#237

What keeps students coming back to your language program each year?  Especially when graduation requirements, scheduling and competing electives are pulling them in other directions? This is the second episode in our advocacy series.  Last week I looked at local, state and national efforts. Today we are in the classroom. I’m joined by Ann LeClair-Ash, a National Board Certified French teacher in Milton, Georgia. We move beyond “convincing students to stay” and dig into designing programs students want to be part of. We look at what advocacy looks like in daily practice in our classrooms. If enrollment trends have you worried, this conversation offers practical steps and genuine hope grounded in real classroom experience.

Topics in this Episode: 

• factors that influence whether students choose to continue with a language beyond the required level
• classroom practices or program-level decisions that make a real difference in helping students feel connected, successful, and excited to keep going
• what advocacy for retention looks like when it’s embedded in classroom culture, student voice, and everyday interactions
• mindset shifts or actionable steps that help teachers build momentum for their language programs
• designing learning experiences that students want to be part of
• JNCL (Joint National Committee for Languages) and NCLIS (National Council for Languages and International Studies)
• Language Advocacy Days
• ACTFL’s Advocacy Resource Center

Connect with Ann LeClair-Ash:

• Instagram: madame_leclair_ash
• LinkedIn: Ann LeClair-Ash
• Email: [email protected]
• Website

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram:  @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook:  /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter):  @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.

#236

Curious how language programs thrive even with tight budgets and shifting graduation rules? In this episode, I share insights from conversations at the Klett World Languages booth at ACTFL. We’ll explore why language learning matters, from building communication and literacy skills to preparing students for future careers. I  share practical, actionable strategies teachers can use to advocate for their programs locally, at the state level, and even federally.  Stick around for tips you can put into action this week.

Topics in this Episode: 

• JNCL (Joint National Committee for Languages) and NCLIS (National Council for Languages and International Studies)
• Language Advocacy Days
• Why Language Learning Matters
  • Communication skills
  • Cognitive and academic benefits
  • Student confidence and engagement
  • National and workforce relevance
• Themes from ACTFL Conversations
  • Challenges
  • Success stories
  • Attitudes and mindsets
• Concrete Advocacy Strategies
  • Local advocacy
  • State and Federal-level
• Supporting Professional Associations
• Overcoming Common Obstacles
  • Language isn’t core content
  • Small enrollment / low demand
  • Advocacy feels like extra work
• Here’s what you can do this week:
  • Visit ACTFL’s Advocacy Resource Center and pick one tool to use.
    Identify a program goal — graduation requirement, Seal of Biliteracy, or enrollment growth — and start building a local coalition.
  • Share your program’s successes with administrators, parents, and policymakers — focus on outcomes and skills, not ideology.
  • Consider joining or renewing membership in professional associations to support advocacy efforts at the state and national level.

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram:  @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook:  /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter):  @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.

#235

What actually motivates our students? Today we explore that question through the lens of Self-Determination Theory with teacher Martha Cox-Stavros, a middle school Spanish teacher in Massachusetts. Whether this theory is brand new to you or something you’ve heard mentioned in passing, this conversation breaks it down in clear, classroom-ready ways. We dig into how competence, autonomy, and relatedness show up in real language tasks and how small, sustainable shifts can help students feel successful, motivated, and confident in your classroom. 

Topics in this Episode:

• what Self-Determination Theory is and how it applies to the language classroom. 
• how teachers can design tasks so students consistently feel that sense of progress and success?
• practical, manageable strategies teachers can use to give students real choice and agency without losing focus on required content
• low-stress, high-impact ways teachers can foster relatedness and connection among students
•  how can teachers can begin to build sustainable practices that lead to competence, autonomy, and relatedness

Connect with Martha Cox-Stavros:

• Instagram:@profecox_stavros

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram:  @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook:  /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter):  @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.

#234

When did you last speak with a colleague about what really worked in your lesson? Or reflected on what helped students communicate, not just what they covered? In this episode we look at how small, intentional habits, such as weekly reflection or purposeful collaboration, can build a shared culture of growth. You’ll walk away with actionable ideas to implement tomorrow, whether you’re working solo or surrounded by a full team.

