A box of stuffed animals lies in a corner.
Crayon and marker drawings paper the walls.
A beach ball lies to the side of the teacher’s desk ready for the morning hello ritual.
Where are you?
In a classroom of …
Archive | Language Teaching Tips
Lit Learning: A Guide to Literature in Language Teaching
Shakespeare. Molière. Neruda. Keats.
Do these names bring back scary memories of dull assignments from your own school days?
Even if your answer is “yes,” that doesn’t mean you should be afraid to use literature in your own language teaching.…
Is Code Switching Always a Crisis in the Classroom? How to Successfully Allow or Avoid It
The forbidden, guilty pleasure of code switching.
We all do it. But when it comes to language teaching, it’s kind of a dirty little secret.
We’re all busy pursuing that sacred goal of language immersion, and slipping into …
Foreign Language Rubrics: A Guide to Writing Analytic and Holistic Rubrics
The word “rubric” has its roots in the Latin word for the color red.
Red is the color of my true love’s hair.
It’s the color of firetrucks, stop signs and other important, attention-getting things in our lives.
It was …
The Guide to Using Portfolio Assessment in Language Teaching: 6 Tips for Success
Pop quiz, unit test, final exam.
Multiple choice, fill in the blanks, match items, short answer.
Hand it out. Set the timer. Proctor the students. Collect their papers.
Correct the exams. Ponder the essay. Assign the score. Record the grades.…
Achievement Unlocked: Gamify Your Classroom for Super Motivated Language Learning
Did you know that over 1.8 billion people around the world play some form of video games these days?
And if you’ve ever struggled over a tough level in Candy Crush Saga, you know why.
Goodbye, Code Switching! The Dos and Don’ts for Any Language Immersion Classroom
Students mixing English into every sentence?
Are they struggling to stay in the target language?
Falling back on English when they get stumped or nervous?
This is called code switching and it’s all too common in language classrooms—especially in …
