Making Every Minute Count with Comprehensible Input

Last Saturday I presented at my first PA State Modern Languages Association conference. Co-presenter Lori Belinsky (CI-based French teacher at Garnet Valley, PA Middle School) and I shared the philosophical foundations of our teaching (drawn from Krashen, Ray, Gross, Gaab, Boulanger, Hedstrom, Whaley, deMado, van Patten, among others), then gave several examples of communicative or grammar-based activities that could be reconditioned to meet four qualifications:

1. Is it comprehensible?
2. Is it compelling?
3. Is it repetitive?
4. Does it allow all students to participate at their comfort level?

Here's a link to our Prezi.

Here's the Greetings and Feelings song Lori adapted to French from Laurie Clarcq's Spanish version.

Here are some of the elements we shared for a CI unit on El día de los muertos:

Martina Bex's Strip Bingo story.

Día de los muertos animated video short on YouTube.

Tumba, by Mira Canion. (novel, Teacher’s manual, audio CD)

Here are links to learn more about Teaching with Comprehensible Input and TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling):

How can I continue building my CI skills?

If you live in the Philadelphia TriState area, please join our monthly meetings to learn and share ideas about teaching world languages through storytelling and comprehensible input. Join our FaceBook group (TriState TCI) to stay in touch, or email me through this blog to be put on our mailing list.

TriState TCI: How can I continue building my CI skills?

TriState TCI is a network for teachers in the Philadelphia TriState area who are exploring the potential of Teaching with Comprehensible Input and TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling). We meet monthly throughout the school year, usually on the third Friday of the month. We also have a FaceBook Group (TriState TCI) where we share ideas regularly. Please join us!

How can I continue building my CI skills?

1.    Attend a Conference or Workshop. Look for trainings at:

TPRS Academy (Europe and elsewhere, upon demand)
Blaine Ray Workshops (USA and elsewhere, upon demand)
TPRS Publishing/Fluency Matters (USA, online, and elsewhere, upon demand)
Fluency Fast (USA, online, and elsewhere, upon demand)
Express Fluency (USA)
Immediate Immersion / Teach for June (USA and online)
TPRS of NJ (northern NJ and online)

2. Also, look for local trainings by:
    Michelle Kindt (Hershey, PA)
    TriState TCI (Philadelphia area)
    Altamira Language Learning (Philadelphia area)
    
3.     Get on the TriState TCI mailing list by emailing annyewing@altamira.org.

4.     Join the TriState TCI group on FaceBook.

5.     Join the moretprs listserv on Yahoo.

6.     Join the iFLT/NTPRS/CI Teaching group on FaceBook.
7.     Join the Elementary TPRS group on FaceBook.
8.     Join the ElementaryTPRS Google group forum.

Read TPRS colleagues' blogs: 
9.     like... Martina Bex's Comprehensible Classroom.
10.  Or… MicheleWhaley's MJ's Comprehensible Input: CI rubber meets the road.
11.  Or… Cynthia Hitz's Teaching Spanish w/ Comprehensible Input.
12.  Or… Chris Stoltz's T.P.R.S. Q&A.
13.  Or… Mike Coxon's Optimizing Immersion.
14.  Or... Laurie Clarcq at Embedded Reading and Hearts for Teaching.
15.  Or… Bryce Hedstrom at BryceHedstrom.com.
16.  Or… Ben Slavic at BenSlavic.com.
17.  Or… Scott Benedict at Teach for June.
18. Or... Grant Boulanger at Teaching With CI 
19. Or... Justin Slocum-Bailey at Indwelling Language
20. Or... Carrie Toth at Somewhere to Share
21. Or... Diane Neubauer and Haiyun Lu at Ignite Chinese
22. Or... Robert Harrell at Compelling Input
23. Or... Judy DuBois at TPRS Witch

      All of the above blogs and links will lead you to more links to more and more amazing shared ideas.

24.  Follow TCI/TPRSers on Twitter and look for these hashtags: #TriStateTCI, #TPRS, #TCI, #NTPRS, #iFLT, #LangChat (weekly Twitter exchange at 8:00 p.m. Thursdays).
25. Listen to Bill VanPatten's TeaWithBVP podcast, Thursdays at 3:00 p.m. ET

TriState TCI: How can I continue building my CI skills?

TriState TCI is a network for teachers in the Philadelphia TriState area who are exploring the potential of Teaching with Comprehensible Input and TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling). We meet monthly throughout the school year, usually on the third Friday of the month. We also have a FaceBook Group (TriState TCI) where we share ideas regularly. Please join us!

How can I continue building my CI skills?

1.    Attend a Conference or Workshop. Look for trainings at:

TPRS Academy (Europe and elsewhere, upon demand)
Blaine Ray Workshops (USA and elsewhere, upon demand)
TPRS Publishing/Fluency Matters (USA, online, and elsewhere, upon demand)
Fluency Fast (USA, online, and elsewhere, upon demand)
Express Fluency (USA)
Immediate Immersion / Teach for June (USA and online)
TPRS of NJ (northern NJ and online)

2. Also, look for local trainings by:
    Michelle Kindt (Hershey, PA)
    TriState TCI (Philadelphia area)
    Altamira Language Learning (Philadelphia area)
    
3.     Get on the TriState TCI mailing list by emailing annyewing@altamira.org.

4.     Join the TriState TCI group on FaceBook.

5.     Join the moretprs listserv on Yahoo.

6.     Join the iFLT/NTPRS/CI Teaching group on FaceBook.
7.     Join the Elementary TPRS group on FaceBook.
8.     Join the ElementaryTPRS Google group forum.

Read TPRS colleagues' blogs: 
9.     like... Martina Bex's Comprehensible Classroom.
10.  Or… MicheleWhaley's MJ's Comprehensible Input: CI rubber meets the road.
11.  Or… Cynthia Hitz's Teaching Spanish w/ Comprehensible Input.
12.  Or… Chris Stoltz's T.P.R.S. Q&A.
13.  Or… Mike Coxon's Optimizing Immersion.
14.  Or... Laurie Clarcq at Embedded Reading and Hearts for Teaching.
15.  Or… Bryce Hedstrom at BryceHedstrom.com.
16.  Or… Ben Slavic at BenSlavic.com.
17.  Or… Scott Benedict at Teach for June.
18. Or... Grant Boulanger at Teaching With CI 
19. Or... Justin Slocum-Bailey at Indwelling Language
20. Or... Carrie Toth at Somewhere to Share
21. Or... Diane Neubauer and Haiyun Lu at Ignite Chinese
22. Or... Robert Harrell at Compelling Input
23. Or... Judy DuBois at TPRS Witch

      All of the above blogs and links will lead you to more links to more and more amazing shared ideas.

24.  Follow TCI/TPRSers on Twitter and look for these hashtags: #TriStateTCI, #TPRS, #TCI, #NTPRS, #iFLT, #LangChat (weekly Twitter exchange at 8:00 p.m. Thursdays).
25. Listen to Bill VanPatten's TeaWithBVP podcast, Thursdays at 3:00 p.m. ET