A place where we express our opinions, perspectives, and understandings. A blog on language teaching and learning.

A Blog on Language Teaching and Learning

List of Blogs

• 
  Proyecto Solidario para Ayudar a Valencia(Spanish & English)
  by Maria Martinez (LTL) Contributor Proyecto Solidario para ayudar a VALENCIA y a otras zonas afectadas por la DANA: Cómo ayudarDe entre los más de 650 recursos educativos del canal, puedes elegir 2 en formato PDF o PowerPoint y te los enviaremos por email…
• 
  Enhancing Student Voice through Cultural Comparisons
  by Victoria Berasaluce Guerra For most of us, curiosity to learn about a new culture is what brought us to this field of world language teaching. Maybe you were attracted to learning about new cultural food, architecture, art or language. I remember feeling so…
• 
  ‘Teacher Talks’ for World Language Educators
  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: October Teacher Talks Let’s…
• 
  DER: Gamifying Your Units with Digital Escape Rooms
  by Victoria Berasaluce Guerra (LTL Contributor) If you are reading this article, you might feel intrigued by using digital escape rooms in your World Language classroom. Whether this is your first try at digital escape rooms or a returning fan, here I share some…
• 
  Imágenes en mente – AI y cultura (in Spanish)
  by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor) Hace un año, un usuario de Instagram le pidió a la inteligencia artificial 🗣🤖 que generase imágenes en las que se representara a las comunidades autónomas de España 🇪🇸 como si fueran personas. Después, compartió los resultados a través…
• 
  Starting Strong: Portfolios & Learner Profiles
  by Noemí Rodríguez (LTL Contributor) As we all continue to get to know our new groups of language learners, I have been working on different systems to set up the school year for success and highlight language proficiency along the way. I believe that…
• 
  Headin’ Back-to-School with GenAI
  by Noemí Rodríguez (LTL Contributor) The title of this blog post may make you feel like an actual person is walking alongside you – as you re-enter the school building in the coming days or weeks! The truth is, Generative AI has so many…
• 
  My Roots, My Heritage
  If you follow the blog, you may have read  R.E.S.T., which stands for relaxing, engaging, serendipity, and trying new things. The “S” for serendipity was for me the highlight last month as I ended up visiting the house of my ancestors (on one side…
• 
  ¿Y a mí me lo preguntas? -Spanish
  by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor) ¿Crees que soy capaz de hacer esta entrada únicamente en forma de oraciones interrogativas? ¿Por qué no iba a ser capaz de ello? 😏 ¿Por ser difícil? 🤔 ¿Por ser absurdo? 🙄 ¿Acaso no sería realmente curioso poder hacerlo?…
• 
  La Influencia Árabe en la Lengua Española
  by Alonso Cano (LTL Contributor) La lengua española, también conocida como castellano, es un reflejo vivo de la historia y la rica interacción cultural que ha tenido lugar en la península ibérica. Una de las influencias más significativas y duraderas en el español es…
• 
  El poder de la colaboración a través de murales colaborativos (in Spanish)
  by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor) No vamos a descubrir nada nuevo si afirmamos que saber colaborar es fundamental para la formación integral de nuestros estudiantes 🤝. Sin embargo, a veces no es sencillo desarrollar y saber llevar esta idea a la práctica 🤔🤯. Para…
• 
  Educator Wellness & Generative AI
  by Noemí Rodríguez (LTL Contributor) Wellness goes beyond simply being healthy – it’s the active pursuit of physical, social, emotional and mental well being. This can mean many different things – and ultimately, it comes down to what works for YOU! In my opinion,…
• 
  La Tradición de las Tapas en Úbeda
  by Alonso Cano for LTL Úbeda, ciudad declarada Patrimonio de la Humanidad, no solo destaca por su impresionante arquitectura renacentista y su rica historia, sino también por una tradición gastronómica muy especial: las tapas. Esta práctica culinaria, profundamente arraigada en la cultura andaluza, se…
• 
  Más que hablar… Juego de roles para el nivel intermedio o más (in Spanish)
  by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor) Hablar por hablar fue un programa radiofónico nocturno que alcanzó su mayor éxito en los años noventa y en la primera década del siglo XXI 📻🌃. En él, la gente llamaba para contar algún problema de tipo personal con…
• 
  Qué es el “colegio” – What is a “school”
  by Justa Rebollo Paz for LTL ➡️ Si buscamos la definición de la palabra “colegio” en el Diccionario encontramos varias definiciones: 1️⃣ habla de enseñar. Un maestro que imparte sus conocimientos y los niños o jóvenes, son los que supuestamente aprenden… pero no los…
• 
  Globally Grooving: Using Authentic Music in the Language Classroom
  by Noemí Rodríguez (LTL Contributor) I LOVE using music in my classroom with students. How about you? Music is engaging, helps with retention of key structures & vocabulary and provides a great lens into the target language and culture! Between the awesome, dance-promoting beats,…
• 
  El subjuntivo entre acordes: Canciones para el nivel intermedio (in Spanish)
