

I have had a great year with the Star Sequence, and am getting great feedback from kids on a regular basis. The nice thing about all of it is that I can turn on a dime to meet the learning need for the space that my students need to inhabit.
Leigh Anne M.

I praise and thank you for humbly sharing your gifts with the world.

Janet W.

I’m on a prep now, but I cannot contain myself. Tears are welling up in my eyes. This is my first year trying to teach this way, and I dived into the student cards (Star 1) with all my 7th and 8th graders. They are COMPLETELY into it. Of course! They and I love that the class is about them. No more worksheets that force them to be robots or memorize and forget dialogues. We’re going to laugh together and talk about each other in my class. We’re going to hang out in Spanish together. This is what I became a Spanish teacher for.

Bradley D.

The most exciting part of the whole thing was that at the end of our first lesson, my students said that they really liked doing Category A – they felt like it was helping them learn the language. Your Star method really works!
Sara T.

The work you are doing is important and clever…
Dr. Stephen Krashen

Honestly, what you’ve written is about 5 times more advanced than what I had in my mind of what teaching a language could be at its best!!
Robin Ann M.

It is already much more enjoyable to be back at work this year, feeling so inspired by your ideas and way of teaching. I know that it has lit a fire in me that will never be put out. I never thought I’d say THAT about teaching online!
Joseph S. 

I’m just starting to settle into the PEACE you offer in the Invisibles.
Sheila J.

This book is a work of art and probably one of the most important books every written on foreign language teaching. In terms of making the research come alive for real in the instructional process, I have found nothing better. Congratulations!
Sarah B. 

Ben writes in the introduction to the Category A book something to the effect that the Star puts an end to “not knowing what to do next” in a CI language class. I didn’t believe it at first, but now I get it. It performed exactly as advertised, and that has been in my online classes!
Jeff C. 

It’s all there – the no-planning thing. I no longer plan anything, and it all aligns perfectly with the Communication standard. I’m amazed!
Carl E.

Ben has written some good books about teaching in the past, but for all you connoisseurs out there, this last contribution is truly fine wine….
Amy S.

In the introduction to this book you have provided us teachers with a way to bring a glimpse of joyfulness into our classrooms. It shows us exactly how to do it!  I’m rocked. You see my vision.
Ellen H. 

You are right! One trip around the Star – starting at noon and ending at 11:00 through the five phases – provides 3-4 days of a tightly organized curriculum based on a single tableau or story. I’ve been testing it for three weeks now and it really has proven to be foolproof in its ability to deliver a good lesson in each class. The pressure is off!
Amanda B.

There were definitely many more smiles and much more laughter than is usually present in class. Every time I explained some grammar point, I heard Ben voice from the Zoom training chastising my conscious brain and telling me to get my students refocused on the message and not on the language. This is different, but fantastically so.

Carol W.

I really appreciate you taking the time to set up this training and bless me with this super valuable information. You validate everything that I feel has been inside of my mind but have never been able to express or communicate.  Life changer. The communication rubric is brilliant. I’m a bit late using it but better late than never.
Victoria W.

I just used the method with my 8th grade special ed class and it took a few minutes for them to get used to it, but they all participated. By the end of the first class many of them had turned on their cameras. I was observed the other day and the department chair was blown away by the number of students participating and who seemed to comprehend the basic vocabulary and were reading aloud.
Gary S.

This is exciting – especially the part about students beginning to return to the community. It’s about the humanity! The language learning is just a way to make connections.
Carl S.

The best part was when we spent those weeks in our Zoom groups discussing and watching each other go around the Star. This enabled us to get a real feel for how to do it.
Kyle G. 

“I use your wonderful books every day, and so have occasion to think of you every day with gratitude. Now, just when I think your teaching ideas couldn’t get any better, you produce these two gems. More than any of your books I have used, they are the most effective, and they come at the right time, because they work so well in an online setting!”
Anne M.

The Star creates fun, excitement and rapport with the kids. The district word lists don’t drive the story – we do – and we always end up mastering the required vocabulary. It just happens in a different order and within different contexts. My kids know so much more Spanish than the ones in other classes who are memorizing.
Chris R.

Thank you so much for creating such a great way to teach languages! Before finding the Star books, I was considering switching careers….

Brandon K. 

 much