Practical Proficiency Podcast
Where world language teachers gather to transition to proficiency oriented instruction through comprehensible input. All through practical, real-life, teacher-friendly ideas that make teaching language more joyful! Hosted by Devon of La Libre Language Learning.
Practical Proficiency Podcast
Guest Kia London on Patience in Proficiency & 90% Target Language : A Teacher's Journey
Patience trumps perfection when transitioning to proficiency-based language instruction, as veteran Spanish teacher Kia London reveals in this enlightening conversation about her journey teaching at a new school. With 19 years of experience across all grade levels K-12, Kia brings genuine wisdom about adjusting instructional pace to meet students where they are—without compromising high expectations for target language use.
Watch the interview here: https://youtu.be/eknSSQBX4xA
Connect with Kia London:
bit.ly/klondon
trailblazeintolanguagelearning.com https://www.instagram.com/clases_de_london/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/groups/culturallydiverseequitablecurriculum https://twitter.com/MaestraLondon https://www.tiktok.com/@kdl_trailblaze https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf2Rcb0xkR7R8_lLbt5dB4g
When Kia moved to her current high school (coincidentally her alma mater), she faced a significant challenge: students unaccustomed to the 90%+ target language environment she cultivates. Rather than lowering expectations, she embraced a semester-long process of scaffolding, repetition, and strategic classroom design to bring students along. Her detailed approach to creating visual supports, recognizing student feedback cues, and building a classroom culture where "I don't understand" is welcomed rather than feared provides practical takeaways for teachers at any stage of their proficiency journey.
The conversation explores the delicate balance of pushing students beyond their comfort zone while being responsive to their needs. Kia shares specific strategies that transformed initial resistance into engagement—like reducing homework load to improve quality, modeling activities before practice, and using station work to foster peer support. Most inspiring is her celebration of student growth beyond language acquisition itself, as she witnesses learners developing confidence, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
For teachers struggling with the messy middle of proficiency implementation, Kia's mantra that "consistency beats perfect" offers refreshing permission to embrace the journey rather than expect overnight transformation. Connect with Kia's wealth of resources at bitly.com/KLondon and implement her practical wisdom in your own language classroom tomorrow.
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What's up? Que lo que Et salut world language teachers. Welcome to the Practical Proficiency Podcast, where we make the transition to proficiency-oriented instruction in your world language class in a way that works for you, your unique context and teaching style, and doesn't sacrifice your well-being along the way. I'm your host, devon Gunning, the teacher author, conference host, curriculum creator and consultant behind La Libre Language Learning. This podcast is for the creative world language teacher like you who's ready to ditch the overwhelming pressure of switching to acquisition-driven instruction and CI overnight. You're ready to discover how using more target language in class can actually bring you and your students more joy instead of adding to your plate. With practical, authentic and down-to-earth strategies that don't require reinventing the wheel or more training, we'll work together towards the magic of a community-based, target language-rich classroom, rooted in the power of community and comprehensible input. Let's go. Welcome everybody.
Speaker 1:I am so excited to welcome back a special guest. Kia London is here with me today on the Practical Proficiency Podcast. I'm so excited to welcome back a special guest. Kia London is here with me today on the Practical Proficiency Podcast. If you are watching or listening, thank you so much for being here and thank you, kia, for joining me again and being my first repeat guest on the Practical Proficiency Podcast. This is going to be so fun. I'm really excited to hear about your year teaching this year, so tell us a little bit more about you and what your school year is like this year.
Speaker 2:I'm super excited to be able to chat with you and, hey y'all, what's going on? So I have, I've been teaching for 19 years. It feels like yesterday, honestly, but when 2025 rolled around, I was like, oh my gosh, it's been 19 years, so it goes very, very fast. And I've been teaching Spanish. I've literally taught every grade level, K through 12. And I spent a lot of years in the middle school. So I want to say maybe close to like nine years.
