Listening while Reading - What Do the Students Say?

We as teachers certainly get a lot of “shoulds” from national boards, state organizations, district policy makers and even admin. That constant noise can serve as a distraction. So, here is some feedback from actual students about the benefits of listening while reading. They know what they need. Ask them!

Homework: Reading

estimated reading time 4:18

Teacher friends always joke, “I should have taught P.E., then I wouldn’t have all of this work to [assess].” They would say “grade,” as would we. We’re from that generation, you know, the one that collected every homework assignment and actually put a grade on it. The one that - in those days - would subtract partial points (yes, PARTIAL points!) for misplaced accents. The one that, as education and students began to change, tried desperately to hold on to our red pens.

To those who have been tightly gripping those pens for so long that calluses have started to form: those days are over. It is time for a paradigm shift. Or a couple. Let’s start with teacher workload. It’s a lot. Too much, really. So, what’s a teacher to do?

I have no advice for teachers of other subjects, but I do have a couple of nuggets for those at the helm of world language classes. The first tidbit is to examine the WHY behind teaching a language. One Spanish teacher we know once said to her own students, “Speaking is really the best skill I can help you practice.” Isn’t it, though? 

It’s the end of 2023 and folks all over have access to the world (and translation programs) at their fingertips. It doesn’t take but a few clicks to have a phrase translated for whatever the purpose might be. Since the dawn of the smartphone - and definitely post-pandemic - what is missing is human connection. And guess what? Language is used for such communication! If we can shift the focus of language education to learning to USE the language (proficiency) rather than learning about it (grammar), we all might be a lot better off, be having a lot more fun and really working at curing the affliction that is monolingualism here in the United States. Honestly, it’s embarrassing.

The second tidbit (more like a bite) is about a change in homework for your classes. The DigiGals will like to suggest that the homework assignments be changed from [whatever you’re doing now] to reading. Yes, reading. At any and every level. 

But:

• what if the students are novice-learners?

• (there are comprehensible readings for students of all levels - plus, with glossaries, they can do it!)

• what if the students don’t do it?

• (fact: not all students do the work that you assign now)

• what if it’s too hard?

• (given that you make it low stakes, you might find even your reluctant readers will make an effort)

What if…

We say:

• what if reading assignments reinforce and help develop the skill?

• what if students DO do it and DO learn how to tackle something challenging?

• what if students are allowed to read what THEY want to further develop their interests?

• what if it IS hard and students use the glossary to figure it out?

• what if students are given a reading assignment that they can do on their own schedule (not having to read at the pace of their classmates)?

• what if the whole exercise generated enough excitement that students wanted to get to class to talk about the book they’re reading?

• what if you didn’t have to assess any of this work?

Okay, it’s no secret that the DigiGals want students to read. We are delighted when we earn enough money to buy a fancy Starbucks drink. But really, we are passionate about reading as a skill (a reading populace is an informed populace), but we also want you to have to work less. Let reading do a lot of your work for you, keeping in mind, of course, your new rationale for teaching language: communication.

The DigiGals are not going to steer you wrong. We know this works because we’ve been doing it for years (so have language arts teachers, by the way). But, if you don’t want to hear it from us, just read the message Jen received from a student who read one of her books:

So, there you have it. Language for communication and reading for acquiring that language. Some of that other stuff, pull an Elsa and LET IT GO. You’ll thank us.

Oh, you don’t have a library of comprehensible readings for students of all levels? Ha! We DO! Check out our library at www.digilangua.co. There you can sign up for a free trial to check it out. And, if you’re game, check out the platform for a month. You can get up to 180 students reading for only $29.

FVR? Whole-class novels?

~4 min read

A couple of weeks ago, I had the great pleasure to travel to the FFLA (Florida) Annual world language teacher conference. It was my third conference in three weeks, and I was hoping to…well, I was hoping to survive: the travel, the presentations, the peopling. It was a lot, to be sure, but it was so much more than I could have imagined. It’s a great conference, too. It is expertly organized by the FFLA folks who are, in a word, lovely. And next year it’s in Orlando!