Topics in this Episode:

• “We don’t rise to the level of our goals. We fall to the level of our systems.” -James Clear, Atomic Habits
• Growth happens when teachers pause to reflect. Not once a year during an evaluation, but in small, consistent moments.
• Take 10 minutes once a week to reflect on your teaching: 1.) “What helped students communicate today?” 2. )“What would I repeat? What might I tweak?” 3.) “What was challenging? Was it student specific?”
• Collaboration doesn’t have to mean full-blown PLCs. One conversation, one shared lesson, or one observation can shift practice.
• We grow the most when the PD we choose is relevant to our classroom realities, not trends.
• Reflection fuels improvement; Collaboration builds confidence; PD is most powerful when it’s chosen, not just assigned.

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram:  @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook:  /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter):  @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.

#233

Do you want your students to feel more confident and eager to share their ideas in the target language? In this episode, we’ll explore strategies that help learners move beyond words and phrases and into real discourse and communication. I’m joined by Christina Margiore, a Spanish teacher in New York, who brings practical routines and low-prep techniques that create a supportive environment and spark authentic conversations. You’ll get simple ways to increase student talk time right away.

Topics in this Episode:

• barriers or obstacles that keep students from speaking in the target language and how to support students
• routines and strategies that create a safe, low-pressure environment for student talk?
• technique that support hesitant students
• designing tasks that lead to authentic, meaningful interactions
• strategies teachers can do right away
• Christina's Free Chat Mats

Connect with Christina Margiore:

• Instagram:@supersenora 
• Blog: www.supersenora.com
• Email: [email protected]

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram:  @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook:  /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter):  @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.

#232

Last week in episode 231 I began a two-part series on using a simple story to show what CI looks like in real classroom practice. In this episode, I continue by building on the same story and walking through how CI activities help students stay engaged, deepen comprehension, and interact with the text in meaningful ways. These 2 episodes are focused on seeing familiar CI practices. 

Topics in this Episode:

• CI Activity Episodes
  • 218: Interaction and Discussion
  • 222: Reading and Writing
  • 228: Storytelling and Narrative
• Episode 231: CI Activities in Practice in the Classroom., Part 1
• CI Toolbox
• Interaction and Discussion Activities
  • Picture Talk: Picture Talk uses images to drive meaning-based discussion. The teacher asks simple questions so students describe what they see using familiar language.
  • PQA: PQA connects story language to students’ own lives through highly scaffolded, repetitive questions, helping them acquire language through personal relevance
  • Special Person Interviews: Students are interviewed using familiar structures, often taking on a role. The class listens and helps co-construct meaning.
  • Card Talk: Students draw something meaningful to them, and the class discusses it using shared, high-frequency language.
  • Weekend Chat: Weekend Chats build community and routine by talking about what students do on certain days, using simple present-tense language.
  • Calendar Talk: Calendar Talk uses the daily date and routine events to recycle language in a predictable format.
• Reading and Writing Activities
  • One Word at a Time: Students slowly build or reconstruct a sentence word by word, focusing on meaning and structure.
  • Embedded Reading: Embedded readings move from very simple to more detailed versions of the same text, increasing comprehension and confidence.
  • Volleyball Reading: Students take turns reading and clarifying meaning, often in pairs, with a strong focus on comprehension.
  • Draw the Sentence: Students draw what a sentence says, then match it back to the text, reinforcing comprehension.
  • Running Dictation: Students move, read, and reconstruct text collaboratively,
  • Dictation with a Twist: Students hear a sentence and rewrite it with a small, controlled change, encouraging creative output within a safe structure.

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram:  @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook:  /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter):  @wlclas

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.

#231

Over a series of 3 episodes we looked at a range of CI activities, and I promised I’d be back and to show exactly how they work together in practice. This is the first of 2 episodes where I’ll take a simple story and use it to model what CI can look like in an actual classroom. Today’s focus is on setting the scene and preparing students for the story, and next week we’ll continue with what happens once the story is underway.

