How our journey began

With over 55 years of teaching world languages between the three of us, we have experienced many different methods of instruction. The foundation of TOCCA is based upon the theories and understandings of second language acquisition research that we were already considering, but we still struggled with some of the limitations of teaching world languages in the confines of a traditional classroom-based environment: lack of student confidence in communicating in the target language, lack of student ownership of learning, and lessons that – try as we might – didn’t feel as authentic or relevant as they could, and too far distanced from native speaking communities and cultures.

So we set out to solve some of those limitations. From our initial discussions and continued research, we have developed a method that designs theme-based modules that end in culminating authentic tasks (“challenges”) within the native-speaking community. These assessments are evaluated by proficiency level, and we base learning goals based off of what we know about second language acquisition: it’s a messy, random process, and it’s not always possible to control what ends up in a learner’s brain or at what rate. As such, we determine individual growth-based proficiency goals for each student and focus on providing feedback on their growth as a semester progresses.

As we have piloted more and more courses using the TOCCA method, we have continued researching so we have data to back up our claims. Our students consistently demonstrate higher proficiency growth, report significantly higher engagement and confidence communicating in the target language.

Our overarching goal of TOCCA is to make language acquisition accessible and equitable to all learners. We operate under the premise that “wherever you are at when you enter this space is enough.”