We Teach Languages

In episode 154, Kate Paesani and Yoko Hama from the Center for Advanced Research in Language Acquisition (CARLA) interview Kristi Lentz about her experiences in a CARLA workshop and learning community on the topic of centering Asian voices in the language classroom. In this interview, Kristi shares what she has learned as a Spanish teacher by intentionally focusing on connecting her students to the world and to their own stories. This interview is part of a series of interviews from CARLA on social justice in language teaching.

For links and show notes, visit https://wp.me/p88mlO-jWt

We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, follow us on X(Twitter) @weteachlang or leave a comment at weteachlang.com.

In episode 153, Stacey interviews Omar Rachid who currently teaches middle school French at a high school in Washington state. For the previous seven years, he has lived and worked in Singapore where he taught at an American school. In this interview, he shares his experiences in a program where French and Spanish are the less commonly taught languages and students move up to the next level of instruction when they meet their proficiency goals.

For links and show notes, visit https://wp.me/p88mlO-jwA

We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, follow us on Twitter @weteachlang or leave a comment at weteachlang.com.

In episode 152, Stacey interviews Dr. Doran Katz from the Middlebury School of Hebrew. Dr. Katz, or Dodie, talks about the work she does in teacher preparation, some of the myths that many people have about second language acquisition, and how metacognitive strategies can help our language students learn.

For links and show notes, visit https://wp.me/s88mlO-152

We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, follow us on Twitter @weteachlang or leave a comment at weteachlang.com.

In episode 151, Stacey interviews Dr. Julio Torres about TBLT (Task Based Language Teaching), a methodology that centers communicative tasks as the organizing feature of instruction. Julio discusses how TBLT might work in any language classroom but especially with heritage language learners. If you are curious about what TBLT looks like in the classroom or how to better support your heritage learners, tune in for this discussion with a TBLT instructor, curriculum leader, and researcher.

For links and show notes, visit https://wp.me/s88mlO-151

We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, follow us on Twitter @weteachlang or leave a comment at weteachlang.com.

In episode 150, Stacey and Maris share one interview from their live podcast recording this past summer with the Virtual Summit hosted by PEARLL. In this episode, we learn from Vicky Masson, an experienced teacher and leader who talks about some of her most meaningful experiences in summer institutes, fellowships, and micro-credentials. All of this professional learning has led to some pretty impressive classroom projects and collaborations around topics such as poetry, challenge-based learning, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

For links and show notes, visit https://wp.me/s88mlO-150

We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, follow us on Twitter @weteachlang or leave a comment at weteachlang.com.

In episode 149, Stacey and Maris share one interview from their live podcast recording this past summer with the Virtual Summit hosted by PEARLL. In this episode, we learn from Trudy Anderson, middle school Spanish teacher and current NECTFL Teacher of the Year, who talks about how she fosters community engagement and experiences in her school and community. Trudy also talks about how team work makes local community engagement possible!

For links and show notes, visit https://wp.me/p88mlO-juu

We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, follow us on Twitter @weteachlang or leave a comment at weteachlang.com.

In ep 146, Stacey sits down with Maris Hawkins and Florencia Henshaw to dig into the role of the teacher in the language classroom and the facilitator in professional development. What is the teacher or leader supposed to do? How does the facilitator ensure learning happens? What is our job? Dig into these topics with Maris, Florencia, and Stacey, and then be part of the conversation by connecting with us over Twitter or Facebook.

For links and show notes, visit https://wp.me/p88mlO-fIw

We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, leave us a voicemail or send a text message to (629)888-3398. Or you can follow us on Twitter @weteachlang or leave a comment at weteachlang.com.

In ep 147, Greta Lundgaard moderates a panel discussion with experienced language teachers Henny Chen, Catherine Ousselin, Carmen Scoggins, and Thomas Soth as part of the monthly virtual teacher panel from the NFLC (National Foreign Language Center). Each month, this series gathers a different group of experienced teachers via video conference to discuss a domain of the TELL (Teaching Effectiveness for Language Learning) framework. The panel considers questions including: How do we build up a feeling of trust and respect? What sequence of learning activities and learning targets is most effective in online and socially distanced face-to-face classroom? How do you decide what parts of the curriculum to focus on and which to let go?

For links and show notes, visit https://wp.me/p88mlO-c8w

We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, leave us a voicemail or send a text message to (629)888-3398. Or you can follow us on Twitter @weteachlang or leave a comment at weteachlang.com.

In ep 146, Thomas Sauer leads a panel discussion with four language educators,  Marta Silva, Georges Chahwan, Natalie Stamper, and Elizabeth Matchett, as part of the monthly virtual teacher panel from the NFLC (National Foreign Language Center). Each month, this series gathers a different group of experienced teachers via video conference to discuss a domain of the TELL (Teaching Effectiveness for Language Learning) framework. We Teach Languages has partnered with NFLC to disseminate these panel discussions in audio format as well. In this episode, the panel considers questions such as: How do you create positive relationship with students in online and hybrid environments? How can teachers collaborate with students to create a safe environment? How do we focus on language performance under the constraints of an online/hybrid format? What is the role of intercultural thinking in language learning?.

For links and show notes, visit https://wp.me/p88mlO-fIw

We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, leave us a voicemail or send a text message to (629)888-3398. Or you can follow us on Twitter @weteachlang or leave a comment at weteachlang.com.

In ep 145, Dr. Stephanie Madison interviews Dr. Nelson Flores, Associate Professor of Educational Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania. Nelson in particular looks at the intersections of language and race in a bilingual education context. In this interview, Nelson describes the harm that racialized students experience as a result of policies and common practices in bilingual education and breaks down some of the historical context for the current state of English language education in the US. He also discusses issues in heritage language education by unpacking some of expectations placed on Latinx heritage speakers in Spanish language classrooms.

For links and show notes, visit https://wp.me/p88mlO-c8w

We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, leave us a voicemail or send a text message to (629)888-3398. Or you can follow us on Twitter @weteachlang or leave a comment at weteachlang.com.