Language Lounge

If advocacy is building excitement, then Amy Rill is an advocate non-pareil. Listen as she and host, Michelle Olah, discuss the little and big ways to advocate for your program, whether it's in your classroom, your school, or your community. Listen and get some ideas for ways to build excitement and get that energy about learning languages out of your classroom and into the world.

Bio

Amy Rill spent 23 years as a German and Spanish teacher. She is enthusiastic about having fun while learning a language, immersing in the culture through music and art, and focusing on communication in authentic ways. As an Instructional Technologist with Wayside Publishing, Amy shares her love of enhancing learning language with technology and discovering innovative strategies for using technology in today's classroom.

Producer's Notes

Visit the Language Lounge on Twitter - https://twitter.com/langloungepod

Connect with Michelle - https://twitter.com/michelleolah

Have a comment or question? Leave a voicemail at (207) 888-9819 or email [email protected]

Produced by Wayside Publishing - https://waysidepublishing.com

Amy's Social Media

https://www.instagram.com/amyrillwayside/

https://x.com/amyrillwayside/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-rill/

Mentions

JNCL- Joint National Committee for Languages https://www.languagepolicy.org/

Does your curriculum bring you joy? Does it spark joy in your students? If your answer is no, then it might be time to think about SPARKing some joy in your classes. Amanda Minnillo has some great practical advice for creating a Safe, Purposeful, Attention getting, Reflective, environment to Keep student engagement high.

Bio

Dr. Amanda Hajji Minnillo is the President-Elect of SCOLT and a Professional Learning Specialist consulting with districts across the country to support their language program needs. Before working at Avant Assessment, Amanda served as the K-12 World Language and Dual Language Immersion Teacher Support Specialist and instructional coach in Lexington, South Carolina where she started her career as a high school French teacher. Considering herself a language fun-doer, Amanda presents at state-, regional-, national-, and international conferences with a heart for topics involving the joy of language and cultivating language proficiency in the modes of communication.  The daughter of a Lebanese immigrant and South Carolina native, her research surrounds building leaders’ and districts’ cross-cultural capacity to support teachers new to the country and leveraging multicultural teachers' expertise for district growth. 

https://x.com/amandaminnillo

Producer's Notes

Visit the Language Lounge on Twitter - https://twitter.com/langloungepod

Connect with Michelle - https://twitter.com/michelleolah

Have a comment or question? Leave a voicemail at (207) 888-9819 or email [email protected]

Produced by Wayside Publishing - https://waysidepublishing.com

The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines have been revised. How are they same? How are they different? Language Lounge host, Michelle Olah and Dr. Meg Malone, Director of Assessment and Research at ACTFL discuss the changes.

Bio

Margaret E. (Meg) Malone (Ph.D., Georgetown University) is Director of Assessment and Research at ACTFL. She has published extensively on language assessment, standards and language assessment literacy. Her current research focuses on language assessment literacy, language program evaluation, oral proficiency assessment, the influences of the Seal of Biliteracy on language teaching and learning, and the development of short-cut measures of proficiency.

Producer's Notes

Visit the Language Lounge on Twitter - https://twitter.com/langloungepod

Connect with Michelle - https://twitter.com/michelleolah

Have a comment or question? Leave a voicemail at (207) 888-9819 or email [email protected]

Produced by Wayside Publishing - https://waysidepublishing.com

Watch this episode on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/wayside

Social Media https://twitter.com/mmaloactfl

Mentions

Timothy Boals https://wida.wisc.edu/about/teams/staff/timothy-boals

ACTFL OPI https://www.actfl.org/assessments/postsecondary-assessments/opi

Interagency Language Roundtable https://www.govtilr.org/

APPLE https://www.actfl.org/assessments/k-12-assessments/aappl

NCSSFL https://ncssfl.org/

ACTFL https://www.actfl.org/

Classroom management. It's tough. Enter Jon Cowart. He's an expert in classroom management and can help you develop the skill set that you need to succeed no matter your teaching style. It's not magic, it's a skill and you can develop and hone it so that your classes run the way you always wished they could.

