Ever felt like the lone Spanish teacher on an island, wondering if everyone else has figured out the secret to effortless curriculum mapping? You're not alone. In this heartfelt conversation, veteran teacher Diane opens up about her 23-year journey teaching Spanish and the transformative power of finding professional community.
Today, I have a very special guest for you - Diane! Diane is an experienced Spanish teacher in a small private school. She is retiring this year and has spent the past year in my membership, the Practical Proficiency Network.
Get more info and join the PPN here: www.lalibrelanguagelearning.com/join
This video is all about her unique story of building a Spanish program from scratch, using VOCES and story-based teaching, and her unique and wonderful opportunity to hire and teach her program's successor teacher. Both of these wonderful Spanish teachers work with me in the Practical Proficiency Network. Diane is here today to share her story and her experiences in the PPN.
*** disclosure: Diane volunteered to share her honest opinion of the membership and was gifted a free month of membership in exchange for this testimonial.***
Diane candidly shares her struggles with curriculum planning across multiple course levels, the pressure to cover textbook material, and the nagging question all language teachers face: are my students actually acquiring language or just memorizing vocabulary lists? Her story resonates with anyone who's ever closed their classroom door at the end of a challenging day wondering if other teachers face the same battles.
The conversation takes a fascinating turn when Diane reveals her upcoming transition to mission work in El Salvador and her current role mentoring her successor. This unique arrangement highlights the profound impact of teacher-to-teacher support and the ripple effects of professional development. When Diane discovered resources that validated her experiences and offered practical strategies, she immediately advocated for her replacement to have access to the same community.
What emerges is a powerful reminder that teaching excellence isn't about perfection but consistent small improvements within a supportive community. Diane's "aha moment" came when she embraced the philosophy of aiming for just 2% improvement each day rather than overnight transformation. This sustainable approach renewed her passion for teaching and created space for both professional growth and personal wellbeing.
Whether you're a first-year teacher questioning your curriculum choices or a veteran looking to reignite your classroom joy, Diane's journey offers both validation and hope. Connect with other language teachers today – your teaching practice and wellbeing will thank you.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up?
Que lo que Et salut worldlanguage teachers.
Welcome to the PracticalProficiency Podcast, where we
make the transition toproficiency-oriented instruction
in your world language class ina way that works for you, your
unique context and teachingstyle, and doesn't sacrifice
(00:21):
your well-being along the way.
I'm your host, devon Gunning,the teacher author, conference
host, curriculum creator andconsultant behind La Libre
Language Learning.
This podcast is for thecreative world language teacher
like you who's ready to ditchthe overwhelming pressure of
switching to acquisition-driveninstruction and CI overnight.
(00:42):
You're ready to discover howusing more target language in
class can actually bring you andyour students more joy instead
of adding to your plate.
With practical, authentic anddown-to-earth strategies that
don't require reinventing thewheel or more training, we'll
work together towards the magicof a community-based,
(01:04):
target-language-rich classroom,rooted in the power of community
and comprehensible input.
Let's go.
Welcome everybody to thePractical Proficiency Podcast.
I'm so excited to bring to youa special guest today.
We're going to be learning froma fellow teacher like you.
(01:25):
Diane is my guest teacher todayand she'll be sharing with us
some of her experiences as aSpanish teacher.
And Diane is an especiallyspecial guest to me because
she's a teacher that I've beenworking with in the Practical
Proficiency Network and she'shere today to share some of her
experiences, and I'm so excitedto share all of this with y'all.
(01:49):
So, without further ado, diane,thanks for coming.
It's such a pleasure to hangout with you in this new
recording scenario.
This is cool and for ourlisteners today, could you share
a little bit about your what'syour background as a Spanish
teacher, what's your, what'syour class setup look like, and
a little bit more about yourexperience?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Okay, hello everyone and thank you, devin, for time
together.
It is good.
I do cherish it, becauseworking, just getting to know
you and and the amazingresources and all that's
available in the PracticalProficiency Network and the
support that's there, it hasbrought a smile to my face again
and again and it has refreshedme as an educator.
(02:31):
So I'm really happy to be here.
And so who am I?
I am a Spanish teacher and I amcompleting my wait.
I thought I did the mathcorrect 23 years, 23 years of
teaching now, which there's alittle bit more like.
I taught some preschool for ayear, so there's some extra
things in there, some extra fun.
(02:51):
But I have been at it for awhile and you don't always like
realize that until you start tolook at all the memories and the
pictures and then you start tosee how your face has changed
and things like that.
But also just looking at allthe memories and how many
students have been in your roomand working with you and putting
up with you and having fun withyou and all those things.
(03:14):
So I currently am finishing 16years at my current job,
although I took a little breakin there.
So 16 years, I'm at a parochialgrade school, a private excuse
me high school.
High school in Indianapolis,indiana.
Before that I taught aboutseven years in public schools
(03:36):
seven years, a couple ofdifferent ones, and it had to do
with, like my family and movingfor jobs, and that's what makes
the change oftentimes.
And then a little bit ofpreschool in there because I had
a baby, had my son and movingfor jobs and that's what makes
the change oftentimes.
And then a little bit ofpreschool in there because I had
a baby, had my son and changedthe jobs a little bit there.
So what is my overall like?
Here at Lutheran High School ofIndianapolis we have a full
(03:59):
Spanish program of four levelsand I am the one Spanish teacher
.
We are a small school, so oneSpanish teacher is enough to
teach all those courses.
Sometimes we have students whoadvance a little more or they
come in transferring fromanother school where they've had
more.
They've had preparation like inmiddle school, right.
So they sometimes can reachthat AP level fifth year of
(04:21):
Spanish and such, and theyusually will do an online class
to take care of that at thispoint.
But you know I spend it justdepends on the student's
experience.
So that's, I should stop there.
That's enough for now, but ifyou have any specific questions,
feel free to ask.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
That is a robust career You've got.
You've got a lot of experiencein different areas, different
schools and everything, andthere's actually a new thing on
the horizon, too, is that youare transitioning right now,
right Like you're moving into anew role, and what is so cool
(04:58):
about your setup, and what I'mreally excited to talk to you
about, is that you have thisunique opportunity where you are
actually training yoursuccessor teacher and showing
her the ropes of what your wholeschool structure looks like,
which is so cool.
So tell us a little bit moreabout that, too.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
So I remarried about eight years ago, married a man
who is passionate about missionwork and so with him I've been
blessed to have many experiencesin El Salvador.
And now he is ready to retireand he is like we're doing it,
we're going to go move to ElSalvador and we're going to live
there full time.
And I'm like, okay, here we go,here we go.
(05:40):
And I knew that about this manbefore I married him, so it was
not a surprise.
It was just the timing figuringthat out.
So we are planning.
Our plane tickets are forOctober 21st, we know when we're
going down and I have beenblessed that my school was able
to.
We interviewed severalcandidates already for my
(06:01):
position and that's huge rightthere just to find available
candidates, since there issomewhat of and that's huge
right there just to findavailable candidates, since you
know there is somewhat of ashortage of teachers out there.
But thank God for so many whoare actually working to
transition to teach.
We have a number of teachers inour building who have gone
through that program and we havehired someone and she is not
currently working.
She is transitioning to teach,she is taking her exams, she's
(06:24):
doing all that, so she'sactually available right now to
come and be in my classroom andshe has led a few activities so
far and she's getting to knowthe systems I'm using and I was
able to introduce her to the PPN.
So I know that's a bigconnection here why we're
talking today and anyway.
So I am very blessed that I amable to work with her and
(06:47):
hopefully give her good guidance.
Praying for that.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Well, I know she's got it because I've been working
with her before.
I knew that she was yoursuccessor.
One of the things that you cando in the PVN is you can
schedule one-on-one coachingmeetings with me, and she did.
As soon as she registered, shescheduled a meeting and told me
I'm taking over a Spanishteacher's classroom.
I'm working with her right now,but I've never taught before.
(07:12):
Give me all the things, and wehave been working on mapping out
like what her transition wouldlook like and the curriculum
transition and everything.
And then you told me that youactually introduced her to the
network and that both of youhave been secretly working with
each other.
I was like we got to share this.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
That's so we've got a triangle going on here.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Yeah, this is definitely a first a first for
me for having a secretconnection between two people in
the school but it was awesomewhen I found out.
This makes so much sense now.
That's really cool.
So tell me more about, asyou're looking to, this new
transition in your life whereyou're going to be using Spanish
even more, which is cool, butin the context of the Spanish
(07:56):
classroom, looking back at yourcareer, what are some of the
things that you reallyprioritized in your day-to-day
teaching?
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Prioritized Use of the target language, right Use
of the target language, havingconsistency in what was going on
in the classroom.
I was always told routines areimportant.
So I worked to have a routineChallenging my students.
(08:30):
It was important to me thatthey were challenged.
And what does that mean, right?
So, giving them structure,letting them work on that right.
But then so it's hard to putthat into words, but the idea of
that I'm like we are here tolearn something.
We are here to learn somethingand we are going to take
advantage of every minute we can.
So I'm one of thosebell-to-bell people.
(08:51):
Sometimes, unfortunately forother teachers, I'm holding
those kids a little bit afterthat bell Like wait, wait, un
momento, mas una cosa, mas sialgo asi.
But just the idea that and thatcommunication was really
important.
So that stems back from my ownlearning, you know, back in high
school.
High school was the beginning ofmy journey with Espanol.
(09:12):
It didn't have to do withanything in my family or
anything that way.
It was just my sister in highschool, who was two years ahead
of me, saying you should takeSenora's class.
She's great, right?
So then here I am, I'm divingin taking Spanish and I really
did love it, I really enjoyed it, but I think for me it was kind
of the nerd love of languageand just the idea that, oh, I
(09:35):
love to see how these wordsconnect and I love how I get to
change the words to do what Iwant them to do.
And she was a great teacher.
She really did give us lots ofexperiences, had us speaking,
conversations and all that.
So now, all right, movingforward to now advancing to now
well, even I'm sorry, my career,you know my years the biggest
(09:55):
thing to me really reallyprioritizing is communication
and being able to speak, becausemy first year of Spanish in
high school was conversational.
Our teacher had us presentingand just using the language in
the classroom.