One of the highlights of the trip was finally getting to meet Diego Ojeda  in person. We’ve been online colleagues and friends for years, and we’ve even written a book together, but our paths had never crossed in person until that conference. It was a joyful meeting, of course, but the conversation that we had in the airport (because, wouldn’t you know, we were on the same flight to Charlotte, NC!) still has me thinking.

There will probably be a variety of conflicting statements in the following paragraphs. Please know that I continue to examine them, but nevertheless felt this message necessary to deliver because they have to do with books and reading, two things about which I’m passionate (for obvious reasons).

When I started writing these comprehensible novels, I was keeping in mind - and still do - the kind of novels that I was searching for as a teacher; novels with facile plots, embedded culture and lots of stuff to talk about. I was considering the books I was writing as class novels. At the time I didn’t have any idea what FVR/FCR/SSR was. Ten years ago when I penned (okay, I used the computer) La chica nueva by the sole, dim bulb in my kitchen, I was thinking of how to deliver ideas to talk about in class, leaving the grammar piece aside. I wanted my students to communicate in Spanish, so I gave ‘em stuff to talk about! But I also knew that I didn’t want any kind of culture to be a sidebar like it is typically in textbooks of yore (or still?). Easy plot line? Check. Culture “baked into” the story? Check.

I did it then and I do it now. Working with class novels has revolutionized my teaching. Okay, my planning. I do a lot less because I don’t have to. The conversation takes care of itself.

But what about FVR/FCR/SSR? I didn’t have the vaguest idea of what that was until I started working with my DigiGal sister, Theresa Marrama. Theresa introduced me to this concept of free reading, and how she implements it in her classes. I was intrigued. It didn’t seem possible given my schedule and room changes and… but I kept thinking of the idea and how I would have had had it working in my classes when I was teaching high school. More than ever, students need to be re-introduced to books (and separated from their screens) for a part of their academic lives. Who knows? Maybe the joy of reading will become a habit. So, I became a huge proponent of free reading, and kept pushing the idea for the reasons mentioned above.

Then came the discussion with Diego Ojeda at the airport. While we were chatting about reading, Diego mentioned that students need to be taught how to read, and to read critically. I, of course, was focused solely on creating the habit of reading (and the mental break for teachers during FVR/FCR/SSR), so I wasn’t thinking of the “how,” as Diego was suggesting. And, he is absolutely right: our students DO need to be taught how to read analytically. Given the onslaught of media to which they - and we - are exposed, the need to examine «insert whatever input here» is more important than ever. As an author, there are subtleties and subtexts included in what I write, and what if the reader totally misses those? Are we doing our students a disservice by just handing them books without guidance? It has me thinking…

So, while I might be thinking, I haven’t come up with *the* solution, but that’s mostly because I don’t think there is one. As with most things in education, the argument can be made for one (class novels) over the other (FVR/FCR/SSR), but as with almost everything, there are pluses and minuses to both. I think we can all agree with Stephen Krashen, though, who said during his keynote address at the FFLA conference (and I am totally paraphrasing here), that a populace that reads is one with more critical thinkers. So, while we are on our quest to cure monolingualism, we can also count ourselves to cure ignorance through reading. 

Read on!

You can find out more about Diego Ojeda on Facebook, Instagram and X. 

It’s October…That Means Halloween, Right?

By Jennifer Degenhardt

Reading time: 3 min 30 seconds

Did September even happen? I mean, did we experience all thirty days? I don’t know about anyone else, but September is always a whirlwind. And by the time I realize that, as a Spanish teacher,  I should be doing more to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, October is about to start, and with that there are only two weeks left to celebrate the aforementioned heritage month. 

Same happens in October as I want to highlight Indigenous Peoples’ Day, but that day, too, comes and goes, and I’m left saying to myself, “Next year. Next year, I’ll get it together.”

I’ve been saying this for the last twenty-plus years. 🙄

And imagine, Hispanic Heritage Month and Indigenous Peoples’ Day are things on the calendar to which I actually want to bring attention, as I think my students should be aware of both (especially college students). 