Topics in this Episode:

• CI Activity Episodes
  • 218: Interaction and Discussion
  • 222: Reading and Writing
  • 228: Storytelling and Narrative
• CI Toolbox
• The CI Story:  "Problem in the Market": It's Saturday morning. Sofía's family is at a market in Oaxaca, Mexico. There are many colorful fruits, vegetables and flowers. Sofia wants to buy mangoes. Her little brother, Diego, sees some piñatas. Diego says: “I'm going to look at the piñatas!” and walks alone. There are many people in the market. Diego looks at the piñatas and doesn't see his family. He feels nervous and says, “Where is my mom?” A fruit seller sees Diego. She says, “Hello, are you lost?” Diego responds: “Yes… I can't find my mother.” The saleswoman walks with Diego through the market. After a few minutes, they see Diego's family near a tortilla stand. His mother hugs Diego. She says, “Thank you, Miss.” The family buys mangoes and tortillas, and everyone is happy.
• Storytelling and Narrative Activities
  • Story Listening: Story Listening is teacher-led, highly comprehensible storytelling using gestures, visuals, and repetition to support listening comprehension.
  • Write and Discuss:The teacher and students co-construct a short text on the board, discussing meaning as it’s written.
  • Clip Chat:Clip Chat uses short video clips to provide visual input while the teacher narrates and asks comprehension questions.

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram:  @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook:  /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter):  @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.

#230

It’s the start of new year and a chance to recharge our educator battery. Sometimes a little easier said than done, I know. In this episode, recorded at the NYSAFT Annual Conference in Albany, NY, we are going to look at ways to make sure that your teaching  spark is still alive and well. Will Andersson joins me for this insightful conversation. He is a long time language teacher and language department administrator.  He is now an Associate Dean at Hofstra University’s School of Education. Will shares practical and actionable ways to recharge our educator battery.

Topics in this Episode:

• The State of the Profession: the biggest factors that either drain or recharge educators today
• Sustainable Teaching: practical, everyday strategies teachers can use to sustain their energy and passion throughout the school year
• Mentorship and Renewal:  the value of mentoring student teachers and how working with the next generation of educators can help seasoned teachers feel energized in their own practice
• Connection and Community: the role of professional communities (colleagues, conferences, online spaces) in recharging our educator batter
• Advice for Language Educators: how to stay connected to your “why” and keep your professional battery charged

Connect with Will Anderson:

• Email: [email protected]

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram:  @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook:  /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter):  @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.

#229

What do you do when there is a change in your schedule, like shortened class time because of a delayed opening?  What if several students need to miss class because of a school event or responsibility? This is sometimes the reality of our teaching.  We had a plan, but need to figure out in the moment how to best use the time we have. This is where sponge activities are useful. Jessica Hall, a Spanish teacher in Connecticut, joins me to talk about what we can do when we find ourselves in these situations. 

Topics in this Episode:

• what sponge activities are and why are they such an important tool for language teachers
• how can sponge activities help teachers make sure that every minute in the classroom is purposeful and engaging
• strategies to adjust the same sponge activity so it works for beginners as well as more advanced learners
• how do you keep sponge activities fun and interactive while still ensuring that they support language growth
• simple low-to-prep sponge activities you can try right away
• PDF with all the activities that Jessica mentions in the episode

Connect with Jessica Hall from Miss Señorita:

• Instagram: @MissSenoritaTpt

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram:  @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook:  /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter):  @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.

#228

Do you use stories in your classroom? Do you have some engaging ways for students to, well, engage with those stories? In this third episode of the CI Toolbox series, we look at storytelling and narrative-based activities that hook students through emotion, curiosity, and creativity. You’ll learn how to deliver compelling stories, co-write summaries with students, and use video clips as interactive narratives, all while keeping input comprehensible and student-centered.

Topics in this Episode:

• Stories provide context, emotion, and predictability. The foundation for language acquisition. They build engagement and allow us to recycle high-frequency structures meaningfully.
• Story Listening: Deliver rich input by telling stories live, with built-in visual and physical support.
• Write and Discuss: Reinforce and recycle the story language through co-created written text.
• Clip Chat: Turn short video clips into interactive storytelling experiences.
• Ep 218: 6 Activities for Interaction and Discussion in the Language Classroom
• Ep 222: 6 Reading and Writing Activities in the CI Classroom
• CI Toolbox

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram:  @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook:  /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter):  @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.