But after that, actually, Itransitioned to a different
(10:16):
teacher and he was more aboutlearning the structure, learning
vocabulary, and he knew what hewas doing and he cared about us
, I had no doubt.
But it was less conversational,it was a lot less communicative
and, honestly, I kind ofstarted to wane on my passion
for the language by the end ofhigh school.
So I go to college and I decide, okay, I'll take another
(10:40):
Spanish class and I reallydidn't test very high into
language learning at all incollege, but it was then the
next teacher who just got me onfire again.
I knew I had wanted to be ateacher all along, but it was
like that person like just kindof rekindled the fire.
So now back to my teaching.
Now, just the importance ofwe're gonna open our mouth and
we're gonna say something likewhatever, we're gonna whatever,
so Whatever we're going to,whatever.
(11:01):
But that has developed over theyears too, and that's where
we're getting to now.
Am I making sense?
Am I doing?
Okay, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
And I think you're reminding all of us, too the
power of having an impactfulteacher whose focus is
communication, but also that allthe teachers that you've had
across your career havecertainly put a lot of
investment into how they presentclasses and things, but the
difference has been too for youof the okay, I really want to
teach this language too was theemphasis on communication.
Which is really cool, becausethat's a big thing that I would
(11:36):
love for all teachers to knowand feel is that everybody's
working hard, everybody's doingamazing things and with the same
amount of work, it's just theperspective shift that can make
a difference and light so muchmore of a fire with the people
that you're working with.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
And make it enjoyable , so enjoyable.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Yeah, that's true, it really does.
I remember looking back ondifferent teachers that I had,
especially at the college level,where there were when we were
encouraged to speak.
Class was always more fun, andI could never really figure out
why, but I think that was thebig difference.
So with that, you certainlyhave to work hard to make these
(12:17):
experiences happen for yourstudents.
So what were some of thechallenges that you faced?
And you know that otherteachers are facing, as a really
extremely busy Spanish teacher,right.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
So it has been a flurry of activity, it feels
like, for years and years andyears.
The minimum I've ever had isthree preps.
It's always usually been four,some years it's been five and
I'm like I can't even believe Idid five preps.
Just, yeah, it's so much,because you're just never have
enough time to really like getto know what you're teaching,
(12:54):
like figure out what you'reteaching, and that's where,
again, we're going to get backto it.
But the PPN has just kind ofopened my eyes to, yeah, other
people are struggling with thistoo, like the idea that there is
so much to do and so littletime to do it.
How do we make it meaningful?
How do we make it purposeful?
You know, how do we guidetowards proficiency?
What are we doing so honestly?
(13:16):
So some of the setbacks or someof the things that I struggled
with were just, you know, like Idid not know how to plan
curriculum.
Sometimes I wonder to this dayif I still know how to plan it.
But I know, over the years ofexperience I have figured things
out, like I have figured outlike, oh, I can see how that's
connecting to this and this, andnow I can transition to that.
And oh, I can see now where Iwas teaching that in Español Uno
(13:39):
, now in Español Dos here itcomes, you know it's coming back
.
Espanol dose here it comes, youknow it's coming back.
And now we're going to advancethat.
You know, I can see theconnections happening and and
I'm very thankful for that.
So, but still, it has alwaysbeen difficult for me to like
long term plan and you know,think even about a semester,
even about a quarter.
(13:59):
You know, what are you going todo with this quarter?
So for me it was always likeI'm jumping in and I'm going to
figure it out as I go, and thatcan be very tiring.
That can be very tiring becausethen you're always kind of like
, well, I don't know what'scoming next.
Let's see what's coming nextwhen you're starting a new
series, so to speak.
It used to be every I don'tknow six, seven years.
(14:23):
We had textbook adoption, right, okay.
So now you know, now we'recoming to digital resources now,
but before it used to be everysix or seven years.
So it's like you would teachfrom the same book and you would
get used to it, and then youknow your whoever was in charge
of telling you it's time toadopt, it's time to adopt, okay.
And you start reviewingeverything and thinking I don't
(14:43):
know if I want to try anythingnew.
I just finally got comfortablewith what I was working with, so
anyway.
So it's so definitely overallcurriculum mapping and planning.
That has always been difficultfor me, honestly, but once I get
through a few years, then Istart to figure it out.
So, and maybe that's common formany teachers, I don't know but
(15:05):
because of that, like reallyusing the resources for what
they are, I mean, I, you knowthose textbooks always had like
12 chapters in them and I wouldbe thrilled if I got between six
or seven done in a year.
And I just thought I don't knowif I'm doing the right thing
for my students.
I would worry about it, I would.
(15:25):
And then finally I was likeDiane, you can't do anything
more.
You're working with them,they're learning something, just
keep at it.
And eventually sometimes youfind ways to be more efficient
and then you can kind of tieanother concept down the road in
now and introduce it more andthings like that.
But I used to really beconcerned about that, but that
(15:46):
thankfully, with the years andexperience, I've realized it's
okay.
It's okay, you know, even ifyou fly through all this
material with your students, howmuch are they grasping of that
Right, how much are they reallyunderstanding it or how much are
they using that?
They may have all this stufffloating around in their brain,
but are they connecting it?
And then they get to the nextyear and you're reviewing and
they're huh, you know they're nocomprendo and like no, no
(16:10):
recuerdo, senora, you know theydon't remember what they were
doing.
So what was the point of flyingthrough all that material?
So those were some of thechallenges, for sure.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Yeah, I remember you saying too and I think it was
our latest workshop on targetlanguage where you mentioned
that it's like you never getthrough the whole materials.
And now that you're using Vocesyou still don't get through all
of the materials.
And I said that's whateverybody does Like.
Curriculums are so jam packedthat there's you run into those
exact problems that youmentioned that there's going to
(16:40):
be.
You're just going to end upreviewing all of it anyways and
they're just going to beconfused by the constant fast
pace and stream of language thatthey're not going to actually
grasp onto anything.
And then they're disconnecting.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Right, they're disconnecting because it's not
interesting to them and it's toomuch.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Yeah, and I think everybody well, most people, at
least, that I talk to can relateto the idea of curriculum
mapping being very difficult.
I always say that curriculum isnot something that teachers are
really instructed in, exceptfor, like I had, you know, a
couple little mentions of ithere and there, but it wasn't
really intended to be our job,and our job is to instruct and
to teach.
(17:17):
And curriculum mapping is quitedifferent actually like
planning out a full year ofinstruction, mapping it out, and
all of that in many districts,for many different subjects, is
done by a curriculum coordinator, and World Language never has
one.
I have yet to see it.
I literally have yet to see it.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
So we're all, putting it all together, we're
validating all the struggle itreally is struggle.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Yeah, it really is.
So, with this idea in mind ofcurriculum mapping, and knowing
that things are just reallyreally fast paced and not sure
if students are, you know,catching on to everything that's
going on too, I would love toknow what are some of the ways
that this network has supportedyou, because it must have been
doing something for you, sinceyou recommended it to your
successor and now she's a partof the program too.
(18:10):
So what is it that you knew wasgoing to help you get to where
you wanted to go with yourstudents?
Speaker 2 (18:18):
And so when I, however, it happened that you
know the information about thenetwork came through in my email
, I don't even know Like I'mlike.
Did I click on something?
Nobody ever does?
I don't even know how it camethere, but it showed up and I
just would stare at it and think, boy, that'd probably be really
helpful to me.
(18:38):
You know, and that was over ayear ago, and then, as the
summer was rolling through, andthen I picked up on the
conference.
What is the conference called?
What's your conference?
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Practical and Comprehensible.
Practical and Comprehensible.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
So I just thought I've got to do this, I've got to
do this, I need to see how tomake better connections and I
just need help, right, eventhough all these years of
teaching I'm like I know it canbe better.
I know it can be better.
So it was really.
That probably was my first bigdive into it and I wasn't able
to attend a ton of sessions, butthe sessions I did, they
(19:17):
immediately just validated, onceagain validated all the hard
work that we're doing asteachers, but reminded us like
we're not supposed to be superpeople, right, we're superhuman
and a big thing.
One part of the practicalproficiency network that you
have said is like you are meantto have a life outside of your
(19:40):
job.
That's probably one big, likeyou know bell that went off when
I heard that and I went or thelight bulb moment, as we say,
right, that I thought, oh yeah,that would be wonderful, that
would be nice.
You know, if you can have alife, because I do put in quite
a few hours, because I just wantit.
I want what we do in class tobe good for my students, I want
(20:03):
them to be able to connect andunderstand anyway, um, but so
that was one bell that went offor, oh, I'm sorry, one more
light bulb moment that went offwhen I started to connect with
the practical proficiencynetwork.
But then, when I heard, andthen we had, um, just different
sessions where you would haveexperts, you know, you know you
would have interviews withexperts, or you would talk with
(20:26):
Bryce Hedstrom Is that the rightname?
Yes, you know.
And then I got to listen to asession with him and
specifically talking about thepersonal interviews that he does
, it's just, it's the simplestthing, but it's the most
wonderful thing.
And just, I don't want to sayflooded with ideas.
I want to stop there, because Idon't want people to think, oh,
all I need is just anotherflood of ideas, because
(20:47):
sometimes we go to teacherconferences and you go to one
session, one hour, anothersession, another session,
another session, and then guesswhat you got this whole.
Like in the old days, we wouldsay you got this whole folder,
this whole these packets, andwhat'd you do with them?
Well, you're tired, you go home, you set them down and then you
start working on your planning.
You're like I got to get backto that.
And do you get back to it?
(21:08):
Right, do you get back to it.
Nope, I didn't, you know itwould go in the filing cabinet
yes, the old filing cabinet, andit wasn't serving a purpose.
So anyway, back to just youknow conference that kicked off
this year.
I realized that help isavailable.
Help is available and there'speople out there that are
(21:30):
willing to talk with me and workwith me and commiserate a
little bit, but mostly stayfocused on the good things and
where we're going with this.
So that is.
And then through the year, thiscurrent school year, you know,
I have attended differentsessions with you and you've
refreshed the idea of you knowwhat is language acquisition?
(21:52):
Right, we went through allthose, just the basic
information there and howimportant that is.