  by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor) ¿No te parece fascinante que tus alumnos retengan con facilidad las letras de las canciones 🎶🥰, incluso de las más complejas? Es asombroso ver cómo reproducen sin aparente dificultad sus palabras más complicadas, sus rimas, su sintaxis… En efecto,…
• 
  Book Review Summer Contest / Concurso de verano de reseñas de libros
  by María Martínez (LTL Contributor) Book review contest with prizes for winners Here’s to a summer with fewer screens and more reading to let your imagination soar! A contest for all ages with 4 categories: Infant, Primary, High School, and Over 18. With prizes…
• 
  Meaningful Feedback is Critical for All 
  by Noemí Rodriguez (LTL Contributor) Feedback is essential to the learning process, whether we seek it or we receive it.  Learning and teaching are incredibly dependent on feedback. What opportunities do you provide for your students to receive feedback and reflect? And, as an…
• 
  Last Quarter of the School Year in a MS World Language Class
  I don’t know about you but the last quarter of the school year in a Middle School world language class is at the same time the most rewarding and the most challenging of all. It is the most rewarding because you start sowing the…
• 
  And the Stars Align… Combining AI + CI
  By Noemí Rodríguez (LTL Contributor)   If you are a language teacher, then you are probably using comprehensible input teaching methods (repeat, recycle, repeat) or have heard about them – it is not a surprise that by adjusting language strategically and providing input (either…
• 
  Students Move Forward: Proficiency in the World Language Class
  Move forward, the theme for the month, was inspired by a question I have been pondering a lot lately;  How might a proficiency-based curriculum approach help students move forward in their language acquisition?  There is a huge difference in an educational setting between noticing…
• 
  Motivating and Inspiring Through Music in Language Lessons
  by Maria Martinez (LTL Contributor) Looking back at what motivated me as a learner when I was a child and I started learning English, brings back memories from my primary school years in a small village in the south of Spain. Back then foreign…
• 
  Con las cosas serias no se juega… ¿o sí? (in Spanish)
  by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor) El diccionario de la RAE define serio/-a como real, verdadero y sincero, sin engaño o burla, doblez o disimulo. Teniendo en cuenta esta definición, no nos equivocamos si decimos que la enseñanza del español es una cosa muy seria. Nosotros nos la…
• 
  Chatbots in Your Classrooms
  by Noemí Rodríguez (LTL Contributor) After several months of highlighting different Generative AI Tools for the language classroom, the most exciting has been using conversational chatbots. The idea that students can practice their language skills in a low-stakes, non-judgmental way, available at any time…
• 
  Make it Happen! #GoalsProject in Spanish Class
  It has been great to focus on one goal a month since the beginning of 2024. So many times we start school strong to find ourselves drifting as the months go bye. So far, in 2024, we have concentrated in collecting moments and doing…
• 
  Visible and Invisible – Teaching Identity in World Languages
  As the new year started, I thought about what is important to me. To keep my line of thoughts, I brainstormed a phrase for each month. So far, I came up with ‘collecting moments’ for January, and I chose ‘doing more of what you…
• 
  La banda sonora de nuestras vidas (in Spanish)
  by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor) Decía Chaikovski (o tal vez solo dijo, o quizás nunca llegó a decir, pero eso ahora no importa) que si no fuera por la música 🎶, habría más razones para volverse loco 🤪. No sabemos si estaríamos más locos o no, pero…
• 
  Literacy Strategies in the Language Classroom
  “Picking up word meanings through reading is ten times faster than intensive vocabulary instruction.” – Stephen Krashen by Noemí Rodríguez (LTL Contributor) We all know and understand that READING is a fundamental practice to acquire vocabulary in context and understand how target structures function.…
• 
  Una sesión de película (in Spanish)
  by Ramón Clavijo with Academia Iria Flavia (LTL Contributor) Cuando hablamos de llevar el cine al aula de ELE, no podemos pensar solo en “poner películas”, sino que debemos aprovechar al máximo todos los elementos que el séptimo arte pone a nuestra disposición 🎞🥰.…
• 
  Gratitude and New Year’s Resolutions in the Classrooms (English and Spanish)
  by Maria Martinez (LTL Contributor) As 2023 approaches its end, I would like to start by expressing my gratitude to Language Teaching Lab for giving me the opportunity to share my experience and resources here and also to all of you who follow and…
• 
  Una lengua con cuerpo II (in Spanish)
  by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor) No queremos que tus estudiantes te echen en cara que no les has enseñado suficientes modismos relacionados con las partes del cuerpo, así que hoy te traemos una nueva entrega, la segunda de Una lengua con cuerpo. Te traemos también una…
• 
  Prompts and Resources to use AI in World Language Class