Speaker 2:So middle school definitely like has my heart. There's a there's a piece of me there with middle school, and now I'm back to high school. There's a piece of me there with middle school and now I'm back to high school. So I started my journey of teaching at the high school level and so now I'm back to high school, which has really been good. So, yeah, so like there's a lot of things going on. I've definitely slowed the pace. It seems as if, like the pace slowed down for me in the fall, um, normally I'm, you know, either facilitating something, you know, a conference, or presenting, and so I remember telling myself specifically that for the fall, I wanted to, you know, take it easy, because I am currently I'm in a new school community. Um, I'm teaching at the high school. I graduated from um, which is, which is pretty cool, but, um, so, yeah, so there's just there's been a lot of change, but we're still, we're, we're, we're still moving forward, which is awesome been a lot of change, but we're still moving forward, which is awesome.
Speaker 1:I admire that. You're giving yourself the much needed space to move into a new realm of life. This is something that I never do and need to do more of, so that is wonderful, because that's so much on your plate. Transitioning to a new school as well that's something I think that we can forget about a lot when we're thinking about what it's like to be a teacher.
Speaker 1:I've taught at three different schools in a rather short career and moved for various reasons, and every single time it is oh wow, I'm getting used to a whole new big system again. So tell me a little bit about that too. You're an experienced teacher. You know exactly what it means to teach Spanish, but did you experience a little bit about that too? Like you're a, you're an experienced teacher. Like you know exactly what it means to teach Spanish, but did you experience a little bit of that going into a new school environment, especially with? I know you were telling me the last time you were on here that you were excited to be back in your, in your old stomping ground and your old community yeah, um, I, I know for me like going from.
Speaker 2:So, like I came, I came from a school where we we had a pretty like large team and so, um, we were on a journey. I mean, the goals were set for proficiency, like that was just like that was the like, that was the expectation and that was how we were facilitating instruction. And so now I truly do want to applaud and shout out the teachers that I now work with in the department, because they are beginning and getting like into that journey. So it's been very, it's been really cool, like just hearing the conversations, like in the department meetings and hearing like their thought process about, well, what about this, and maybe we can do it this way. So that part has been really, really interesting, you know, for for me to hear as well. And so, coming in, you know, again, like I've I've told people like, yeah, I went to high school here, but again, you know, teaching a different generation, you know a new generation of students, um being in so on our high school, in our high school we have two campuses. Like our campus is like huge, and so I am. There's a North building and there's a South building, and so I'm in the North building, which is where World Language is, and so when I was there, world Language was like in the South building. So it's there's a little bit of nostalgia there, but at the same time I think too nostalgia there but at the same time I think too, as far as building connections and relationships with the students, that definitely helped a little bit in my favor. So it wasn't like you know, like well, she's just coming in and we don't know, you know, but being able to say like yeah, I graduated from there, oh, you did Okay, like okay, you know, so, um, but yeah, but there's a lot. I mean, there's a new teacher cohort that I'm like a part of and it's really there for the purposes of providing support, like onboarding, support for teachers that are new to the um, to our school community, and so the cohort that I'm in right now everybody has taught before. So, like, everybody has experienced, like, maybe from like five to, you know, 10, 15 years, but there's so many things that you, you have to learn Like there's a system and, and you know, every school community has a different culture.
Speaker 2:And I'll never forget the principal. He said to us this was back in July where he just said what the acronym was, byob, and I was like, okay, I think we, I know like, I think we know like what I know, like let's go. And I remember some of us chuckling like he's like no, no, no, I'm not talking about that. And he said bring your own brand. And I thought that was really interesting and it really assured and brought you, you know, like, some encouragement of just like, okay, yes, I am a part of a larger department, like we have a pretty big department, and also that doesn't necessarily mean that I need to put away who I am as a teacher and what I normally do. Um, so I really appreciate you know him for that, that the importance of you know being authentic, because ultimately we want to be authentic with our students. You know they can see through anything, especially if we're not being authentic to who we are. So, so true, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:That's very reaffirming, too. I like that it's got a nice catchy tagline for a way for teachers to explore their own autonomy without having fear of, you know, running up against barriers or boundaries with what the school culture is. That you can reaffirm your own identity and contribute to what you're joining instead of having to conform to what you're joining. That's a really cool way to see it. I'm hoping that anybody who is either a new teacher or in the same position as you, who's listening or watching this, can absorb that and say that I can take that into my own school culture too, that this is something that I can be a part of and be my OB yeah, that's great. And I'm BYOB yeah, that's great.