I mean just to have that basis,like, what are we really doing
here?
No, you're not teaching this,you're not pouring stuff into
their head.
They know how to talk, theyfigure out how to talk.
It's just, you know, givingthem the guidance along the way.
So, being the facilitator, right, being the facilitator in the
classroom, just again and again,so many good points.
(22:14):
I have a master's.
Understand this.
I have a master's degree in theteaching of Spanish
specifically.
It was the only master's I everthought was worth something.
I was like when I figured outthey had this master's program.
I'm like that's for me.
It was a very good program, itwas very good.
But your teaching in the PPN andthat of the experts you bring
(22:36):
on board, it's all justcontinuing to emphasize all the
key elements of what languagelearning is about.
And with that right, it justreminded me yes, oh yes, this is
what I'm doing and there ispurpose for this.
And you know what Maybe I'm notreally contextualizing that as
much as I should be could bethings like that, like it, just
(22:57):
it, really, I know I keep sayingit it refreshed me.
And so then, when I knew, likeyou know, about the middle of
the year, the decision was madewith my husband and I knew that,
you know, life was going tochange and I was going to be
leaving my teaching position.
Then my heart said, oh, who'sgoing to take over this position
for my students?
And so, and we have hired, youknow, my replacement, so
(23:28):
thankful that she is someone wholoves to use Espanol and she
has a big heart for wanting todo well and even though she's a,
she's the beginning teacherright at the beginning.
But I said, you know what youhave got to get into this
network.
You have got to start learningfrom it because of, again, just
all the important things thatare happening, like reminding us
of the importance of themethodology that's there for a
reason, and the basis, theresearch that's behind it, and
the use of target language asmuch as we can, as much as we
can, and don't give up, tryagain and the encouragement
(23:50):
there.
So there, that's a lot.
I went on.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
That makes me so happy to hear, too, and I want
to thank you, too, for foradvocating for it and working
with your administrators to makeit happen for somebody else too
.
That's a.
To thank you, too, foradvocating for it and working
with your administrators to makeit happen for somebody else too
.
That's a really, really bigpart of this, and I completely
agree with what you were sayingabout going to any kind of
training, learning, development,all of it.
(24:16):
You have all of these notes, youhave all of these things that
you're excited to move into thenext day with, but the tack on
of practical for everything thatwe do is the idea of what about
Monday?
How, what is this going toactually look like on Monday?
What's going to be your numberone takeaway from this, or one
small action that you can dofrom this?
And I would say to that, likeyour successor, the horse, like
(24:37):
she's always working on puttingnew things into motion and very
much takes things and runs withit, which is a talent, for sure,
and to do that, though, I thinkshe feels very secure, knowing
that you've got her back, thatyou're advocating for her.
So what do you think is?
What are some of the thingsthat you think are important
(25:00):
about advocating for others inthis profession and taking on
that mentorship role for helpingwith teachers.
And what would you suggest forother people who are maybe newer
in their teaching journey tofind that in the world, if they
don't have somebody who can showthem the ropes, like you are?
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Well, I mean, as I was mentioning earlier, we I
mean we used to say you need tobe a part of your local
organizations, right?
So there are, of course,language organizations here in
Indiana and there's bigger onesacross the United States.
You know the AATSP and thenACTFL, of course as well, and
then there's Central StatesConferences and there's the
(25:41):
Indiana Foreign LanguageTeachers Association's, the
Indiana foreign languageteachers association, which
still says foreign language.
But that's okay, no worries.
Um, I do believe there ispurpose to those because,
especially local ones um, again,but cause I, my job has changed
a little bit over the years, Ihaven't connected as much as I
used to, but there used to belike local, like schools would
(26:02):
come together to have languagecompetitions and things and it's
just like a field day, right,but in foreign language or in
world languages, and so I meansimple things like there could
be poetry, recitation and therewas spelling bees and there was
things like that.
But the point is like that's agood thing, like getting people
together just to have fun usingthe language number one.
Number two is there is purposeto those conferences.
(26:25):
But you check that out, right,you need to be the one who gets
online.
You look at the sessions andyou figure out what is going to
be purposeful for me, becausethen you have to stand up for
yourself with your administratorand say this is going to be
worth our money to send me tothis conference.
So again back to the PracticalProficiency Network.
As soon as I got in and as soonas I realized the amazing value
(26:48):
there that I had to share thatwith my administrator and I said
, yes, my replacement, I wanther to have this.
What can we do so she can havethis?
Can you please support her inthis?
Could you give her one year ofthis?
Could you give her one year?
So that would help her.
You know, like you said, she'salready connected with you to
work on her curriculum mapping.
Thank you, jesus, thank you,thank you, devin.
(27:09):
And so she and it's verypositive, right, she's already
feeling supported, simplybecause of not simply, but
because of the good work that'shappening there.
You said advocating for it, andagain, I'm a single teacher.
You know, we do have AmericanSign Language taught at our
school, which is amazing andawesome, and the other language
(27:31):
is Espanol, right?
So these are the two languages.
So we are a department, butobviously we're not a department
planning together, right, andso if I have needs, specifically
as a teacher, I have to go outand seek them.
So you don't have to go veryfar if you're part of the PPN,
because the PPN is bringing youexperts to talk to you, is
(27:53):
bringing you question and answersessions so that you can just
talk about what you'restruggling with right now, or
again just sharing, like okay,I'm normal, I'm normal, they're
saying the same thing.
The other teachers in thesession they're struggling with
right now, or again, you know,just sharing, like okay, I'm
normal, I'm normal, they'resaying the same thing.
The other teachers in thesession they're struggling with
something too.
Ooh, there was a great ideaSomebody shared.
And you stop and you ask themand you give us time, devin, to
say you know, oh, yeah, what'sthat resource?
(28:14):
And you share it out with us.
And then we talk about a littlebit.
Or hey, if you check in thetreasure chest, right, there is
a whole session about using thatmusic website, you know, for
your classroom.
So great, a great use ofresources, a great sharing of
resources, but also encouragingus to just to do our best.
(28:35):
And I know I'm kind of comingaround in a circle there, but
did I answer the question?
You did yes, and I'm glowingjust thinking about it.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
I'm so glad that all those things can be helpful to
you.
Like that's the whole reasonthat I do it is.
I remember being a teacher inseveral different schools and
having different levels ofsupport, and when I did have
support and colleagues that Icould go to, it was a total game
changer for me.
But there were many instanceswhere I didn't have that and it
(29:03):
affected everything that I did.
It was so much harder just todo the day-to-day things for I
think, that exact thing that youhit the nail on the head with.
Am I the only one who feelsthis way?
Like, am I the only one who'salso working with these same
things or these same issues?
And the answer really is thatif you tap into the community
for just a second, it's veryclearly not like and that can.
(29:25):
I for a while, thought that thePPN needs to be.
Here's all the information thatyou need.
But as soon as I startedtalking to teachers like you,
the number one thing they keptcoming back to was, honestly,
it's nice to just have peoplewho understand what I'm going
through.
It's so nice to meet with otherteachers who have the same
types of problems as me.
(29:45):
So it isn't necessarily alwaysabout fixing it either.
It's just knowing that, oh, I'mnot the only one doing this.
This is cool, it's good to knowthat, and it makes the stress
of it a little bit lighter, alittle bit easier to understand
and move through, because that'swhat we're really working
towards is can you enjoy yourclassroom and your life and
(30:06):
enjoying your classroom is partof that and you can't enjoy it
if you think that you knowyou're the only one who's
walking through all of thesethings that are going on with
that too.
You mentioned a lot of theresources that are in the ppn,
so I want to ask you to a littlebit more about as you've moved
through your career.
What has been the differencefor you?
(30:27):
How, from your perspective, howimportant is it for teachers to
have access to literally justresources to do what they need
to do, and have you haddifferent experiences with
access to that?
Speaker 2 (30:44):
And have you had different experiences with
access to that, access toresources?
It is I'm trying to think aboutthat Definitely now with.
Well, I mean there's we couldgo all the way to AI generated
(31:08):
materials now, but which I amnot savvy at, but the young
people around me are.
I love it.
I love hearing them talk aboutit.
I'm like, but the young peoplearound me are, I love it.
I love hearing them talk aboutit.
I'm like I need to learn moreabout that because it can be an
incredible tool.
But anyway, the idea, actuallyit really blows me away.
Now that I got to get mygrounding here, it really blows
(31:32):
me away.
What's all available to us?
And there are several amazingteachers out there that have,
you know, created like blogwebsites I'm not sure what to
call them blog resource sitesthat you have also highlighted
and shared out, and some of themhave joined you in your
conference, right, and so theyare sharing incredible tools
(31:52):
that have just added spice tothe classroom, added fun to the
classroom, and what really iscool is that they're blog
resource sites because they'resharing how they use the tool
themselves and why it wasimportant to them or why they
developed it.
That has been a game changerfor me.
It's not just like lookingthrough the old catalog in the
(32:16):
old days, the old magazinecatalog, and looking at the
posters available or the booksavailable and having the little
blurb about them.
But these are teachers sharingwith you how they're using those
materials.
So that has made a bigdifference too.
Actually, I can definitely sharethat, and sometimes you're
(32:36):
going to pay some money forthose, right.
Sometimes teachers pay teachers.
We're going to pay for thosethrough those, but for the most
part, they're pretty inexpensiveand they've helped me develop
my own materials right.
So that's another awesomepositive thing too.
Like, oh, that's a really neatway how they did that, also
showing me that sometimes I'vebeen overcomplicating things
(32:58):
right.
It helps help me simplify andmake things more reachable for
my students.
So, yeah, the use of resourceshas actually it has impacted me
quite a bit in my classroom.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
Yeah, it sounds like it.
I don't know any teachers whowalk this road alone and are
making completely all of theirown things from their own ideas.
Because just by the nature ofteachers, it's not really how we
work.
We prefer collaboration most ofthe time.
We prefer outside ideas and Iwould say I think just need them
in a more organized way.
It's easier to reach thembecause now there's a lot of
(33:33):
them, which is great and alsoterrifying.
So it's sorting through things.
Yeah, very much so.