Bio

Jon taught high school and middle school Spanish for 10 years in Memphis, TN, before stepping into leadership roles. He has been a high school AP, Director of Multilingual Learners, and most recently is a full time education consultant. He is passionate marrying the world of acquisition-driven instruction to strong K-12 practices.

Producer's Notes

Visit the Language Lounge on Twitter - https://twitter.com/langloungepod

Connect with Michelle - https://twitter.com/michelleolah

Have a comment or question? Leave a voicemail at (207) 888-9819 or email [email protected]

Produced by Wayside Publishing - https://waysidepublishing.com

Social Media - joncowartteaching.com

Mentions

Stephen Krashen @skrashen

BVP, Bill Van Patten https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_VanPatten

James Asher https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_physical_response

ACTFL, American Association of Teachers of Foreign Languages https://www.actfl.org/

Dead Poet Society https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097165/

Bryce Hedstrom https://www.brycehedstrom.com/

Jon Cowart web site https://joncowartteaching.com/Jon

What Students Saw https://joncowartteaching.com/2023/01/07/what-the-students-saw/

Have you ever thought about presenting at a conference but just don't know how to get started? It's conference proposal submission season and your state and regional organizations want to hear from you. No really, they do. Guest Albert Fernandez and host Michelle Olah discuss everything you need to know about presenting from soup to nuts. Listen, get inspired and get cracking on YOUR presentation.

Bio

Albert is an elementary and middle school Spanish teacher in Orlando, FL.

Producer's Notes

Visit the Language Lounge on Twitter - https://twitter.com/langloungepod

Connect with Michelle - https://twitter.com/michelleolah

Have a comment or question? Leave a voicemail at (207) 888-9819 or email [email protected]

Produced by Wayside Publishing - https://waysidepublishing.com

Social Media

@mr_fernie on Twitter

Mentions

SCOLT https://www.scolt.org/

ACTFL https://www.actfl.org/

FFLA https://www.ffla.us/

TPRS https://www.tprsbooks.com/what-is-tprs/

Thomas Sauer https://nflc.umd.edu/people/thomas-sauer

Greta Lundgaard https://www.linkedin.com/in/greta-lundgaard-tx/

Paul Sandrock https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulsandrock/

Whether you've been following the work of Thomas Sauer for most of the past 40 years, or you're new to his work you are going to LOVE this episode. Join Thomas Sauer and host of the Language Lounge, Michelle Olah as they discuss exciting new developments with the TELL framework and PEARLL. For every teacher who has ever wished for someone to just tell them what to do to be the best teacher they can be, this episode is for you. And for those of you who are really brave, you might just find yourself in the middle of Thomas' new project.

Bio

Thomas Sauer is passionate about helping teachers make the shift from teaching to learning.

Producer's Notes

Visit the Language Lounge on Twitter - https://twitter.com/langloungepod

Connect with Michelle - https://twitter.com/michelleolah

Have a comment or question? Leave a voicemail at (207) 888-9819 or email [email protected]

Produced by Wayside Publishing - https://waysidepublishing.com

Watch this episode on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/wayside

Social Media

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tmsaue1/ https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/pearll-nflc http://pearll.nflc.umd.edu

Mentions

Catalyst https://catalyst.uoregon.edu/

Dr. Rich Madel @SrMadel

Maris Hawkins @Marishawkins

The Annenberg Series https://www.learner.org/

PEARLL Library of Practice PEARLL Library of Practice

Mara Cobe @cobe_mara

Danielson https://danielsongroup.org/

Marzono https://www.marzanoresources.com/

TELL http://www.tellproject.org/

PEARLL https://pearll.nflc.umd.edu/

NFLC https://nflc.umd.edu/

Meredith White, host of the EdTech World podcast, returns to the show to discuss how and when to make educational technology work for you.

