Do EL teachers and teachers of languages other than English (or LOTE teachers) collaborate enough? What are some ways these educators could learn from one another to help build better language programs for all students? What are some common misconceptions about what it means to be a “good language teacher” and how might understanding them help our students achieve greater language competency? We discuss these questions and much more in Part 1 of a 2 Part conversation with Anna Matis.  

 

Anna Matis is an educational consultant and the product development manager for Seidlitz Education. Her love of language learning stems from childhood experiences as an immigrant and ESL student herself from Budapest, Hungary. Being proficient in multiple languages, she is passionate about second language acquisition for all ages, sheltered instruction strategies, and research pertaining to heritage language learning and long-term ELLs.

 

She has led professional development, coached teachers, and created educational products for both teachers and administrators working with ESL students. She has presented locally and nationally on best practices for quality ESL instruction, as well as effective training strategies when working with English language learners.

Anna recently published the book 7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive Foreign Language Classroom for LOTE teachers with John Seidlitz, and also co-authored Boosting Achievement: Reaching Students with Interrupted or Minimal Education. 

 

She began her foreign language teaching career as a high school French teacher at Aldine ISD in Houston, TX, and has worked as an ESL Instructional Coach in Round Rock ISD. Anna has an M.A. in Foreign Language Education from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. in Communication Studies and Art History from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX. She joined Seidlitz Education from Region 13 ESC, where she served a dual role of Bilingual/ESL Specialist and Program Manager for the Bilingual/ESL team.

 

In Part 2 of our conversation, we’ll talk more with Anna about creating low stress opportunities for language output, the role of motivation in language learning, and the importance of infusing cultural connections into instruction.

 

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