The Teacher Talks for World Language Educators is a space and a time to discuss specific topics related to the what, how, and why of language teaching and learning.
As educators, we thrive when we collaborate. At LTL we asked:
- How might we benefit from talking with other world language educators?
- How might LTL Teacher Talks help world language teachers learn, connect with other educators, and grow in their personal and professional lives?
October Teacher Talks
Let’s see a specific example. For October, the Teacher Talks theme was “How to finally change a habit, keep a resolution, or make a dream come true.” If you start the school year in the month of September, October is the perfect time to set goals for ourselves and our classes. It is a time to think about what needs to change and how to make it happen. The theme for the Teacher Talks of the month was based on the book: This Year I Will… by M.J. Ryan.
Journal Writing for Teacher Talks
Our Teacher Talks in October began by reflecting on the following:
- What is something/ a habit that you would like to change?
- How can we start and keep a resolution?
- How can we make a dream come true?
- How can you apply what we do in the Teacher Talks today in your classes?
Pause a second and think about these questions. I invite you to answer these questions in your journal. We will revisit them later.
This Year I Will…
For those of you who have not read the book, let me explain a little about how the book is organized. It has three sections and each section has short chapters. The sections are:
- Preparing to change
- Getting into action
- Keeping going
Preparing to Change
In the section ‘preparing to change’ the titles of the chapters that caught my attention were:
- What is the price of not changing?
- No time is the perfect time to begin
- Believe you can do it
It is true. We need to first believe that we can make change happen. Then, we need to realize that there is not a ‘perfect’ time to start the journey. But, have you ever reflected on “What is the price of not changing”? When I read about this idea, I sprang into action.
Getting into Action
In the second section, called ‘getting into action’, the chapters that spoke to me the most were.
- Put yourself under contract
- Do a post-game review
- One day at a time
These are self-explanatory, right?
Keeping Going
The section ‘Keeping going’ is the one that spoke to me the most, especially the title “You can’t change what you’ve done, only what you will do,” was an eye-opener for me.
We must indeed keep going as we cannot change what we have done. Many times when we set goals we end up derailing from them. Thinking that we can change what we are going to do is key to getting back on track. It helps us start again each time we fall! So true!
The other chapter that was an eye-opener to me was ‘Look at the Character Strengths you’re cultivating.’ On page 196 of the book it says,
“I say changing anything in ourselves, no matter how small, is a powerful act. Through it we grow aspects of ourselves we would not otherwise develop. That is because character strengths are formed through some kind of challenge, a rising above our limitations.”
How important it is for ourselves and for our students to realize that the smallest of changes towards our goal is building character strengths!
Character Strengths
I invite you to read the list below and think about your goal (the one you came up with by reflecting on the questions earlier).
What are the character strengths you will be (if you have not started), or you’ve been cultivating as you work the change? Think of your students. How can you help them develop these character strengths? How important are these character strengths when learning a world language? How might building these character strengths move students forward in their proficiency level?
- Self-regulation
- Self-trust
- Resilience
- Determination
- Humor
- Compassion
- Humility
- Patience
- Forgiveness
- Courage
- Strength
- Drive
- Persistence
- Hope
- Faith
This list is not exhaustive. It might help us and our students realize that small steps towards changing what we said was important to us help us build and grow our character strengths. How important might ‘courage’ or ‘patience’ or ‘determination’ be when learning a language?
Finally, on page 200 we read a short but important phrase:
“Stop, acknowledge your progress, and celebrate your success.”
I wondered… How can we do this regularly? For ourselves? For our students? Why is it so important?
Teacher Talks for All Language Educators
Join us for our next Teacher Talks (whether you have read the resources or not). We will learn from each other, connect, and it will help us move forward!