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. 

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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.

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 and to subscribe to my blog.

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French Speaking Countries

French is spoken on most continents. There are French territories called France d'Outre-Mer (Overseas territories). These include: 

A. Central America: 

    1) Martinique (Capital: Port-de-France)

    2) Guadeloupe (Capital: Basse-Tierre)

    3) Saint Barthélemy (Capital: Gustavia)

    4) Saint Martin (Capital: Marigot)

B. South America:

    1) French Guiana (Capital: Cayenne)

C.  North America:

    1) Saint Pierre et Miquelon (Capital: Saint-Pierre)

D. Europe:

    1) Corsica (Capital: Ajaccio)

E. Africa:

    1) Mayotte (Capital: Mamouzou)

    2) La Réunion (Capital: Saint-Denis)

F. Australia:

    1) La Nouvelle Calédonie (Capital: Nouméa)

    2) TAAF (Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises) (Capital: Saint-Pierre, Réunion)

G. The South Pacific:

    1) La Polynésie Française (Capital: Papeete (Haiti)

    2) Wallis-et-Futuna (Capital: Mata Utu)

French is also spoken in many sovereign countries in Europe, North America and Africa as one of the official languages or as the official language:

  A. In Europe:

    1) La Belgique (Capital: Bruxelles)

    2) Le Luxembourg (Capital: Luxembourg)

    3) Monaco (Capital: Monaco)

    4) La Suisse (Capital: Berne)

B.  North America:

    1) Canada- Province Quebec (Capital: La ville de Quebec)

C. Africa:

    1) Le Côte d’Ivoire (Capital: Yamoussoukro)

    2) Bénin (Capital: Porto Novo)

    3) Burkina Faso (Capital: Ouagadougou)

    4) Mali (Capital: Bamako)

    5) La République de Guinée (Capital: Conakry)

    6) Sénégal (Capital: Dakar)

    7) Togo (Capital: Lomé)

    8) Niger (Capital: Niamey)

    9) La République Centrafricaine (Capital: Bangui)

    10) République Démocratique de Congo (RDC) (Capital: Kinshasa)

    11) République de Burundi (Capital: Bujumbura)

    12) République du Congo (Capital: Brazzaville)

    13) Gabon (Capital: Libreville)

  

French is also spoken in many countries as a second language as many countries are part of the Francophone Community such as:

If you are interested in teaching about the French Speaking Countries around the world, please visit my lesson activity here:

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How To Motivate Your Students To Learn A Language- Noticing Languages

Intrinsic motivation plays a very important role in achieving your goals, but what if your students lack this type of motivation? How can you help them find a motivation when it comes to learning languages?

It all starts by sparkling curiosity. It starts with noticing the languages around us. They might even be in your own home. Think of all the objects that were imported and you bought in the store, or maybe you have an object or a toy that a relative brought to your house from another country. There is always a story behind it or a label.

Do the following exercise with your students: ask your students to look around and find such objects in their homes. Do they have labels with other languages on them, or perhaps the instructions are in a different language? Have them explore these. 

Being aware that there is a broader world beyond your students' familiar surroundings is the first step towards becoming curious about the world and about other languages. The world is large and interesting, and there is a lot to learn out there. 

I told a personal story when I did this exercise with my students.

I was born and raised in Bulgaria, a country in  Southeastern Europe. It was Communism back then and traveling outside of the country, especially to the West, was rare and nearly impossible. Back then the world was divided in two by the Berlin Wall. On the West there were West Germany, Western Europe and America, the capitalist countries, while on the East there were East Germany, the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China- the communist countries.  The Cold War was in a full swing and it was very difficult to travel to the West. Nevertheless, many people aspired to do so and were very curious about what life was like on the other side. 

In later years my father told me that when he and my mom were students at the University of Russe in Bulgaria, they and their friends often listened to the Beatles and to rock and roll music on the radio Free Europe, which was of course illegal. Western music was considered western propaganda and thus forbidden, but the students loved to listen and to dance to it in secret. 

 My parents met at the university. They both studied engineering and became engineers later on. When I was a child, I remember, they both had the opportunities to travel abroad for their jobs, which at the time was a very big deal. My father travelled once to East Germany and once to Yugoslavia, while my mother  was  given the opportunity to traveled to West Germany. It must have been circa 1981-1982 , because my mom told me that she was two months pregnant with my sister at the time she travelled to West Germany (see the photo below of my mom, the only woman in the group of twelve engineers and an interpreter, representatives of different regions of Bulgaria, who went to explore the agricultural technology machines used in West Germany- she represented our county).

I remember this trip very clearly, because my father had to take care of me during the two weeks she was away. I remember one night he put me to bed and quietly left the apartment, where we lived. He thought I was asleep. I knew that he was going to the airport to pick up my mom. I pretended to be asleep, but could barely wait to see my mom. On the next morning I was super excited to see her back home and to find the many presents that she has brought back for me from the trip. There was a very cute red basket, some animal toys, a little tea set. These toys were different from the ones we could find in the toy store back then, because we were not importing stuff from the West.

She also brought home a big thick magazine, a Neckermann. Below is its cover page from the 1981 edition that I remember so fondly. The pages of this catalogue, one of the most successful mail order companies in Europe at the time, gave me a glance at what life was like in the West. 