In my later life, I’ve become less and less of a holiday/celebrations gal, which probably explains my inertia when it comes to Hispanic Heritage Month and Indigenous People’s Day. I’ve chosen to forego the pomp and circumstance of the celebrations simply because, well…the stress of it all. 😩Fortunately for me, my student population doesn’t demand (in any way) mention of or participation in any of the more commercial holidays, namely, Hallowe’en. 

I never really understood the allure; the whole costume->trick or treat->”asking” for candy-thing” of present day. However, I did do some research in preparation to write this blog, so I can now better appreciate where the custom comes from and maybe a little more as to why. 

Origins of Trick-or-Treating

History of Hallowe’en

So what does this have to do with teaching language? A lot, actually. 

Sometimes, I think teachers have in their minds that they have to be experts (or some semblance of) on the content that they deliver to their students, and as a result, they shy away from topics of which they are not well-versed or even familiar. Like me and Hallowe’en.

Newsflash: YOU. DO. NOT. HAVE. TO. KNOW. EVERYTHING. 

Do the “top-few-hits-on-Google” research that I do (and that I did for this post) so you can provide SOME information to your students. You never know what will spark their interest or what they will remember. As an example in my classes: Just today we were talking about the indigenous languages in Guatemala, and one student, who is studying something about languages, brought to the conversation his recollection of kaqchikel (a Mayan indigenous language) which we mentioned last semester. Of all the vocabulary I thought students might forget… 🤯

Our charge is to get our students interested in and using language. And I would argue that the second most important task we have is to encourage thinking. (As a college-level teacher, believe me, thinking is at a premium these days.) This thinking can be as simple as making connections. That can happen EVEN with “top-few-hits-on-Google” research. 

So, what did this non-holiday gal learn about Hallowe’en?  In the Origins of Trick-or-Treating article, I found the following information interesting and relatable to the essence (not commercialization) of El día de los muertos (Day of the Dead). 

Poor people would visit the houses of wealthier families and receive pastries called soul cakes in exchange for a promise to pray for the souls of the homeowners’ dead relatives. Known as "souling," the practice was later taken up by children, who would go from door to door asking for gifts such as food, money and ale.

In Scotland and Ireland, young people took part in a tradition called guising, dressing up in costume and accepting offerings from various households. Rather than pledging to pray for the dead, they would sing a song, recite a poem, tell a joke or perform another sort of “trick” before collecting their treat, which typically consisted of fruit, nuts or coins.

For me, a hostile holiday harpy, I only needed to do some cursory research to find a relatable and interesting connection that I could present to my students, if I so chose. I invite you to do the same. No need to make it so complicated. Sometimes even asking WHY? can ignite some creative conversation.

Meditation in the World Language Classroom? Yes! (Read on, skeptics!)

reading time: 3 min

On the Friday morning before Labor Day Weekend on this district’s teacher’s first day back to school (let that sink in - no, for real), I had the pleasure of providing this language department with some ideas on how to use novels to help them with their planning, as they had just purchased subscriptions for all of their teachers for the year. Prior to my “show” as it were, I was able to listen to the district coordinator for world language address the teachers with… well, I’m not exactly sure all of what it was, but it was a lot. The coordinator was very organized, pleasant, supportive and upbeat, but it was still A LOT. It was a reminder to me that teaching - and teaching world languages in particular - is challenging. Because our subject is not always required, and students don’t always take it seriously (and we still have to measure progress in a skill that is inherent - don’t get me started on that!), world language teachers seem to have to work even harder to maintain our students’ interest so, you know, we can justify our programs. It is, in a word, exhausting.

Whether you are teaching in a block or traditional schedule, have three preps or six, have rosters of 40 total students or 120+ (or 300 as some middle school teachers have), there has to be some way to stop the madness, at least for a little bit. How about meditation? Not enough class time? Too woo-woo? Won’t be allowed by __insert powers that be here__? I know! And that’s not what I’m talking about anyway. Though meditation did, quite literally, save my life, the kind of meditation to which I’m referring is reading. Free choice reading (FCR) or free voluntary reading (FVR) is a habit, a norm, a regular occurrence in your classroom that you establish as part of your routine. The “rules” are simple: the students choose what to read for a determined amount of time (pro tip: start with 5 minutes twice a week at the beginning of class), and you take the time to read as well (modeling is essential).
After grabbing a book (article, graphic novel, etc.) the students sit and read quietly (so do you).

