Eric Richards Instructional Consulting, LLC

The Document – Now Available!

By Eric Richards Instructional Consulting, LLC / September 17, 2023 /

Exciting news! My new Level 1 / A1 reader is now available at Voces Digital – both in Spanish and German! Check it out here: “El documento” / “Das Dokument” About The Document:Enrique’s encounter with his cousin Karla at a café takes an unexpected turn when he discovers a mysterious flash drive under the table. Believing it…

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Freedom at Niagara

By Eric Richards Instructional Consulting, LLC / September 9, 2023 /

I recently had the honor of reviewing Lynne Breen’s latest book – Freedom at Niagara – before it was published. It is truly a fascinating book and you’ll undoubtedly walk away from this book having learned something new. Here is the review: “Lynne Breen delivers an important work that details the often overlooked role that…

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“Treasure Hunt” Writing Activity

By Eric Richards Instructional Consulting, LLC / August 30, 2023 /

The following post is courtesy of Keith Toda. He teaches Latin at Parkview High School, a public school in Lilburn, GA. He teaches with four other Latin teachers in one of the largest Latin programs in the nation (USA). I highly recommend that you bookmark his blog and come back to it. There is truly…

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Exploring Before Explaining in World Languages

By Eric Richards Instructional Consulting, LLC / August 18, 2023 /

Pat Brown and I recently had our article “Exploring Before Explaining in World Languages” published in Edutopia – George Lucas Educational Foundation. https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-patterns-teach-world-languages Our article introduces the concept of “explore-before-explain” teaching in world language classrooms, aiming to redefine the roles of teachers and students, enhance student agency, and address the complex standards set by the…

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SLA-Speak Series: Comprehensible Input (CI)

By Eric Richards Instructional Consulting, LLC / August 18, 2023 /

We will wrap up our series on “SLA-Speak” by looking at “Comprehensible Input”. Note: This is the fifth and (possibly) final post in the series. What is “Comprehensible Input”? Comprehensible Input (CI) is a concept in language learning that refers to language input. The language input received by the language learner is just challenging enough…

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SLA-Speak Series: Affective Filter

By Eric Richards Instructional Consulting, LLC / August 18, 2023 /

Continuing our series on “SLA-Speak”, we’ll now look at the “Affective Filter”. Note: This is the fourth post in the series. What is the “Affective filter”? The Affective Filter is a concept in language learning. It is like a mental gate that can either open or close while you’re learning a language. In other words,…

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SLA-Speak Series: Fluency vs. Accuracy

By Eric Richards Instructional Consulting, LLC / August 13, 2023 /

Continuing our series on “SLA-Speak”, we’ll now look at “Fluency” vs. “Accuracy”. Note: This is the third post in the series. Fluency and accuracy are two important aspects of language proficiency. Let’s take a look at the difference between them: Fluency: Accuracy: Key Differences: Briefly stated, both fluency and accuracy are essential for effective communication…

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SLA-Speak Series: Acquisition vs. Learning

By Eric Richards Instructional Consulting, LLC / August 7, 2023 /

Continuing our series on “SLA-Speak”, we’ll now look at “Acquisition vs. Learning”. Note: This is the second post in the series. Acquisition and Learning are two distinct processes involved in Second Language Acquisition (SLA), as proposed by linguist Stephen Krashen. Let’s take a closer look at the differences between these two terms: Acquisition: Learning: Key…

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SLA-Speak Series: Second Language Acquisition Theory

By Eric Richards Instructional Consulting, LLC / July 31, 2023 /

As a language educator, I find myself talking to others about SLA (Second Language Acquisition). I also find that I use terms, definitions, and acronyms that are unfamiliar to the other person, or perhaps the other person has a different idea what the term means. So, I thought it would be a good time to…

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Writing Strategies for the ADI Classroom

By Eric Richards Instructional Consulting, LLC / July 6, 2023 /

Here is the link to my presentation: CI Summit: Writing Strategies for the ADI Classroom. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 I hope it fills a need and you find it helpful! If you have any questions, please contact me directly at: [email protected] Thank you! Mach’s gut!

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