You know the game Spoons—now imagine it with a Comprehension-Based twist. After hearing students talk about playing Spoons, I started wondering how to adapt it for more meaningful input. The result? Text-Based Spoons. Students pass around cards with questions, vocabulary, or story details—only grabbing a spoon when they’ve found four that are answered by the…

Wednesdays at my new school follow an alternating schedule, which means I needed something flexible—something that keeps the unit momentum going without leaving students behind. Enter: Podcast Wednesdays, inspired by my new department chair. I adapted his approach to include scaffolded listening, class discussion, vocabulary discovery, cultural comparisons, and a wrap-up game using student-generated true/false…

Embedded Readings—texts that build in length and complexity—are a great way to scaffold comprehension, but they also make for an excellent reading assessment tool. By pairing each version of a text with a task aligned to a different proficiency level (Novice Low to Novice High), I can see how far students can stretch. Whether it’s…

Last year I wrote about how adding a simple question at the end of class “What did you become more comfortable with today?” helped show students that even though class might not FEEL like learning sometimes, learning is happening. When learning feels passive (all I have to do is listen and read, I don’t do…

This year’s still a question mark—but one thing I do know is that high-frequency verbs and comprehensible input will stay at the heart of my teaching. To lay a strong foundation, I’m doubling down on TPR, especially for distance learning. Using gestures, videos, and simple context-rich follow-ups, I’m helping students connect meaning to language from…

This semester stretched me thin. Between finishing two tough grad courses, directing a full-scale production of Clue: On Stage, and even acting in a community Christmas play, my plate was overflowing. Add in a challenging incident at a nearby school and some of the chattiest classes I’ve ever taught, and it’s no surprise I felt…

After a rare conference-free year, I dove back in with iFLT in Cincinnati—and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Between Coaching for Coaches training, co-teaching in the Adult Spanish lab, and soaking up sessions on everything from Krashen’s Net Hypothesis to CI strategies, the week was packed. This wasn’t just professional development—it was…

2017-2018 was my first conference free school year since I started teaching. It was weird, but also kind of relaxing. 2018-2019 however is going to be a whirlwind and I’m starting off with iFLT in Cincinnati. iFLT is the international Forum on Language Teaching. The conference is often held in the US. I did attend…