The Cardinal

As a world language teacher to elementary students as young as kindergarten, I’m grateful to have parents offer to assist me in teaching Spanish to their children. I’ve noticed a significantly higher level of vocabulary retention among students with parents who are partnering with me to teach their children. The following are suggestions that are developed by NNELL (The National Network for Early Language Learning) that I share to parents who wish to partner with me in helping their kids acquire a second language:

Jessica Burchett, OWLA Multilingual Learning Chair
Spanish Teacher, Marion City Schools

As a world language teacher, you have the unique opportunity to support multilingual learners, particularly those who are English Learners (ELs). While your primary role is to teach the language you specialize in, your skills as a world language teacher can be incredibly valuable in helping students navigate both language acquisition and academic success. Even though you’re focused on teaching a second language, your understanding of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and the way language functions can also play a huge role in supporting ELs, especially those with a background in a language you’re teaching.

Integrating Support and Elevating Language Learning: Ohio’s Integrated Multi-Tiered System of Supports Framework for World Language Educators 
In today’s world language classrooms, teachers are tasked with far more than teaching vocabulary and grammar. They are cultural ambassadors, literacy advocates, and instructional leaders. Their work helps students build both linguistic proficiency and intercultural competence. Recognizing this complexity, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce is advancing a statewide initiative to support all learners through an Integrated Multi-Tiered System of Support (Integrated MTSS). This framework is designed to ensure that every student has access to high-quality responsive instruction, regardless of background, ability, or language.

Alondra Pacheco, AATSP 9-12 Representative

Have you been a Spanish teacher for five  years or less? Do you give the NSE, NSC, NPE, or NSA? AATSP Exams is here to support your growth as an educator. AATSP Exams, a program of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP), is committed to providing teachers with opportunities to continue their professional development. To this end, AATSP Exams is offering up to five scholarships, each valued at $250, for a new teacher to complete an online course with the prestigious Universidad de Salamanca.

Despite Sub-Zero Temperatures, the Festival du Voyageur Carries On! 

Dr. Roger W. Anderson, Independent Scholar

A February day when the temperatures held around -17 F was the perfect day to celebrate Métis culture and the Francophone heritage of Winnipeg, or “Peg City.” As the capital of Manitoba, Winnipeg is located at the heart of the North American continent. For this reason, its temperatures were the coldest of any North American city that day—except in the neighboring capitals of Regina (Saskatchewan) and Edmonton (Alberta).

Siempre pa’ delante, nunca pa’ atrás—Always forward, never backwards

Rachel Chapman, Spanish Teacher, Warrensville Heights Middle School

The year 2025 has been marked by political unrest and increasing hostility toward immigrant communities in the United States. While our students hear this information through social media and the news, many lack a deeper understanding of the historical context behind these events. This gap in understanding leaves them vulnerable to misinformation and can lead to division.

Profesora Morales, my Spanish teacher in college, taught me the importance of historically contextualizing modern-day challenges. Using the lens of postcolonialism, we understand that modern social stratification exists as a result of the social institutions created from colonialism (Said, 1979). The fact that Spanish is the lingua franca of most of Latin America is correlated with the bloody colonial legacy of the Spanish Empire’s domination throughout the Americas. While the independence movements of the 18th and 19th centuries liberated Latin American nations from colonial rule, the shadow of inequality and oppression still remains. The gap between the rich and the poor continues to grow to levels never before seen in human history (Qureshi, 2023). Today, the deep divide between rich and poor in these nations is a consequence of colonial structures that persist in various forms—economic, political, and social. The struggle for equality and a decent livelihood remain an ongoing struggle for the majority of formerly colonized nations.

Sarah Ross Van Gorder, New Bremen Local Schools 

Each year, educators search for meaningful ways to connect their classrooms to the world. Few experiences compare to a teacher trip with The Pulsera Project, a nonprofit organization that sells handwoven bracelets made by Central American artisans, using the proceeds to support fair trade, education, housing, and social-impact programs. Beyond pulsera sales, The Pulsera Project invites teachers to witness the heart of its mission firsthand in Guatemala. Here are ten reasons why this trip is truly transformative:

Claribel Timmins, Spanish Teacher, Bowling Green Middle School

As a first-year high school Spanish teacher, I walked into my classroom in the fall full of energy, ideas, and a lot of curiosity. I had studied language acquisition theory and communicative approaches, and I had designed engaging lessons. I prepared a mix of traditional and creative activities. But I knew that real insights would come from the students themselves—from what they responded to, what they remembered, and what made them want to participate.

Now, after completing my first full year, I conducted a simple poll to better understand which activities had the biggest impact on my students’ learning. The results were clear—and they confirmed a major lesson I learned this year: Students acquire language most effectively when they are active, engaged, and immersed—especially through culture and games.

When Miscommunication is a Feature, Not a Bug

Kyle Young, Upper School French Teacher, Hathaway Brown School

A recent encounter with a minor AI glitch has changed my perspective on how much perfection we should expect from technology in an educational setting. A few weeks ago, I was listening to my French students’ submissions for a speaking activity. The students were engaged in a brief spoken conversation with an AI chatbot. The AI platform had provided me with a convenient transcript of each conversation, and I was following along while listening when I encountered a problem: the transcript was not accurate. The student’s pronunciation was comprehensible (albeit not quite native-like), but the chatbot had nevertheless misunderstood what the student was trying to say. As a result, its reply was a non sequitur, which broke the flow of the conversation.

My initial reaction to this misunderstanding was frustration: the conversation had been ruined by a flawed instructional tool. However, the student’s reply made me rethink that assessment. She confidently corrected the chatbot, explaining that it had misunderstood her and that she had actually said something completely different. After that, the conversation flowed normally and reached its natural conclusion. Instead of derailing the activity, this hiccup gave the student the chance to show off more of her poise and skill.