Perhaps you are settling into this new, temporary, normal. You don’t think it’s strange for people to wear a mask in the grocery store, and you almost cannot imagine a leisurely Saturday stroll through the

Wow!

I know everyone is saying it because we can’t think of anything else to say about this crazy time we are living through. Just wow. Back in January, none of us would have thought the spring semester w

In the wake of COVID-19, this school year is ending much differently than any I’ve known in the past. I’m guessing you feel the same way. In my state, universities have transitioned to all online courses, and

A Note from Dr. Mooney:The Dear Dr. Mooney community has been and continues to be focused on delivering advice, support, and resources to teachers of English Learners – just like you. In addition to

For the last two weeks, we have talked about what makes listening to academic language so difficult, and how teachers can plan lessons that focus on developing students’ listening abilities. This week, I w

Last week, I shared several reasons why listening to English can be difficult for non-native speakers. Despite these challenges, listening is not often the focus of lessons. Teachers assume students’ l

Teachers of English learners regularly focus their lessons on reading and writing in the target language. For newcomers, the focus is often on speaking. However, the fourth language domain, listening, is not

Last week kicked off Dr. Mooney’s two-part interview with renowned language acquisition theorist, Dr. Stephen Krashen. In Part One , we got a peek into Dr. Krashen’s life outside of wor

Renowned language acquisition theorist, Dr. Stephen Krashen, was recently in my city as the keynote speaker for a bilingual education conference. In spite of his busy schedule, he graciously agreed to an

Starting next week…See what Dr. Stephen Krashen shared with me during our recent chat. You’ll learn who he credits for the affective filter hypothesis he’s written so much about, as well as how he was inspi

In two weeks…Get ready to see what Dr. Stephen Krashen had to say when he and I recently sat down to talk. Dr. Krashen shared plenty about the importance of comprehensible input. But, do you know how he got s

Last week, I answered a question about teaching context clues to English learners who are at the lower levels of English proficiency. That got me thinking about other ideas related to teaching reading.

I

Dear Dr. Mooney…

I have several students in my fourth grade class who are English Learners. We are learning about context clues, and I am finding it very difficult to give them the help they need. I have b

The new year is in full swing now, and I am committed to work on my resolution of making the Dear Dr. Mooney community even more relevant to your work.

Our original purpose in creating this community was

Focus

That’s my word for 2020. 

It might seem cliché, considering the year we’ve just begun. As in, perfect focus is 20/20 vision and such. Regardless, I decided there’s no better time to think about

This is the time of year when most people make resolutions. Some resolve to lose weight or begin a healthier lifestyle; others determine that they will read more, save money, or spend more time with their

Dear Dr. Mooney offers advice to teachers of English Learners through articles based upon common questions educators ask.  Last week, we looked back at the common themes of the advice articles – Un

It was about this time last year when I decided to get serious about the idea of developing a website to support teachers of English Learners. I had been thinking about it for at least two years as I got to

Last week, I talked about the importance of making your written communication comprehensible for families. The best way to do this is to have it translated into the parents’ native language. However, I r