How To Teach Languages Remotely During The Covid-19 Pandemic (Digital Resources For The Language Classroom)

 Classroom teaching looks very different after Covid-19. We as educators got trainings in using the digital technologies, from Zoom, Google Meet, the Big Blue Button and other conference tools, to creating digital worksheets and handouts using Kami, Easel, Google Doc, Google Slides (good for creating digital notebooks), to creating board games on Jamboard; using digital platforms to post our lessons and materials for the class such as Google Classroom, Schoology and Seesaw; making videos using Screencastify and Screencast-O-Matic. Students can now make videos and share with the class in Flipgrid.

Teachers learned how to make a digital version of themselves, called a Bitmoji, as well as how to create Bitmoji classrooms. We are now using the Pear Deck Google extension to make our Google slide shows interactive and Edpuzzle to make Youtube videos interactive by adding content questions that the students answer while watching the videos. We use digital Bingo cards, digital Flash Cards with Quizlet, and digital white boards. 

We also now create on-line games on Quizlet, Blooket, Quizziz, Kahoot, Conjuguemos for the students to practice the material that we present.

We can now give a feedback to our students by recording our voice with the Google extension Mote.

This is definitely an entirely digital way of teaching and has made teaching and engaging the students possible. I say this with some caution, because there is no way this can replace the organic human connection that the in-person teaching provides. 

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Best Side Hustles For Full Time Teachers

 I have been teaching for almost two decades now as a full time language teacher and as we all know teaching is not among the highest paid professional jobs these days, so if you are interested you can find some side hustles that will help you achieve your financial goals. Here are some ideas for an extra income if you are a full time teacher:

1) Create and sell lessons, activities, flash cards, materials that you and other teachers can use in their teaching. There are different websites, where you can sell such as https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/ in the United States (well known and widely used in the U.S. by teachers); or https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources in the United Kingdom (this one is widely known and used in other countries and continents by teachers around the world); of course there is Etsy.

I personally have stores with all of the above. If you are interested, feel free to check my tpt store, my tes store and my etsy store. From all of these three stores, my tpt store is bringing me the most profit so far, which is still not very much, but I am working on developing it, so it is still in the making and too early to say whether it will bring much of income in the next years. My tes store brings a few sales here and there, not much, but the income is steady. I am yet to see whether there is any potential in my etsy enterprise. These sources I consider more as a passive income. I put the time and the effort upfront, but they can bring me profit indefinitely and since they consist of digitally downloadable resources, I trully do not need to do anything once I create them and put them out there for sale.

2) Another source of income that I find profitable is the in-person and on-line tutoring (especially the latter). I have always done tutoring on the side and the good thing about it is that in exchange of your time, you get paid and the profit is good, it is certain, and you can make good money quickly. I usually only have one or two students at a time. You have the flexibility to set up the time, the frequency, as well as the amount you get paid per hour, and the freedom to negotiate your rate.

You can find some tutoring jobs through websites such as Craig's list, Next Door, or through your personal website and your personal connections by spreading the word that you are available for tutoring. Also if you had created a solid career as an educator, your name speaks for you and people might contact you instead of you actively looking for opportunities yourself.

3) There are also a few websites, where you can create and offer a course such as Fiverr, Teachable and Allfalfa, where I opened an account for free and offered three classes/courses options: Introductory French, Introductory Spanish and Cooking with Marieta. All of the sessions I offer are on-line through zoom. I have to share that I had a lot of fun cooking Bulgarian moussaka through zoom with one lady,  who signed up for my Cooking with Marieta class :)

4) Other types of side hustles include some side gigs, such as seasonal workers for a local business, which usually offers some flexible late shift hours and delivering food. 

Occasionally I sign up for and work during Election Day as a helper. For us teacher those days are off, so this is another excellent opportunity to make some extra cash. 

So, all in all there are many possibilities to find side hustles even with a demanding career such as being a full time teacher. I have not even mentioned freelancing, such as writing, proofreading, transcription (www.rev.com) and translation services that a teacher can easily provide on-line, or even summer camps, if you would like to work during the summers, when schools are off, etc.