I hear all the “yeah, buts” coming at me hot right about now. 

• What if students choose books below their level?

• How will I know if students understand what they have read?

• How do I know they are actually reading?

So what?

You won’t, and

you won’t.

In my seasoned age, I have become much more laissez-faire about so many things - especially those that are out of my control. You are already measuring against a pyramid, using a ton of rubrics and making sure stuff matches up with some standard. You do not need to evaluate every. single. thing. that your students do. It is crazy to think you can, and completely unsustainable.

In this world where our personal devices (to which we are all addicted at some level) have decreased our attention spans, and provide way too much stimuli, having those few minutes of FCR/FVR each week might be a lifesaver - for both you AND the students. Like us, they need to bring it down a level, too, and what better way to do so than to also encourage the habit of reading. 

Practice calm. Practice NOT being “on” for those few minutes. With meditation of any kind, it does take practice: redirecting distracted thoughts, or in the case of your students, their behavior. 

Kids need this time. They do. Even if they’re not actually reading, they will get what they need from the quiet time. You will, too.

If you would like some more pointed and directed tips on how to incorporate FCR/FVR into your classes, you can register for our webinar which will be live on September 20th: https://www.digilangua.net/webinars

The Best Laid Plans

Reading time: <4 min

It seems that every year at about this time I have a similar experience paddleboarding which is always a metaphor for all sorts of things. This year was no exception.

Last week I took my board to the beach for only the fourth time this summer. I am having a rough time with this middle-agedness which is causing some slow-down on the paddling. Still, I went. I sort of checked the weather (this will be important later on), and the winds were supposed to be manageable.

So off I went. 

I calculated the best “route” or so I thought, given the wind and my physical ability at the time. In my mind, I had planned to allow myself to figure out the next steps of a couple of books that I had started. And, what do they say about the best laid plans…?

The wind changed. If I started off paddling with winds at 6 mph, they were now at about 12 mph, and I was having to get back to the beach paddling directly into the wind. It was hard. I might have started to complain…but to whom? Besides, I was out on the water with the wind in my face and the sun on my shoulders. It could have been a whole lot worse.

And then I started to think about my thinking. I didn’t particularly want to end up in the drink, which had much more to do with the shorts I was wearing and wanted to continue to wear the rest of the day (the non-wearing of a swimsuit is a middle-aged thing, too, but that’s a separate post). Because I had to concentrate a bit more to stay upright, I wasn’t going to be able to delve into the figuring out of the aforementioned stories. So, I started to watch my paddle go into the water, draw back and then reemerge to do the same (ideally it would be on the opposite side, but the wind wasn’t allowing for that.) It became hypnotic. Every so often, too, I would look up to take in the sights (and to make sure I was headed in the right direction).

From there, I started to think about this blog post. There were already so many lessons that could be related to teachers and teaching (anyone in any profession really, but y’all are my audience). 

1. Even with experience, the best plans are just that: plans.

2. Plans can - and sometimes need to be - changed.

3. Keep the big picture (goal) in mind.

4. Enjoy the process. It’s all part of it.

It was very slow-going back to the beach, but I was making progress. I had just crossed under the fishing pier and was about 50 yards from the beach, and I was patting myself on the back (figuratively, anyway).

Skkkt.

I was up and then I was down. The paddleboard’s fin hit a rock and I tumbled forward, mercifully missing hitting my chin on the board (though I’ve done that before too).

Embarrassed. Not really.

Annoyed? A little.

Wet? You bet.

I was not thrilled about having to stand on the slimy rock to get back on the board, but…the water was warm and I was not hurt (a win for this middle-aged person!). What I was most irate about: my shorts. I would have to change.

