Acquisition Boot Camp (ABC)

While I may be preaching to the choir in this blog post, if you have heard about such topics as Comprehensible Input (CI), Acquisition Driven Instruction (ADI), and language proficiency vs. language performance but do not possess a working knowledge about them, please consider enrolling in the next round of Acquisition Boot Camp (ABC). Beginning in January 2022, this month-long self-directed online course is offered by The Comprehensible Classroom and is led by Martina Bex and Elicia Cardenas.

This past summer I had the opportunity to serve as one of the coaches for this course, and I absolutely loved the format and the lessons. Now the course does take a level of commitment. There are daily video lessons which need to be viewed and daily reflections/discussion board posts on those lessons. The videos are definitely viewable and easy to digest - most range from 5-10 minutes depending on the topic - and a new video is released on each weekday. There is a lot of material covered in these 4 weeks, but wow, even as a coach, I learned much too! Also in the course are three live/synchronous sessions, once a week for the first three weeks, where you will get the opportunity to take part as a student in an hourlong language learning experience led by an experienced CI teacher, and one live/synchronous session in the last week where the coaches each share a CI-based/ADI-based unit plan example.

Allow me an excursus to address this course as an Instructional Technologist. I possess a graduate degree in Instructional Technology, and I can say without a doubt that ABC aligns so much with IT distance learning theory! This course allows for learner autonomy (participants can view and complete work whenever they want, wherever they want within a timeline) so students are not bound by a prescribed physical location or time. Most importantly, participants have access to timely feedback to their discussion posts from instructor and coaches - this is a KEY point in distance learning, and unfortunately most distance-learning courses fail in this important aspect due to logistics and resources. 

Be aware though - this course may challenge your pedagogical beliefs regarding language acquisition, grading policies, classroom setup, etc., You may walk away, saying that this course is garbage and that you completely disagree with everything in it as you take part in the discussions and watch the videos. That is perfectly OKAY - what we do want is that you are open to learning more about CI/ADI and that you are willing to start incorporating what you are able to in your classroom.

So if you are curious about CI, ADI, and proficiency-based classrooms and really wish to learn more about these topics in an academic setting, I highly suggest that you look into this course. 

Acquisition Boot Camp (January 2022 session) information/web page