I hope these ideas will resonate with some of you. Please, feel free to subscribe to my website and comment if you have any questions. You can also support me through Buy Me A Coffee if you liked the content that I have created. 

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Some Great Personal News On The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Front

 Finally some long expected great news! I am so excited!!

On October 6 I was in Bulgaria, caring for my mom who had a major surgery, therefore I was not aware of the news that Miguel Cardona (the U.S. Education Secretary) had announced some major changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program front, which consist in relaxing a lot of the previous almost unachievable requirements for PSLF. 

I came back to Michigan on October 15 and I was scrolling through the news page about student loan forgiveness, which I was periodically checking in the hope of finding out that President Biden was going to announce that he would forgive ten thousand dollars of student loans, which he talked about in his presidential campaign, when I saw an article on the changes made for the PSLF. 

Now, I had never considered or applied for PSLF previously, because I was not aware that I might qualify for it. Two years prior I was trying to figure out how to deal with my never decreasing student loan and I read a little bit about these programs, but at the time the explanations were a bit vague, I did not exactly understand who is really a qualifying employer, so I did not apply for PSLF. Had I known at the very beginning what I know now, I would have taken action much earlier in this direction, but I did not know and there was no one eager to explain those rules of eligibility to me anyway. I had to dig this information myself if I had known it even existed. Anyway, all in all, it turns out that I am eligible for a PSLF now with the new relaxed rules until October 31st 2022. I can actually get credit for my past payments on my student loan, which I consolidated in 2011 and I believe I might have made already 120 payments. So, I am super excited at the possibility to have some, most or all of the loan forgiven as soon as some time this coming January. 

For those who are not familiar with this, here is a quick recap of the requirements for PSLF:

If you work for a government or a non-profit employer full time, you can apply the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. You have to make 120 payments (aka 10 years of payment) in an eligible repayment plan, and if the loan that you have is a Direct Federal Loan (it had to have the word Direct in the name of the loan), your loans will be forgiven, no matter how much you have left to pay. The rules are relaxed until October 31, 2022 and will include any past payments you have made on your student loans, no matter whether the payments were on time or for the full amount. The only requirement for your payment to count towards forgiveness retrospectively is for you to be In Repayment status (not in Forbearance, not in Deferment status). 

Another relaxed rule is that now other Student loan payments can count toward forgiveness (like Parent Plus Loans etc.), as long as you CONSOLIDATE them into a DIRECT loan. How exciting is that, isn't it?

Please, visit this website to read about how to apply and all the details: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service.

I applied on October 25 after I had my current and my previous employers sign my application. On November 11 I received a confirmation that they had received my applications (I submitted two forms for my two eligible employers). On December 22, I received an email stating that my employers are approved and that my student loans will be transferred to the FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA) website by or around January 10. Then they will let me know how many qualifying payments I have made of the 120 required. So, now I just wait until January something. Fingers crossed that I have all the 120 payments made. 

Here I  decided to share. I hope this information is useful and helps someone else who is hoping to get their student loans forgiven. If you would like to support me and my website, please feel free to subscribe to my blog. 

If you find this information useful or have any questions regarding the content of this post, please feel free to comment in the comment box below.

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Sales in my TPT store- https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Profe-Marieta

 

BLACK FRIDAY SALE

and

CYBER MONDAY SALE

Come and visit for a 20% discount plus 5% more on Cyber Monday!

 

ARGENTINA PREVIEW

How to get ready for a teaching job interview (interview questions)

 

Here is the big moment you have been waiting for after many years of studies and commitment- finding an employment that will pay for your living expenses and help you realize your personal dreams.

You have been searching for jobs on numerous school or consortium websites such as this one and on job fairs, filled out applications, written resumes and cover letters, gotten rejected, until finally you get this email notification that you have been invited to an interview for a teaching position you aspire to get. 

Now what?

Don't get me wrong, it is never a guarantee, but at least you have gotten to the next step in a sequence of actions you need to undertake in order to get the job you want. The world has acknowledged you, your efforts, it has recognized that you and your skills are potentially valuable to the society and therefore is giving you a chance to prove that value. 