  Let’s see some prompts and resources for AI use to get you started. It is easy to get excited with AI! It is everywhere for us teachers to learn and use. In the context of AI, the phrase ‘Building adapting students’ caught my attention…
• 
  Una lengua con cuerpo (in Spanish)
  by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor) Cuando un estudiante está con el agua al cuello 👤💧🔝, necesita que le eches una mano 🫳❤️. Si confía en tu capacidad como profesor o profesora, si entre vosotros se establece una relación de lealtad, estamos seguros de que acabará poniendo la mano en el…
• 
  Teaching and Celebrating International Days in World Language Classes
  Teaching and celebrating international days in World Language classes helps students see the power of learning languages. The International Days in September are particularly special to me. They help me set the tone of what is important in class, they help expand students’ global…
• 
  Esto va a ser la junta de la trócola (in Spanish)
  by Ramón Clavijo with Academia Iria Flavia (LTL Contributor) The content provides information about the origin of the expression “la junta de la trócola” and suggests teaching students the names of common car parts in Spanish. It also includes an infographic for reference. En…
• 
  El poder de cambiar… significados (in Spanish)
  by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor) En otra entrada anterior hacíamos referencia a esos elementos de la lengua aparentemente caprichosos llamados preposiciones 🤪. Y finalizábamos aludiendo a un superpoder 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️: el de cambiar el significado de los verbos a los que acompañan. Vamos a dar…
• 
  De física cuántica, arqueología… y amor (in Spanish)
  by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor) Las preposiciones son “personajes” particulares a la hora de aprender un idioma. De pequeños nos aprendíamos la retahíla en orden alfabético y la recitábamos con orgullo en clase. Pero ya de mayores llega el problema de aprenderlas en otras…
• 
  Collaboration within a World Languages Department
  I work at a school where there are lots of possibilities to develop professionally. I have attended conferences, workshops, and summer institutes to keep on learning, help improve my teaching, and become aware of the latest trends in language teaching and learning. Also, at…
• 
  ¡Con coma, por favor! (in Spanish)
  by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor) Entre los personajes del mundo hispano que contribuyen a exportar la lengua española encontramos mujeres y hombres procedentes del mundo del arte 🎨 (por ejemplo, Frida Kahlo o Salvador Dalí), de la literatura 📚 (tales como Cervantes o García Márquez), de…
• 
  11 Tips for Raising Bilingual/Multilingual Children -English and Spanish
  by Maria Martinez (LTL Contributor) Hello! My name is María Martínez and I am the creator of the channel BILINGUAL CEREBROS. I am also a former MFL Coordinator, Spanish and primary teacher with over 24 years of teaching experience, almost 20 of them in…
• 
  𝐄l Camino hacia el Subjuntivo (in Spanish)
  by Ramón Clavijo Que el Camino de Santiago es una experiencia vital de gran importancia es algo con lo que muchas personas están de acuerdo 🙋🏾‍♀️🙋, y así lo vemos reflejado en los rostros de los peregrinos que pueblan y dan color a la…
• 
  How do you use videos in a World Language class?
  There are many edtech tools and videos to help students with their Interpretive Listening skills. Sites such as EdPuzzle and Lyrics Training and other edutech resources like Forms (Google and Microsoft) are some of my go-to resources. I have also used Bilingual Cerebros, Señor…
• 
  The Important Role of Reading in Language Acquisition
  by María Martinez Having passion for reading is something that should be instilled in our students at a very early age. Today it is not so easy. Previous generations had fewer ‘distractions.’ There were not as many channels with such a variety of programs;…
• 
  𝐋as 𝐂anciones 𝐃el 𝐏asado – The Songs of the Past
  by Ramón Clavijo No, no pretendemos ponernos nostálgicos y hablar de las canciones que se escuchaban cuando éramos unos yogurines* (aunque alguna de esas habrá en esta lista) 👵💭👴💭🥺, sino de aquellas que podemos usar en clase para trabajar los tiempos de pasado y…
• 
  FREUD, EL ESPAÑOL Y EL SUPERYÓ (Spanish and English)
  by Ramón Clavijo No, no vamos a hablar de psicología. Pero… ¿verdad que queda chulo el título? De todas formas, si bien no hablaremos de Freud, sí lo haremos de un superpronombre: el “yo”. De todos es sabido que, a diferencia de otras lenguas,…
• 
  Draw a Snowman: Learn How to Talk about Others
  Your students know that you are into something when you start the class with a game. Not just any game, but one in which they have to draw a snowman! And not any snowman! It all started when I remembered about a resource I…
• 
  BILINGUAL CEREBROS: A Community for Spanish and English Students and Teachers
  by Maria Martinez (LTL Contributor) It all started with the pandemic and the boredom during lockdown. I have been a teacher for 23 years and creating my channel BILINGUAL CEREBROS was, especially during the pandemic, a way to motivate and support my students and…
