#251

Have you ever felt like you’re not allowed to say this out loud? That Comprehensible Input works beautifully with novices… but something feels different at Intermediate High and Advanced? That maybe your students plateau, avoid complex structures, or fossilize errors and you quietly wonder if you’re doing something wrong? What if the issue isn’t you… and it isn’t your students… but the choice we’ve created between CI or explicit instruction?

Topics in this Episode:

• The tension around CI and explicit instruction: CI has become dominant; Some spaces treat explicit instruction as regression; Teachers feel pressure to claim “pure CI;" Meanwhile, many quietly supplement.
• Most SLA studies focus on novice/intermediate learners; there simply aren't many rigorous studies examining advanced learners.
• When you attend CI workshops or read CI literature, the vast majority of examples, materials, and strategies target novice learners. This isn't because CI can't work at higher levels. It's because we haven't developed robust models for what it looks like there.
• The 'bandwagon effect': CI has achieved near-ideological status in some circles. Teachers feel pressure to claim 'pure CI' success even when they're supplementing with explicit instruction.
• The research does NOT support abandoning CI at advanced levels. It DOES support integrating strategic explicit instruction, particularly for complex features that are infrequent or non-salient in input.
• Blog Post with Cited Research: Balancing CI and Explicit Instruction Across Proficiency Levels

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram: @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook: /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter): @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.

#250

What if a few intentional moments of gratitude each day could help you feel more connected, energized, and sustained in your teaching life? In this episode, I speak with Dr. Allyson Power about how gratitude practices can help world language teachers reconnect with what they enjoy most about teaching. Drawing from her doctoral research and years in the classroom, Dr. Power shares practical insights on teacher well-being and resilience while also creating space for reflection, connection, and renewed energy in our schools and classrooms.

Topics in this Episode:

• what Dr, Power to gratitude as the focus of her work, especially as a world language teacher and department chair
• the assumptions and hypotheses that Dr. Power had about how gratitude might support world language teachers
• how she gathered and analyzed data
• what she saw in journals and why these moments of noticing and recognizing gratitude matter teachers’ day-to-day well-being and resilience
• avoiding “toxic positivity” and staying realistic for educators who are under real stress
• what teachers can do right away to notice moments of gratitude and how that can support their and well-being

Connect with Dr. Allyson Power:

• Instagram: @profesorapower
• Email: apower@ridgefieldps.net

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram: @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook: /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter): @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.

#249

Do you spend hours correcting student writing—marking every error, fixing every verb, circling every agreement mistake—only to see those same exact errors show up on the next assignment? What if the issue isn’t your students… and it’s not your effort… but the way you’re giving feedback? Today we’re talking about how to shift your writing feedback so students actually use it, improve their accuracy, and build confidence—without you spending your entire weekend grading

Topics in this Episode:

• The core issue: When we correct everything, student writing doesn;t seem to improve. Why? Because:
  • There’s no clear focus
  • There’s too much cognitive load
  • There’s no pattern recognition
  • There’s no prioritization
  • And most importantly: Students don’t know what matters.
• Instead of correcting everything, it is more effective to focus on a few things that actually move learning forward.
• Two key approaches: Focused Error Correction (Gianfranco Conti), Focus Correction Areas (Collins Writing)
• When you make this shift:
  • Students actually read your feedback
  • They know what to fix
  • They improve in targeted area
  • You spend less time grading
  • And here’s the big one: Writing starts to feel doable for students
• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD Course: Quick and Effective Writing Feedback

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram: @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook: /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter): @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.