I think it's really important to maximize incidental learning opportunities in the high school classroom because there's usually a focus on content language acquisition, but it's unclear what everyday vocabulary terms students lack. I use a lot of primary sources from earlier in history, but one of the things that I can do is use some of the words or phrases that are less commonly used in everyday speech when interacting with the students. One way that I might elicit more informal conversations with students is asking them about things happening outside of school. From playing a sport to playing an instrument, there are vocabulary terms that students can learn about things that they’re interested in.
