The introduction to the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements, increasingly used in U.S. schools, features this helpful clarification: These Can-Do Statements describe the specific language tasks that learners are likely to perform at various levels of proficiency. (p. 2) What this means is that, if you tell me Kendra is an advanced speaker of Polish, I can reasonably infer, […]
Tag Archives: comprehensible input
I’m gonna watch TV anyway
I have a lot of stuff to do today. I’m gonna watch TV anyway. My to-do list includes creating two conference presentation proposals, making the final edits on an article, tutoring a doctoral student in our final session before she takes her comprehensive reading exams tomorrow, preparing for tonight’s session of a course I teach about language teaching, […]
What Is “Unconscious” Acquisition in the Classroom?
If you’ve read or heard much about input-based theories of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), you’ve probably come across the idea that acquiring another language happens “subconsciously” or “unconsciously” under suitable circumstances. You may also have seen this process of acquisition–basically, the journey from being someone who doesn’t know a particular language to being someone who does–contrasted with other processes […]
Good Idea / Bad Idea (Activity + Add-On)
Here’s something you can use as a freestanding activity or as an add-on to almost anything you do in a language classroom. It doesn’t get much simpler: Good Idea / Bad Idea (freestanding version) All you do is a say a sentence in the target language. All students do is say whether it represents a good […]
Quirky Scripts: An Easy Way to Teach “Hard” Language
Quirky Scripts is a lesson requiring almost no prep that can be used repeatedly all year, at every level. It’s also a way for students to acquire “advanced” language really early on with minimal effort. Skim the how-to or scroll down for a dozen reasons these Quirky Scripts are so useful. Here are the steps: Step 1: Give […]
Teaching Latin to Humans
Twofer! Announcing… “Teaching Latin to Humans,” an article just published in Eidolon, and LIMEN, a Latin teaching portal here at indwellinglanguage.com Whether or not you are learning or teaching Latin, it’s likely that you have a reason to view or share these: 1. “Teaching Latin to Humans: How to Honor both the Language and the Learner” diagnoses the […]
Top Ten Posts of 2015
Every blogger’s doing it, and I’m glad. It’s great to see what’s been most helpful to language learners and teachers this year! Here, for your undelayed gratification, are the ten most popular posts published at indwellinglanguage.com in 2015, in chronological order. Preparing a Lesson vs Preparing Yourself How to teach well and save your sanity. (01/13/2015) 9 Ways To Happify Your […]
4 Myths about Comprehensible Input
Ever since Stephen Krashen made it central to his Input Hypothesis, since rebranded as the Comprehension Hypothesis, “comprehensible input” (CI) has been part of both academic discourse and shop talk among language teachers. It’s easy to have misunderstandings surrounding a concept that has engendered so much spinoff research and so much water-cooler conversation, so let’s […]