Speaker 1:So tell me more about this interesting transition that you mentioned about a change of pace with your students. You mentioned to me briefly before, when we before we started the recording, that the school that you came from, these students had a different amount of Spanish before they came to you, and now you're having to change a lot of your pacing structure and the way that you approach Spanish class. So tell me a little bit more about that and what that's looked like.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so in my previous school community um again, very large department across middle and upper upper school there was.
Speaker 2:I just even remember when I started there like I had to quote, unquote, like up my game um, from where I was coming from, and that was like four and a half, four years ago, and so the students there had they were accustomed to a level of proficiency with hearing the target language at least 95, 98% of the time. And I remember, coming in I came from another middle school and I was just getting to the point with the students that I taught at that previous middle school of you know introducing them to proficiency and you know comprehensible input strategy. So when I started in my previous school community I had to like up my game, like incredibly, and I really am thankful for that because it really not only not only are you really able to Look at you know the multifaceted way as far as like how learners are able to like acquire the language, but it also prepares you for a number of different situations like, um, in the classroom. And so in my previous school community a lot of the students like there was a, there was an elementary Spanish program so they had had it from if they were enrolled, like at the preschool level, they had had it from. If they were enrolled like at the preschool level, they had had it all the way to preschool, all the way up to fourth grade. And so I taught fifth and sixth grade and you know, I remember just thinking I was, you know, like going at a good pace and they were just like no more, you know so anyway, so fast forward to now that I will say that that was my, that was my biggest adjustment, like I had to.
Speaker 2:I had to figure out, like OK, how can I still ensure that they are getting all the input that they need, still staying and again I say this for me within the 90 percent or more target language and challenging them to do so, because I know that with a lot of my students I teach freshmen, sophomores and juniors, and so with a lot of the incoming freshmen I don't think, at least from my, quite a few of them were not accustomed to hearing like the target language as much as they heard it with me. So that was one adjustment. The other thing, too, was being, you know, kind of like walking the fine line of like okay, I want to push you all, but at the same time, I don't want you to be discouraged if you're not able to get it like the first time around. So that was definitely, yeah, that was definitely an adjustment. And then, I mean, I even had a few parents that were just like, just for lack of better words, it was like are you sure you know what you're doing? And I'm like you know because for them you know it was new too, because, for all I know, you know, their students had, you know, spanish teachers that approach language you know differently than I do. So, um, you know that was something else.
Speaker 2:But one thing I will say as far as, like, slowing the pace and, you know, changing the pace up per se in our new teacher academy we talked about cultural, responsive teaching, and this is something that I'm, you know, chunking when it comes to.
Speaker 2:Whenever you're teaching a topic, you know, rather than you know, feel like you have to get through every single thing, but like, take it apart, chunk it, scaffold IE and so forth apart, chunk it, scaffold IE and so forth.
Speaker 2:And so I remember first semester where I I had thought that I'm like, oh yeah, this is, I'm scaffolding enough, this is what they need.
Speaker 2:And then finding out like, okay, no, no, you need to do it, you know, like even more Um, and so that was a very different process for me as far as being patient with that, and so I mean the students definitely like taught me that as a group, it's worth the point where I can pile on like even a little bit more because of being able to take that time and being patient with them, um, in terms of just where they were at and um, so, yeah, so it's been, it's, it's been good, it's definitely, you know, been good.