The wind had kicked up even more making those last 50 yards seem like miles (okay, a bit of hyperbole there), but I made it. Struggling back to my car with the board under my arm, a man stopped me and said, “Was that you on the water?”

“Yes, did you see me struggling?”

“No, I was thinking that was a pretty tough go. Good for you.”

“Hey, thank you,” I said.

Made. My. Day. 

You see, that man didn’t have to notice me on the water, and he sure as heck didn’t have to say something. But that’s the way I roll, too: tell the folks when they’re rockin’ it. Who doesn’t love an “atta girl/boy/person”?

So, I leave you with the last lesson. 

1. Keep on going with all you’ve got. You never know who’s watching and admiring from afar.

And here’s a freebie: you don’t have to be middle-aged to have this mindset. Mine arrived after YEARS of struggling, so try it on for size. Love the parts of teaching that you love, and the other stuff: just keep putting your paddle in the water. You’ll get there.

A Reminder, an Invitation and a Permission Slip

by Jennifer Degenhardt, a DigiGal
Reading time <3 min

It’s that time of year once again: a total freak-out for teachers. 

Though there is no actual Paul Revere-like character riding through town to make the announcement, the refrain rings in educators’ ears:

“The students are coming! The students are coming!”

Yes, yes they are; just like they have been since…well, since whenever the modern education system came into being.

What also seems to arrive at this time of year is panic and overwhelm for teachers for a whole host of reasons (feel free to insert yours here). But, for language teachers, those feelings seem even more heightened (again, for a whole host of reasons). Seemingly, we have more classes to prepare for, plus the added expectation (self-imposed or otherwise) that our classes will maintain the interest and engage our students. Never mind the feelings of imposter syndrome or the actual bullying, both overt and covert, that takes place in education, world language teachers have a lot to manage.

And the students haven’t even crossed the threshold of the front doors to the school yet.

What’s a teacher to do?

First of all, know that these feelings are fairly universal. (I think this will be my 30th year teaching and I STILL feel this way!) Second, please remember that you, as the teacher, while you may not know it all (who does?), you do know more than your students. Okay, breathe.

Now, for the invitation part of this post: think about WHY you chose teaching as a profession. Blocking out all of the other malarkey that’s swirling in your head, go back to that (or at least the “that” that you have now). When I was first teaching, I loved the grammar aspects of teaching Spanish. I delighted in the patterns and the rules and…well, all the stuff I don’t particularly care for now. Nope, now my WHY is to help my students think in a different way - be that about geography, doing hard things, learning about people; you know, the soft skills that are still necessary in the world, but no one talks about anymore because they can’t be quantified as readily.

Whatever floats your boat, rocks your world or blows your skirt up: do that. It will not reach EVERY student the way you want to (or the way admin thinks you need to, or the state ed department or the president or the supreme ruler of the galaxy or…), but you will reach the students who need that from you. Besides, if you love “it” (whatever that is), you can sell it. Enthusiasm is infectious!

f you’ve gotten this far, you’re probably figuring that there will be some permission granted. Yes, yes there will! The DigiGals grant you permission to work smarter (not harder), to do more with less (go deeper) and to enjoy. We write these novels so that you can do all of this. Let the novel work for you, so that the students end up doing more of the work (they should, THEY’RE the ones who haven’t graduated yet!). The DigiGals have a quarterly webinar series that you jump in on if you want some tricks and tips to help you make your job less daunting. Check out the button below.

But most of all, we hope that you will give yourself permission to ENJOY teaching, and further enjoy teaching languages. We really do have the best jobs.

Estrato 1: Access to Reading

Reading time: 2:38

We walked into the classroom, greeting the teacher, a small woman who didn’t seem a match - not in voice, nor in stature - for the 28 11th-graders in the classroom.

The school is in the barrio of Agua Blanca in Cali, Colombia. Agua Blanca is an Estrato 1 neighborhood, meaning one of few resources. The school houses 2000+ students where they are provided with free meals and snacks. There is a uniform for the students, either a regular one or one for P.E. days, but some students didn’t seem to abide by that requirement - for probably a host of reasons. They were there in school and that’s what mattered.