So you've showed us so muchabout all of the ways that your
career has been impacted byhaving support, by having
resources, by all these thingsthat I'm striving to provide in
(33:57):
the PPN, and I would love toknow how do you think that this
program, the PPN, is helping youto ensure that smooth
transition between what you'redoing now and what you think
will happen next year with yoursuccessor?
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Well, honestly it, just knowing that my replacement
has connected with you and thatshe is, she is getting
incredible guidance in terms of.
I mean, really, that curriculummapping is huge, right, just to
see how it's going to go forher.
So she doesn't.
It's, it's just not scary.
It's not scary.
I have a map, I know where I'mgoing to go with this.
It's just not scary.
(34:35):
It's not scary.
I have a map, I know where I'mgoing to go with this.
That is huge in and of itself.
Also, I mean just the differentsessions that you're offering.
Now, we're not always togetherto be able to watch those
together, but I'm constantlylike firing off, forwarding I
should say forwarding the emails, the updates and things that
you send us and saying, hey, areknow, are you going to check
into that?
(34:55):
Check into, you know, like thatspecific topic that you're
sharing with us, because I'mlike this can be really helpful,
you know, with what's coming upand helping us think about how
do we say diversify?
You know, our lesson planningIs that the right word?
Is that the word I'm lookingfor?
But, to you know, enable ourlessons to reach, more than you
(35:18):
know, one learning style of astudent or students that just
they're struggling more thanothers.
Right, some take it and runwith it and others they need
more guidance along the way.
So, but also again, just showingher that resources are
available is huge, and you'vealready mentioned that.
You know how she's really kindof hit the ground running with
(35:38):
that and she's like tell me whatto do, tell me what to do.
She's sharing and teaching menew websites.
Now you know new tools online,I should say, and I'm so
thankful for that because I'mlike that is perfect, that is
going to be so helpful for you.
That's great, because I tend toand it's probably the old
school nature in me because I'vebeen at it for a while but that
I feel like I do have to remakethings and I'm like stop
(36:01):
remaking it, like, just try it,like I have to talk to coach
myself through that so often.
But also, of course, you knowwe want to adapt it to the topic
you know at hand and thingslike that.
So sometimes you have to, youknow, tweak things here and
there.
But just encouraging her Also,it has given me which I
(36:26):
hopefully am sharing with herlike it really has reinvigorated
me to be able to give her joy,to say you know, look what's
happening here, listen to youknow, like, listen to the
recordings the students did, andwhat do you think about that?
And we chat about it and it'sallowing I guess it's allowing
me, number one, to let go toknow that you know, I am going
to be walking away from thisknowing that my students have
(36:49):
done well this year and that Iknow they're going to be in good
hands because, well, but see,these are personal things too,
because, like, I can tell thatshe cares about that, but she,
it is important to her to learnabout, like you know, actual
proficiency levels and thingslike that that I know that the
PPN and all the work that'sbeing done there is going to
guide her to see as well.
(37:09):
So that, of course, gives megreat reassurance and I know
that she can come to a questionand answer session and ask
things.
You know, if she's stuck onsomething next year, you know if
I'm not available to send her alittle text message or
something.
So there's just, there are alot of layers there.
I'm not even sure where else togo with that, but thanks for
(37:31):
giving me a shot at trying toanswer that question.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
I love it.
Well, I wish that I had anexperience like this going into
my first classroom, because Iwas floundering so much in my
first year and having somebodyto go to like a successor or an
instructional coach would havemade such a huge difference.
So it just keeps me putting,putting me back in my first year
(37:54):
Instructional coach.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
We all need it.
We all need it.
You know what?
Just the other thing justtelling yourself it's okay to
get help, it's okay, yeah, youhave your degree, you went to
college, okay, well, thatdoesn't mean you're a perfect
and you're an expert.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
It's okay to ask for help, it's okay to reach out,
and I would say, too, that allof the teachers that are in the
PPN and everybody that we workwith are quite skilled.
There are some there are evensome moments from other teachers
who come to me thinking thatthey're like somewhere in the
midway of our roadmap toproficiency and I'm like you're
better at target language than Iam, like you have so much to
(38:27):
share with what we're doing here.
But what having a coachprovides you is that outsider
who can look at it from the topwhen you're in it, like you're
always in the thick of it.
So it's not necessarily.
Actually, I'm blown away allthe time when people show up to
class and I'm still like it'samazing that people are here to
(38:51):
hear what I have to say.
I have to say, but most of thetime, what they're finding from
working with a coach is thatit's that outside perspective
who's able to remind you ofthese are the ways that you
could make that happen faster.
Here are the things that you'realready actually doing really
well, and they walk away fromthe meeting knowing like, oh,
I'm actually doing these thingsreally well.
I don't need to be going homeat 6 pm and beating myself up
(39:13):
about it while I'm trying to eatdinner.
That's what a coach really cando and what having a coach in
areas of life for me has donefor me as well.
So coaching is my favoritething that I like to do in the
PPN.
But I'm curious to know what'syour favorite thing about being
a part of the network or ifyou'd rather go with this.
What's a recent experienceyou've had that was like, oh,
(39:34):
this is great, I love this.
You'd rather go with this.
What's a recent experienceyou've had that was like, oh,
this is great.
Speaker 2 (39:40):
I love this.
I just I just enjoy all thesessions that we're a part of.
I I think that when you are andI've mentioned it several times
already but I think that whenyou have shared with us, you
(40:02):
know, like language learningtheory I don't know, that must
be the nerd in me Like I reallyenjoy hearing about that, but it
also it just grounds me and itreminds me of, you know, what is
what is behind what we're doinghere, you know, and where I
need to pull back for a momentand and reflect on my teaching
(40:23):
practices and understand thatyou know, there there is
research behind what you'redoing and there's purpose for
what you're doing.
So I guess, again, I feel likethat's kind of the nerd side of
me.
I just really enjoy hearingthat and knowing that, yeah,
we're doing good things here andoh, you know what I kind of
been sliding in that area, youknow, or possibly you know like
(40:44):
communicative activities orwhatever.
So you know it.
Just, it has encouraged me toget back on the horse, as we
used to say right, you know,just get back up there and give
it a try again and don't give up, because there's always,
there's always a new day and, asyou have said to us again and
again, you know, aiming for 2%,let's go for 2% improvement, 2%
(41:05):
Like that was simply a huge gamechanger for me.
Just to hear that I havesomebody say that to me, I'm
like, oh yeah, I guess theydon't have to be perfect
tomorrow, like, oh, there'vebeen a lot of refreshing moments
.
There's some I.
Speaker 1 (41:20):
I did not know that the 2% thing would hit so hard,
but it really does.
I'm so glad to hear that that'sawesome.
Yeah, we're trying to be 2%better every day.
So we're we're getting to thethe end of our interview here
and it's been been so wonderfulto talk to you and personally,
for me to hear, like, oh, thesethings are working.
(41:41):
I'm so glad to know that.
But it's also a little bitbittersweet to know that you
will be transitioning out butthat I'll be working still with
your school and with yourstudents indirectly, of course
students indirectly, of course.
But the last thing that I wantto ask you is what do you think
is a key takeaway from yourexperience with the PPN and what
(42:04):
would you recommend to anybodywho's listening, who might feel
overwhelmed with the things thatthey're being barraged with
every day?
As a teacher, what would beyour takeaway for them, for
anybody who's looking for somemore support in their language
teaching?
Speaker 2 (42:21):
I think the biggest takeaway is networking.
I think it really is.
I remember in college that Ihad a classmate in my language
learning classes and languageeducation classes that said she
just talked about networking somuch and I was like uh-huh,
uh-huh, you know, like Ilistened to her but it never
(42:42):
really stuck.
I think some of that has to dowith me being probably a little
more introverted than I mightseem when I'm talking to people,
but I do have an introvertedside and I have this side of
like, dig in and do the hardwork and get it done, and that's
my nature.
But you know, over the years Imean seriously, like the last 10
(43:02):
years maybe in my life it'sfinally like somehow the message
has gotten through howimportant it is to talk with
others, share your experiences,work through it and know again
that you're not alone, thatyou're not alone in this, work
through it and know again thatyou're not alone, that you're
not alone in this, but also thatthere are, there are other ways
to handle things and it's goingto be okay when you're having a
(43:24):
bad day.
It's really going to be okay,like you're going to get through
it and okay, it was a bad dayand now we're going to move on
and we're going to have a betterday, and, and with that, it's
okay to say to your students I'msorry, I messed up, I messed up
or this didn't go well, let'stry something else.
Right, it's really okay.
Learning is not meant to be donein isolation, right?
(43:46):
So we are so again, networkingwith others, and the PPN brings
it to you, brings it to you, Imean.
So that's what was super coolabout this.
Like honestly, I don't I don'teven know if I've ever been to
an online conference like beforethe last year.
And then I'm like where have Ibeen?
I don't know how long, if thesehave been going on for a long
time or not, but when I realizedthis could just be right there
(44:08):
with me and I can just waitafter school and I can have a
session, I can be a part withothers, I was like we've needed
this forever.
Where has this been?
So I don't know if I missed theboat somewhere earlier or what,
but reaching out to others,getting help, talking through
things, that makes all thedifference.
(44:28):
It makes all the difference.
Speaker 1 (44:30):
So, networking, joining the network, I so agree
with that and I think that for along time in my career I've
needed to hear that too is thatbeing with others and networking
is really what makes adifference, because I'm the same
way Like.
I very much like to dig intothe work and just do the work,
but there's only so far that youcan get by yourself.
(44:52):
Even with that strategy andwith teaching, the work is never
done.
So you have to find a way tofigure out what is going to be
my approach to this.
How can I do this better andhow can I make my classroom a
community and less of a likegoal oriented deal, where the
community is really where themagic happens?
And it is that same way inteaching too.
So thank you for sharing thatabout how the network makes that
(45:14):
easier for you.
So glad to hear that We've addeda lot of new community features
this year.
They're just starting to takeoff.
It's great.
So that makes me really happyto hear Thank you so much for
sharing this story with us allyour insights about teaching.
There were so many nuggets inthere of wisdom too, from your
experiences that you've had thatapply to everybody and knowing,
(45:41):
too, that your experiences withteaching are similar to mine,
similar to others, like, justlike what we're.