Speaker 2:And I feel like too and I'm speaking for myself where you, you teach somewhere for a while and you get accustomed to like a certain level of like expectation, you know with the students, and so, um, when you make a transition and then it's like, okay, we'll wait, all right, hold on, you know. So it's good. I feel like that there's a sense of humility that like kind of comes with that, but also being mindful that, as teachers to like, we have to continue to be flexible in any given day, in any given, and being able to meet, you know, our students where they're at as well.
Speaker 1:Wow, there's so much there. I'm excited to dive into this. This feels very reaffirming to know that patience is the number one thing that has paid off for you, of being patient with yourself in this learning process, of understanding that you're reminding me that each time that you work with a new group of students, it's a learning process. You're learning how they work and what they need, and that it's important to be flexible with the stuff that you're planning to teach, because you never know how students are going to react to it and what kind of timing they really need. And your students it sounds like they and their parents too sometimes were a little bit shell shocked by it. How would you say what was that timeline you think that it took them? Now we're recording this around the beginning of February.
Speaker 1:So what does that timeline looked like for? Because I know there's a lot of people listening who are diving into this experience themselves. I've been talking with a lot of my and you've given a course for them before with all your expertise With my members. There's a lot of people who are trying this whole concept of using a lot of target language and they're in the beginning journeys of this. Walk us through a little bit of what did that timeline look like for your students of starting to feel like oh, that like first initial anxiety of this is a lot of language to like. Okay, I'm finally used to this. What did that look like for the majority of your students time-wise?
Speaker 2:I would say for the majority of my students, an entire semester, an entire semester, like it took the entire semester. And I wasn't, I wasn't really expecting that. I think I, you know, I can think of a few, not a few, but like a percentage of students that were like, okay, yeah, maybe by like November-ish or like December, but majority as a whole, it took an entire semester. Um, and I think, too, the important thing too is like believing that, believing that your students can, you know, understand and comprehend you like in the target language, and not not like quote unquote, like backing down, you know. And I think that that's really important because in the beginning, when I think of the beginning of the year, like I was kind of, you know, I was a little tough, and I just remember, you know a variety of ways where it's like if they weren't able to understand me, so taking them through the process of number one, like using the room, that's a huge piece, like I, I just remember the beginning of the year, the first thing I wanted to do before school started. I was like I have to set up my room, and it wasn't because you know, oh, I want to, you know, have like fancy decorations. It was because I wanted to get my students to the place where they were able to not only understand what I was saying, understand what they were reading, you know, depending on what the content was, but also being able to communicate with me, and being able to communicate with each other, like during that talking time. So I have things like on my wall, such as like the sweet sixteens, you know the verbs, we have the super sevens, the interrogatives, as different phrases popped up and as their vocabulary grew. I would just add more things, you know, just like on the wall, like I mean, we have a, there's a staff that comes in and does like cleaning in our rooms and the ladies, I'm sure they're probably like I, you know they're like, because I always have um signs on my whiteboard that say don't erase. It's in Spanish. I'm like don't erase the board, you know so, um, because it's really important. And then I've, you know, also grown to see and know that. You know they do depend on that, as like additional scaffolding, which is perfectly fine for me, um, because they're novice learners. I teach novice learners, um, some of them are approaching novice high, um, at this point, but mainly like novice mid, you know, novice, low and so forth. So it's, you know, that part was was really important.
Speaker 2:And then being able to like, okay, what do we say when we have to go to the bathroom, like having that sign up, you know, and then it's like, well, can I go? I'm like, and it's my y'all, like, oh, it's London. I'm like, yeah, like it's right there, you can do it, you know. And so that was huge, that was like a huge, and then consistently coming back to it, a lot of repetition, a lot of I call it like recycling, repetition, like as we would move forward again, go back, pick up these things with us. So there's like a constant cycle of like, review, repeat, going back a little bit and moving forward. And so that was really. Those are a few tips. Yes, those are tips that were very, very, very helpful. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that is a great mantra to have in your head to review, repeat, go back and then move forward. I really like that sequence. That's a nice way to follow it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, cause I, you know too, and you know this was a discussion uh, we have like a PLC on Wednesday mornings and so, with our department and I was listening into just some of the conversations and it's very easy to get caught up into, depending on you know, whether or not you're using a textbook or not. I know, with our department we don't use a textbook, um, but it's very easy to get in that mode of just like, okay, we did this unit, we're going to move on to this one and then we're going to move on to this one, but we want to make sure that we, you know, I understand it's like there are certain things that we do want our students to be able to do and be able to know, but at the same time, you also want them to be able to be in a place in which they are acquiring it, and so the brain is, you know, processing, you know certain things. So going back, reviewing so that they can see it in a variety of different contexts is just, yeah, incredibly needed.