How to prepare for this crucial step in the process?  

First, learn more about the school or school district you have been invited to interview with. Search on the Internet for information. When you go to the interview you will want to have a sense of where you might get to work at- look specifically for the philosophy and culture of the place. 

Then prepare for the interview questions. I personally used the sample interview questions below, wrote down  the answers to them, then practiced numerous times how I would answer the questions, visualizing the interview. Here are some sample questions that you could use to prepare for the interview for you dream teaching position:

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:

THEORY and PHILOSOPHY

1. Why do you want to be a teacher? What has drawn you to education?

2. Why are you seeking a teaching certificate at this level (elementary or secondary, specialist, endorsement) and in this subject area?

3. Explain your philosophy for teaching (...your subject matter...).

4. What is the role of the teacher?

5. State your philosophy on classroom management. What are the key elements in maintaining good discipline in the classroom?

6. Explain the theory behind (... a method or trend; i.e. Project-based Education, Open Education, Outcome-based education, Hunter/direct lesson design, interdisciplinary teaming, ...) and tell how what you have learned from this book or article will influence your teaching.

7. What was the most recent professional article, blog or book that you have read? Tell us about it and how it will influence your teaching.

GRADING and ASSESSMENT

8. What might the grades in your grade book look like? What is the role of grades in your classroom?

9. What would you do if, at the end of a marking period, a student who barely made an effort was earning a B, while another student who was trying really hard was still earning a D? What grades would you give each student? Explain why?

10. Explain the difference between assessment and testing (or between formative and summative assessment). Can you assess without testing?

11. What are areas that you plan to assess and how?

TEACHING ALL LEARNERS

12. How do you individualize instruction within your program? How can you accommodate the needs of all learners?

13. Do you believe that all students can learn? Explain. (React to the statement: All students can learn.)

CURRICULUM and PEDAGOGY

14. Summarize the national and state standards in your subject area in terms that a parent or other person not familiar with your field could understand. Explain the impact of these standards on your curriculum and lesson design.

15. What kinds of technology are you accustomed to using? What kinds of technology would you like to have available to you in the classroom or nearby in the school? How would you use this equipment to improve students' learning? To what extend would you need to modify your teaching should no technology be available to you?

16. What do you enjoy most about teaching your subject matter?

17. Have you ever created your own original lesson plan that you are proud of? What was it?

18. What might we see if we walked into your classroom while you were teaching?

19. Teach an impromptu mini-lesson or 5-minute segment of your most recent/favorite lesson.

20. Describe a typical lesson or class period. How would this lesson be different if offered during a blocked (non-blocked) class period?

21. How do you motivate students?

22. About what percentage of the time you use your target language to conduct lessons during a typical class period? How do you feel about speaking the world language all the time?

23. Where do you get your ideas from?

24. What are the steps you would take in a certain situation (student cheating, student sleeping in class, etc.)

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

25. Describe you student teaching/previous teaching experience. What was the most important thing that you learned?

26. What are your greatest strengths as a classroom teacher?

27. Identify a weakness that you have as a classroom teacher?

28. What are your long-term goals? What would you like to be doing five years from today?

29. What has been one of the most successful experiences that you have had as a classroom teacher?

30. What has been one of your biggest disappointments as a teacher?

31. What is your minor or second major? How do you feel about teaching this subject?

32. What extra-curricular or enrichment activities would you be interested in offering to our students? How will you get involved in extra-curricular activities?

33. Describe yourself with three adjectives.

34. Describe your most memorable teacher and what makes this teacher memorable to you?

35. How would you contribute in your own special and unique way to our department? 

36. What do you like the best about the culture of the language you teach?

37. How do you feel if you missed a deadline?

38. How would you handle a difficult parent?

39. What would you do if a supervisor were critical to you?

40. Give us an example of a conflict you had with a student and how you resolved it?

41. Explain what your idea of teamwork is in a world language department?

EQUITY, DIVERSITY and INCLUSION

42. What are some techniques you use to teach in a culturally responsive way?

43. What role models for non-traditional students (e.g. female students, LGBTQ+ students, Indigenous students, students of color, and students with disabilities) do you include in your teaching and how?

