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Is there anywhere a fun song for early Spanish learners that targets prepositions of location?  We couldn’t find any.  So we did it ourselves. What phrases, exactly? We call this song “Pañuelito” (little handkerchief). It accompanies Level C of Calico Spanish Stories, themed “I Live Here.”  In this level, several of the Video Stories feature our characters […]

Last Thursday, #langchat participants considered the benefits of music integration in the world language classroom. Through a discussion on song selection, supporting activities to engage students while increasing proficiency, and exploring cultural practices and perspectives, it can be said that music has a lot to offer in the language learning process. – Follow the blog […]

Last week’s #langchat focused on methods to plan for and provide scaffolding for novices in world language classrooms. A variety of support cues, authentic resources, and confidence-building strategies have proven to give novice learners a helping hand in the journey to develop better speaking and writing skills. – Follow the blog on Bloglovin – Cues […]

Last Thursday, #Langchat teachers discussed the challenge and importance of communicating proficiency expectations with students. Clear and understandable feedback on work was considered a necessary tool to this communication process and to student proficiency progress. – Follow the blog on Bloglovin – Communicating WHY Proficiency Levels are Key #Langchat teachers want to see their students […]

Interactions with real-world language scenarios and activities increase language motivation levels for many students. In last week’s fast-paced chat, participants shared a plethora of creative ideas for how to accomplish making target languages a reality for students without ever needing to leave the classroom or surrounding community. – Follow the blog on Bloglovin – Preparing […]

Ready for our next new song? It’s all about parts of the body!  In this all-new video for our song “Todo mi cuerpo,” a boy decides to dance and swim with his whole body. Like the English song “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes,” this new Calico Spanish song helps children can learn how to talk about the parts […]

Standards-Based Grading (SBG) has proven to be a helpful grading technique for #langchat teachers. Discussion on how SBG might be used in a world language classroom was the topic for last week’s #langchat. – Follow the blog on Bloglovin – Defining Standards-Based Grading Last Thursday, #langchat opened with defining Standards-Based Grading (SBG) and determining how […]

Could you use a new music resource to help your early learners use me gusta?  What about descriptions and activities? How about a brand new Calico Spanish song? Wait. Just a minute. You mean, like the songs that are among the most popular children’s Spanish learning songs on YouTube?  The ones with millions and millions of […]

How can teachers address proficiency targets while engaging a range of students in traditionally-labeled language levels?  This challenge was a reoccurring theme discussed in last week’s #langchat on how traditional world language levels align with proficiency levels.  However, #langchat participants shared their strategies for integrating both concepts in the classroom. – Follow the blog on Bloglovin – […]

It feels like a catch-22, doesn’t it?  Research shows that language learners need to hear or see a word in context many, many times in order to be able to use that word or phrase or language feature whenever they want.  But wait- those learners also have to be engaged in order to acquire language.  Bored […]