My friend and fellow Spanish teacher, Helaine, is doing a 5-month project as a Fulbright Scholarship recipient, a portion of which has her connecting students and teachers in Colombia with those in the United States. The lesson the day we were visiting was to write back to the U.S. student who had already written a letter to the Colombian students.

Teenagers being teenagers, they took a L-O-N-G time to get started with the assignment: some were on their phones, others were shouting out the window to the P.E. class outside, others were chatting amongst themselves. All of them were creating noise of some kind, made even worse by the echo that comes with concrete walls, few windows and 28 almost-adult sized kids yelling over one another to be heard. Crazy-making and deafening.

Learning English for these kids is hard for so many reasons, pronunciation among them. I kept thinking to myself about how great it would be if they had access to comprehensible reading via an app, you know, like a Digilangua app! They would only have to use the WiFi at school (or elsewhere) to download the app so they could put on it the books they wanted to read. And after they were finished with an assignment, they could be engaged with reading.

Yet another part of Helaine’s project, The Stories that Unite Us  has her interviewing students here in Colombia to amplify their voices. She recounted that one student told her that her favorite thing to do in the afternoons is to escape to her room to read. After getting up at 4:30AM to help her mother prepare lunch for all of her uncles and then getting to school early to get something to eat before classes start at 6:45 AM (yes, you read that right), that student earns that reading time for sure! 

The students of this Estrata 1 school in Agua Blanca, Cali, Colombia are the perfect candidates to receive and use the Digilangua platform. First things first: we need the funds to create the app for the Digilangua online library. We have started a Kickstarter campaign (now in its last days) to try to raise the funds. Clearly we are better at writing books than asking for money, as we still have a ways to go. We would be honored if you’d like to contribute.  No amount is too small.

Think of that girl curled up on her bed with a book on her phone, maybe even one in English, escaping into a story. 

All students should have that kind of access to reading. All of them.

Readers are Leaders

Reason for Being

DIGILANGUA.CO was created for language teachers and their students to provide access to compelling, culturally rich, comprehensible novels that promote communication, connection and community.

So, that is the oh-so-official sounding reason for being. And there is way more of that further down on this landing page. But for those who want the *sparknotes version, here it is.

Who?: We are two teachers of Spanish & French

What?: We write comprehensible novels in different languages for students learning languages. 

Where?: Well, we’re based in the northeast of the USA, but our books are read all over the world!

Why?: We are passionate (obsessed?!?!!) about telling stories that allow readers to connect with cultures all over the world through stories, and to think about more complex themes - even while reading in another language at a more basic level.

We ❤️reading so much that we think it should be the only homework assignment!

Already we have a library of over 160 books in five different languages, and there are no signs of stopping!

We have stories that involve:

• mysteries

• individuality

• LGBTQ+ themes

• politics 

• racism & classism

• substance abuse disorders

• different abilities

• undocumented immigration

• history

• and others…

Other teachers who also use our books, have told us that reading our stories have changed their and their students’ lives.

Simply, people learn through story. And the way we see it, there’s no better way to learn than through reading. Oh, there’s that whole acquiring a different language thing too. It’s a win all around.

Two years in, this is what we have found (some of these are “master-of-the-obvious” level):

• Students of all ages have access to the world at their fingertips with their personal devices - IF they have access to the internet (can’t use what they don’t have) 

• Some readers may not use personal devices to consume quality content (like having the candy next to cash register)

• With compelling content, readers will get sucked into a story and work hard to figure out the text (especially with an accompanying glossary for each book)

READERS ARE LEADERS

Reading is the foundation of all learning, and…it’s FUN! 

• increases vocabulary

• Builds confidence while learning at one's own pace

• Helps with memory

• Increases comprehension

• Develops critical thinking

• Improves analytical skills

• Develops emotions and fosters empathy

• Broadens horizons

• Assists with writing skills

• Hones focus and concentration

Now imagine all of the above plus even more skills while reading in a different language:

• Increases fluency

• Presents idiomatic expressions

• Teaches sentence structure

• Introduces nuances of the target language

• Allows for the focus on ideas, not just words