Bio

For 16 years, Meredith White taught Spanish in both Tennessee and Georgia. Focused on novices, her work with students ingrained proficiency-based teaching, comprehensible input, technology, and helping make learning Spanish fun. In March of 2023, she transitioned to an Instructional Technology support role to help more teachers in all content areas with both their teaching and technology use (or even paring down). She also teachers Technology in World Language Education at Kennesaw State University, hosts the EdTech World podcast for Wayside publishing, does consulting works, and often presents and shares resources at local, state, and national regional conferences.

Producer's Notes

Visit the Language Lounge on Twitter - https://twitter.com/langloungepod

Connect with Michelle - https://twitter.com/michelleolah

Have a comment or question? Leave a voicemail at (207) 888-9819 or email [email protected]

Produced by Wayside Publishing - https://waysidepublishing.com

Social Media

Meredith White: http://www.twitter.com/@techMEWithyou

Mentions

EdTech World https://www.waysidepublishing.com/podcast/edtech-world

Amanda Minnillo Avant Assessment

Gimkit https://www.gimkit.com/

Josh Feinsilber @JoshFeinsilber

Jeff Osborn @JeffGimkit

Adrian Riley

NECTFL https://www.nectfl.org/

SCOLT https://www.scolt.org/

Central States https://www.csctfl.org/

Southwest COLT (SWCOLT) https://www.swcolt.org/

Pacific Northwest (PNCFL) https://pncfl.wordpress.com/

Tim Eagan @tjeag

Blooket https://www.blooket.com/

Formative https://www.formative.com/

Canvas https://www.instructure.com/canvas

D2l https://www.d2l.com/

Listening in the Dark: Reclaiming the Power of Intuition Amy Poehler https://www.harpercollins.com/products/listening-in-the-dark-amber-tamblyn?variant=40072200650786

Lisa McCargh @lisajmch

World Language Teacher Summit https://www.worldlangteachers.com/

Joe Dale http://www.twitter.com/@joedale

Intimidated by AI? Excited about AI? Want to get started with AI but don't know where to begin? Join guest Maureen Lamb and host Michelle Olah as they discuss the latest and greatest in AI technology and what it can do for you and your students.

Bio

Maureen Gassert Lamb is a Latin Teacher, Dean of Faculty, and Dean of Academic Technology and Innovative Pedagogy at The Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, CT. Lamb is also the American Classical League’s Technology Chair, was named the Connecticut Language 2016-2017 Teacher of the Year, and was the recipient of the ACTFL/IALLT Award for Excellence in World Language Instruction Using Technology (K–12) and the Society for Classical Studies Excellence in K-12 Latin Teaching in 2022. She is committed to an inclusive, differentiated classroom environment to support her students.

Visit the Language Lounge on Twitter - https://twitter.com/langloungepod

Connect with Michelle - https://twitter.com/michelleolah

Have a comment or question? Leave a voicemail at (207) 888-9819 or email [email protected]

Produced by Wayside Publishing - https://waysidepublishing.com

Social Media

Maureen Lamb - @latintechtools

Mentions

Canva for Educators https://www.canva.com/education/

Quizlet Magic Notes https://quizlet.com/notes/upload

QuizletQChat https://quizlet.com/blog/meet-q-chat

ChatGPT https://chat.openai.com/

Conquer Conker - https://www.conker.ai/

Moat Mote: https://www.mote.com/

Udly (check spelling in transcript line 30) Yoodli - https://app.yoodli.ai/

Flip https://info.flip.com/en-us.html

MURF AI https://murf.ai/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAoKeuBhCoARIsAB4WxteoKkXRR4rqMBwkMBtQuJ5OpADR1dYpwqe7mZYBrNp9eLfghLupISoaAtTMEALw_wcB

Perplexity https://www.perplexity.ai/

Adafy Eightify - https://eightify.app/

JoeDale @joedale

Neomi Rodriguez https://srtanrodriguez.wordpress.com/about/

Diffit https://beta.diffit.me/#topic

Magic School https://www.magicschool.ai/

Synthesia https://www.synthesia.io/home

Whether you are advocating for special education students to be included in world language classrooms or not, chances are they are already there. Dr. Danja Mahoney returns to the Language Lounge to discuss strategies teachers can use to help these students be successful in the world language classroom.