What we're trying to emphasizehere is that knowing that you
can be in community with othersand that many other people are
walking a similar path as you,with the same kinds of
challenges, questions andmovements, makes a huge
difference.
So thanks for sharing yourstory with us, and I'm so
excited to work with you for thelast few months that we have
left and then to continueworking with your new successor.
(46:03):
That's so cool.
Speaker 2 (46:05):
Thank you so much.
Thank you for providing theopportunity.
It's been good.
It's been good.
I appreciate the conversationand time to reflect.
It gives me time to reflectbecause it has been a blessed
career for me.
So yeah, be teachers.
We need more teachers.
Jump in everybody.
Let's go For sure For sure.
Speaker 1 (46:24):
Well, thank you so much for this and I'm so excited
to share it with everybody.
And, as we are closing out,thank you, thank you, thank you
again for everything that youbring to the network, because
you're a part of that community.
You helped it to grow, youhelped it to thrive and I feel
very lucky to have been yourcoach.
Thank you All right.
(46:45):
Bye, bye-bye.
What's up?
Que lo que Et salut worldlanguage teachers.
Welcome to the PracticalProficiency Podcast, where we
make the transition toproficiency-oriented instruction
in your world language class ina way that works for you, your
unique context and teachingstyle, and doesn't sacrifice
(00:21):
your well-being along the way.
I'm your host, devon Gunning,the teacher author, conference
host, curriculum creator andconsultant behind La Libre
Language Learning.
This podcast is for thecreative world language teacher
like you who's ready to ditchthe overwhelming pressure of
switching to acquisition-driveninstruction and CI overnight.
(00:42):
You're ready to discover howusing more target language in
class can actually bring you andyour students more joy instead
of adding to your plate.
With practical, authentic anddown-to-earth strategies that
don't require reinventing thewheel or more training, we'll
work together towards the magicof a community-based,
(01:04):
target-language-rich classroom,rooted in the power of community
and comprehensible input.
Let's go.
Welcome everybody to thePractical Proficiency Podcast.
I'm so excited to bring to youa special guest today.
We're going to be learning froma fellow teacher like you.
(01:25):
Diane is my guest teacher todayand she'll be sharing with us
some of her experiences as aSpanish teacher.
And Diane is an especiallyspecial guest to me because
she's a teacher that I've beenworking with in the Practical
Proficiency Network and she'shere today to share some of her
experiences, and I'm so excitedto share all of this with y'all.
(01:49):
So, without further ado, diane,thanks for coming.
It's such a pleasure to hangout with you in this new
recording scenario.
This is cool and for ourlisteners today, could you share
a little bit about your what'syour background as a Spanish
teacher, what's your, what'syour class setup look like, and
a little bit more about yourexperience?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Okay, hello everyone and thank you, devin, for time
together.
It is good.
I do cherish it, becauseworking, just getting to know
you and and the amazingresources and all that's
available in the PracticalProficiency Network and the
support that's there, it hasbrought a smile to my face again
and again and it has refreshedme as an educator.
(02:31):
So I'm really happy to be here.
And so who am I?
I am a Spanish teacher and I amcompleting my wait.
I thought I did the mathcorrect 23 years, 23 years of
teaching now, which there's alittle bit more like.
I taught some preschool for ayear, so there's some extra
things in there, some extra fun.
(02:51):
But I have been at it for awhile and you don't always like
realize that until you start tolook at all the memories and the
pictures and then you start tosee how your face has changed
and things like that.
But also just looking at allthe memories and how many
students have been in your roomand working with you and putting
up with you and having fun withyou and all those things.
(03:14):
So I currently am finishing 16years at my current job,
although I took a little breakin there.
So 16 years, I'm at a parochialgrade school, a private excuse
me high school.
High school in Indianapolis,indiana.
Before that I taught aboutseven years in public schools
(03:36):
seven years, a couple ofdifferent ones, and it had to do
with, like my family and movingfor jobs, and that's what makes
the change oftentimes.
And then a little bit ofpreschool in there because I had
a baby, had my son and movingfor jobs and that's what makes
the change oftentimes.
And then a little bit ofpreschool in there because I had
a baby, had my son and changedthe jobs a little bit there.
So what is my overall like?
Here at Lutheran High School ofIndianapolis we have a full
(03:59):
Spanish program of four levelsand I am the one Spanish teacher
.
We are a small school, so oneSpanish teacher is enough to
teach all those courses.
Sometimes we have students whoadvance a little more or they
come in transferring fromanother school where they've had
more.
They've had preparation like inmiddle school, right.
So they sometimes can reachthat AP level fifth year of
(04:21):
Spanish and such, and theyusually will do an online class
to take care of that at thispoint.
But you know I spend it justdepends on the student's
experience.
So that's, I should stop there.
That's enough for now, but ifyou have any specific questions,
feel free to ask.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
That is a robust career You've got.
You've got a lot of experiencein different areas, different
schools and everything, andthere's actually a new thing on
the horizon, too, is that youare transitioning right now,
right Like you're moving into anew role, and what is so cool
(04:58):
about your setup, and what I'mreally excited to talk to you
about, is that you have thisunique opportunity where you are
actually training yoursuccessor teacher and showing
her the ropes of what your wholeschool structure looks like,
which is so cool.
So tell us a little bit moreabout that, too.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
So I remarried about eight years ago, married a man
who is passionate about missionwork and so with him I've been
blessed to have many experiencesin El Salvador.
And now he is ready to retireand he is like we're doing it,
we're going to go move to ElSalvador and we're going to live
there full time.
And I'm like, okay, here we go,here we go.
(05:40):
And I knew that about this manbefore I married him, so it was
not a surprise.
It was just the timing figuringthat out.
So we are planning.
Our plane tickets are forOctober 21st, we know when we're
going down and I have beenblessed that my school was able
to.
We interviewed severalcandidates already for my
(06:01):
position and that's huge rightthere just to find available
candidates, since there issomewhat of and that's huge
right there just to findavailable candidates, since you
know there is somewhat of ashortage of teachers out there.
But thank God for so many whoare actually working to
transition to teach.
We have a number of teachers inour building who have gone
through that program and we havehired someone and she is not
currently working.
She is transitioning to teach,she is taking her exams, she's
(06:24):
doing all that, so she'sactually available right now to
come and be in my classroom andshe has led a few activities so
far and she's getting to knowthe systems I'm using and I was
able to introduce her to the PPN.
So I know that's a bigconnection here why we're
talking today and anyway.
So I am very blessed that I amable to work with her and
(06:47):
hopefully give her good guidance.
Praying for that.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Well, I know she's got it because I've been working
with her before.
I knew that she was yoursuccessor.
One of the things that you cando in the PVN is you can
schedule one-on-one coachingmeetings with me, and she did.
As soon as she registered, shescheduled a meeting and told me
I'm taking over a Spanishteacher's classroom.
I'm working with her right now,but I've never taught before.
(07:12):
Give me all the things, and wehave been working on mapping out
like what her transition wouldlook like and the curriculum
transition and everything.
And then you told me that youactually introduced her to the
network and that both of youhave been secretly working with
each other.
I was like we got to share this.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
That's so we've got a triangle going on here.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Yeah, this is definitely a first a first for
me for having a secretconnection between two people in
the school but it was awesomewhen I found out.
This makes so much sense now.
That's really cool.
So tell me more about, asyou're looking to, this new
transition in your life whereyou're going to be using Spanish
even more, which is cool, butin the context of the Spanish
(07:56):
classroom, looking back at yourcareer, what are some of the
things that you reallyprioritized in your day-to-day
teaching?
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Prioritized Use of the target language, right Use
of the target language, havingconsistency in what was going on
in the classroom.
I was always told routines areimportant.
So I worked to have a routineChallenging my students.
(08:30):
It was important to me thatthey were challenged.
And what does that mean, right?
So, giving them structure,letting them work on that right.
But then so it's hard to putthat into words, but the idea of
that I'm like we are here tolearn something.
We are here to learn somethingand we are going to take
advantage of every minute we can.
So I'm one of thosebell-to-bell people.
(08:51):
Sometimes, unfortunately forother teachers, I'm holding
those kids a little bit afterthat bell Like wait, wait, un
momento, mas una cosa, mas sialgo asi.
But just the idea that and thatcommunication was really
important.
So that stems back from my ownlearning, you know, back in high
school.
High school was the beginning ofmy journey with Espanol.
(09:12):
It didn't have to do withanything in my family or
anything that way.
It was just my sister in highschool, who was two years ahead
of me, saying you should takeSenora's class.
She's great, right?
So then here I am, I'm divingin taking Spanish and I really
did love it, I really enjoyed it, but I think for me it was kind
of the nerd love of languageand just the idea that, oh, I
(09:35):
love to see how these wordsconnect and I love how I get to
change the words to do what Iwant them to do.
And she was a great teacher.
She really did give us lots ofexperiences, had us speaking,
conversations and all that.
So now, all right, movingforward to now advancing to now
well, even I'm sorry, my career,you know my years the biggest
(09:55):
thing to me really reallyprioritizing is communication
and being able to speak, becausemy first year of Spanish in
high school was conversational.
Our teacher had us presentingand just using the language in
the classroom.
But after that, actually, Itransitioned to a different
(10:16):
teacher and he was more aboutlearning the structure, learning
vocabulary, and he knew what hewas doing and he cared about us
, I had no doubt.
But it was less conversational,it was a lot less communicative
and, honestly, I kind ofstarted to wane on my passion
for the language by the end ofhigh school.
So I go to college and I decide, okay, I'll take another
(10:40):
Spanish class and I reallydidn't test very high into
language learning at all incollege, but it was then the
next teacher who just got me onfire again.
I knew I had wanted to be ateacher all along, but it was
like that person like just kindof rekindled the fire.
So now back to my teaching.
Now, just the importance ofwe're gonna open our mouth and
we're gonna say something likewhatever, we're gonna whatever,
so Whatever we're going to,whatever.
(11:01):
But that has developed over theyears too, and that's where
we're getting to now.
Am I making sense?
Am I doing?
