SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone

SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone

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

Episodes

October 7, 2025 41 mins

SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website

Gaslight

Challenge and Accommodation

The Neverending Rubric

Time Investment

Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Gatekeep - Tajik, O., Noor, S. & Golzar, J. Investigating differentiated instruction and the contributing factors to cater EFL students’ needs at the collegial level. Asian. J. Second. Foreign. Lang. Educ. 9, 74 (2024).

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Content, Pr...

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SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website

Gaslight

Everything Will Work Out in the End (Maybe?)

The Critical Period

Relationship to One’s Own Accent

Gatekeep - Vijay A Ramjattan, Imagining an anti-racist pronunciation pedagogy, ELT Journal, Volume 78, Issue 3, July 2024, Pages 318–325

Webinar on the Same Topic

Refusal - Relational - Activist

Girlboss

Parking on the Language to Enjoy It!

How do we frame pronunciation to our st...

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SLAyyy: Second Language Acquisition for Everyone Website

Gaslight

Missing Out on Kindergarten Day

Kids Books Are For the Adults

Bored During Shared Reading

Gatekeep -

Reading Children’s Books Rule

How many repetitions do they need?

Use of L1 to Get Back to the L2

Program Length, Abstraction, Home Language

Girlboss

Park and Pause

Comprehension-Based Reader Storybooks

Picture Talk

Story Listening

Justice for Kindergarten Day

References

Proficiency-...

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Gaslight

We explore the common challenges of using TV series in class: the major investment of time and prep, the difficulty of finding content that is both engaging and linguistically appropriate, and the eternal struggle over which subtitles to use.

Gatekeep

We unpack research showing how to make video work for listening proficiency, based on Zakar & Zippo (2023).

  • The Study: Researchers had third-semester German students watc...
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July 28, 2025 48 mins

Housekeeping

  • Book Study: Join us on social media (Blue Sky, Threads, Facebook) to read Proficiency Based Instruction: Teaching Grammar for Proficiency by Ritz & Travers. The discussion starts the week of August 18th. Get the book from ACTFL.
  • Support the Podcast: Help us cover costs by contributing at slayyypod.com.
  • Review: Please leave a rating and review to help others find the show!

Gaslight: Rethinking the Traditional W...

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May 7, 2025 39 mins

Gaslight
Defining Dynamic Assessment
Examples from Language Teaching
Formative Assessment in the Classroom
How are we responsive in our assessments?

Gatekeep - Najjarpour and Salimi: “Navigating Mindset Trajectories: Exploring EFL Teachers’ Evolution in Embracing Dynamic and Summative Assessment in the Language Classroom”

Dynamic Assessment

Girlboss

Successfully and Accountably Collecting Assessment Data
Taking Advantage of Opportunities to...

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April 21, 2025 58 mins

Gaslight

Isolated Vocabulary
Useful Vocabulary Lists
Idioms and Stock Phrases
Use Language in Context

Gatekeep - Takizawa, K., & Suzuki, S. (2025). The role of multiword sequences in fluent speech: The case of listener-based judgment in L2 argumentative speech. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 1–21.

Perceived Fluency and Proficiency Ratings
It’s Giving Library
Speaking to the Heart
What Even Is Fluency?
Lowering Cognitive Load for Spe...

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Gaslight
Course-End Exams
Vertical Alignment - To University and Beyond
Understanding Ordered Development
Setting Realistic Goals

Gatekeep - Gombert, W., Keijzer, M., & Verspoor, M. (2024). Long-term effects of structure-based versus dynamic usage-based instructional programs for French. Journal of the European Second Language Association, 8(1), 18–33.

Dynamic Usage-Based Programs vs. Structure-Based Programs
Homework and Accountability
W...

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Gaslight
Judge, Jury, Executioner
What Are Our Goals?
Time Investment


Gatekeep - Amanda Beck, Central States Languages for All Regional TOY 2024
How We Invest Our Time
Guessing Games
Games as Scaffolds for Learning and Social Interaction
Games Provide Structure for Listening and Reading
Have Backups


Girlboss
Level Your Games
Use Templates
Novelty Makes People Curious
Predictions
Winning!
B I N G O


References

Joint National Committee for Languages (J...

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Gaslight
Lack of Training and Preparation
Reading IEPs and 504s
Diagnosis - or No?


