Here it is, guys! This is my first blog post on Verb Ninja. I started Verb Ninja in 2016 as an online learning site for students. It was great (at least I thought so)! It had certificates and badges and bells and whistles, but it was still tied to the old grammar heavy way of teaching. In 2018, I dove deep into the world of Comprehensible Input, and I am glad I did. I read a lot of material from Martina Bex, Bill Van Patten, Stephen Krashen, and other gurus of C.I. I had workshops with Tina Hargeden and Bertha Delgadillo. So, after two years, I am ready to start sharing my materials, expertise, and experience with you all.
Let me tell you a little about me first. My name is John Brittain. I am a teacher in Georgia and I have been teaching for 25 years. I just started my Doctorate degree in Teacher Leadership at Kennesaw State University. I teach French, but I also have experience teaching Spanish (actually, I have more experience overall with speaking Spanish than with French, but currently this is my job and I love it).
I expanded Verb Ninja to video creation and I have a channel on YouTube. Many of you have already subscribed there (and I thank you!). All my videos that I make now have a comprehensible input format to improve acquisition. Digital learning is becoming more and more important in the age of Covid, so that’s why I hope to make Verb Ninja work for you.
On this site, you will find a lot of audiolingual activities presently because that is what I used to do, so it is here if you need students to focus on grammar. I am not advocating a grammar-based approach, but I know there are a lot of teachers who still teach that way and may find them useful. I plan to start making more activities here that are C.I. based going forward.
If you like downloadable resources, I have them available on Teachers Pay Teachers under TeacherTec. I plan to have some resources for download on this site in the future.
Please let me know what kind of digital resources you would like to have from a C.I. approach. That will help guide me in the creative process.
Thank you again for your time here. I hope to make it a place that you visit often!
John