Okay, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
And I think you're reminding all of us, too the
power of having an impactfulteacher whose focus is
communication, but also that allthe teachers that you've had
across your career havecertainly put a lot of
investment into how they presentclasses and things, but the
difference has been too for youof the okay, I really want to
teach this language too was theemphasis on communication.
Which is really cool, becausethat's a big thing that I would
(11:36):
love for all teachers to knowand feel is that everybody's
working hard, everybody's doingamazing things and with the same
amount of work, it's just theperspective shift that can make
a difference and light so muchmore of a fire with the people
that you're working with.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
And make it enjoyable , so enjoyable.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Yeah, that's true, it really does.
I remember looking back ondifferent teachers that I had,
especially at the college level,where there were when we were
encouraged to speak.
Class was always more fun, andI could never really figure out
why, but I think that was thebig difference.
So with that, you certainlyhave to work hard to make these
(12:17):
experiences happen for yourstudents.
So what were some of thechallenges that you faced?
And you know that otherteachers are facing, as a really
extremely busy Spanish teacher,right.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
So it has been a flurry of activity, it feels
like, for years and years andyears.
The minimum I've ever had isthree preps.
It's always usually been four,some years it's been five and
I'm like I can't even believe Idid five preps.
Just, yeah, it's so much,because you're just never have
enough time to really like getto know what you're teaching,
(12:54):
like figure out what you'reteaching, and that's where,
again, we're going to get backto it.
But the PPN has just kind ofopened my eyes to, yeah, other
people are struggling with thistoo, like the idea that there is
so much to do and so littletime to do it.
How do we make it meaningful?
How do we make it purposeful?
You know, how do we guidetowards proficiency?
What are we doing so honestly?
(13:16):
So some of the setbacks or someof the things that I struggled
with were just, you know, like Idid not know how to plan
curriculum.
Sometimes I wonder to this dayif I still know how to plan it.
But I know, over the years ofexperience I have figured things
out, like I have figured outlike, oh, I can see how that's
connecting to this and this, andnow I can transition to that.
And oh, I can see now where Iwas teaching that in Español Uno
(13:39):
, now in Español Dos here itcomes, you know it's coming back
.
Espanol dose here it comes, youknow it's coming back.
And now we're going to advancethat.
You know, I can see theconnections happening and and
I'm very thankful for that.
So, but still, it has alwaysbeen difficult for me to like
long term plan and you know,think even about a semester,
even about a quarter.
(13:59):
You know, what are you going todo with this quarter?
So for me it was always likeI'm jumping in and I'm going to
figure it out as I go, and thatcan be very tiring.
That can be very tiring becausethen you're always kind of like
, well, I don't know what'scoming next.
Let's see what's coming nextwhen you're starting a new
series, so to speak.
It used to be every I don'tknow six, seven years.
(14:23):
We had textbook adoption, right, okay.
So now you know, now we'recoming to digital resources now,
but before it used to be everysix or seven years.
So it's like you would teachfrom the same book and you would
get used to it, and then youknow your whoever was in charge
of telling you it's time toadopt, it's time to adopt, okay.
And you start reviewingeverything and thinking I don't
(14:43):
know if I want to try anythingnew.
I just finally got comfortablewith what I was working with, so
anyway.
So it's so definitely overallcurriculum mapping and planning.
That has always been difficultfor me, honestly, but once I get
through a few years, then Istart to figure it out.
So, and maybe that's common formany teachers, I don't know but
(15:05):
because of that, like reallyusing the resources for what
they are, I mean, I, you knowthose textbooks always had like
12 chapters in them and I wouldbe thrilled if I got between six
or seven done in a year.
And I just thought I don't knowif I'm doing the right thing
for my students.
I would worry about it, I would.
(15:25):
And then finally I was likeDiane, you can't do anything
more.
You're working with them,they're learning something, just
keep at it.
And eventually sometimes youfind ways to be more efficient
and then you can kind of tieanother concept down the road in
now and introduce it more andthings like that.
But I used to really beconcerned about that, but that
(15:46):
thankfully, with the years andexperience, I've realized it's
okay.
It's okay, you know, even ifyou fly through all this
material with your students, howmuch are they grasping of that
Right, how much are they reallyunderstanding it or how much are
they using that?
They may have all this stufffloating around in their brain,
but are they connecting it?
And then they get to the nextyear and you're reviewing and
they're huh, you know they're nocomprendo and like no, no
(16:10):
recuerdo, senora, you know theydon't remember what they were
doing.
So what was the point of flyingthrough all that material?
So those were some of thechallenges, for sure.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Yeah, I remember you saying too and I think it was
our latest workshop on targetlanguage where you mentioned
that it's like you never getthrough the whole materials.
And now that you're using Vocesyou still don't get through all
of the materials.
And I said that's whateverybody does Like.
Curriculums are so jam packedthat there's you run into those
exact problems that youmentioned that there's going to
(16:40):
be.
You're just going to end upreviewing all of it anyways and
they're just going to beconfused by the constant fast
pace and stream of language thatthey're not going to actually
grasp onto anything.
And then they're disconnecting.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Right, they're disconnecting because it's not
interesting to them and it's toomuch.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Yeah, and I think everybody well, most people, at
least, that I talk to can relateto the idea of curriculum
mapping being very difficult.
I always say that curriculum isnot something that teachers are
really instructed in, exceptfor, like I had, you know, a
couple little mentions of ithere and there, but it wasn't
really intended to be our job,and our job is to instruct and
to teach.
(17:17):
And curriculum mapping is quitedifferent actually like
planning out a full year ofinstruction, mapping it out, and
all of that in many districts,for many different subjects, is
done by a curriculum coordinator, and World Language never has
one.
I have yet to see it.
I literally have yet to see it.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
So we're all, putting it all together, we're
validating all the struggle itreally is struggle.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Yeah, it really is.
So, with this idea in mind ofcurriculum mapping, and knowing
that things are just reallyreally fast paced and not sure
if students are, you know,catching on to everything that's
going on too, I would love toknow what are some of the ways
that this network has supportedyou, because it must have been
doing something for you, sinceyou recommended it to your
successor and now she's a partof the program too.
(18:10):
So what is it that you knew wasgoing to help you get to where
you wanted to go with yourstudents?
Speaker 2 (18:18):
And so when I, however, it happened that you
know the information about thenetwork came through in my email
, I don't even know Like I'mlike.
Did I click on something?
Nobody ever does?
I don't even know how it camethere, but it showed up and I
just would stare at it and think, boy, that'd probably be really
helpful to me.
(18:38):
You know, and that was over ayear ago, and then, as the
summer was rolling through, andthen I picked up on the
conference.
What is the conference called?
What's your conference?
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Practical and Comprehensible.
Practical and Comprehensible.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
So I just thought I've got to do this, I've got to
do this, I need to see how tomake better connections and I
just need help, right, eventhough all these years of
teaching I'm like I know it canbe better.
I know it can be better.
So it was really.
That probably was my first bigdive into it and I wasn't able
to attend a ton of sessions, butthe sessions I did, they
(19:17):
immediately just validated, onceagain validated all the hard
work that we're doing asteachers, but reminded us like
we're not supposed to be superpeople, right, we're superhuman
and a big thing.
One part of the practicalproficiency network that you
have said is like you are meantto have a life outside of your
(19:40):
job.
That's probably one big, likeyou know bell that went off when
I heard that and I went or thelight bulb moment, as we say,
right, that I thought, oh yeah,that would be wonderful, that
would be nice.
You know, if you can have alife, because I do put in quite
a few hours, because I just wantit.
I want what we do in class tobe good for my students, I want
(20:03):
them to be able to connect andunderstand anyway, um, but so
that was one bell that went offor, oh, I'm sorry, one more
light bulb moment that went offwhen I started to connect with
the practical proficiencynetwork.
But then, when I heard, andthen we had, um, just different
sessions where you would haveexperts, you know, you know you
would have interviews withexperts, or you would talk with
(20:26):
Bryce Hedstrom Is that the rightname?
Yes, you know.
And then I got to listen to asession with him and
specifically talking about thepersonal interviews that he does
, it's just, it's the simplestthing, but it's the most
wonderful thing.
And just, I don't want to sayflooded with ideas.
I want to stop there, because Idon't want people to think, oh,
all I need is just anotherflood of ideas, because
(20:47):
sometimes we go to teacherconferences and you go to one
session, one hour, anothersession, another session,
another session, and then guesswhat you got this whole.
Like in the old days, we wouldsay you got this whole folder,
this whole these packets, andwhat'd you do with them?
Well, you're tired, you go home, you set them down and then you
start working on your planning.
You're like I got to get backto that.
And do you get back to it?
(21:08):
Right, do you get back to it.
Nope, I didn't, you know itwould go in the filing cabinet
yes, the old filing cabinet, andit wasn't serving a purpose.
So anyway, back to just youknow conference that kicked off
this year.
I realized that help isavailable.
Help is available and there'speople out there that are
(21:30):
willing to talk with me and workwith me and commiserate a
little bit, but mostly stayfocused on the good things and
where we're going with this.
So that is.
And then through the year, thiscurrent school year, you know,
I have attended differentsessions with you and you've
refreshed the idea of you knowwhat is language acquisition?
(21:52):
Right, we went through allthose, just the basic
information there and howimportant that is.
I mean just to have that basis,like, what are we really doing
here?
No, you're not teaching this,you're not pouring stuff into
their head.
They know how to talk, theyfigure out how to talk.
It's just, you know, givingthem the guidance along the way.
So, being the facilitator, right, being the facilitator in the
classroom, just again and again,so many good points.
(22:14):
I have a master's.
Understand this.
I have a master's degree in theteaching of Spanish
specifically.
It was the only master's I everthought was worth something.
I was like when I figured outthey had this master's program.
I'm like that's for me.
It was a very good program, itwas very good.
But your teaching in the PPN andthat of the experts you bring
(22:36):
on board, it's all justcontinuing to emphasize all the
key elements of what languagelearning is about.
And with that right, it justreminded me yes, oh yes, this is
what I'm doing and there ispurpose for this.
And you know what Maybe I'm notreally contextualizing that as
much as I should be could bethings like that, like it, just
(22:57):
it, really, I know I keep sayingit it refreshed me.
