Mobile CI Classroom
For training to be effective, it should: 1. Provide information about what teachers are supposed to be doing, and 2. Provide teachers as realistic as possible a situation to do it in, while still making the situation safe and "scaffolded" (i.e., they don't have to...
read moreDon’t be an octopus!
Don't get me wrong. I like octopi perfectly well. Seeing one up close was a highlight of the one-and-only, will-never-do-that-again time I went scuba diving in Hawaii. (Turns out I have a few claustrophobia issues...) It wasn't a very big one, of course, and it was...
read moreWhat is circling, really?
Bob buys a green car. Does Bob buy a green car? (Yes). Yes, Bob buys a green car. Does Bob buy a horse? (No) That's right, Bob doesn't buy a horse. He buys a green car. Does Bob buy or rent a green car? (Buys) Yes, he buys a green car. He doesn't rent a green car, he...
read moreIs one man’s targeting another man’s non-targeting?
On a web group for CI teachers, a comment was recently made: Intake(the part of the input that is comprehended) could be different for each student. This is to say one man's targeted CI is another's non-targeted CI. In light of our TPRS/CI lens, I have some questions...
read moreThe danger of activities
Posts to help lists and groups should all first consider the “lens” of what is really CI: comprehended, personalized, repeated input.
read moreWhen is input really “untargeted”?
There is so much talk these days about untargeted input. "Just speak the language with your students." "You don't have to pre-plan what language you will teach." "They'll get enough repetitions over the course of the year. It's interesting to me to think about the...
read moreElementary TPRS: it’s all about the CPR input
Elementary TPRS is TPRS embedded within a classroom management framework suitable for the age group. That's it. This assumes the teacher knows and can provide real TPRS to begin with -- by which I don't necessarily mean "the teacher can keep a storyasking session...
read moreIs one person’s noise another person’s +1?
On a teacher's list, the statement was recently made in support of StoryListening and not worrying about noise (incomprehensible language) and checking comprehension during input: What about the argument that one person’s noise is another person’s i + 1? This is a...
read moreSeven Conditions to Rule Out StoryListening
Advocates of StoryListening (having students simply listen to stories, without comprehension checks or repetition of new language) typically report that "I feel it's great" or "I just know they understand". But from a factual perspective, let's look at the conditions...
read moreEarly character reading: does it kill the joy?
Recently, a teacher of an alphabetic, phonetic language who does not teach Mandarin posted online to the effect that: ...heavy intellectualizing teachers are driving the Mandarin train further down into the intellectual caverns of non-productivity. This, at least,...
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