What can we do to advocate for a better and more powerful world of language learning and teaching?
What are we doing to change the old, tired narrative of “I took a hundred years of a language, and I can’t say or do anything with it.”?
What will we pass on to our students, colleagues, communities, and the world — everyone whose life we touch with languages?
My guest for both Episodes 2 and 53 is Linda Markley. Linda has a passion and knack for advocating that starts when she is face to face with a frightened or disconnected student, with a new and overwhelmed teacher, with a legislator that has had a poor experience with classroom language learning, in short with anyone that comes across her path. This skill comes from Linda’s clarity of vision of what languages can do in the world.
It’s been fun and empowering to work with Linda on various boards of language education, since she brings her clarity down to the moment at hand, preparing to watch each action we take for its advocacy potential. And when I asked her to serve as a consultant for a language publisher, she brought the bigger picture of advocacy onto focus as she helped teachers to navigate now only the What but also the Why of resources, activities, and assessments.
Linda’s indeed a lifelong learner and teacher. Her passion and love of the teaching profession has sustained a 40+ year career of working with children and teachers. She has served on many professional educational boards and has advocated for teachers and students her entire adult life. Linda believes that there is a mighty advocate voice that can spring from every teacher’s heart when we tap into the power of our passion and follow our creative vision.
Discover more…
Linda’s passion is catching! To get inspiration, resources, support and spark your passion, visit Linda’s website, www.spiritofteaching.org. Also, be sure to sign up for her weekly Sunday Spirit Spark and listen to the Teacher Tales podcast.
And to learn more about advocacy, go to:
For more tips and tricks specifically from Linda on advocacy for languages and educational programs, check out Linda’s professional development webinar “Advocacy for All: From Classroom to the World” and this presentation to the Florida Foreign Language Association (FFLA).
2 thoughts on “Introducing Linda Markley (Episodes 2 & 53)”