And so then, when I knew, likeyou know, about the middle of
the year, the decision was madewith my husband and I knew that,
you know, life was going tochange and I was going to be
leaving my teaching position.
Then my heart said, oh, who'sgoing to take over this position
for my students?
And so, and we have hired, youknow, my replacement, so
(23:28):
thankful that she is someone wholoves to use Espanol and she
has a big heart for wanting todo well and even though she's a,
she's the beginning teacherright at the beginning.
But I said, you know what youhave got to get into this
network.
You have got to start learningfrom it because of, again, just
all the important things thatare happening, like reminding us
of the importance of themethodology that's there for a
reason, and the basis, theresearch that's behind it, and
the use of target language asmuch as we can, as much as we
can, and don't give up, tryagain and the encouragement
(23:50):
there.
So there, that's a lot.
I went on.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
That makes me so happy to hear, too, and I want
to thank you, too, for foradvocating for it and working
with your administrators to makeit happen for somebody else too
.
That's a.
To thank you, too, foradvocating for it and working
with your administrators to makeit happen for somebody else too
.
That's a really, really bigpart of this, and I completely
agree with what you were sayingabout going to any kind of
training, learning, development,all of it.
(24:16):
You have all of these notes, youhave all of these things that
you're excited to move into thenext day with, but the tack on
of practical for everything thatwe do is the idea of what about
Monday?
How, what is this going toactually look like on Monday?
What's going to be your numberone takeaway from this, or one
small action that you can dofrom this?
And I would say to that, likeyour successor, the horse, like
(24:37):
she's always working on puttingnew things into motion and very
much takes things and runs withit, which is a talent, for sure,
and to do that, though, I thinkshe feels very secure, knowing
that you've got her back, thatyou're advocating for her.
So what do you think is?
What are some of the thingsthat you think are important
(25:00):
about advocating for others inthis profession and taking on
that mentorship role for helpingwith teachers.
And what would you suggest forother people who are maybe newer
in their teaching journey tofind that in the world, if they
don't have somebody who can showthem the ropes, like you are?
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Well, I mean, as I was mentioning earlier, we I
mean we used to say you need tobe a part of your local
organizations, right?
So there are, of course,language organizations here in
Indiana and there's bigger onesacross the United States.
You know the AATSP and thenACTFL, of course as well, and
then there's Central StatesConferences and there's the
(25:41):
Indiana Foreign LanguageTeachers Association's, the
Indiana foreign languageteachers association, which
still says foreign language.
But that's okay, no worries.
Um, I do believe there ispurpose to those because,
especially local ones um, again,but cause I, my job has changed
a little bit over the years, Ihaven't connected as much as I
used to, but there used to belike local, like schools would
(26:02):
come together to have languagecompetitions and things and it's
just like a field day, right,but in foreign language or in
world languages, and so I meansimple things like there could
be poetry, recitation and therewas spelling bees and there was
things like that.
But the point is like that's agood thing, like getting people
together just to have fun usingthe language number one.
Number two is there is purposeto those conferences.
(26:25):
But you check that out, right,you need to be the one who gets
online.
You look at the sessions andyou figure out what is going to
be purposeful for me, becausethen you have to stand up for
yourself with your administratorand say this is going to be
worth our money to send me tothis conference.
So again back to the PracticalProficiency Network.
As soon as I got in and as soonas I realized the amazing value
(26:48):
there that I had to share thatwith my administrator and I said
, yes, my replacement, I wanther to have this.
What can we do so she can havethis?
Can you please support her inthis?
Could you give her one year ofthis?
Could you give her one year?
So that would help her.
You know, like you said, she'salready connected with you to
work on her curriculum mapping.
Thank you, jesus, thank you,thank you, devin.
(27:09):
And so she and it's verypositive, right, she's already
feeling supported, simplybecause of not simply, but
because of the good work that'shappening there.
You said advocating for it, andagain, I'm a single teacher.
You know, we do have AmericanSign Language taught at our
school, which is amazing andawesome, and the other language
(27:31):
is Espanol, right?
So these are the two languages.
So we are a department, butobviously we're not a department
planning together, right, andso if I have needs, specifically
as a teacher, I have to go outand seek them.
So you don't have to go veryfar if you're part of the PPN,
because the PPN is bringing youexperts to talk to you, is
(27:53):
bringing you question and answersessions so that you can just
talk about what you'restruggling with right now, or
again just sharing, like okay,I'm normal, I'm normal, they're
saying the same thing.
The other teachers in thesession they're struggling with
right now, or again, you know,just sharing, like okay, I'm
normal, I'm normal, they'resaying the same thing.
The other teachers in thesession they're struggling with
something too.
Ooh, there was a great ideaSomebody shared.
And you stop and you ask themand you give us time, devin, to
say you know, oh, yeah, what'sthat resource?
(28:14):
And you share it out with us.
And then we talk about a littlebit.
Or hey, if you check in thetreasure chest, right, there is
a whole session about using thatmusic website, you know, for
your classroom.
So great, a great use ofresources, a great sharing of
resources, but also encouragingus to just to do our best.
(28:35):
And I know I'm kind of comingaround in a circle there, but
did I answer the question?
You did yes, and I'm glowingjust thinking about it.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
I'm so glad that all those things can be helpful to
you.
Like that's the whole reasonthat I do it is.
I remember being a teacher inseveral different schools and
having different levels ofsupport, and when I did have
support and colleagues that Icould go to, it was a total game
changer for me.
But there were many instanceswhere I didn't have that and it
(29:03):
affected everything that I did.
It was so much harder just todo the day-to-day things for I
think, that exact thing that youhit the nail on the head with.
Am I the only one who feelsthis way?
Like, am I the only one who'salso working with these same
things or these same issues?
And the answer really is thatif you tap into the community
for just a second, it's veryclearly not like and that can.
(29:25):
I for a while, thought that thePPN needs to be.
Here's all the information thatyou need.
But as soon as I startedtalking to teachers like you,
the number one thing they keptcoming back to was, honestly,
it's nice to just have peoplewho understand what I'm going
through.
It's so nice to meet with otherteachers who have the same
types of problems as me.
(29:45):
So it isn't necessarily alwaysabout fixing it either.
It's just knowing that, oh, I'mnot the only one doing this.
This is cool, it's good to knowthat, and it makes the stress
of it a little bit lighter, alittle bit easier to understand
and move through, because that'swhat we're really working
towards is can you enjoy yourclassroom and your life and
(30:06):
enjoying your classroom is partof that and you can't enjoy it
if you think that you knowyou're the only one who's
walking through all of thesethings that are going on with
that too.
You mentioned a lot of theresources that are in the ppn,
so I want to ask you to a littlebit more about as you've moved
through your career.
What has been the differencefor you?
(30:27):
How, from your perspective, howimportant is it for teachers to
have access to literally justresources to do what they need
to do, and have you haddifferent experiences with
access to that?
Speaker 2 (30:44):
And have you had different experiences with
access to that, access toresources?
It is I'm trying to think aboutthat Definitely now with.
Well, I mean there's we couldgo all the way to AI generated
(31:08):
materials now, but which I amnot savvy at, but the young
people around me are.
I love it.
I love hearing them talk aboutit.
I'm like, but the young peoplearound me are, I love it.
I love hearing them talk aboutit.
I'm like I need to learn moreabout that because it can be an
incredible tool.
But anyway, the idea, actuallyit really blows me away.
Now that I got to get mygrounding here, it really blows
(31:32):
me away.
What's all available to us?
And there are several amazingteachers out there that have,
you know, created like blogwebsites I'm not sure what to
call them blog resource sitesthat you have also highlighted
and shared out, and some of themhave joined you in your
conference, right, and so theyare sharing incredible tools
(31:52):
that have just added spice tothe classroom, added fun to the
classroom, and what really iscool is that they're blog
resource sites because they'resharing how they use the tool
themselves and why it wasimportant to them or why they
developed it.
That has been a game changerfor me.
It's not just like lookingthrough the old catalog in the
(32:16):
old days, the old magazinecatalog, and looking at the
posters available or the booksavailable and having the little
blurb about them.
But these are teachers sharingwith you how they're using those
materials.
So that has made a bigdifference too.
Actually, I can definitely sharethat, and sometimes you're
(32:36):
going to pay some money forthose, right.
Sometimes teachers pay teachers.
We're going to pay for thosethrough those, but for the most
part, they're pretty inexpensiveand they've helped me develop
my own materials right.
So that's another awesomepositive thing too.
Like, oh, that's a really neatway how they did that, also
showing me that sometimes I'vebeen overcomplicating things
(32:58):
right.
It helps help me simplify andmake things more reachable for
my students.
So, yeah, the use of resourceshas actually it has impacted me
quite a bit in my classroom.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
Yeah, it sounds like it.
I don't know any teachers whowalk this road alone and are
making completely all of theirown things from their own ideas.
Because just by the nature ofteachers, it's not really how we
work.
We prefer collaboration most ofthe time.
We prefer outside ideas and Iwould say I think just need them
in a more organized way.
It's easier to reach thembecause now there's a lot of
(33:33):
them, which is great and alsoterrifying.
So it's sorting through things.
Yeah, very much so.
So you've showed us so muchabout all of the ways that your
career has been impacted byhaving support, by having
resources, by all these thingsthat I'm striving to provide in
(33:57):
the PPN, and I would love toknow how do you think that this
program, the PPN, is helping youto ensure that smooth
transition between what you'redoing now and what you think
will happen next year with yoursuccessor?
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Well, honestly it, just knowing that my replacement
has connected with you and thatshe is, she is getting
incredible guidance in terms of.
I mean, really, that curriculummapping is huge, right, just to
see how it's going to go forher.
So she doesn't.
It's, it's just not scary.
It's not scary.
I have a map, I know where I'mgoing to go with this.
It's just not scary.
(34:35):
It's not scary.
I have a map, I know where I'mgoing to go with this.
That is huge in and of itself.
Also, I mean just the differentsessions that you're offering.
Now, we're not always togetherto be able to watch those
together, but I'm constantlylike firing off, forwarding I
should say forwarding the emails, the updates and things that
you send us and saying, hey, areknow, are you going to check
into that?
(34:55):
Check into, you know, like thatspecific topic that you're
sharing with us, because I'mlike this can be really helpful,
you know, with what's coming upand helping us think about how
do we say diversify?
