Immersion

This semester I am taking a class titled, "Social Foundations of Education."  Each week we focus on another socially controversial topic of education, such as gender, race, economic and political differences among students and families, and schooling theories.  This week we are focusing on language and we were required to watch some interesting videos.  Of course, as a bilingual education major, these videos were particularly relevant to me, but I like that all preservice teachers taking this class, whether bilingual or not, are required to watch the videos for the class.  The reality is that bilingual education is such a hidden concept and we typically are unaware of its existence unless we were involved in a bilingual program or know someone who was.

Here are the videos we watched:
This video discusses a Spanish immersion program in Milwaukee

This video discusses dual immersion in Utah

Both videos are very interesting and paint bilingual education in a positive light.

What I like most about these videos, though, is that they don't just illustrate how bilingual education is beneficial for non-native English speakers in our country.  In fact, they do just the opposite.  They advocate the involvement of native English speakers in the bilingual programs so that they are learning a new language too!  Critics of bilingual education often forget that it's not just for immigrants or people who are non-native English speakers.  They are ignorant of the fact that the most successful models of bilingual education actually benefit native English speakers, as well, by introducing them to a new language and new cultures too.

Spring 2014 Update

This is my last semester on campus!  It's so weird to think that I have been here for 4 years and even though I still have a year of student teaching after this, these are my last few months on campus.

This semester is very demanding and, I'm hoping, very beneficial in the long run.

Perhaps my most challenging class right now is my literacy class.  We meet with a 3rd grader and tutor one-on-one twice a week.  Our lessons are encapsulated within the class's thematic unit of the ocean.  My student is specifically focusing on the deep sea so all of our readings have been about that.  It's been a very interesting experience and honestly I feel that I am learning far more than my student!  This class is really wonderful, though, because it is the first time in my college career we have been required to write lesson plans and use them with real students and reflect on them.  This is a huge component of teaching and I am excited to finally be applying what I have been working on in all my other classes, despite the workload.

I am also taking my last bilingual education class.  We have spent the whole semester thus far talking about dual language and the benefits of it.  We have "created" our own dual language schools a number of times, which is interesting because it gives us an opportunity to look at dual language as a whole school program, instead of just a classroom.  I hope we will work more on using bilingual education in the classroom, though, because I think that will be more useful to us.

In addition to the 16 hours of classes per week, I am volunteering to teach Spanish to a nearby preschool once a week, I volunteer to Skype with a student in the Chicago Public School system to encourage him to go to college, and I am the Activities Director for another nonprofit organization on campus.  I also work 10-20 hours a week, so my days are full!

Language Learning Methods

Today in one of my TESOL classes, the title of which is TESOL Methods and Materials, we were talking about our reading preparation for class. To kick off the semester, we are studying the history of language learning methods all the way from the 1800s. We are using the textbook, Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy by H. Douglas Brown (third edition).

We had a really great discussion today about the first two chapters, which included a brief history of several language teaching and language learning methods over the last two and a half centuries, as well as a play-by-play of an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) class lesson. One question that is still bothering me, though, is when to use the L1 in a lesson. When addressing this question, we started out saying that if the teacher recognizes that students are not understanding instructions (such as for an academic activity) in English (the L2 or target language) the teacher should rephrase the instructions again, or maybe two times more so that the students better understand, but they are still understanding the directions in English. Some of my other colleagues started to argue that there's no reason the teacher shouldn't use the L1 to explain instructions after trying it in English and recognizing a lack of comprehension on the students' parts.

So then, when is it okay to resort back to the L1 in a class where the teacher is aiming for the students to learn a new language? I have come up with a bit of an answer, but I am still hoping for more contributions.

First and foremost, it is important to define the lesson and course/unit objectives. If the objective is to learn a specific grammar skill in English an use it in context, then perhaps explaining an activity in the L1 is appropriate. In this case, it is important that students know what they are doing in order to make the activity most effective for accomplishing the objectives. Therefore, since understanding instructions in English is not the objective, then it shouldn't matter whether the instructions are explained in English or the L1. If the objective is to do the activity so that the students learn the grammar skill, isn't it most important that they fully understand the activity? This way, they know they are doing it right and this makes it much easier to judge whether they learned the grammar skill from the activity.

Additionally, there is a time and a place for using each language. Sometimes it is really necessary to focus on the new language and the new concept at hand. Yet other times, in order to avoid complete silence due to fear of misspeaking or lack of vocabulary, it is appropriate to use the L1 to make a point.

Finally, the goal of all language lessons is to learn the language! Being exposed to a language is the most logical way to learn it, of course. So first explaining instructions in the target language is great because it is further exposure to the language. Perhaps it would be more beneficial if a teacher states the directions in English, then the L1, then English again. Any excuse to use the new language is worth it.

Any other thoughts? This is just what I came up with today, and it's almost midnight so some of my ideas might be off!

Summer Volunteering

This summer is basically over now--I'm moving back in to my college apartment on Monday, which means I've got today and tomorrow left of summer, then a week before classes start! I'm so excited though.

This summer has been pretty average, but I actually learned a lot. I worked an immense amount of hours at my restaurant job, sometimes working 7 days in a row. After a major freak-out one night when it was extremely busy, I decided serving is not for me and I began my search for a new job. Unfortunately, I had zero luck with that. However, I did get a lot a lot a lot better at my job and I feel more comfortable with it! 

I also was going to volunteer for a few weeks at the end of the summer in a school in Yucatán, Mexico, but after a conversation with my mom, we decided it wasn't the best idea. Another way I could increase my Spanish language skills for my fluency test was by getting involved in the Hispanic community right here in my area. So I volunteered at a preschool that worked with bilingual students. The application process was a crazy few WEEKS (including 4 letters of recommendation, a TB test, a background check and fingerprinting, and getting lost in the city trying to find my orientation location...), but it turned out to be really fun anyway!

I loved getting to meet the kids and get to know them. I loved speaking Spanish with them and learning about their families. I loved reading to them and even disciplining them when they weren't following directions. Although I loved working with all of them, I grew to really, really like about 8 or 9 of the kids. I hope I get to see them again when I start my student teaching next year (they will be in kindergarten and first grade by then)!

This is the card they made me, too!

I was excited it was my last day because the days I spent volunteering there were extremely long days for me (usually waking up at 6, leaving at 7, getting there at 8, coming home at 1:30, work at 3, getting home at 9 or so). But this card made me realize how strongly I feel that I am pursuing the best profession! What other job leads 20 kids to write a thank-you note?! (I know it wasn't their idea, but still!) 

I even taught the kids a lesson yesterday, kind of on the spot. I figured a connect-the-dots activity would be perfect for them and they were learning about oceans, so I stayed up late the night before, printing out 25 sheets of connect-the-dots activities. I worked with 5 of the kids. They all had a copy of the same picture, which included numbers 1-40. Together, we walked through the numbers in order, using the number line on the wall as a reference, and when they were done they colored the pictures. Soon other students wanted to join, so I picked on the students who were done to explain the activity and number order to the new friends. In the end, we whispered the number line as an assessment. It was great!

I had some worthwhile learning experiences this summer and I cannot wait to go back to school and use what I've learned! Thanks for reading and take care!

Sarah