Bio

Dr. Danja Mahoney is a language educator with more than 25 years experience teaching in public and independent schools. Her experience teaching Latin, French, Spanish, English, and ESL informs her understanding of diverse pedagogies and supporting all learners in language acquisition. Her doctoral research focused on the intersection of second language learning and learning disabilities, with particular attention to the attitudes and needs of educators in supporting all learners in the classroom. She has presented at numerous conferences, including MAFLA, ACTFL, CAM, CANE, and Learning Disabilities Worldwide. She is a member of the MAFLA Board of Directors and currently serves as the Board Clerk. She is the World Language Department Chair at Reading Memorial High School in Reading, Massachusetts.

Visit the Language Lounge on Twitter - https://twitter.com/langloungepod

Connect with Michelle - https://twitter.com/michelleolah

Have a comment or question? Leave a voicemail at (207) 888-9819 or email [email protected]

Produced by Wayside Publishing - https://waysidepublishing.com

Mentions

MaFLA - Massachusetts Foreign Language Association

Orton-Gillingham Approach https://www.ortonacademy.org/resources/what-is-the-orton-gillingham-approach/

Delaware's document: https://www.doe.k12.de.us/cms/lib/DE01922744/Centricity/Domain/139/WL_Learning_All_Delaware_Students.pdf

 Virginia (2017):

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/32907/638047361553670000

 Virginia - Teacher Toolkit (2020)

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/32905/638047361548070000

 Ohio - Basics of UDL for WL teachers

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_U-XevDBaz-kcLjGJzgf9xSBgjQSIdeLSWeU8Lh1OAQ/edit

 This is a document I shared with my workshop at the MAFLA conference this year:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iqnMwYewFW0rCKn-xioQluN-JtwieLvuHkkI7--9m7g/edit?usp=sharing

According to UNESCO, learning a second language is human right but too often special education students are left out of world language classrooms. In part one of this two part series, Danja Mahoney explains why special education students need to be in world language classrooms and how to advocate to get them there and how proficiency-based instruction is opening new doors for all students.

Bio

Dr. Danja Mahoney is a language educator with more than 25 years experience teaching in public and independent schools. Her experience teaching Latin, French, Spanish, English, and ESL informs her understanding of diverse pedagogies and supporting all learners in language acquisition. Her doctoral research focused on the intersection of second language learning and learning disabilities, with particular attention to the attitudes and needs of educators in supporting all learners in the classroom. She has presented at numerous conferences, including MAFLA, ACTFL, CAM, CANE, and Learning Disabilities Worldwide. She is a member of the MAFLA Board of Directors and currently serves as the Board Clerk. She is the World Language Department Chair at Reading Memorial High School in Reading, Massachusetts.

Visit the Language Lounge on Twitter - https://twitter.com/langloungepod

Connect with Michelle - https://twitter.com/michelleolah

Have a comment or question? Leave a voicemail at (207) 888-9819 or email [email protected]

Produced by Wayside Publishing - https://waysidepublishing.com

Mentions  

Common Ground: Second Language Acquisition Theory Goes to the Classroom by Florencia Henshaw and Maris D. Hawkins 

Language Acquisition in a Nutshell by Bill VanPatten and Russell Simonsen 

Differentiation and the Brain by David A Sousa and Carol Ann Tomlinson 

Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe 

MAFLA Massachusetts  Foreign Language Association 

ACTFL American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages  

NECTFL Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages  

Delaware's document: https://www.doe.k12.de.us/cms/lib/DE01922744/Centricity/Domain/139/WL_Learning_All_Delaware_Students.pdf 

 Virginia (2017): 

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/32907/638047361553670000 

 Virginia - Teacher Toolkit (2020) 

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/32905/638047361548070000 

 Ohio - Basics of UDL for WL teachers 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_U-XevDBaz-kcLjGJzgf9xSBgjQSIdeLSWeU8Lh1OAQ/edit 

 This is a document I shared with my workshop at the MAFLA conference this year: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iqnMwYewFW0rCKn-xioQluN-JtwieLvuHkkI7--9m7g/edit?usp=sharing