There are lots of things language learners do or don’t do that block the joy and success of their language-learning. But the single biggest and most widespread mistake I observe is this: Spending too much time learning about the language and not enough time in the language. Or, put in other terms, spending too much time studying the […]
Author Archives: Justin Slocum Bailey
The Savvy Language Learner (infographic)
There are lots of savvy language learners with different interests, different personalities, and different opportunities, but there are two things they pretty much all have in common: Savvy language learners consume large amounts of well-chosen content. Savvy language learners engage in both scheduled and opportunistic habits. Check out this infographic–or indwellfographic–for a handy overview of wise principles pertaining to […]
After the Honeymoon (#DEVOLSON)
We’ve all learned what you get if you multiply any number by zero. What’s not in the 3rd grade math curriculum, though, is that you also get the exact number of minutes I slept last night. I’ve never slept well, or much, despite having received medical and other professional attention, but this month sleep has been to me as a snow leopard […]
Indwelling Language at MIWLA 2015 (session descriptions)
Happy 1st of October, the month of the Michigan World Language Association‘s (MIWLA) annual conference! I’m excited to meet colleagues there and honored to present three sessions, all of which I’ve presented before in some form or another, but never in Michigan. In case you’re interested, the titles and official descriptions are below. Feel free to follow up if you’d […]
Why Your Reading Habit Works
It’s my honor this week to have written a guest post commissioned by Jason Slanga, an expert language learner and teacher and one of the most thoughtful people I know when it comes to personal habits and disciplines. Jason recently organized the Latin Reading Challenge (#LatinReadingChallenge) to support people trying to boost their Latin reading ability. […]
Back From Vienna, Part 2: Reactivation
This post has been long delayed, though not for the usual reasons of working on other projects or traveling. I simply realized that I didn’t have much to add to Back From Vienna, Part 1: Activation. At the end of that post, which dealt with my son’s linguistic experience on our recent trip, I promised […]
Back From Vienna, Part 1: Activation
R: Papa, I’m still hungry. May I have something more to eat? P: Do you want more Lucky Charms, or something else? R: Something else. P: What do you want? R: Hm…probably strawberry cereal and blueberries. This was part of a conversation my son and I had today, our first morning home since August 29. The […]
Back Home With a Bilingual Boy: Vienna 2015
This Saturday I’ll take my five-year-old son to Vienna, the city of my youth and still the one in which I feel most at home. Although I always speak German to my kids, the upcoming trip has made for extra-fun German interactions. Already a decent English reader, the boy has wanted to practice reading German, study maps […]
The Inescapable Case For Extensive Reading (Video)
Here at Indwelling Language, I’m always talking about the power of reading and rereading for teaching and learning languages. So I’m especially excited to share my second contribution to the Musicuentos Black Box Podcast, the sixth episode in the series, which considers the role of what is called Extensive Reading and Listening through the lens of an article by Rob […]
6 Questions to Start, Sustain, and Elevate Conversation About a Text
NOTE: In my last post, I shared material from a presentation I gave at the National TPRS® conference in July. This post is based on another presentation that I gave fifteen minutes later. This post addresses a trifecta of questions teachers often ask: 1. How do I get my students to talk more? 2. How can I […]