If you teach language learners, you are in the right place! I have taught English, French and Spanish all over the world, and have lots to share with you. If you are teaching heritage speakers, dual language or immersion programs, click here for a whole section specific to those classes.
Scroll through some of my most popular posts below. Before you go, sign up to get free access to the Virtual Vault of teaching freebies–it gives you access to all my best freebies that you can use in class tomorrow.
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Virtual Field Trip to Colombia for Spanish Class
Have you ever taken your students on a virtual field trip before? It’s such a fun way to start…
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Metacognitive Awareness: Teaching students how to be good language learners
In the last few years, as a mid-career teacher, I’ve been faced with teaching middle school for the first…
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Definitions: Heritage Speaker v. Native Speaker v. World Language learner
What is a heritage speaker? You’ve probably heard the terms native speaker, heritage speaker, and world language learner to…
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Kellogg’s Free Books in Spanish
I love books. There is something amazing about holding a new book in your hand that I still get…
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My Go-To First Day of Spanish Class Activities
All teachers know that the first day of school is important. We want to start off the year on…
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World Language Professional Development for 2025
If you are a language teacher, one of the best ways to grow and improve your practice is through…
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How to Make Cascarones in Spanish class
Want to teach your students about a fun (and messy) Easter celebration from the Spanish-speaking world? Have your class…
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Teaching students about eating insects
Last summer, when I was traveling in Oaxaca, I ate my first insect. I’ve never been a super adventurous…
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The best Etsy gifts for Spanish Teachers and Learners
Find a list of the best gifts for Spanish teachers on Etsy
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The Best Brain Breaks for Middle School Spanish Classes
Last year was the first year that I taught middle school. As someone who had always been a high…
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Is Duolingo Effective? My Personal Review as a Language Teacher
If you are a language learner or teacher you probably know Duolingo. This free app and computer program is…
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How to prepare your students for the AAPPL test
If you are reading this, chances are you’re a teacher who is about to administer the AAPPL test to…
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Spanish Songs That Will Boost Your Language Skills
Learning a language is a tough task for anyone to accomplish. What is even tougher, is when you are…
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What’s it like to teach online?: My experience with three companies
With all the challenges that teachers are facing these days, many teachers are looking at ways to continue doing…
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Europe | Spain | Travel | World Language
Christmas Traditions in Spain and Catalonia
Christmas in Spain is a magical time! In Spanish the word “ilusión” is used to describe the magic, hope,…
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Typical School Lunch in Colombia
Comparing school lunches around the world is one of my favorite ways to dive into the intricacies of another…
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Get Outside: outdoor games for ESL or world language classes
Whether you are teaching ESL abroad, Spanish in the U.S., or French in Canada, here is a list of…
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Alfombras de Guatemala: A Guatemalan Carpet Craft for Spanish Class
If you are looking for a hands-on craft project for your Spanish class, here is one to try out….
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Using Logic Puzzles in the Language Classroom
The other day a member of a teachers Facebook group asked about a fun activity for her students that…
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The Best Advanced Spanish Podcasts to Teach With
There are lots of podcasts out there for Spanish learners, but most of them are for beginners or are…
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AMBICIOSO: A Culturally-Authentic Spanish Number Game
Looking for a new beginner-level Spanish number game to play in class? Here’s one I just learned about, Ambicioso….
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The best places to learn a language abroad
Anyone will tell you that the best way to learn a language is to completely immerse yourself in a…
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Cooking In The Classroom: How to cook with students
Cooking in the classroom with students is one of my favorite class activities. Sure, it’s messy, but it’s also…
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The best VIPKid rewards for older students
If you teach VIPKid level 4 or higher (or any online ESL), chances are your students are pre-teens and…
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How to get Spanish books for your classroom library
The importance of reading for language acquisition has been rediscovered recently, thanks to CI and Stephen Krashen. Whether you…
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Europe | France | Travel | World Language
Danse Bretonne: Traditional music and dance in Brittany, France
Bretagne (Brittany in English) in Northwestern France has one of the most striking regional cultures in France. You’ll see…
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The best language games to play in online classes
Whether you’re teaching Spanish, French, Mandarin or English, you are likely offering some sort of live lessons on Zoom…
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World Language Project: A city guide brochure
If you are doing a unit on travel, cities or geography, then here is the perfect project for you!…
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My favorite no-prep, student-centered bingo for teaching the preterite
Students (and teachers) love bingo, but it’s usually used in lower levels for basics like vocabulary and numbers. I’ve…
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What it’s like to work as a CIEE Global Navigator Summer Program Leader
I’ve worked as a Program Leader for the CIEE Global Navigator program for high school students going abroad, between…
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Five reasons language learners should know the history of a language
Learning about the history of a language is usually reserved for college linguistics classes, not high school students or…
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Map Activities for Spanish and World Languages
If you’re a teacher you may think of maps as a Social Studies activity, or a tool to prepare…
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Activity for teaching Spanish slang and dialects
One of the goals I have for my students is to expose them to different dialects of Spanish and…
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Getting to the roots of language and power with Chalk Talk for heritage learners
The first unit in my Spanish Language Arts curriculum is about Spanish as a world language. We look at…
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What I love and hate about Comprehensible Input
Whether you love it or hate it, Comprehensible Input (CI) is definitely the world language buzz word right now…
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What to do when students won’t speak in Spanish
One of my biggest struggles with my Spanish Language Arts classes is getting students to speak in Spanish during…
