Invaluable World Language Teacher Tips and Advice From Fellow Teachers

During my first year of teaching in 2016, I received so many teacher tips and advice from my mentor, colleagues, and supervisors. I was fortunate enough to teach in districts that had model world language programs in the state of NJ. Needless to say, I learned so much from these positions, and I wanted to share some of the best teacher tips I received with you. But, I am not equipped with all of the teacher tips you need. So, I turned to our fellow world language teachers. The following post is a compilation of teacher tips and advice from world language teachers. So, grab a notebook and get ready to be inspired!

The best advice I received in my first year is a simple piece of advice that applies to anybody in any career. My mentor told me “Work smarter, not harder.” As a new teacher, overwhelmed with curriculum, meetings, students, and more, I needed to hear this. It is a phrase I will never forget, and I hope you find inspiration like that below!

Colleague Collaboration

In my first teaching position, I was at a school where very little collaboration happened. Teachers were set in their ways and their content. Of course they shared materials that they used with me, but it was not a “collaboration.” They just handed me copies of their activities. When I started at my second school, I was fortunate enough to work with the best colleagues a world language teacher could dream of.  Our Spanish Squad collaborated on every lesson by creating shared Google Slides, writing unique lesson plans, designing out of the box escape rooms, and so much more. This is when my best teaching occurred and how I flourished as a world language teacher. I learned so much from my colleagues and our collaboration – things that you can’t learn in a PD session.

“As a first year teacher, I wish I would not have been so shy to ask another teacher for ideas on how to teach something. I also wish I would have not been so scared to make mistakes.” – Fran Etter

I think Fran makes the best point. We are usually shy as first year teachers or even veteran teachers to break the ice and start collaborating. But if we are all shy, then the collaboration can never begin. You need to take the first step. If you don’t already collaborate with your colleagues, then I have a goal for you. This year, make an effort to offer to plan a lesson together, share more materials, or even create a fun project for your classes together!

Lesson Planning

“Plan with the end in mind. Think about where you want your students to be in 5 or 6 weeks, and what skills they should have developed by then. Think about the criteria you will use to determine whether or not those skills are accomplished. Then develop lessons that will lead the students to success.” – Fran Etter

“We must always remember that we are teaching HUMANS and not curriculum. What is best for the kids must guide us daily.” –  Shirley from Ohio

“My best advice -if students like something that keeps their interest like a particular game, let them do it. The best learning comes when students are happy and engaged. They don’t even know they are learning.” – Meaghan Carter

“Reading buddies once a month with an upper grade class to help with Spanish vocabulary development.” – Ana

“Be flexible at school:  Planning is important, but a teacher needs to be able to quickly modify plans when new situations arise.” –  Delores

“Done is better than perfect.” – Madame Trott-Zisserson

“Your classroom walls are a resource.” – Llearning Llama

This advice was given to me during an post-observation conference, and it helped me to realize that my walls should be more than decorative. I should have sentence starters, helpful transitions, vocab word walls, and more to aid my students. Plus, this helps make your lesson planning easier because your students can rely on the resources around them.  Read how I made this drastic change here. 

Class Routines

Do you have a routine? When students walk in the door, do they know what to do? I had students keep a Daily Do Now notebook. They knew that when they walked in my room, they should pull out their notebook and begin responding to the prompt on the board. 

I also used large home depot white boards in my class for brainstorming, jigsaw readings, and group work. I had routines and protocols in place for students to form groups, grab their board and supplies, and work together.

Routines do take time to establish, but boy oh boy are they worth it!

“Class routines are your best friends, and time invested in planning them will pay off very well in the long run!” – Martina

“Leave your classroom ready for fall.” – Marla

You should also set up routines for yourself – to streamline your lesson planning, classroom decorating, copying worksheets, etc.

Student Relationships

We want our students to feel valued, supported, and important when they step into our classroom. Here are some great tips for building positive student relationships. 

“Let your students know that it is ok to make mistakes.”  – Sherry

Building off of Sherry’s great advice, you need to model that for your students. Simply saying that it is ok to make mistakes and that it is part of the learning process, especially with a new language, will not be enough. As a non-native Spanish speaker, I am aware that I make many mistakes when communicating. Don’t be afraid to tell your students when you make mistakes. It is modeling how we overcome them that will have the greatest impact on them. 

“Always let your students teach you as much as you teach them!” – Tara

“My advice is to know your class, otherwise whatever you plan will not be enough for your students in terms of engagement, learning and progress.” – Barbara

Using social emotional learning activities is a great way to get to know your students on a more personal level, beyond the curriculum. Try incorporating this SEL activity into a bellringer or Do Now. It is simple, quick, and can be done in the target language at ANY level!

World Language Pedagogy

I think many of us are trying to incorporate more CI and implicit language systems in our classroom. Switching from a traditional style of teaching to CI can be daunting, overwhelming, and even lonely if you are the only teacher at your school taking the dive. Here are some tips from colleagues that have made the transition to CI teaching. 

During my first year of teaching, I remember teaching my 6th grade Spanish class (who had taken Spanish classes in a CI format since 2nd grade). One day, I put the traditional conjugation chart of tener up on the screen and just started talking about it. I will never forget the look on their faces. They. Were. LOST! From that moment on, I was inspired to change my teaching style. 

“I wish I would’ve known that the implicit system exists, how different it is from conscious knowledge about language, and how it grows. Instead, I made assumptions based on what I remembered about my own experiences and treated language like subject matter to be taught, practiced, corrected, and assessed. I’ve since let go of explicit grammar and grammatical sequences in favor of focusing on meaning and real communication.” – Roger Best

“Collaboration with teachers at conferences and always being willing to step outside of my comfort zone to give something a try has always made me progress in my thinking and teaching practice. Also… reading teacher blogs and books about L2 learning. Oh…and learning a third language myself so that I could know what it is like to be my students!” – Fran Etter

“Read Patsy Lightbrown’s book, How Languages Are Learned. This book, especially in my early teaching years, lessened my frustration with why students made the errors that they did. This was before I became a CI teacher, but the research was sound and enhanced my understanding of the process and brought me some peace.” – Shirley from Ohio

Shirley recommends a great book! I would also suggest Intercultural Language Activities by John Corbett. I had to purchase this book for my Master’s in Foreign Language Teaching from MSU and it is the ONLY book that I personally kept to look back on as I continue to teach. It is filled with over 80 practical lesson plans for incorporating intercultural activities. One of my absolute favorite lessons to teach, Five Most Famous, came from this book! Students take on the role of a famous Hispanic, learn about their life and accomplishments, and then have a debate, acting as their Hispanic icon. The small group of icons are in a malfunctioning airplane that is about to crash and only has ONE parachute. Who deserves it and why?

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I hope you took notes! This blog post was filled with so many amazing pieces of wisdom and teacher tips. What is your takeaway? Try to find just one piece of advice from all of these invaluable teacher tips and incorporate that into your classroom. 

If you have any wisdom you want to share with us, please comment below!

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