Eric Richards Instructional Consulting, LLC
After recently attending and presenting at the FLAM (Foreign Language Association of Missouri) St. Louis Regional Conference, I had a chance to reflect on the experience. It was a great experience, not only motivating and inspiring. It was wonderful to see familiar faces and also get to know new educators. It was also rewarding to…
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Note: This is a longer blog post, but I promise it is worth your time to read it! This is my first of what I hope are many collaborative posts with Keith Toda. I first met Keith at the 2023 CI Summit in Savannah. Both of us were assigned to serve as team members/trainers for…
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I wanted to share a quick update on Soundscapes. I’m hoping this makes your teaching life a bit easier. If you haven’t gotten the chance to read the original post about Soundscapes, you need to read it HERE, before continuing. It will explain the setup and give you links to implement a “soundscape.” Side note…
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What does cybersecurity have to do with a world language educator? Let me explain. When I first graduated from college, I started in computers and networking. There was definitely a learning curve, but I enjoyed computers and technology – and I still do! I enjoy computers and the ever changing landscape of technology – especially,…
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I first came across the idea of “soundscapes” at the Comprehenisble Iowa conference. At the conference, I had the pleasure of seeing Diane Neubauer present on this activity (and other interactive listening strategies.) It was a great presentation and it really resonated with me. (I especially enjoyed that we got to experience a “soundscape” together…
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The following post is courtesy of Keith Toda. You can find the original post by Keith Toda’s here. It is re-posted here with his permission. Note: I also saw Keith give a presentation about this topic at the Comprehensible Iowa Conference (CIIA) in 2024. A Few Thoughts Before you read Keith’s blog, please allow me…
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Recently, Pat Brown and I had a featured article in the Spring 2024 issue of ACTFL’s of ‘The Language Educator’. I know that some do not have access to the article, so I wanted to share a summary of the article and our contribution to language learning and acquisition. The “Explore-Before-Explain” Instructional Sequence The “Explore-Before-Explain”…
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I have recently put out some posts on my X (Twitter) handle – @e_r_richards – about contributions that German-Americans have made to the candy industry in America. Below you will find a more cohesive list of Germans, German-speaking immigrants, and German-Americans, who have added to the fabric of America and “sweetened” American life. These individuals…
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I will once again begin gearing up to take my students abroad this summer to Germany. Although we will only be in Germany this trip abroad, our previous travels have taken us to other German-speaking countries, including: Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. As I begin the countdown to departure, I always reminisce on our past adventures…
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I wanted to run this by German language educators and learners and get your thoughts. (See below.) As I was looking for a Eselsbrücke (donkey bridge), to help German students with present tense, regular verb conjugation. Despite receiving a healthy amount of input, I notice that (some) of my students need – and ask for…
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