Working on slides for Mitten CI's Friday workshop, April 17. I'm having fun! Registration: mittenci.weebly.com
Link about the image of the heads on a slide -- that's Mike Mena's, & he shares it here on YouTube: lnkd.in/gt8EKnpj
Next episode of Conversations about Language Teaching: We talk through a classroom recording with our guest, Adriana Ramirez. It was a lot of fun: conversation analysis-lite talk thru comprehension-based, communicative language teaching in her Sp 2 class. conversationsaboutlanguage.buzzsprout.com
April 17 & 18 MittenCI, in-person language teacher conference in Michigan. Lots of options. I'll do: Fri evening: 90%+ Target Language Use and Translanguaging; Sat.: Teaching Languages Online; Unit Planning: People as the Focus. A great place to connect with others & learn. lnkd.in/eBjSyWaC
I'll have 3 online Mandarin Chinese language classes this January-April, meeting about every other week. You're invited!
Beginning: Some Thursdays 8-9pm US Eastern time
Advanced Beginning: Some Sundays 9-10am
Experienced: Some Sundays 9-10am
Link to full info: sites.google.com/view/dianen/...
My reflection on ACTFL Convention, 2025: favorite ACTFL Convention yet. The big theme for me was "making connections" to: people I got to meet in person for the 1st time, teaching & research in areas that deeply interest me, & old friends. Renewed purpose & motivation: precious. #ACTFL
I'm presenting at ACTFL Friday:
Experiential Learning in Language Teacher Education
Roundtable 11/21: 3:30-4:15 PM CST
The presenter will share a model for experiential learning in teacher education... more info at link ww5.aievolution.com/tfl2501/Even...
Janique's Dutch lesson and discussion of it is now posted on YouTube, here: youtu.be/VqrMNYcMyGs
Many thanks to Janique for her demonstration lesson for teaching when the teacher and students do not have a common language, and translation or tech tools are therefore unavailable.
Yay! This is the season for it when I lived in Iowa! You may already know that vegetable is a metaphor in the theoretical perspective of my dissertation research: iro.uiowa.edu/view/pdfCove...
Thanks, Ben! I'm glad to hear that a reflective, thoughtful teacher (and podcaster!) such as yourself got food for thought from this episode.
On introducing vocabulary, new podcast episode: conversationsaboutlanguage.buzzsprout.com/2325378/epis...
Conversations about Language Teaching is back after a summer break -- today's episode: conversationsaboutlanguage.buzzsprout.com/2325378/epis...
Mandarin Chinese classes online on Zoom this fall:
Beginning - Six Thursday evenings, 8-9pm Eastern
Advanced Beginning - Six Sunday mornings, 9-10am
Experienced - Six Sunday mornings, 9-10am
Starting Sept. 21 & following.
More info at the link: sites.google.com/view/dianen/...
This video is from a new YouTube channel designed for intermediate+ English language learners. Glyn, the host, interviewed me for episode 1, defining comprehensible input.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDk_...
Thanks, Shiawassee! I will be teaching Mandarin Chinese online again this fall -- starting with beginner classes once every other week some time in September, to be determined. Kyne Dove, feel free to get in touch if you'd like more info about those.
Day 3 (Wednesday) included first experiences reading Chinese character texts together. Slow, supported, and followed up by some student-led noticing about the character forms. We learned more about what makes different dragons special, too.
I'm having fun with class! From today (day 2, second hour of class time) we were noticing which dragons have or do not have wings. Then we concluded something about Chinese & Western dragons & which have wings. And finished by making up our own dragon. Our dragon has 4 wings 😀
I was interviewed about listening in language learning! Patrick Bonczyk's "Too Much to Know" podcast. He finds connections to making meaning from music & university writing as we talked.
open.spotify.com/episode/15Xg...
For language teacher training this week: theme, developing proficiency in the classroom. I'm 1st day of 4 days, so rethinking & expanding ideas is a goal. That is challenging work & requires sense of safety. I'm using an ex of being able to change, not seeing myself as finished. #langchat
5-day class online -- total beginner Mandarin Chinese, July 14-18!
My goals:
- Using comprehension-based communicative language teaching strategies: beginners enjoy low-anxiety but highly purposeful class experience.
- Exploring dragons & co-creating our own.
expressfluency.com/product/begi...
July 14-17: Conference in the Cloud is a live (& recorded for later). Many options; I'll teach beginner Chinese 9-10am Eastern: be a student or observe! In simple Chinese, we'll learn about dragons: how they look, what they do, & co-create our own. express-fluency.teachable.com/p/conference...
July 8-11: Practical & Comprehensible is free (with paid add-ons for more time) & themed around joy. Most presentations are pre-recorded & you can attend some live events. My presentation is about ways to use language to play.
Register: lalibrelanguagelearning.mykajabi.com/practical-co...
I make Chinese language learning videos, often with my pet chickens. The baby chicks are featured in new videos. These fluffs have been a lot of fun! www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmDM...
Our final podcast episode this spring is about Purposes for Picture Talk -- a flexible instructional strategy that can introduce intercultural learning as well as imaginative play. conversationsaboutlanguage.buzzsprout.com/2325378/epis...
Today episode 29 released: Rethinking Authenticity. We discussed different ways that term can apply to language use in classrooms.
Audio: conversationsaboutlanguage.buzzsprout.com/2325378/epis...
Video of the same episode: youtu.be/EI5v6YdGhug?...
I just saw your take-away posts today, Stacy! It's always helpful to see how things are received & I'm encouraged by your reflections here. I had a great time at Mitten CI too - came away refreshed for university classes & next steps.
Justin's @justinslocumbailey.bsky.social session on Brain Unbreaks was fun & thought-provoking. He is insightful about working w/ people's actual psychology & interests to find plenty of small ways to extend target language use just a few seconds more through small tweaks to 'regular' brain breaks.
Today's episode of Conversations about Language Teaching starts with a story about student production that I saw in language classes, & why and how. Audio: conversationsaboutlanguage.buzzsprout.com/2325378/epis...
YouTube if you want to see @reedriggs.bsky.social & I:
youtu.be/7qHGcvN5IFU
This summer, I'll be hosting a book club for Chinese language learners: a chapter from Liu Cixin's sci-fi novel 《三体》。Sundays, 1-2pm US Eastern in June & July.
Intermediate & advanced Chinese learners invited! See invitation & website: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SPp...
sites.google.com/view/dianen/...
Glad you can use it! Hacking Chinese has a lot of helpful collections -- apps, tools, reading material, etc etc.