Free 90% Time in the Target Language Handout

ACTFL’s guideline of 90% Time in the Target Language means I have a goal to work on. I’ve been trying to improve on is spending more time speaking Spanish with my students, and adjusting the textbook based curriculum to be more friendly to a comprehensible input style classroom, full of #authres that are accessible to my students. It’s definitely a work in progress, but there have been a few success stories along the way! (Movie talks and Instagram, anyone?)

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Why Does 90% Time in the Target Language Matter?

Unfortunately, something I think is kind of a weak spot has been making sure the students understand WHY they’re hearing a lot of Spanish in Spanish class. To be honest, my first response is..duh. Spanish class! Spanish! But that’s really not helpful for my students, or their parents. We talk about strategies for understanding throughout the first few weeks, and I try to be intentional about reminding students what those strategies are, but it’s nice to have a concrete resource to hand to students and parents during the beginning of the school year, or when conference time rolls around.

Q&A: How do you Hit 90% Time in the Target Language?

Step 1: Communicate the Goal

All stakeholders need to be aware of the goal to spend 90% of class time in the target language. This means teachers, admin, department head (if you have one!), guardians, and (most importantly!) students.

Admin is an easy conversation during a pre-observation meeting, or even just an email. Other department members (if they exist) can be an email or just a quick conversation during a PLC one day! Chances are, they’re with you on this.

When it comes to communicating with guardians, there’s a few opportunities:

• Back to School Night
• Open House
• Conferences

Click here to learn more about what to do during back to school or open house night!

With students, you have a great opportunity to really set the tone during the first day of school. Later, you can use the same handout you use with the guardians at open house to explain their role in the goal, too!

Communicate the Goal with a Handout

First off, I have to give MAJOR kudos and thanks to Mundo de Pepita. She created the original version of this resource for her elementary school students and I loved it! She was kind and generous enough to let me tweak it to be more age appropriate for my secondary setting, and I gotta say, I love how it turned out.

My fantastic department helped proofread and gave suggestions. The citations from ACTFL and the “Parents can..” sections are all from them. This was a major team effort. I can’t wait to print it on some colored paper and have it ready for parent-teacher conferences in a few weeks!

Step 2: Provide Scaffolding and Support

Visual supports for students make it SO much easier to stay in the target language as you provide that scaffolding for them. You can refer to them using a point and pause strategy (exactly what it sounds like) and students can glance across the room for a quick reminder whenever needed!

Here are my preferences for visual supports that are musts in a language classroom!

I also like to teach students about cognates as a learning strategy early in the year. Spending a few days with cognate activities is a great way to build student confidence and help them understand how cognates are a powerful tool with a new language!

Step 3: Work as a Team

Now that everyone is on the same page, and you’ve shown students proof of how you’ll support them and not just toss them into the deep end, it’s time to practice working towards this goal as a team.

Everyone works toward the goal of 90% time in the target language together. You will go slowly, provide visuals, scaffolding, and check for understanding.

Students will hold you accountable and show understanding or confusion. You can give them tools and routines to help with this, too! Here are a few blog posts I have about different strategies and ideas:

• Student Jobs for Story Telling
• Strategies for Story Telling in Spanish Class

How to Spend 90% of Class Time in the Target Language

Those 3 steps may sound simple, but I want to remind you to be patient! Patient with yourself as you work toward the goal, patient with students as they are learning and processing, and patient enough to go slowly and remind yourself that speed does not equal success. Language acquisition takes time!

Free Download: 90% Time in the Target Language Handout

Want to download the free handout?

It’s part of my free resource library!

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