You know, our lesson planningIs that the right word?
Is that the word I'm lookingfor?
But, to you know, enable ourlessons to reach, more than you
(35:18):
know, one learning style of astudent or students that just
they're struggling more thanothers.
Right, some take it and runwith it and others they need
more guidance along the way.
So, but also again, just showingher that resources are
available is huge, and you'vealready mentioned that.
You know how she's really kindof hit the ground running with
(35:38):
that and she's like tell me whatto do, tell me what to do.
She's sharing and teaching menew websites.
Now you know new tools online,I should say, and I'm so
thankful for that because I'mlike that is perfect, that is
going to be so helpful for you.
That's great, because I tend toand it's probably the old
school nature in me because I'vebeen at it for a while but that
I feel like I do have to remakethings and I'm like stop
(36:01):
remaking it, like, just try it,like I have to talk to coach
myself through that so often.
But also, of course, you knowwe want to adapt it to the topic
you know at hand and thingslike that.
So sometimes you have to, youknow, tweak things here and
there.
But just encouraging her Also,it has given me which I
(36:26):
hopefully am sharing with herlike it really has reinvigorated
me to be able to give her joy,to say you know, look what's
happening here, listen to youknow, like, listen to the
recordings the students did, andwhat do you think about that?
And we chat about it and it'sallowing I guess it's allowing
me, number one, to let go toknow that you know, I am going
to be walking away from thisknowing that my students have
(36:49):
done well this year and that Iknow they're going to be in good
hands because, well, but see,these are personal things too,
because, like, I can tell thatshe cares about that, but she,
it is important to her to learnabout, like you know, actual
proficiency levels and thingslike that that I know that the
PPN and all the work that'sbeing done there is going to
guide her to see as well.
(37:09):
So that, of course, gives megreat reassurance and I know
that she can come to a questionand answer session and ask
things.
You know, if she's stuck onsomething next year, you know if
I'm not available to send her alittle text message or
something.
So there's just, there are alot of layers there.
I'm not even sure where else togo with that, but thanks for
(37:31):
giving me a shot at trying toanswer that question.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
I love it.
Well, I wish that I had anexperience like this going into
my first classroom, because Iwas floundering so much in my
first year and having somebodyto go to like a successor or an
instructional coach would havemade such a huge difference.
So it just keeps me putting,putting me back in my first year
(37:54):
Instructional coach.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
We all need it.
We all need it.
You know what?
Just the other thing justtelling yourself it's okay to
get help, it's okay, yeah, youhave your degree, you went to
college, okay, well, thatdoesn't mean you're a perfect
and you're an expert.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
It's okay to ask for help, it's okay to reach out,
and I would say, too, that allof the teachers that are in the
PPN and everybody that we workwith are quite skilled.
There are some there are evensome moments from other teachers
who come to me thinking thatthey're like somewhere in the
midway of our roadmap toproficiency and I'm like you're
better at target language than Iam, like you have so much to
(38:27):
share with what we're doing here.
But what having a coachprovides you is that outsider
who can look at it from the topwhen you're in it, like you're
always in the thick of it.
So it's not necessarily.
Actually, I'm blown away allthe time when people show up to
class and I'm still like it'samazing that people are here to
(38:51):
hear what I have to say.
I have to say, but most of thetime, what they're finding from
working with a coach is thatit's that outside perspective
who's able to remind you ofthese are the ways that you
could make that happen faster.
Here are the things that you'realready actually doing really
well, and they walk away fromthe meeting knowing like, oh,
I'm actually doing these thingsreally well.
I don't need to be going homeat 6 pm and beating myself up
(39:13):
about it while I'm trying to eatdinner.
That's what a coach really cando and what having a coach in
areas of life for me has donefor me as well.
So coaching is my favoritething that I like to do in the
PPN.
But I'm curious to know what'syour favorite thing about being
a part of the network or ifyou'd rather go with this.
What's a recent experienceyou've had that was like, oh,
(39:34):
this is great, I love this.
You'd rather go with this.
What's a recent experienceyou've had that was like, oh,
this is great.
Speaker 2 (39:40):
I love this.
I just I just enjoy all thesessions that we're a part of.
I I think that when you are andI've mentioned it several times
already but I think that whenyou have shared with us, you
(40:02):
know, like language learningtheory I don't know, that must
be the nerd in me Like I reallyenjoy hearing about that, but it
also it just grounds me and itreminds me of, you know, what is
what is behind what we're doinghere, you know, and where I
need to pull back for a momentand and reflect on my teaching
(40:23):
practices and understand thatyou know, there there is
research behind what you'redoing and there's purpose for
what you're doing.
So I guess, again, I feel likethat's kind of the nerd side of
me.
I just really enjoy hearingthat and knowing that, yeah,
we're doing good things here andoh, you know what I kind of
been sliding in that area, youknow, or possibly you know like
(40:44):
communicative activities orwhatever.
So you know it.
Just, it has encouraged me toget back on the horse, as we
used to say right, you know,just get back up there and give
it a try again and don't give up, because there's always,
there's always a new day and, asyou have said to us again and
again, you know, aiming for 2%,let's go for 2% improvement, 2%
(41:05):
Like that was simply a huge gamechanger for me.
Just to hear that I havesomebody say that to me, I'm
like, oh yeah, I guess theydon't have to be perfect
tomorrow, like, oh, there'vebeen a lot of refreshing moments
.
There's some I.
Speaker 1 (41:20):
I did not know that the 2% thing would hit so hard,
but it really does.
I'm so glad to hear that that'sawesome.
Yeah, we're trying to be 2%better every day.
So we're we're getting to thethe end of our interview here
and it's been been so wonderfulto talk to you and personally,
for me to hear, like, oh, thesethings are working.
(41:41):
I'm so glad to know that.
But it's also a little bitbittersweet to know that you
will be transitioning out butthat I'll be working still with
your school and with yourstudents indirectly, of course
students indirectly, of course.
But the last thing that I wantto ask you is what do you think
is a key takeaway from yourexperience with the PPN and what
(42:04):
would you recommend to anybodywho's listening, who might feel
overwhelmed with the things thatthey're being barraged with
every day?
As a teacher, what would beyour takeaway for them, for
anybody who's looking for somemore support in their language
teaching?
Speaker 2 (42:21):
I think the biggest takeaway is networking.
I think it really is.
I remember in college that Ihad a classmate in my language
learning classes and languageeducation classes that said she
just talked about networking somuch and I was like uh-huh,
uh-huh, you know, like Ilistened to her but it never
(42:42):
really stuck.
I think some of that has to dowith me being probably a little
more introverted than I mightseem when I'm talking to people,
but I do have an introvertedside and I have this side of
like, dig in and do the hardwork and get it done, and that's
my nature.
But you know, over the years Imean seriously, like the last 10
(43:02):
years maybe in my life it'sfinally like somehow the message
has gotten through howimportant it is to talk with
others, share your experiences,work through it and know again
that you're not alone, thatyou're not alone in this, work
through it and know again thatyou're not alone, that you're
not alone in this, but also thatthere are, there are other ways
to handle things and it's goingto be okay when you're having a
(43:24):
bad day.
It's really going to be okay,like you're going to get through
it and okay, it was a bad dayand now we're going to move on
and we're going to have a betterday, and, and with that, it's
okay to say to your students I'msorry, I messed up, I messed up
or this didn't go well, let'stry something else.
Right, it's really okay.
Learning is not meant to be donein isolation, right?
(43:46):
So we are so again, networkingwith others, and the PPN brings
it to you, brings it to you, Imean.
So that's what was super coolabout this.
Like honestly, I don't I don'teven know if I've ever been to
an online conference like beforethe last year.
And then I'm like where have Ibeen?
I don't know how long, if thesehave been going on for a long
time or not, but when I realizedthis could just be right there
(44:08):
with me and I can just waitafter school and I can have a
session, I can be a part withothers, I was like we've needed
this forever.
Where has this been?
So I don't know if I missed theboat somewhere earlier or what,
but reaching out to others,getting help, talking through
things, that makes all thedifference.
(44:28):
It makes all the difference.
Speaker 1 (44:30):
So, networking, joining the network, I so agree
with that and I think that for along time in my career I've
needed to hear that too is thatbeing with others and networking
is really what makes adifference, because I'm the same
way Like.
I very much like to dig intothe work and just do the work,
but there's only so far that youcan get by yourself.
(44:52):
Even with that strategy andwith teaching, the work is never
done.
So you have to find a way tofigure out what is going to be
my approach to this.
How can I do this better andhow can I make my classroom a
community and less of a likegoal oriented deal, where the
community is really where themagic happens?
And it is that same way inteaching too.
So thank you for sharing thatabout how the network makes that
(45:14):
easier for you.
So glad to hear that We've addeda lot of new community features
this year.
They're just starting to takeoff.
It's great.
So that makes me really happyto hear Thank you so much for
sharing this story with us allyour insights about teaching.
There were so many nuggets inthere of wisdom too, from your
experiences that you've had thatapply to everybody and knowing,
(45:41):
too, that your experiences withteaching are similar to mine,
similar to others, like, justlike what we're.
What we're trying to emphasizehere is that knowing that you
can be in community with othersand that many other people are
walking a similar path as you,with the same kinds of
challenges, questions andmovements, makes a huge
difference.
So thanks for sharing yourstory with us, and I'm so
excited to work with you for thelast few months that we have
left and then to continueworking with your new successor.
(46:03):
That's so cool.
Speaker 2 (46:05):
Thank you so much.
Thank you for providing theopportunity.
It's been good.
It's been good.
I appreciate the conversationand time to reflect.
It gives me time to reflectbecause it has been a blessed
career for me.
So yeah, be teachers.
We need more teachers.
Jump in everybody.
Let's go For sure For sure.
Speaker 1 (46:24):
Well, thank you so much for this and I'm so excited
to share it with everybody.
And, as we are closing out,thank you, thank you, thank you
again for everything that youbring to the network, because
you're a part of that community.
You helped it to grow, youhelped it to thrive and I feel
very lucky to have been yourcoach.
Thank you All right.
(46:45):
Bye, bye-bye.
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