Photos!

Our first group photo on July 9, 2013 at Mission Bay High School reveals joyous faces ready to be inspired. From left to right, we are:  Jennifer Raulston, Deb Tucker, Jessica Ulloa, Dan Morgan, Kawanna Potier and Erin Bas.

Day 1

What an inspiring first day for us all at the IFLT 2013 conference in San Diego! The weather is dry! Quite a change from the month-long monsoons of Tennessee! There are so many passionate language teachers here from all over the globe: Singapore, Saudi Arabia, China, and all over the USA. People share freely with one another. Carol Gaab says in her introductory welcome speech, "We're all teachers here helping each other learn." Her energy and humor are so compelling. Highlights include sessions with Carol Gaab, Stephen Krashen, and Diane Noonan. Pearls of wisdom: Carol Gaab: "Brains crave novelty." "Teach, based on your personality.Don't try to be someone else. Be passionate about your subject." "The three P's to pacing (questioning and story asking) are Point and sPeak, Pause, rePeat." "Pacing is an art." Stephen Krashen: "It's not about the language; it's the story!" "Self-selected reading is a higher indicator of academic success than required reading." "TPRS novel writers don't simplify the text. They write in language they know their students will understand." "It's ALL about Comprehensible Input!!! If the students understand, then all of the grammar is there. With comprehension checking, the more we (as teachers) do, the less students understand. "Prediction is innate; it's not a strategy that needs to be taught." Our group continued discussion and exploration of ideas throughout dinner at Costa Brava. Qué rico! Que c'est bon!

Day 1:  IFLT 2013

Highlights

The adventure begins!

We are six amis and amigos going to the International Forum on Language Teaching in SanDiego, thanks to a Fund for Teachers grant. We ourselves represent the glorious diversity possible in the United States and will post photos and comments from our different perspectives.  The passion which unites us is instilling language skills with active, creative learning through questioning.

The IFLT conference will hone our skills in TPRS, but we are also charged with integrating Common Core into the K-12 World Language standards and curricula.

                                                    HOW?  ?COMO?  COMMENT?

As colleagues at the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, we are in a unique position to study and implement cutting edge language instruction. In one building we have a continuous K-12 French and Spanish program required for all students as an essential part of our Paideia  philosophy.

Come along with us on this adventure as we share our experiences at the conference and throughout the year.

 Deb, Jennifer, Erin, Dan, Kawanna & Jessica