• 
  Professional and Personal Experiences Inform My Language Curriculum
  Have you ever wondered why we teach what we teach? I realized that my professional and personal experiences inform my language curriculum in more ways than I have imagined.  It all started when a few years ago, in the educational and pedagogical arenas, there…
• 
  The Importance of Professional Learning Communities
  I can’t stress enough the importance of professional development, as once we do not feel that need, it might indicate that it is time to move forward. What attracts me to professional development (workshops, webinars, book clubs, or conferences) is two-fold. On the one…
• 
  ‘P’ is for Project in World Language Classes
  “’P’ is for Project” is one of the frameworks that I usually use to help students complete a project successfully in my Spanish language classes. This framework uses words in Spanish that begin with ‘P’, guiding students to identify and follow the different steps…
• 
  ‘Mi día típico’ By Amy Lenord: A One Page Jewel
  You know you have found ‘a jewel’ for a unit when you discover ‘Mi día típico’ by Amy Lenord through Twitter: https://twitter.com/alenord/status/1479988461264416777  It is only one page but it lets you dive into so many topics while personalizing it for each of your students. …
• 
  A Few Resources for Language Class to Teach about Summer
  Teach about Summer in your language class. It can be fun! It is so near the end of the school year that Summer is in the air! As teachers, there is so much you can do on the topic of summer that a blog…
• 
  Intercultural Conversations in Middle School Spanish Class
  What do intercultural conversations look like in your language class? Depending on the age of the students, intercultural conversations can take many different shapes and forms. For the purpose of this blog, I’ll talk about the experience of bringing a native Spanish speaker to…
• 
  Engaging Language Learners with Global Views
  Presenting global views connects language students to the experiences of others. It engages their minds, hearts, and hands. There are wonderful resources that help language students broaden their perspective of the world, not necessarily limited to the people in the countries that speak the…
• 
  Ideas for Teaching Poetry in World Languages
  by Vicky Masson April is National Poetry Month. Here are some ideas I have used and I always come back to when teaching poetry in my world language class.  Acknowledgement and Credits I love professional development and I have attended many amazing workshops all…
• 
  Spring List of Resources for World Language
  by Gabriela Barbieri – Marcela Velikovsky – Vicky Masson Spring is in the air! or we wish it were… Continuing our tradition of bringing classroom resources for language teaching, we want to share with you a list of resources that we hope will inspire…
• 
  4 Cs and More with the AATSP Poster Contest
  by Vicky Masson “Interdisciplinary Connections” is a column of Language Teaching Lab to show specific examples of connections between world language teaching and other subjects at school What is the AATSP Poster Contest? The AATSP Poster Contest is an art contest sponsored by the American…
• 
  VideoAsk: Get Almost Face-to-Face Interpersonal Speaking with Video
  by Vicky Masson “EdTech” is a column of Language Teaching Lab where we highlight the use of educational technology in the world language class What is VideoAsk? VideoAsk allows you to build stronger relationships with students by getting a personal almost face-to-face response from them.…
• 
  ‘Cognates’ and ‘Circumlocution’ Power in World Language Classes
  By Vicky Masson ‘Why do we teach…?‘ is a column of Language Teaching Lab. It might help us think deeper on why we teach a certain topic. In addition, it might show a new perspective on how to teach it. Learning about ‘cognates’ and…
• 
  Some Classroom Tested Resources for Winter and December Holidays
  by Marcela Velikovsky, Gabriela Barbieri & Vicky Masson Interdisciplinary Connections is a column of Language Teaching Lab to show specific examples of connections between world language teaching and other subjects at school Back by popular demand! After publishing our blog “How do you celebrate El…
• 
  Empowering Language Learners with Powerful Learning
  by Vicky Masson ‘What’s in a framework?’ is a column of Language Teaching Lab. A framework informs our teaching and it shows a unique philosophy.  It gives us a shared language and purpose, and it lets us see teaching and learning from diverse perspectives…
• 
  How Do You Celebrate El Día de los Muertos / Day of the Dead?
  Día de los Muertos / Day of the Dead or Halloween? October starts and there is this buzz in the classrooms about what to wear for Halloween. When we get near to the date, the conversation about chocolate, candy, and costumes is constant. Our…
• 
  Challenges of Teaching in a Pandemic Solved with Kami
  by Marcela Velikovsky “EdTech” is a column of Language Teaching Lab where we highlight the use of educational technology in the world language class To say that teaching with COVID-19 in 2020 was challenging is an understatement! Whether you had to teach 100% virtually…