The Cardinal

A Core Practice of World Language Teaching

Lucas Hoffman, OFLA Executive Treasurer
French/Spanish Teacher, Sylvania Southview High School

This is the sixth and final article in a series about the nationally developed core practices of world language teaching.  In 2015-2016, I started sharing some of the new nationally recognized core practices.  As a reminder, core practices are researched-informed best practices that should be mastered by any beginning teacher in world language education.  In the previous five articles regarding these core practices, I wrote about achieving 90% target language use, using research-informed techniques when giving students feedback, using the backward design model, teaching grammar as a concept and in context, and guiding learners through interpreting authentic resources. 

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Beth Hanlon, OFLA Executive Recorder and Editor of The Cardinal
Spanish Teacher, Oberlin High School

With the onset of the pandemic and the move to online teaching, our Ohio Department of Education World Language Consultants really came through for us with the immediate availability of online professional development.  Social media also became a place to find support.  For example, Facebook teaching groups transitioned to online support, and new groups popped up to meet teachers’ needs.  

While attending an ODE Zoom meeting, another teacher mentioned she was taking a Spanish class through a school in Spain that had also gone online.  Excited, I contacted the school, Taronja School in Valencia, and signed myself up for a week of classes for 50€ in mid-April.  I finally stopped taking the course at the beginning of July when they changed the format as the school began to reopen for in-person classes.

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How does it work in my Hi-Flex environment?  ¨Hoot hoot¨ is the sound in the classroom.

Marianela Serrano, OFLA Professional Development Chair
Spanish Teacher, Hathaway Brown School

School is in session, and just last week all the students were welcomed on our campus.  Under a number of social distancing restrictions and specific guidelines, we started classes both live and online for those who chose to stay remote.

Our school decided that the best way to safely and successfully operate was for the teachers, rather than the students, to travel between classrooms, minimizing student mobility and interactions.  Each classroom has been equipped with a “Meeting OWL.”  This is an incredible device that connects to your computer when connected to Zoom, and will produce a 360◦ view of the classroom for those students that are remote.  It also follows the sounds produced in the classroom by the students and teacher, zooming onto the speaker to allow the remote students to see who is talking. The “Meeting OWL” is an amazing machine, but it takes some getting used to.

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Register Here: https://ofla.wildapricot.org/event-4015218

Angela Gardner, OFLA Public Relations and Advocacy Chair
Spanish Teacher, Ross High School

Recently, while scrolling through a social media platform (prompted by quarantine boredom), I happened across a post from a frustrated parent in a district, dissatisfied with the district’s handling of pandemic response. This parent wanted desperately to vote on the issue of whether to reopen schools in their area, in hopes that a majority vote might see a change in the plans for the district. 

It dawned on me that this parent, caught up in the frustration of how leaders and representatives are handling their pandemic response, completely missed the mark in her response. Like many others, the parent took to social media to vent her frustrations. To her credit, she even proposed a solution: for parents in the community to vote on the issue at hand (reopening schools). I realized that, like so many others, she had forgotten how to direct her voice. 

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Julia Thomas, OFLA Early Language Learning Chair Elementary Spanish Teacher, Oberlin City Schools Hola. My name is Julia Thomas, and I am an elementary Spanish teacher at Oberlin City Schools. As I began this journey as a chair of the Early Language Learning Committee, I knew that there would be so many opportunities to glean and share good advice. I have some amazing educators in my circle, whether they are teachers of a world language or not, and they impart so much wisdom that I know I must not keep to myself; therefore, for my first Cardinal article, I’d like to share some suggestions given for any early language teacher from my trusted friend, mentor, and OFLA member, Maria Paulina Velez-Girard, and expand on how I’ve implemented her advice so far this year. Continue reading →

An Open Letter to Ohio World Language Teachers

Maureen Gerber, OFLA Secondary Language Learning Committee Chair
French Teacher, World Language Department Head, Perrysburg High School

Dear Colleagues,

One thing that has struck me as I’ve begun school in our hybrid model this year is my students.

The students are incredible. They are eager. They are driven. They are grateful. And for the first time in my career, I see a true appreciation that they have for their teachers.

One student says “Thank you” after every class.

And so, as we navigate fall here in Ohio, whether our situation is full-time in-person learning, hybrid learning, or fully remote, I’m hoping that we can all take a moment to remember what makes our jobs so wonderful. That is, of course, our connection with our kids.

It has been and continues to be a tough time. Here are some ideas for self-care, more critical than ever in this unprecedented time.  

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Kaleigh Baker, OFLA Technology Integration Chair
Spanish Teacher, Butler High School

With so many schools making the decision to go remote, hybrid, or just hoping to stay open for a bit of time, it is necessary to find new and innovative ways to connect to our students. One such way is through the use of social media.

When we use social media in our daily lessons and make it a part of our units and curriculum, we are able to greatly enhance the teaching and learning that takes place while also building relationships with our students. We can streamline and facilitate the submission of assignments and assessments, and we are not wasting paper because it is all digital and we can grade it almost anywhere with internet access. We can also give immediate feedback via a video, tweet, or emoji. For assessments, a quick formative one is possible using Twitter for an exit ticket, or a summative one created around a fake Facebook profile. We can also keep in better touch with the parents & community of our district by posting weekly or daily updates on a professional account.

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SPOTLIGHT ON NEW TEACHERS: Megan Tussing

Megan Brady, OFLA Beginning Teacher Committee Chair 
Spanish Teacher, Marlington Local Schools

The OFLA Beginning Teacher Committee is working hard to connect with new teachers and to support them to become excellent, innovative, resourceful, and long lasting world language teachers. Our goal is to provide a network of resources, strategies and tools for new teachers. We want new teachers to know that they are not alone, and that OFLA is here to help them. To this end, we will be interviewing new teachers throughout the year and highlighting them in The Cardinal. Megan Tussing is a French teacher at Teays Valley High School in Ashville, Ohio. This is her first year teaching French.

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Ryan Wertz and Kathy Shelton
World Language Consultants, Ohio Department of Education

ODE/OFLA Summer Series of Virtual Meetups: “Let’s Get Ready for Fall”

The Ohio Department of Education collaborated with the Ohio Foreign Language Association from June 23 through August 5 to bring Ohio language educators a total of 15 professional learning opportunities to help prepare for the evolution to remote and hybrid learning this fall.  Almost 2000 educators took part in the series.  All materials, video recordings and transcripts of chatbox conversations can be found here. We will continue virtual meetups again beginning in October, once teachers have had a chance to settle into the new way of teaching.

The department also hosted a three-day learning series for all content areas, titled “Teaching in Times of Uncertainty”, which provided additional opportunities for professional learning for general education as well as world language-specific topics.

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