Speaker 1:It's essential to be able to do, but yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:How did you adjust when you knew the pace was too fast for students? I, I want to say first thing really, I mean, they really are my feedback, like they give me feedback. Um, so one example that comes to mind is that we use um Google classroom is like our LMS, our learning management system. And so I remember, just coming in like I knew that where I was teaching that there was an expectation for homework. There was an expectation, and so I was like, okay, you know, and I remember assigning like a couple assignments a week like a Google classroom, and number one I got like a google classroom and number one I got like near to like burned out because I couldn't keep up with it. Not that I was grading everything, but again, if we're, you know, if you're giving assignments for students to record themselves, you know in the language, like you're listening and you're giving them feedback, so, um, that was number one. And then number two, like I was getting a very, very small percentage of students that were just turning it in and I was just like, okay, so that showed me one thing that it was just that they were not like keeping up, and there's all sorts of reasons why. You know it's either I have sports or I have an activity after school or it's. Well, I had to do my ap homework first, and then your class, you know. And so what I decided to do, um second quarter, was I said okay, I said I'm going to post one Google Classroom assignment a week. You all have three days and then I really started being mindful of the activities that we were doing in class, so that I was assessing them more in class and utilizing that information in order to be able to use that for, you know, as far as like how they were doing in the gradebook. And so I definitely saw a huge change with that. There were definitely I got more more students submitting things. There was more engagement in class, and it was, you know, it was. It was definitely a wonderful thing.
Speaker 2:And then too, I know, with with this group is, you know, they'll go through phases where they don't really want to talk. You know where it's like if I'm asking a question in the target language and if I don't get like that whole group response, I have my you know, my little cards, you know, and so they're like, oh, they're like, miss London, I'm like what? I'm like nobody's talking, you know, um, and so when I would find that even when I went to the cards and, you know, would call on certain people and I was going too fast or whether or not they were definitely with me. So there were many times where I was just like OK, I'm like OK, we're going to go back, go back, we're going to review this, and so I really yeah, I mean, they were really and they still are like a guide, you know, to let me know whether or not I'm moving too fast or if I am going like too slow, if we can like up the pace. So the student feedback was, was huge, it is just a huge piece.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that perspective is really refreshing of how much actual participation your students are giving you in terms of like who's turning in what and how much and how often, is a form of feedback in a lot of ways, and that there's there's a lot of room for adjustments, instead of just giving up and saying that they're lazy or whatever it might be, that there's there's a lot of feedback to be had and that your students actually like there might be a lot more is based off of interactions. You're going to natch. It feels like you have a natural feedback loop fed in there and you have to just pay attention to what those cues are. So what do you find are the cues? So you talked about like the.
Speaker 1:You know you're not getting a lot of responses in class like how do you tell the difference between like oh, they're just not in it today I gotta pull out my conversation cards. Or how do you tell the difference between like oh, they're just not in it today I got to pull out my conversation cards. Or how do you know that? Like oh, this is, this is over their heads.
