pandoralanguages

At the beginning of every school year, I find myself asking the same question: “What goals do I want to accomplish this year?” The more I teach, however, the more I realize that they are not only my goals. As teachers, we teach in the middle of at least four different sets of goals: · Our students’ goals · Our school’s goals · Parents’ goals · Our own goals as teachers I have intentionally placed the teacher’s goals last—not because they are the least important, but...

Have you ever asked yourself this question? Who is to blame? Is it the student who is not trying hard enough? Is it the teacher who is not explaining the concept clearly? This behavior is common in many language classrooms and can be just as frustrating for teachers as it is for students. On the one hand, teachers wonder why students do not use a concept correctly after it has already been explained. On the other hand, students may begin to feel that they are not capable of learning the...

I truly enjoy teaching Spanish, and I love connecting with my students. But this year… was a difficult one. On one hand, the groups were very different from one another, with different abilities, different dynamics, and different language levels. I found it difficult at times to truly connect with some of my students. On the other hand, I covered what I was supposed to cover, and my students performed well on assessments, which suggested they understood the material. But when it came to...