Description
Justin Slocum Bailey
Getting the Stakes Right with Simple, Sensitive PQA
ASL interpreter – Billy Sanders
Personalized Questions & Answers (PQA) are a straightforward and effective way to generate high-interest input and interaction in a language class. But they can also fall flat, or worse. Often this is because the stakes are either too low—in which case, students don’t care enough to participate—or too high—in which case, students can freeze or even suffer trauma. This session helps teachers select and follow up on questions that get the stakes right, with not only interestingness, but also inclusiveness and sensitivity to triggers in mind, so that students can be invested in discussion without feeling threatened. The session will feature simulations of starting and sustaining interactions with PQA, as well as discussion of pitfalls to avoid and troubleshooting of common problems with PQA.
Justin Slocum Bailey is crazy about helping teachers and learners succeed with less stress and more joy. A veteran language, music, and martial arts teacher raised in Vienna, Austria, he operates Indwelling Language, a treasure trove of resources and low-prep practices for joyful language education, as well as TeachHuman, a collection of courses and resources to help teachers of all subjects not just teach well but also BE well. Justin has published several articles on language teaching, creates materials for learners of both modern and classical languages, and consults for schools, districts, publishers, travel companies, and non-profits worldwide. He also speaks about mental health in educational and other settings. The many glowing testimonials of his work include “If everyone taught language like Justin Slocum Bailey, we would have a world of self-directed polyglots,” “Holy gifted batman!”, and “The kind of teacher I’d like to have a beer with.”