 In later years my mom told me that it was forbidden to import any kind of goods from the West, especially magazines, because they were considered a Western propaganda, but somehow she managed to hide the magazine in her luggage and bring it home. 

I grew up frequently looking at the pages of the magazine, exploring them and imagining how one day I would travel there and see what life over there was like for real. The catalogue had everything- from clothes and food to furniture and tools. It had over a thousand pages and it had writings in German, numbers and prices. I vividly remember some of the models in fashion poses. One of them specifically reminded me of my mom, since she had the same haircut (the first brunette on the top of the page below).

                                                   

I became very interested in German. I was in 5th grade and I imagined that if I spent my whole summer reading the magazine, I would become proficient in German and one day would visit West Germany. I was eager to learn and in my first year in Middle school I signed up to take German classes. 

I think this experience changed my life forever and was the motivator for me to learn languages. I am proud to share that now I consider myself a polyglot- a person who knows and is able to use several languages. This aspiration became my reality. I am proficient in four languages including my native Bulgarian (a Slavic language), French, English and Spanish. I became a world language teacher and I have been teaching since 2001 in both Bulgaria and in the U.S. in Michigan, where I currently reside. 

I have gained so much from learning and teaching languages. I dream big and I know that I can accomplish those dreams,  as long as I put my energy and efforts into my goals, like the goal I had that summer, when I was in 5th grade- to learn a new language and travel to the West. These two goals were a gift for me. I have become much more self aware and have gained so many different perspectives now after having lived on two continents. I feel inspired and I tell my students that the world is broad, interesting and full of wonders. It is up to them to explore what it has in store. 

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How to Teach The Dates in French

 Les dates

Grammaire: être (to be)- Conjugation

Exemple: Le Noël est le vingt-cinq décembre.

Grammaire: la date

• In order to indicate the date we say nous sommes or  

on est + the date:

                                  Nous sommes le 21 juin

• We use the definite article le in front of the date:

                                 Cannes, le 8 novembre

• We say le premier, but le deux, le trois, etc.

                                 Nous sommes le premier ou le deux?

• The months are janvier, février, mars, avril, mai, juin, juillet, 

août, septembre, octobre, novembre, décembre.

        Nous sommes en juillet.      Nous sommes au mois de juillet.                                        

        Nous sommes en août. Nous sommes au mois d’août.

• The date in French precedes the month (unlike in English) in:

          10/07 = le dix juillet (July 10)

                           24/12 = Le Noël est le vingt-quatre décembre.

Grammaire: Exercices

Exercice:  Écrivez en lettres selon le modèle

                   (Write in letters according to the model)

   Simone de Beauvoir (09/01): 

___________________________________

1. Marcel Proust (10/07)

___________________________________

2. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (28/06)

___________________________________

3. Marilyn Monroe (01/06)

___________________________________

4. Albert Einstein (14/03)

___________________________________

5. Napoléon (15/08)

___________________________________

Exercice: Répondez aux questions:

1. Quel jour sommes-nous?

___________________________________

2. Quelle est la date de ton anniversaire?

___________________________________

If you would like to check the complete lesson on how to introduce the months, the numbers (0-31), the dates and the holidays in France, please click on this link.

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Step 6 in Organizing a LatinX Theater Event- THE NIGHT OF THE EVENT

Recap: THE STEPS:

1. The text

2. The distribution of the roles

3. Introducing the play to the students

4. Rehearsals

5. Costumes and decors        

6. The night of the event

  

THE NIGHT OF THE EVENT

• Frequent e-mails and reminders about the night of the event;

• Put the date(s) in the school calendar and make reservations for using the school Auditorium;

• Draw a picture of how you would like for the chairs in the auditorium to be arranged and ask the custodians to prepare the auditorium;

• I do the event the first Monday of June and I invite all of the fifth grade families from 6:00 to 7:00 pm; and all of the sixth grade families from 7:00 to 8:00 pm.

• I greet and introduce shortly the plays. At the end of each play all of the actors get together on stage and bow, the audience applauds. When one play is over, I ask the student actors to sit in the first two rows, especially reserved for them, in order to watch their peers from the other class perform ( I have two fifth grade classes and two sixth grade classes);

• At the end of the evening, I ask the parents to help with putting the chairs away;

• Parent volunteers:

• crowd control in the hallway and making sure that the students are sitting and waiting quietly for their turn;

• design of the programs for the event

The programs for the night event

• 
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Step 5 in Organizing a LatinX Theater Event- COSTUMES AND DECORS

   Recap: THE STEPS:

1. The text

2. The distribution of the roles

3. Introducing the play to the students

4. Rehearsals

5. Costumes and decors        

6. The night of the event

COSTUMES AND DECORS

• There are some suggestions of costumes and decors in the books that I have used for the plays;

• I ask the students to come up with their costumes by sending some description of what the costumes should look like for each character via e-mail to the parents;

• I have also purchased some animal ears, horns, tails from Amazon.

• Some of the dresses I use in the plays came from a colleague, who offered me a box with old clothes/theatrical costumes;

• You could ask the parents to help with the design of the costumes and decors. For instance I had a parent build three 2D windmills for the Don Quixote play. Another student made the bowties for the narrators in one of my plays.

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