SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website

Gaslight

Please Don’t Burn Yourself Out!

Know Your Context

Gatekeep - Wadas, M., Goetze, J., & Jackson, C. (2024). Going above and beyond: Motivations of L2 German learners to (dis)continue language study. Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, 57, 87–102.

Girlboss

Meditating on the Ideal Self

Don’t Waste Your Own Time!

Love Culture, and Develop a Growth Mindset

References

Social Accounts:

Facebook

Bluesky

Instagram

CI Reboot - fully online conference for CCLT - use affiliate code SLAYY2026

Ben’s Blog Post About Program Growth

Mike Peto - Las maravillas

The German Club Ideas List

Artists:

Ben Fisher-Rodriguez, Bill Langley

Main Points

SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website

Gaslight

Strategies Are Not Top of Mind

How to Balance Test Prep and Real World Use

Target Language Usage vs. L1 Talk About Metacognition

Gatekeep - Sarafianou, Anna & Gavriilidou, Zoe. (2015). The effect of strategy-based instruction on strategy use by upper-secondary Greek students of EFL. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching. 12. 21-34.

Types of Strategies

Teaching Strategies → Knowing Strategies!

But What Do the Strategies…Do?

Girlboss

Teaching the Use of Logical Connectors (and Complete Sentences)

Breaking Words Down

Use Up Those Commercial Breaks!

References

Social Accounts:

Facebook

Bluesky

Instagram

CI Reboot - fully online conference for CCLT - use affiliate code SLAYY2026

AnneMarie Chase - 20 Questions

Bryce Hedstrom - Reading Bookmark

Gaslight

Lack of Communicative Purpose

Bad Input! Bad!

Need for Scaffolding

We Teach Much More Than Language

Gatekeep - Sadri, E. & Tahririan, M.H.. (2018). Teacher-assisted vs. peer-assisted performances and L2 development: A mixed methods approach. Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics. 9. 3-27.

When Do Students Get the Most Gains from Peer Assistance?

Feedback Amount and Quality

What This Feedback Accomplished

Girlboss

Bill’s Framework That Slays

The Question of Proportion

Interactive Tasks That Are Secretly Input

Real Tasks, Really Supported

References

Social Accounts:

Facebook

Bluesky

Instagram

Timothy Chávez on Instagram and His Website!

Examples of Tasks shared by Timothy

Arcoíris from The Comprehensible Classroom

Huellas from Somewhere to Share

AnneMarie Chase - AP Strategies

SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website

Overview of Can Do Statements

Proficiency, Performance, Can Do!

What is Intercultural Communication?

Function, Context, Text Type

Changes from 2017

Cultural Self-Knowledge

Minor Semantic Changes

Girlboss

Use Them For Planning!

References

Social Accounts:

Facebook

Bluesky

Instagram

Avant ADVANCE - Proficiency Level Training

Language Functions List from The Keys to Planning for Learning

Facilitated Interdependent Language Learning (FILL) - blog by Michele Anciaux Aoki

SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website

Gaslight

What is school supposed to look like?

Misalignment of Objectives

Holistic Thinking vs. Right/Wrong Answers

Gatekeep - Kürüm, E. Y. (2025). Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Comprehension-Based Language Teaching: A Large-Scale Pretest-Posttest Study. RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, (47), 140-155.

Want to learn about CEFR and ACTFL comparisons? Click here!

ACTFL’s Inverted Pyramid

Girlboss

Get Connected!

iFLT/TPRS/CI Teaching Facebook Group

ACTFL Special Interest Groups

See below for conferences mentioned!

References

Social Accounts:

Facebook

Bluesky

Instagram

Mitten CI, April 17-18, Saline, Michigan (outside Detroit),

Comprehensible Iowa, June 12-13th, Des Moines, Iowa

The CI Summit, July 15-17, Cincinnati, Ohio

The Agen Workshop, Agen, France, July 20-25

CI Reboot, all online, June 20-27

SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website

Gaslight

Talking Yourself Out of Them

Brain Breaks vs. Games

Focus vs. Energize

Perception of Brain Breaks

Gatekeep

Sharpe, B. T., Trotter, M. G., & Hale, B. J. (2025). Sustaining student concentration: The effectiveness of micro-breaks in a classroom setting. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1589411.

Do students perform better on quizzes and tests if they get regularly microbreaks during class time?

Girlboss

Meditation and Box Breaths

Games with Patterns

Simpler!

References

Social Accounts:

Facebook

Bluesky

Instagram

Headspace - meditation app, free for educators!

Calm - Breathe Bubble (for quick mindfulness in class)

Say the Word to the Beat Examples - Spanish, German

Heads Up, 7 Up - Spanish, German

Category Clapping from Claudia Elliott

SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website

Gaslight

Overreliance on Translation

The Need for TL Usage

No Translation Ever! …Or?

Gatekeep

Does Translation Contribute to SLA?

How Do Students Perceive Translation in SLA?

Choral Translation

Girlboss

Use Judiciously!

Keep Proficiency Level in Mind

References

Social Accounts:

Facebook

Bluesky

Instagram

Bryce Hedstrom - Stuff for Spanish Class

Keith Toda - Stultus (Liar!) Game (Ben’s note: it turns out “stultus” means something more like “stupid”! I use the word for “Lie!”)

Artists:

Ben Fisher-Rodriguez, Bill Langley

Main Points

SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website

Gaslight

Where’s the consistency?

How to Deal with Reluctant or Resistant Students

Hesitate! Slow Down!

Gatekeep

Principles of TPR: Not Just Commands

Connecting Language to the Body

Lowering Anxiety

Girlboss

TPR, or Gestures?

Model - Hesitate - Stop

Left-Brain “School” Processing Activities

TPR for Upper Levels

References

Social Accounts:

Facebook

Bluesky

Instagram

Jon Cowart’s Website

Berty Segal Cook - Teaching English Through Action

James Asher - Learning Another Language Through Actions

Contee Seely - TPR is More Than Commands