Your Recipe to Using Authentic Materials for Reading Effectively in the...
A delicious meal or a foreign book. Which of those two would your language students choose? Reading in a foreign language isn’t easy for students, and it’s usually not something they’ll do in their...
View Article10 Questions Everyone Has About Becoming a Great Language Teacher
So, you want to become a language teacher. Or maybe you’re already a language teacher, but you’ve only just stepped on the path to greatness. Do you know what the job entails? The job of a language...
View Article5 Tips to Help You Become the Best Online Language Teacher Ever
Can I tell you a secret? Come closer. The best online language teachers have five secrets to success. And I’m telling you they are oh so simple. These five tips will keep your students engaged, making...
View ArticleSay Goodbye to Anxiety: How to Teach Language Effectively to Absolutely Any...
Xenoglossophobia. Yup, that’s a real word. The fear of foreign languages is so common that they needed a term for it. For some, the thought of having to bust out a foreign language to a roomful of...
View ArticleAre You Providing Adequate Motivation to Your Students as They’re Learning a...
If you can read this, thank a teacher. This is a line from a framed poster hanging on the wall of a secondhand bookstore that I frequent. Every time I pass by and glance at it, I can’t help but …
View Article5 Keys to a Creative Language Classroom
Want to know a secret? Curiosity didn’t kill the cat. Lack of creativity did. The world has woken up to the fact that creativity is not just a fluffy term assigned to kindergarten art projects. It is...
View ArticleBegin at the Beginning: 10 Tips for Teaching Any Language to Newbies
Did you just get assigned a class full of beginners? Great! Are you worried about what to do with them? Don’t be! Teaching beginner language students may seem daunting, but don’t fret. You will soon...
View ArticleExtra! Extra! We’ve Got the Cure for Foreign Language Anxiety
You enter your foreign language class, and you notice that some students react to your entrance like you’re the bearer of doom. They start fidgeting uncontrollably, when just five seconds ago they were...
View ArticleTailored Lessons: 4 Foolproof Strategies for Teaching Foreign Language to Adults
In any of your college classes, did you ever stop to play a game of duck duck goose? What about patty cake? Leap frog? Probably not, unless you were studying pedagogy. Certain activities are simply...
View ArticleHow to Provide Positive, Meaningful Feedback to Your Foreign Language Students
To correct or not to correct? That is the question… Whether ‘tis better to provide the correct answer, Or to give enough information so that students have the tools To correct their own mistakes...
View ArticleWhy Teach a Foreign Language, You Ask? Here Are 5 Booming Benefits That...
“What’s in it for me?” you ask. As you will soon find out, a lot, actually. Are you considering a career as a foreign language teacher? Perfect! These are important benefits to be aware of. Or have you...
View Article5 Top Techniques for Mixing and Matching Second Language Teaching Methods
Ever see kids who are completely overwhelmed in a candy store? You know, where there’s so much candy they just can’t figure out which one to get? Or have you ever had those nights when all the good TV...
View ArticleHow to Teach a Foreign Language in High School: 5 Tips That Will Keep Your...
“Know your audience.” (Before you open your mouth.) It’s as good of a piece of advice as any other, and is applicable not only in sales and public speaking, but also in teaching foreign language—a...
View ArticleWax On, Wax Off: 3 Task-based Language Teaching Activities for the Smart Sensei
What does the 1984 movie “Karate Kid” have to do with teaching languages? A lot, as it turns out. The movie is about Daniel, a bullied teenager who’s taken under the wings of a Japanese karate master,...
View Article5 Secrets to Successful Content-based Language Teaching
The sole aim of a math class is to teach students math, right? Nope, not if you’re using content-based language teaching (CBLT). Don’t worry if you got that one wrong. Teachers and con artists have...
View Article4 Handy Types of Assessment in Language Teaching That Stray from Tradition
Test, assessment, exam… Words so terrifying they send chills down the spines of even the most accomplished students. That may be a bit dramatic, but here’s a fact: Practically no one likes tests. The...
View Article4 Ways for Language Teachers to Master Classroom Management
There’s a reason why this article is on classroom management and not classroom control. Control is one-sided. A successful class happens when teachers and students meet each other halfway. Management...
View ArticleLiteracy in MFL: Teach Your Students to Read, and You’ll Gift Them a Lifetime...
As the old adage goes, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” The same is true for language teaching, except without the fish.…
View Article10 Authentic Teaching Tips for Introducing Native Speakers to Your Class
What’s even better than authentic materials? Authentic people, of course. One conversation with a native speaker is more valuable than any combination of activities, games and simulated conversations....
View ArticleDon’t Know Where to Start? How to Use Authentic Materials in the Language...
Does your language classroom need a little spice? Your teaching is anything but stale, but you need to sprinkle in some new ideas that will keep students engaged and thinking on a higher level. When...
View ArticleThe Perfect Immersion Classroom: How to Overcome the “Mountain of Struggles”
Immersion. We all want it. It’s the pinnacle of language learning. We teachers would all love to give our students that authentic language experience. We’d take our class to London, Paris, Madrid or...
View Article4 Bold Steps to a Powerful Language Immersion Curriculum
Dream big. When you envision a successful immersion curriculum for your students, imagine it in 3D. Think of it as a sprawling cityscape with tall buildings, an impressive skyline and unique but...
View ArticleGoodbye, 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...
View ArticleAchievement Unlocked: Gamify Your Classroom for Super Motivated Language...
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. Games are fun!…
View ArticleThe 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...
View ArticleForeign 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...
View ArticleIs Code Switching Always a Crisis in the Classroom? How to Successfully Allow...
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...
View ArticleLit 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...
View ArticleTeaching Foreign Language to Young Learners? 7 Tips for Lessons They’ll Love
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...
View ArticleGo Pro: How to Become a Foreign Language Professor and Get Paid for Passion
Do you have a love for sharing your hobbies, interests and culture with others? Does the thought of getting paid for that sound like a dream come true? Well, guess what? You can! With a passion for...
View ArticleBuild a Foreign Language Teaching Philosophy Students Kant Resist
How much time have you spent thinking about your foreign language teaching philosophy? I’m betting it’s right up there with making dentist appointments and cleaning out your garage. After all, it’s...
View ArticleCLIL Science: Overcoming the Barriers
Do you remember your high school days? If you’re like most of us, each class was taught in a separate room. You went to math class, then down the hall to another room for English. When the bell rang, …
View ArticleGetting the Most from Your Use of Technology in Language Teaching
Has this ever happened to you? You head into work one morning, all excited because at last you’re going to try out that awesome new app all the cool language teachers have been talking about. You just...
View ArticleHow to Implement Innovative Teaching Ideas in Your Classroom
There was a day, not so long ago, when having computers in the classroom was considered innovative. A few of us are still able to remember when one of our more forward-thinking teachers got a few...
View ArticleUnpacking the Role of Literature in Second Language Acquisition
The language classroom. It’s not just for conjugating verbs and playing vocabulary games (as much as we love them). It’s a window to all kinds of exotic places. Like a Guatemalan village, a secret...
View ArticleWhy Every Educator Needs Teacher Games
Candy Land, Solitaire, Fortnite. What do these three things have in common? They’re all games, they’re all fun, and they can all help your students learn. Does that last one seem like a stretch?...
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