Sofía is a second-year Spanish teacher at a charter school in the Baltimore area. Each month she shares her journal of reflections on teaching.

Dear Diary,
It's spring break, and instead of relaxing, I find myself in the throes of job interview hell (or heaven perhaps, depending on how you look at it). I am writing from a job fair for independent and charter schools. My first two interviews seemed to go quite well, though I must admit, I feel more like I'm speed dating than interviewing...

My Spanish IV students continue to frustrate me. I've recently been having a homework issue with them. They complete it most of the time, but don't seem to be putting much time or effort into it. Read more...

Here's where you, our dear readers, can TALK BACK! This month we ask about meeting standards.

Which of the standards is hardest for you to address in daily lessons? Answer our Poll

How much do you think about standards when planning your lessons? Click here to answer the Question

Last month we asked What other content subjects do you include in your teaching?
Our poll asked: How often do you incorporate specifically content area lessons in your teaching? See the results here...

"Thinking outside the boxes:" Making Connections with other Content Classes
Part one in a four-part series: This marks the beginning of our special series on content-based lessons.
By Sheila Cockey I remember going to a conference several years ago that was focused exclusively on how to break down the barriers between subject areas and open up the connections among the things our students were learning. The visual metaphor the presenters used to explain the existing approach to education was that of a wall of cubbyholes for storing things and keeping items organized and separate one from the other. Each presenter encouraged the participants to “think outside the boxes” and to connect the various disciplines into a larger, more meaningful web of interconnected learning experiences. We have made a lot of progress since then, but we still have a long way to go. Recognition of this distance is reflected in the fact that we have a national standard explicitly dedicated to connections.
Read more...

Give your students real-life examples of "what you can do with foreign language." This month we talk to an Early Childhood Educator, Orielena Lopez-Ayon. An immigrant to the US who uses English and Spanish, she helps families communicate with the daycare director. Read more...

Edited by Christine Meloni
Visit the Culture Club! Two rooms have been completely renovated, and two rooms have been updated. The Teachers' Lounge features a creative lesson (submitted by a reader) on street signs in Italian culture, and the Hangout gives you an overview of all the wonderful interview materials in this popular room that are available for immediate classroom use. The Internet Media Room has added several more links to online publications, particularly in French, Italian, and Spanish. The Photo Gallery presents a new Where in the World? Mystery Photo Contest and presents again the Mystery Photo Contest for March which has not yet had a winner. Plan a visit soon! While you are in the Hangout, take the survey posted there which will take you about 10 seconds.

Edited by Sheila Cockey. YANA stands for 'You are Not Alone." Your questions on challenges in your classrooms are answered by an expert on languages and culture teaching. This month's question:

• I am the only language teacher in my school. What help can you offer to me in terms of what to teach when, activities to motivate my students, and just what it is that successful teachers do that leads to competent students of a foreign language?

Read YANA's answer...

CARLA’s Content Based Instruction Materials
by Laura Blythe Liu
As we focus this month on Reaching out to Other Content Classes, we are very pleased to provide you with a fantastic resource for teaching language through content-based instruction. The Center for Advanced Research and Language Acquisition (CARLA) specializes in research and application of using content-based instruction (CBI) to develop students’ foreign language acquisition. CARLA’s website, Content-Based Language Teaching with Technology (CoBaLTT), presents 1) a description of what CBI is and why it is effective, 2) instructional modules using CoBaLTT, 3) CBI-based lesson plans and units, 4) a CoBaLTT unit template, 5) CoBaLTT Bibliographies, and 6) general CoBaLTT Project Information. Read more...

Dora Johnson is a Program Associate at Center for Applied Linguistics, and answers reader's questions related to languages. This month's questions:

• I am a teacher in central Pennsylvania. Our school is trying to locate funding in the form of grants to support an instructor of Arabic in an attempt to institute a critical language program in our district.
• I’m working on a story about the breadth and depth of opportunities for college students to learn Arabic (Modern Standard and colloquial).

Read Dora's answers...

Here in the heart of DC, we get the latest on changes to government language policy. You can, too, by reading this section. This month we offer a legislative report and the Senate's "Lost in Translation" Hearing. Read all about it...

April is a big month for us here at NCLRC. We go to the Northeast Conference of Foreign Language Teachers in New York City. Here's a photo of our booth from last year's NECTFL conference. We are also getting into high gear for Summer Institutes, which will take up most of our time in May and June. If you have some time for professional development this summer, check our list of institutes and plan your trip to Washington. - Jill Robbins, editor

The Language Resource is a monthly publication of the National Capital Language Resource Center http://www.nclrc.org to provide practical teaching strategies, share insights from research, and announce professional development opportunities for all foreign language educators.

Funded by the US Department of Education through Title VI, we are a consortium of Georgetown University , The George Washington University, and the Center for Applied Linguistics.