We’re now about two weeks into the school year, of me playing a mad-language-acquisition-scientist... and I’m starting to see some interesting patterns emerge as I continue implementing TPRS 2.0 in my classes.
The first couple of weeks are always a time of adjustment. Students are getting used to the routines. I’m adjusting pacing. And we’re all learning how this class is going to work.
But already, a few things are becoming very clear.
Triangling Is a Game-Changer
One big difference in my classroom this year has been triangling.
Instead of asking varied questions to the entire class, now I’m asking multiple students the same question in slightly different ways as the character. The result is that far more students are mentally engaged in the conversation, because they will have to answer individually and also role-play as the character in full sentences. And I can ask them as many times as I would like. I can come back to them. I can randomize who I call on so they never know.
It also prevents the common classroom pattern where a few confident students answer everything while others quietly sit back.
Triangling has helped me make sure I’m checking comprehension across the room and bringing more students into the interaction. I rotate who I call on, but I also honor volunteers when students want to jump in.
The overall effect has been more energy and more accountability across the class. And I love celebrating when individuals get it right!
DTS: Powerful but Time-Intensive
Another strategy I’m continuing to experiment with is Describe the Situation (DTS).
DTS gives students structured opportunities to speak by describing what’s happening in the story. It’s a great bridge between input and output.
The challenge so far has been time.
In a 40-minute class period, the minutes disappear quickly. Between warmups, checking work, triangling, reading, and quizzes, pacing becomes a real challenge.
Right now, I’m still figuring out how to balance all the pieces of the TPRS 2.0 “recipe” while making sure the lesson moves forward and students stay successful.
Stories Grow Slowly (And That’s Good)
Our first story this year centers around a character named George.
At first the information was very simple. As students grew more comfortable, we gradually added more details.
George is in California in his house in the bathroom.
Eventually we introduced another character, which lent itself to other locations like a park, and a dance-club.
This slow growth keeps the language comprehensible while giving students repeated exposure to the same structures.
For example, students are encountering ser and estar repeatedly in meaningful contexts. Some students are already developing a feel for the difference. Others are still figuring it out, which is fine, but neat to see the process.
Watching Students Experience Success
One moment this week stood out to me.
There was a student who had been missing one or two questions on the daily quizzes each day. On Wednesday, that student finally got all six questions correct.
Moments like this are easy to overlook, but they matter. They show that when students receive enough understandable input and support, their confidence begins to grow. Now the goal is to replicate that success and continue building on it.
Why Emotion Matters in Learning
During the week I was reminded of something I recently heard on the Hidden Brain podcast in an interview with neuroscientist Mary Helen Immordino-Yang (see notes at bottom).
The host summarized it this way:
In order for students to learn, they have to care about what they are learning. Emotion has to sit in the driver’s seat.
This aligns closely with what we see in TPRS classrooms.
Students don’t acquire language because we explained grammar clearly. They acquire language because they are emotionally engaged in the communication.
Stories, humor, personalization, and participation all help make the language meaningful.
A System to Encourage Participation
Another experiment this week has been developing a clearer participation system. Next week, I will try out my revised participation system so I can try to make sure students can all get 10 points per week via translating for class, miscellaneous participation, triangling questions, and describing the situation.
Students can earn participation points through:
-
translating during reading
-
answering triangling questions
-
describing the situation (DTS)
-
other contributions
My goal is for each student to accumulate about 10 participation points per week in 8th grade (and slightly slower pacing in 7th grade).
I think all but DTS have a one point value and DTS has a 3 point value.
So ideally, each student can get 10 points easily per week, but they are also being encouraged to speak. It’s also meant to help me call on various students to make sure they get their participation points. So far, so good. Craig uses a participation system where they simply reflect on their participation. But I want to hold myself to calling on all the students so the expectation is they will have to speak in class.
Basically, I have papers in a binder with a seating chart on top and then a roster on the bottom. There are different categories on the sheet: Absent/Tardy/Bathroom; translation, triangle, DTS, misc and a total column.
The purpose isn’t to pressure students. It’s to help ensure that everyone has opportunities to participate and to help me intentionally spread those opportunities across the class.
The Early Takeaway
Two weeks in, the biggest takeaway is this:
TPRS 2.0 works best when I (as the teacher) focus on student success moment by moment.
That means checking comprehension often, giving students numerous opportunities to speak, slowing down when necessary, and celebrating small wins along the way. When they don't get it, take time to make sure they feel that they understand and have more confidence with the information.
It’s still early in the year. But already I’m seeing students become more comfortable interacting in Spanish. And that’s a great place to be after just two weeks.
Nevertheless, I am going WAY slower than I ever did with TPRS 1.0. But I'm here for it because I can already see them speaking with more confidence in perspective.