44. What have you done to enhance you knowledge and skills related to diversity? How have you demonstrated what you have learned?

45. What does it mean for you to have a commitment to diversity and inclusion? How do you see yourself demonstrating it in your role as a teacher?

46. How does your experience and background prepared you to be effective in an environment that values awareness of inclusion and respect for diversity?

QUESTIONS to the INTERVIEWERS 

The interviewers might ask what questions you have for them. Here are some examples you could use:

1. Do you have a written language curriculum?

2. Are there opportunities to take students outside of the country?

3. What type of professional development opportunities are supported by the district?

4. What is the structure of the world language program?

5. Do you have a cap on enrollment in language programs?

6. What technologies do you have available?

This is all for now. Please, feel free to add questions that you have been asked or encountered during an interview that might be useful to include.

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Good luck to all with the interviewing process!

 

How I became a world language teacher in America

 When I came to the U.S. in 2005, I had a big choice to make- to continue with my teaching career or undertake another field of studies such as engineering or nursing.  

I had credentials as a French and Bulgarian teacher from Veliko Tarnovo University in Bulgaria, as well as four years of experience as a French and Bulgarian teacher under my belt. In addition I had started a Master's degree in English language and literature, which I did over a period of two years in the weekends, while working as a teacher. My father would drive me to the train station early Saturday morning. I would ride the train for an hour and a half to Plovdiv, where the university where I was doing my program was, and then would go back home at night. I would repeat the same on Sundays, while working a full time job as a teacher in Stara Zagora during the week. It was a lot of work, but what else a twenty and something year old to do with her time :). I was filled with energy and ambition and it was the perfect time to get more education. At the time I came to the United States, I had one semester left until completing my Master's in English, which was going to enhance greatly my employment prospects in Bulgaria.

Plovdiv University, 2004

I opted to continue my teaching career in the states and to add an endorsement in Spanish to my teaching certificate. You can tell that my passion and what I really enjoy is acquiring languages. I made the choice to devote my career to teaching languages once again.

First, I had to take the TOEFL exam, in order to prove that I have good enough skills in English to take college level classes. I took a TOEFL course at Wayne State University in the fall of 2005, then passed the TOEFL exam and was given the thumbs up to sign up and take my first General Education classes at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor. 

I got married, acquired my green card and in January of 2006 I signed up at the local community college to take the required General Education classes, such as math and science, which I did not have in my diploma from Bulgaria. At the same time I started my first job as a teacher assistant in a private Montessori school in Ann Arbor. I liked taking classes and soon after I started my first classes in Spanish. 

After I finished the General Education classes, I signed up to take an Educational Psychology class (also required) at Eastern Michigan University. 

Then I requested a transcript of my diploma from my Alma Mater at Veliko Tarnovo University, translated it through a Bulgarian Translation Agency and submitted it to the ECE website, which transferred my Bulgarian credentials into the American system and issued a document with the university credits that I have taken during my Bachelor's and Master's Degree education in Bulgaria. 

After I took all of the required courses, I was ready to apply for a Teaching Certificate. However,  I also had to take the Michigan Teaching Certification Exam MTTC .

At the end I submitted all of my transcripts, including the community college and the Eastern Michigan University transcripts, the results from the MTTC tests to the MOECS website, and they issued and sent me a Teaching certificate with endorsements in French (6-12) and in Other (aka Bulgarian) (6-12). 

All in all by the end of 2006, I was certified to teach French to grades 6 through 12 in Michigan. However, I decided to wait until I added a K-12 Spanish endorsement to my teaching certificate, which I did through Eastern Michigan University, before applying for my first teaching job in Michigan in the fall of 2008.

This was my path towards becoming a WL teacher in the United States. It was not easy at all, but I am grateful for my education and for all of the opportunities that came with it. As people say, they can take away everything from a person, but they cannot take away their education. I appreciate the education I got and consider it my greatest asset to this date.

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