In episode 75, Maris Hawkins interviews Kara Jacobs, a Spanish teacher who is well-known for sharing lessons, units, stories, and activities around authentic resources on her blog. If you don’t already know Kara, this interview is a great introduction to her, her approach, and the kinds of resources she shares.
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Show Notes
We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, leave us a voicemail or send a text message to (629)888-3398. Or you can follow us on Twitter @weteachlang or use this contact form to send us an email.
Maris Hawkins is a regular contributor to the podcast. You can reach out to her on Twitter @marishawkins or on her website.
Kara Jacobs has been a high school Spanish teacher for 20 years. You can find her on her blog ceautres.com or on Twitter @karacjacobs. Kara actually wrote a blog post summarizing her interview and listing tons of great free resources she has made available, so make sure to visit that post on her blog!
Resources mentioned on the show…
…Fluency Matters novels
…Kara’s Danielle resources from the lottery commercials
…Conferences like IFLT, Express Fluency, TCIMaine
…blogs like Martina Bex’s and Arianne Dowd’s and resources from people like Carrie Toth and Maris Hawkins
…Words & Actions: Teaching Languages through the Lens of Social Justice
…ACTFL resources like the Language Educator, Proficiency Guidelines, and the Can Do Statements
Kara uses a version of Story Listening, which we have heard about before on the podcast in our interview with the developer of Story Listening Episode 52: Story Listening and Efficient Acquisition with Beniko Mason
Maris mentioned that there have been previous episodes about moving away from the textbook. Try these as a good place to start…
…Episode 14: Making the Transition to Authentic Resources and Proficiency with Lisa Shepard
…Episode 36: A Departmental Shift to IPA-based Units with Rich Madel
…Episode 66: Pursuing Proficiency with Williamson County Schools, Part I and Episode 67: Pursuing Proficiency with Williamson County Schools, Part II
Loved this episode! I’ve slowly been transitioning from traditional textbooks to CI and Kara’s materials and blog have been a big help. I also follow Maris. You both make teaching so much more fun! Thank you.