Speaker 2:I need to change the pace yeah, I know, I, you know, I'm a big fan of, you know, being able to see, like their body language. Um, for example, I, this one particular student, I'm thinking of, um, she, you know I love learner and I remember I had asked a question um to a lesson I don't remember what it was and she wasn't she, she, like she didn't know and she wasn't able to answer it. And for a couple of reasons, like it was, it wasn't that she didn't understand what I was asking her, but it was just kind of like oh gosh, I don't know, or I'm not sure I forgot. And so for me, like, okay, that, like she's a high level learner, like if she's not there with me, then I need to dial it back, cause then that means that the rest of them are just like not with me at all. Um, something else, um, that I've also done too is, um, they're very big on like the head nods, you know, um, typically it's like, and they're like, no, it's. Either no, it's no, say you know, or either it's. And then when I'm like, okay, I, you know, and I I'll get no, and then all of a sudden we'll go to the activity and then I overhear, I overhear. I don't even know what we're doing and I'm like wait a minute, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, okay, I'm like you all, like any place. I'm like I just asked you, I pregnant with us? And no one said anything. I'm like, so we're going to do this again. I'm like I pregnant with us. They're like see, see, you know, and you know, I remember going through that because I really I wanted them to get to a place of being able to.
Speaker 2:If there was something that they did not understand, I wanted them to get to a place of I am comfortable saying that I don't understand. Either I don't understand you or I don't understand what it is we're supposed to be doing. And I remember taking them through that where I would ask like I preguntas, and they would it would be this or be like no, no, I preguntas. And then we would go to the activity and then I would watch them and nobody would move. And then I'd be like right, and I'd be like okay, you all just told me you didn't have any questions, yet no one was moving. I'm like, okay, so let's do we, you know.
Speaker 2:And so that was a big, that was a big learning. You know, learning moment for me too. And then from there, something else I started doing I would model out what exactly I wanted them to do, and so I would ask for a volunteer and I would model it out in Spanish, Um, and then I would ask the group, like okay, and see. And then, you know, some of them would get it because they would be watching like oh yeah, okay, this is what we're going to be doing. And then, you know, some of them would get it because they would be watching like oh yeah okay this is what we're going to be doing.
Speaker 2:And then you had others that were just like no, so then I would do it again, and then by that second time around I would get a little bit more. So then I started I said, okay, let me get creative here. So at times I'll have like a student like summarize, like okay, what are we supposed to be doing? So? And so, okay, yeah, we're gonna be doing this. And then it's blah, blah, blah, okay, um, so those are just you know a few ways, you know a few things like I've had to try. But yeah, yeah yeah, that is.
Speaker 1:That's a very helpful run through too, because I feel like this particular area of OK, I did the whole thing, I said all the stuff in the TL where we're rolling, we're rocking and rolling, we're doing things, and then you get to the part of silence or overhearing your kids be like, oh no, what the hell just happened. Of silence or overhearing your kids be like I don't know what the hell just happened, and then teachers don't know how to react. I know there were some classes where I certainly didn't know how to react and then you don't know what are the next steps. Like that, those are very concrete, perfect next steps.
Speaker 1:Like I would have loved to know that when I was still in the classroom of go back, reverse a little bit and say, ok, we just talked about that, you had some questions. Now let's do it in Espanol. I put a wound test and you just went through that whole thing. And that that bit that you said about how it's important to press them for that moment and make sure that they're comfortable with having questions, not knowing what what is being said, or having a moment of not understanding. That is really important to establish. That that's really really helpful. So thank you for sharing that. Do you think that there's ever been a moment in your classroom this semester so far where you've seen like, wow, this is some real growth from where we started in September with this or or August, of, wow, this was a, this was a battle now, and now I'm starting to see it like smooth out. I'm seeing my patients really pay off.
Speaker 2:Yes, um, I'm definitely like seeing those moments. I think for me has been seeing them in small groups. So I recently, and we have to um, finish up this activity, um next week. But we did like station activities and so I had explained to them. You know I went through they have six different stations. One of them involved listening to a song in the target language and then answering some questions and then making a brief connection. The other one was here are the questions on the wall, here are the sentence strip responses. Put them together.
