Teaching MLs Tan Huynh
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- Education
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The goal of this podcast is to add to your toolkit so that you can empower language learners just like me.
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Ep 197. Moving from monolingualism to multilingualism w/ Dr.Lillian Ardell
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Ep. QSSSA - structuring accountable academic conversations
https://amzn.to/3VvNeNh
Decades of research (Wright, 2016), and the experience of millions of educators, make one thing abundantly clear about the modern classroom: students need to talk about their learning. Engaging students in small-group, academic conversations is one of the most effective ways to: enhance comprehension reduce misbehavior build academic language proficiency support literacy develop socioemotional skills promote question-asking and deep thinking, and create a sense of community within the classroom So why don’t all lessons have all students talking about their learning, all the time?
Unfortunately, asking students to “turn and talk” to their partners has proven frustrating for many educators, who see students not talking, or students talking about non-academic subjects, or gregarious students dominating conversations while shier students are voiceless. As a teacher, I had all of these frustrations, too. I gave my students the opportunity to talk about their learning, but I wouldn’t see them doing it—at least not the majority of my students. When I asked them why they weren’t talking, I heard a variety of responses, which I dismissed as excuses at the time:
“I don’t want to go first.” “I don’t know what the question is asking, sir.” “I didn’t learn this.” “I don’t even know what we’re supposed to be doing.”
I knew that students engaging in new activities tend to thrive with more structure, but I wasn’t sure what structure I could add to these conversations. And then I came across QSSSA. The Question, Signal, Stem, Share, Assess routine was first introduced in 7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive Classroom by Seidlitz and Perryman in 2011, and has since taken modern classrooms across the nation by storm (as evidence, try an image search of QSSSA).
Research has shown that regularly using QSSSA results in enhanced participation and enthusiasm from students (Seidlitz et al., 2024). QSSSA is so effective because it provides exactly that structure I was looking for in my classroom. Students feel safe and confident in the QSSSA process and are intuitively engaged in participation. In all content areas and at all grade levels, it is one of the most versatile, effective tools in the teacher toolkit, and can be used any time you want to have students participate in structured conversations using academic language.
A Routine for Academic Language Development Each step of the QSSSA routine was deliberately designed to help students develop academic language, first by reducing the affective filter, and second by providing supports that encourage students to use academic language. Here is how to implement each step of the routine. -
Ep 195: Using TRTW w/ MLs
You can follow Claudia's podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growing-with-proficiency-the-podcast/id1647436152
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Ep 194: Growing Language and Literacy for Secondary MLs w/ Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld
https://amzn.to/3I4m9Zn
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Ep. 193: Unlocking MLs' Potential (2nd edition)
Bring classroom content to life for multilingual learners
In this eagerly anticipated revision of their bestselling book, authors Diane Staehr Fenner, Sydney Snyder, and Meghan Gregoire-Smith share dynamic, research-backed strategies that every educator of multilingual learners (MLs) can add to their repertoire. Including more of what educators loved from the first edition―authentic classroom examples, a wide variety of research-based instructional strategies, and practical tools to implement across grade levels and content areas―this is the ultimate practical guide to unlocking the potential of MLs in K-12 classrooms.
With fresh graphics and eye-catching colors, this thoroughly revised edition also includes:
Considerations for newcomers and students with interrupted or no formal education (SLIFE)
An added chapter on building scaffolded instruction and peer learning opportunities into MLs’ academic reading and writing activities
Additional opportunities for reflection and application
A new unit planning template aligned with research-based instructional practices, including a completed example unit
Situated within five core beliefs that frame the must-haves for MLs’ equitable and excellent education, Unlocking Multilingual Learners′ Potential is a guide to research-based practices and a toolbox of strategies every educator can implement to make content accessible and increase language proficiency among MLs.
https://amzn.to/49yXo3a -
Ep 192. Heart-Centered Teaching w/ Regie Routman
@regieroutman bravely and loving shares many of her personal stories to help restore our sense of hope, joy, and possibility in uncertain times.
Free PDF of Chapter 5 (https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3-euw1-ap-pe-ws4-cws-documents.ri-prod/9781032445502/Chapter%205.pdf)
Companion website for free resources (https://sites.google.com/view/theheartcenteredteacher/home)
Order the book (https://amzn.to/3RX2wat)
Customer Reviews
Ep 157 Street Data
Tan Huynh hosts a great podcast here. On the show are the authors of Street Data: Shane Sadie and Jamila Dugan. Their message is authentic and super impactful: our most valuable source of data in our schools is human experience. Period. Schools using “numbers and obtuse quantitative data without context… do not reflect the truth.” Tan leads the discussion in such a way that the message is engaging and undeniably real. I absolutely lit up when the authors encourage us to “listen with radical inclusion” and “reimagine with a mindset of creativity.” This one’s really worth listening to.
Don’t miss out!!!
I was beyond excited to discover that Tan started his own podcast as I already had the privilege of hearing him speak at several conferences with the Abbotsford School District. His enthusiasm and passion for teaching English is contagious. Just listening to Tan’s podcasts and the many inspirational guest speakers encourages me to take action and to be a reflective teacher on a daily basis. This podcast is truly helpful for ALL who are invested in providing the BEST education for our children, from our youngest language learners (I’d recommend listening to Tan’s interview with Dr. Katie Toppel and Katie Gardner) to those of all ages (check out Tan’s interview with Nancy Motley’s on TRTW and with Valentina Gonzalez’s interview on Implementing Reading and Writing Workshops.) Really, these podcasts each deserve a five star rating and I’d give a bonus star if possible. While there are many great educational podcasts out there, this is the one I find myself listening to on a regular basis. Thank you Tan for all of your hard work and dedication to the field of language learning, for the free resources, and for sharing tried and proven teaching strategies with the world! You are an inspiration.
Teaching Language Learners? Subscribe!
I am not sure I can recommend Tan’s podcast enough. I always leave an episode refreshed and energized, either by affirmation or new learning, and there is a lot of that. Tan’s willingness to lead us into deeper PD is admirable. I love to listen to these in the car on my ride into school or on my way home. I am always able to find something I need to address my PD goals, right here.