Supporting Language Learners

05/13/18 • 25 min

Language Latte: A Podcast for World Language Teachers

In this episode, we are focusing on reaching language learners’ needs. Often cases, the students we are referring to are immigrants, refugees, or expats- students who are trying to learn the majority language of the school or community. These students often are in mainstream classes, and then are pulled either to a special language class, or pulled to receive one on one services, for example in reading or writing.

Today we’re speaking with a support teacher who understand what it is like to learn a new language, and live in a new culture. Ana Elisa Miranda is from Brazil but lives in Belgium. She works as a learning support and ESL teacher at a primary international school. Ana Elisa shares strategies to use with language learners to support their language journey.

Previous Episode

Dual Language Programs

We are talking about dual language programs: what they are, what they aren’t, challenges to overcome, and the necessary features to make them successful. From research to the best practices, I interview a principal who shares how he has been developing his successful dual language program.

Next Episode

What is Comprehensible Input?

In this episode we are getting an introduction to Comprehensible Input. It’s not just having students “listen” to the target language, it’s providing them with input that is specialized and conducive for language acquisition. What does the research have to say the importance of comprehensible input? What are the benefits of maintaining a comprehensible classroom? How can we transition into using CI if our school has a prescribed curriculum and set of assessments?

Let’s first look at what the research says about second language acquisition and comprehensible input, and then I’ll interview Tina Hargaden, an engaging Spanish and French teacher with an outstanding comprehensible classroom. Tina shares why she is textbook free and uses CI in conjunction with her curriculum, plus her best CI tips for teachers who shy away from being the bubbly, entertainer in front of the class, and how she shares with her students their language growth and progress.