Gatekeep - Sara Lee, 2024 Southwest Conference on Language Teaching TOY
Formative Assessment to Evaluate Strengths and Needs
Teaching for Proficiency
What About Explicit Grammar Teaching?
Anxiety!
Theory: Mental-Graphemic Representation


Girlboss
Readable Fonts
Identify the “Easy” Spelling Rules
Differentiation
Alternatives to Writing
Pro Tip!
Equality and Equity: Ar...

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Bertha Delgadillo, Southern Conference On Language Teaching (SCOLT) Regional Teacher of the Year 2024

Bertha’s Story

Staying Informed and Incorporating Authentic Voices

Abundance Mindset and Belonging

Engaging Students With Local Communities

Connecting Students to Needed Resources

Joy


References

Bertha’s Padlet: Advocating & standing with immigrant students

“A Multilingualism-as-a-Resource Orientation in Dual Language Education” by de Jong,...

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Gaslight
Humor Doesn’t Always Work
Not Being Intentional
Some Things Don’t Work In YOUR Context
Thinking Expected Behaviors Are Obvious


Gatekeep - Kei Tsukamaki, ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year 2025
Dog Training Teaches Us About Classroom Environments
The ABCs
Taking Time for Reflection
Prioritizing Relationships and Routines


Girlboss
Understanding Students’ Responses to Questions
Hallway Conversations That Honor Student Agency
Valu...

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Gaslight
Gradebook Categories
What is included in a grade?
Assessments

Gatekeep - Student Perceptions on Standards-Based Grading in the World Language Classroom by our own Bryan Smith!
History of SBG
SBG in Bryan’s Classes
What Kids Like, and What They Don’t

Girlboss
Clarity, Rubrics, Consistency
Helping Get Classwork and Homework Done
Change One Thing at a Time!

References
Webinar for Tumbao Bilingual Books’ newest book - We Celebrate Junetee...

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January 13, 2025 50 mins

GaslightDifferences Between Language Standards and Other Content Areas

Setting Expectations from a Textbook

Proficiency vs. Performance

Hours of Instruction

Gatekeep What proficiency levels do K-16 world language learners achieve? (van Gorp and Coss)

Document about AP and ACTFL Proficiency Levels

Don’t Beat Yourself Up, Girl

What Does Self-Assessment Look Like?

Girlboss

Course-End Expectations

Proficiency-Based Instruction, TL Usage, Motivat...

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December 3, 2024 37 mins

Gaslight
“Do you understand?”
Nobody Wants to Tell You They Don’t Get It
Adapting/Preparing Questions
Cold Calling
Ask Lots of Questions!
Creating a Classroom Culture of Error and Learning

Gatekeep - Checking for Understanding by Peps McCrea (at Evidence Snacks)
Validity and Efficiency
Loaded assumptions, skewed sampling, whole class questioning

Girlboss
Nearpod / Peardeck
Four Corners
Plickers
Choral Responses
Hand Signals for Question Types
Chal...

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November 18, 2024 48 mins

Gaslight
Not Moderating Rate of Speech
Establishing Meaning
Out of Bounds
“How do you say…?”
Planning for Comprehensibility
Use of #authres

Gatekeep - "How does lexical coverage affect the processing of L2 texts?" by Ana Pellicer-Sánchez, Stuart Webb, Andi Wang (Applied Linguistics)
“How easy is easy?”
Reading Speed and Motivation #saccade
Neurodiversity and Reading

Girlboss
Park and Pause
Using Frequency Dictionaries
Write and Discuss


References

...

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November 4, 2024 44 mins

Gaslight
Management of Student Ideas
Dealing with Inappropriate Responses
True Interpersonal Communication
What do we hope to get out of this?
Sharing the Purpose of the Activities

Gatekeep - "Positive emotions and intrinsic motivation: A self-determination theory perspective on using co-created stories in the language acquisition classroom" - Liam Printer (Language Teaching Research)

Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness
Motivated Students =...

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October 21, 2024 41 mins

Gaslight: When have observations not been ideal?
Gatekeep: Bernhard, R., McDermott, T., Hasenhüttl, C., Burn, K., & Sammons, P. (2024). A focus on quality of teaching in schools increases students’ progress of attainment. Evidence from English secondary schools. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2024.2398601
Girlboss: Peer observation and coaching.

Other references:
Jon Cowart "Rigor"...

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