Speaker 2:The other one was like this maze that I like, found on, like our on the world language, like department drive. It looked a little old school but I I really liked it for a variety of reasons where you had like your pronoun and then you had like the place, because the current unit we're finishing up is called like NBC Ulan and so they had to figure out okay, what direction am I going to go in according to the pronoun and the correct form of quote, unquote ear and part of me. You know, at first I was like, eh, I'm not really, you know, I'm more of like a grammar and context kind of gal, like that. That's like my jam, like the reading, the speaking, the communicative tasks and so. But I really wanted to include that because I was like you know what, let me, let me see how they're going to do this. I want to hear their discussions, you know, and so forth. And so I had a writing station where they had to write about their plans for the weekend. And then there was another one where they had to choose a reading. It was I coined it as like this is like level one reading, level two, you know, per se. And so it was the number one.
Speaker 2:It was interesting to see who worked with who, because I told them, I said, you can work with whichever group that you, whoever it is you want to work with, you can work with them. They already sit in you know, groups, like in my room. So I wanted to give them, you know, like that freedom. And so, seeing that, I learned even more about my students where I was like, oh, I'm like that's interesting. Okay, I'm like, yeah, I could totally see them hanging out. Yeah, that makes sense, um, and I know it's, it's like so cute. And then I noticed number two. I noticed one of my students who had really, you know, she, she's grown like she's grown tremendously in the language, but being able to see her take lead at an activity and explain it like no, we're supposed to be doing this, and then you need to make sure that you do this. This is where we're at. Okay, come on, we need to get this done. And that was great, like I was like whoa um.
Speaker 2:And then lately, the one thing I really love has been hearing them talk about what it is they're doing and discussing. So when they're writing something you know, like, for example, the weekend, like okay, so how do you say, oh, remember, it's like boy, because you're gonna say I'm gonna go do this, you know, and watching the look, no, that's, that's spelled wrong. This is how you spell it, it's, it's on this note sheet. So just really seeing that like that, really that was like a blessing to me and it was encouraging to me, because we within our school community we have what we call like a profile of a Viking. Viking is our mascot, and so one of the themes or topics of like the profile is problem solving and fostering like that interdependence. I think I'm saying that right Because I would notice, like in the beginning of the year where it was just like, well, I need for you to like tell me or show me I I don't want to do it, I want you to do it and I remember having to really, you know, walk.
Speaker 2:I don't want to say a fine line but, like you know, have some balance of like London's just going to do it for me and then I'm going to do.
Speaker 2:You know, I wanted to make sure that I was giving them enough encouragement and, you know, affirmation that they were on the right track, but also pushing them to you can do this. So there was a lot of, you know, really encouraging and building up like their confidence, like in the beginning of the year, and so fast forward to now and seeing them and hearing them talk and support like their, their classmates, like in groups, like it's just, it's such a great thing, it's just it's such a great thing, it's just such a great thing. And even you know the students that are just I'm just here because I need credit, you know. Even you know you have that. And then you have the other students that are like, yeah, I'm really interested, or either, yeah, I'm here because you know, my parent or guardian made me, or whatever, but seeing that me or whatever, but seeing that, seeing their problem solving skills like grow, has just been amazing. It's just been really good yeah that's amazing.
Speaker 1:They're so lucky to have you. What a teacher perspective that there's. I mean, there's so much more happening in class besides. Just I mean, acquiring is huge and so mentally taxing. But you're right, there's so much other stuff going on too that your students are really growing through this process. That's what we're hoping for, right? That's the whole reason that we're here. That's so cool.
Speaker 1:So, wow, this has been really amazing to learn from your experience of adjusting to how students react, to your pace and with this whole theme of being flexible but also remaining true to what you know is good for you, is authentic to you and good for students. That knowing to keep on that right pace and pushing the hey, we're gonna do this in the target language. This has been really affirming, I'm sure, for people who are fighting that good fight of trying to keep in the target language. This has been really affirming, I'm sure, for people who are fighting that good fight of trying to keep in the target language. What do you hope for teachers who are listening to this? What do you think is a great takeaway for them, and what do you hope that they learn from our conversation today?
Speaker 2:So I would definitely say that, that you know you all are not alone um everything that you know teachers are going through right now.
