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'There's so much constantly to react to in the world in which we live, and in a country like South Africa, that can become a full-time occupation'

Shake things up! Make language learning more engaging! My name is Megan Smith (just got married in July… Yeah!!) and this is my sixth year teaching Spanish in Louisville, Kentucky. I studied International Business and Spanish at Grand Valley State University in Michigan and am now finishing my master's in Education at Northern Kentucky University. I really love my job and what I get to do in the classroom. I'm lucky to have a school who gives me freedom to try new things, a friend and mentor (Kara) who challenges me as a teacher, and other hardworking teachers who are willing to collaborate with me! I am honored to have been the 2011 Kentucky New Teacher of the Year from the Kentucky World Language Association. In November 2013, Kara, Rachel, and I presented at ACTFL's national conference in Orlando. How awesome! And a big hello from me, Kara Parker! I'm the other collaborator on this blog. I'd say that I've been "around the block" when it comes to teaching. I've taught for 12 years total (6 at a private Catholic girls school, 2 at a large public school (with Megan), and now 4 years at an awesome alternative school). I have my National Board Certification in World Languages. I'm excited to share on this site. :) Hopefully you can take something from the ideas posted here to make your classroom better for your students and your workload a little lighter. Here's to sharing! If you'd like to reach us, send us an e-card, or invite us to your school… Here's an email both of us use! :) creativelanguageclass@gmail.com

Shake things up! Make language learning more engaging!

Infographic | Elevate and Empower: World Language Instructors as Key Players in the Shift to Competency-Based, Blended Learning via Getting Smart

The World Is Yours: 7 Diverse Jobs That Only Language Majors Can Fill  

The framework for building Global Competency in our WL courses. Developed through an extensive process of consultation, the Department has established its first-ever fully articulated international strategy for 2012-2016. The strategy is designed to simultaneously advance two strategic goals: strengthening U.S. education and advancing our nation's international priorities. The strategy reflects the value and necessity of: A world-class education for all students; Global competencies for all students; International benchmarking and applying lessons learned from other countries; and Education diplomacy and engagement with other countries.

Great tips for using social media in the WL class!

Regular readers here will understand with the enthusiasm with which I greet the publication of Tony Wagner's new book, Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World. I've been a fan of Wagner's writing since the Global Achievement Gap was published in 2008, a book which has influenced this blog's educational vision perhaps more than any other single title. "Creating Innovators" has been a theme both of my educational leadership and my blogging since 2009, when the Board of St. Gregory adopted it as a core component of our mission and our slogan/tag line.

For all of the free literature and essays available online, a surprisingly small amount is geared toward children. Even less is aimed at children who speak foreign languages. The International Children's Digital Library offers children ages 3-13 free access to the best available children's literature in more than 40 languages. Librarians find and digitize books published around the world and present them in their original languages.

The LINGUIST List is dedicated to providing information on language and language analysis, and to providing the discipline of linguistics with the infrastructure necessary to function in the digital world. LINGUIST is a free resource, run by linguistics professors and graduate students, and supported primarily by your donations.

A new resource from the National Capital Language Resource Center - a must read for WL teachers who are seeking to implement a true standards-based, proficiency-oriented language program.

A new resource from the National Capital Language Resource Center - a must read for WL teachers who are seeking to implement a true standards-based, proficiency-oriented language program.

LEARNING GUIDE TO: A DRY WHITE SEASON SUBJECTS - World/South Africa;  SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING - Courage; Justice; Human Rights;         Grieving; Father/Son; Marriage; Families in Crisis;  MORAL-ETHICAL EMPHASIS - Trustworthiness; Responsibility; Citizenship.  Age: 14+ Rated R for scenes of graphic violence; Drama; 1989; 107 minutes; Color; Available from Amazon.com.  Description:     The setting is South Africa during the Soweto uprisings of 1976. A white school teacher (Ben du Toit) investigates the death of his black gardener, a man he had known for 15 years. The gardener (Gordon Ngubene) had been searching for answers about his son's death while in police custody. This had brought Ngubene to the attention of the "Special Branch" of the South African Police. He suffered the same fate as his son: death during interrogation. Du Toit comes to realize not only the injustices of the apartheid legal system and the repressive policies that supported it, but the necessity of action as opposed to words or resignation to the inevitable. Backed by an African cabbie, a liberal lawyer and a persistent reporter, he is opposed by his family (except for his young son), his school and his community. The film is based on the novel by the acclaimed Afrikaaner writer, André Brink. The novel was banned by the apartheid government of South Africa. 

Super ideas for strategies to support CCSS in all classes.

I like his approach. Even though we're doing literacy in World Languages, not English, he has some great ideas to share for us to adapt.

At any given moment, the disciplines represent the most well-honed efforts of human beings to approach questions and concerns of importance in a systematic and reliable way. (Howard Gardner, The Disciplined Mind, p. 144)

What they never tell you is that when you're eleven, you're also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four and three, and two, and one. (Sandra Cisneros, "Eleven," from The House on Mango Street)

Rubrics from Fairfax County, VA for WL proficiency assessments.

Puerto Rican Music: Bomba and Plena