SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone

Ben Fisher-Rodriguez, Bill Langley, Bryan Smith
  • 5.0 (4)
  • LANGUAGE LEARNING
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Join Ben (he/him), and Bill (he/him) as they Gaslight (reflect), Gatekeep (read research), and Girlboss (share successes) language teaching!

  1. Ep. 33 SLAyyy Micro-Breaks for Student Attention

    2D AGO

    Ep. 33 SLAyyy Micro-Breaks for Student Attention

    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

    41 min

  2. JAN 28

    Ep. 32: SLAyyy Student Perceptions of Pedagogical Translation

    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!”)

    35 min
  3. Ep. 31 SLAyyy Total Physical Response with Jon Cowart

    JAN 13

    Ep. 31 SLAyyy Total Physical Response with Jon Cowart

    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

    1 hr

  4. 12/02/2025

    Ep. 30: SLAyyy First Semester Wrap-Up

    Gaslight The Class That Just Won’t Talk Planning and Grading Struggle Bus Accountable Reading Explicitly Talking About Why We Do What We Do Gatekeep Book Study Takeaways Synonym Stacking Pronunciation Fun Girlboss Having a Unit Framework Slays! Kicking Butt and Taking Names References Social Accounts: Facebook Bluesky Instagram The Partner Speaking / Q+A Game Bill’s Unit Planning Framework Independent Textivities from the Comprehensible Classroom Bill’s Post for the Educational Knowledge Network: Podcasts as Tools for Knowledge Brokers: How We’re Working to Make Evidence Accessible, Relevant, and Actionable

    51 min

  5. 11/18/2025

    Ep. 29: SLAyyy "Teaching Grammar for Proficiency" Book Study with Stacy Witkowski

    SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website Gaslight Grammar as a Concept Do ACTFL levels describe language development? Use of the L2 in Grammar Explanations Balancing Authentic/Found Resources and Created Resources Gatekeep - Proficiency-Based Instruction: Teaching Grammar for Proficiency by Ritz and Travers Teaching Grammar? Start with Input! Referential and Affective Tasks in Structured Input Bill Talks about SI and Eats It Up Performance and Proficiency Girlboss Form-Focused Feedback Structured Input 2: Electric Boogaloo Rethinking Our Relationship to Grammar References Social Accounts: Facebook Bluesky Instagram Stacy’s BlueSky Account Language Learner Literature Advisory Board - reviews of readers for issues of identity/bias Stacy’s Session at ACTFL 2025: Friday, 4:30pm, Room 213 Ben’s SideBar at ACTFL 2025: Saturday, 11-11:45am Common Ground: Second Language Acquisition Theory Goes to the Classroom by Henshaw and Hawkins Timothy Chavez’ Instagram Account - language teaching research and practice

    1h 6m
  6. Ep. 28: SLAyyy Interaction Hypothesis

    11/04/2025

    Ep. 28: SLAyyy Interaction Hypothesis

    Artists: Ben Fisher-Rodriguez, Bill Langley Main Points SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website Gaslight Parking on New Vocabulary Allowing for Negotiating Meaning Talking Ourselves Out of Using the TL Gatekeep - Adu, Michael & Abunya, Levina & Owusu, Edward & Budu, Gifty. (2025). THE IMPACT OF INTERACTION ON SECOND-LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND LISTENING. 31-42. Input + Interaction Quantity + Redundancy + Complexity Girlboss Teach to the Eyes (Despite the “Gen Z Stare”) Teaching Students How to React Synonym Stacking MODEL EVERYTHING References Proficiency-Based Instruction: Teaching Grammar for Proficiency by Ritz and Travers Social Accounts: Facebook Bluesky Instagram Bill’s Rules Ben’s TL Usage Reflection Dr. Liam Printer and The Motivated Classroom Podcast Carrie Toth’s “Discussion Thursdays” Krashen and Mason: “Comprehension-Aiding Supplementation”

    37 min
  7. Ep. 27: SLAyyy Creating Compelling Content with Señor Wooly

    10/21/2025

    Ep. 27: SLAyyy Creating Compelling Content with Señor Wooly

    Gaslight What is it that we want to / have to teach? There Is No Faking a Storyteller’s Intention “One Day, You Will Have a Real Conversation” Gatekeep - Jim Wooldridge What does the life of a kid look like? The Novelty Disappears - What is the Driving Reason? Start With Your Problem and Communicative Purpose Girlboss Know Your Context and Know Your Students Bring Diverse Stories to the Classroom Tell Your Stories, Explore How to Make Other Stories Work Does the repetition “teach the structure,” or serve the story? References Proficiency-Based Instruction: Teaching Grammar for Proficiency by Ritz and Travers Social Accounts: Facebook Bluesky Instagram Woology Facebook Group Conversations About Language Teaching Podcast

    1h 10m
  8. Ep. 26: SLAyyy Differentiated Instruction

    10/07/2025

    Ep. 26: SLAyyy Differentiated Instruction

    SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website Gaslight Challenge and Accommodation The Neverending Rubric Time Investment Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place Gatekeep - Tajik, O., Noor, S. & Golzar, J. Investigating differentiated instruction and the contributing factors to cater EFL students’ needs at the collegial level. Asian. J. Second. Foreign. Lang. Educ. 9, 74 (2024). Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Content, Process, Product, Learning Environment Girlboss Diverse Tips for Differentiating! References Proficiency-Based Instruction: Teaching Grammar for Proficiency by Ritz and Travers Social Accounts: Facebook Bluesky Instagram Feedback Options (via Meredith White)

    41 min
See All (34)

Trailer

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Join Ben (he/him), and Bill (he/him) as they Gaslight (reflect), Gatekeep (read research), and Girlboss (share successes) language teaching!

Information

  • Creator
    Ben Fisher-Rodriguez, Bill Langley, Bryan Smith
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    34
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone

You Might Also Like