Speaker 2:I go through it on a daily basis and I think the important thing is being consistent, like if you are in a place where it's like, yeah, I really do want to increase the amount of target language I'm using in the classroom, like being consistent and taking it slow, it's OK to, you know, repeat yourself like 50, a hundred times, that is perfectly okay. And the important thing with that is like not giving up and not not thinking like, oh, they're just never gonna, because that's not true, because they can and they will. And you don't have to be perfect either. Um, I don't say everything perfectly. Sometimes, whenever a student asks me like what does this mean, I'm like, yeah, say they say blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then I'm like, wait, let me go double check and make sure so that I'm not, you know, coming up with my version of spine bliss, you know so. But yeah, I would just say being consistent, um, patient, and you know choosing also with that too, like choosing your battles, like I remember I was talking to my department chair and what I mean by that is that I used to, on a daily basis, I used to give, like all of my instructions, like in Spanish at my previous, like school community, like all the time. And so I remember my department chair, fast forward now, um, he was just like you know what he's like, was just like you know what he's like focus in on, you know, like looking at the tasks that they're doing, focus in on the tasks that they're doing, not saying that you can't, you know, give your instructions in Spanish. And I mean it really depends on what level you're teaching and where the students are at.
Speaker 2:I know that you know when there's like action involved and I'm acting things out, yes, my students do understand now at this point, but really, you know looking at, you know that that input piece of like you know the reading, the speaking, the tasks and so forth, and then you know that that input piece of like you know the reading, the speaking, the tasks and so forth, um, and then you know taking it one step at a time, like one day at a time.
Speaker 2:If it's oh, man, I only spoke like you know, 70 or 60% today, it's okay. It's not going to be like 90 or wherever you want it to be every single day, because we encounter different things that are happening and it also depends on you know what your goals are and where your students are at and gradually, as you continue to be repetitive, they will get to that point that you would like for them to be at, and then next thing you know you will be at that point that you them to be at, and then next thing you know you will be at that point that you want to be at as far as the percentage of target language you want to use.
Speaker 1:So yeah, that's that speaks to me very much, Cause actually I don't know if you knew this, but I knew it was a good time to have you on the podcast, cause my phrase for the year is consistency beats perfect. I'm finding that, in like everything that I do, that when you're striving for perfection, it actually is working against you. That consistent B plus effort wins every time. Like just showing up is half the battle, and for teaching, it really is like showing up and giving an effort to do target language and push your students. It's not gonna be perfect, but, just like you said, it's it. Consistency makes a difference, and now I know that teachers will have a lot of great ideas for how to make it easier for them Thanks to what you've shared today.
Speaker 1:So thank you so much for for being here with me virtually and for sharing your, your wisdom with us on the experience of what it's like to adjust to your pace. But you shared so much with us this wisdom of all your experience that you have of making sure that target language is attainable and that it works for both parties, that it's fun for you and accessible for your students, even if they don't think that right at the beginning. That's amazing, so I'm sure that people are going to want to learn more from you after they've listened to this. So can you tell everybody what are some ways that they can connect with you and learn more from you after hearing this awesome episode?
Speaker 2:All right, awesome. So I have. I'm in a variety of different places, but I'm gonna make it super. Just give you all one place. If you check out bitly backslash KLondon, you can find everything that I am involved in there. If you're on Facebook, the page is trailblazing language learning, um. And then I also hang out on instagram that is at classes day, london, um. And my other instagram page is at trailblaze lane, but you all will be able to find all that if you just go to the bitly link and everything is there. But yeah.
Speaker 1:Wonderful and we will have that. I'll have that in the show notes for y'all so you'll be able to clickety click it very easily. Kia, thank you so much for this. It's always wonderful to work with you and hang out and learn from you.
Speaker 2:Thank you. This has been so great and so refreshing and I appreciate it and I hope you all were able to get. Get something, get some nuggets.
Speaker 1:No, they were for sure All right. Bye for now.
Speaker 2:All right, bye.