SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone

By Ben Fisher-Rodriguez, Bill Langley-Bostick

Join Ben (he/him), and Bill (he/him) as they Gaslight (reflect), Gatekeep (read research), and Girlboss (share successes) language teaching!

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5

33 ratings

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FAQs about SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone:

How many episodes does SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone have?

The podcast currently has 36 episodes available.

SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone episodes:

March 10, 2026 SLAyyy Can-Do Statements and the Intercultural Reflection Tool
Episode Notes
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42min
February 24, 2026 Ep. 34: SLAyyy Switching to CCLT
SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website
Gaslight
What is school supposed to look like?
Misalignment of Objectives
Holistic Thinking vs. Right/Wrong Answers
Gatekeep - Kürüm, E. Y. (2025). Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Comprehension-Based Language Teaching: A Large-Scale Pretest-Posttest Study. RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, (47), 140-155.
Want to learn about CEFR and ACTFL comparisons? Click here!
ACTFL’s Inverted Pyramid
Girlboss
Get Connected!
iFLT/TPRS/CI Teaching Facebook Group
ACTFL Special Interest Groups
See below for conferences mentioned!
References
Social Accounts:
Facebook
Bluesky
Instagram
Mitten CI, April 17-18, Saline, Michigan (outside Detroit),
Comprehensible Iowa, June 12-13th, Des Moines, Iowa
The CI Summit, July 15-17, Cincinnati, Ohio
The Agen Workshop, Agen, France, July 20-25
CI Reboot, all online, June 20-27
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41min
February 10, 2026 Ep. 33 SLAyyy Micro-Breaks for Student Attention
SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website
Gaslight
Talking Yourself Out of Them
Brain Breaks vs. Games
Focus vs. Energize
Perception of Brain Breaks
Gatekeep
Sharpe, B. T., Trotter, M. G., & Hale, B. J. (2025). Sustaining student concentration: The effectiveness of micro-breaks in a classroom setting. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1589411.
Do students perform better on quizzes and tests if they get regularly microbreaks during class time?
Girlboss
Meditation and Box Breaths
Games with Patterns
Simpler!
References
Social Accounts:
Facebook
Bluesky
Instagram
Headspace - meditation app, free for educators!
Calm - Breathe Bubble (for quick mindfulness in class)
Say the Word to the Beat Examples - Spanish, German
Heads Up, 7 Up - Spanish, German
Category Clapping from Claudia Elliott
...more
42min
January 28, 2026 Ep. 32: SLAyyy Student Perceptions of Pedagogical Translation
SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website
Gaslight
Overreliance on Translation
The Need for TL Usage
No Translation Ever! …Or?
Gatekeep
Does Translation Contribute to SLA?
How Do Students Perceive Translation in SLA?
Choral Translation
Girlboss
Use Judiciously!
Keep Proficiency Level in Mind
References
Social Accounts:
Facebook
Bluesky
Instagram
Bryce Hedstrom - Stuff for Spanish Class
Keith Toda - Stultus (Liar!) Game (Ben’s note: it turns out “stultus” means something more like “stupid”! I use the word for “Lie!”)
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36min
January 13, 2026 Ep. 31 SLAyyy Total Physical Response with Jon Cowart
Artists:
Ben Fisher-Rodriguez, Bill Langley
Main Points
SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website
Gaslight
Where’s the consistency?
How to Deal with Reluctant or Resistant Students
Hesitate! Slow Down!
Gatekeep
Principles of TPR: Not Just Commands
Connecting Language to the Body
Lowering Anxiety
Girlboss
TPR, or Gestures?
Model - Hesitate - Stop
Left-Brain “School” Processing Activities
TPR for Upper Levels
References
Social Accounts:
Facebook
Bluesky
Instagram
Jon Cowart’s Website
Berty Segal Cook - Teaching English Through Action
James Asher - Learning Another Language Through Actions
Contee Seely - TPR is More Than Commands
...more
1h
December 02, 2025 Ep. 30: SLAyyy First Semester Wrap-Up
Gaslight
The Class That Just Won’t Talk
Planning and Grading Struggle Bus
Accountable Reading
Explicitly Talking About Why We Do What We Do
Gatekeep
Book Study Takeaways
Synonym Stacking
Pronunciation Fun
Girlboss
Having a Unit Framework Slays!
Kicking Butt and Taking Names
References
Social Accounts:
Facebook
Bluesky
Instagram
The Partner Speaking / Q+A Game
Bill’s Unit Planning Framework
Independent Textivities from the Comprehensible Classroom
Bill’s Post for the Educational Knowledge Network: Podcasts as Tools for Knowledge Brokers: How We’re Working to Make Evidence Accessible, Relevant, and Actionable
...more
51min
November 18, 2025 Ep. 29: SLAyyy "Teaching Grammar for Proficiency" Book Study with Stacy Witkowski
SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website
Gaslight
Grammar as a Concept
Do ACTFL levels describe language development?
Use of the L2 in Grammar Explanations
Balancing Authentic/Found Resources and Created Resources
Gatekeep - Proficiency-Based Instruction: Teaching Grammar for Proficiency by Ritz and Travers
Teaching Grammar? Start with Input!
Referential and Affective Tasks in Structured Input
Bill Talks about SI and Eats It Up
Performance and Proficiency
Girlboss
Form-Focused Feedback
Structured Input 2: Electric Boogaloo
Rethinking Our Relationship to Grammar
References
Social Accounts:
Facebook
Bluesky
Instagram
Stacy’s BlueSky Account
Language Learner Literature Advisory Board - reviews of readers for issues of identity/bias
Stacy’s Session at ACTFL 2025: Friday, 4:30pm, Room 213
Ben’s SideBar at ACTFL 2025: Saturday, 11-11:45am
Common Ground: Second Language Acquisition Theory Goes to the Classroom by Henshaw and Hawkins
Timothy Chavez’ Instagram Account - language teaching research and practice
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1h 7min
November 04, 2025 Ep. 28: SLAyyy Interaction Hypothesis
Artists:
Ben Fisher-Rodriguez, Bill Langley
Main Points
SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website
Gaslight
Parking on New Vocabulary
Allowing for Negotiating Meaning
Talking Ourselves Out of Using the TL
Gatekeep - Adu, Michael & Abunya, Levina & Owusu, Edward & Budu, Gifty. (2025). THE IMPACT OF INTERACTION ON SECOND-LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND LISTENING. 31-42.
Input + Interaction
Quantity + Redundancy + Complexity
Girlboss
Teach to the Eyes (Despite the “Gen Z Stare”)
Teaching Students How to React
Synonym Stacking
MODEL EVERYTHING
References
Proficiency-Based Instruction: Teaching Grammar for Proficiency by Ritz and Travers
Social Accounts:
Facebook
Bluesky
Instagram
Bill’s Rules
Ben’s TL Usage Reflection
Dr. Liam Printer and The Motivated Classroom Podcast
Carrie Toth’s “Discussion Thursdays”
Krashen and Mason: “Comprehension-Aiding Supplementation”
...more
38min
October 21, 2025 Ep. 27: SLAyyy Creating Compelling Content with Señor Wooly
Gaslight
What is it that we want to / have to teach?
There Is No Faking a Storyteller’s Intention
“One Day, You Will Have a Real Conversation”
Gatekeep - Jim Wooldridge
What does the life of a kid look like?
The Novelty Disappears - What is the Driving Reason?
Start With Your Problem and Communicative Purpose
Girlboss
Know Your Context and Know Your Students
Bring Diverse Stories to the Classroom
Tell Your Stories, Explore How to Make Other Stories Work
Does the repetition “teach the structure,” or serve the story?
References
Proficiency-Based Instruction: Teaching Grammar for Proficiency by Ritz and Travers
Social Accounts:
Facebook
Bluesky
Instagram
Woology Facebook Group
Conversations About Language Teaching Podcast
...more
1h 10min
October 07, 2025 Ep. 26: SLAyyy Differentiated Instruction
SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website
Gaslight
Challenge and Accommodation
The Neverending Rubric
Time Investment
Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Gatekeep - Tajik, O., Noor, S. & Golzar, J. Investigating differentiated instruction and the contributing factors to cater EFL students’ needs at the collegial level. Asian. J. Second. Foreign. Lang. Educ. 9, 74 (2024).
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Content, Process, Product, Learning Environment
Girlboss
Diverse Tips for Differentiating!
References
Proficiency-Based Instruction: Teaching Grammar for Proficiency by Ritz and Travers
Social Accounts:
Facebook
Bluesky
Instagram
Feedback Options (via Meredith White)
...more
42min

FAQs about SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone:

How many episodes does SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone have?

The podcast currently has 36 episodes available.

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