Something I was trying to do with my Spanish 1's to help them read Agentes Secretos y el mural de Picasso was an activity I got from a presentation at FLAM a few weeks ago.
The presenter mentioned "speed-dating". And instead of talking about themselves, the characters talk about the topic for 1-2 minutes and then switch. This way they can get another pass of the information from a chapter or a concept and when we change to another person, we can change the information we ask of them.
It also brings movement and interaction into the classroom, which are so necessary in a block class or for a rainy day (or chilly cloudy day in October).
I numbered my students off (1-15 twice), told them to form two lines in order. I explained they were going to talk about Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Paula, Luis, Los agentes secretos, etc and they had two minutes.
I didn't want to hear English. I only wanted to hear Spanish. Their pronunciation wasn't the most important part (gasp) because they were interacting with the text, and I think for some this made them aware of their shortcomings in pronunciation of a word so maybe they will listen more for that word later.
They were allowed to have their books as a security blanket. Some kids read the information from the chapter (but they had to find the important information about the characters or plot).
Not a bad activity! I might have to bring it in every once in awhile. Definitely not bad for a 10 minute chunk in the middle of class or for another pass of the chapter in a completely different way.
For some 2:00 was an eternity. But for others, it was about right. They usually opted after the first round to do 1:30.
My mind is thinking about the other possibilities for this type of activity...
Showing posts with label production. Show all posts
Showing posts with label production. Show all posts
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Monday, September 20, 2010
Día 21 - Weekend Activity # 3
Today I think I flopped. At least so far. It is frustrating because my students just haven't had the energy or creativity today to help me make better stories.
I started off with a few sentences about my weekend for the students and the phrases:
----------------------------------
Fui a una fiesta
I went to the movie theatre.
No bailé.
I didn’t dance.
Toqué la guitarra.
I played the guitar.
---------------------------------
The first few hours of the day flopped. I cannot completely take the blame because my students were incredibly un-energetic. But my hope was the through using TPRS, I would be able to get my students to enjoy class more than ever before.
I understand that some students will be bored simply because they are in class. TPRS is not a cure-all for students to enjoy class. It does work well for those students who do not like the traditional class where it is teacher-centered. Nevertheless, some students will still be bored. This is a hard lesson to learn because I deeply want all of my students to connect with the material everyday.
Many TPRS teachers say that "Even bad TPRS teaching is better than the 'traditional' Spanish class." I can see where they are coming from. The difference with TPRS is that I believe in the methodology more than with the previous type of Spanish I taught. Why do I believe in it you might ask?
I believe in it because I have been able to see students connect to the language through TPRS. I have seen firsthand how a teacher can cater certain vocabulary to the class' preference to make class more interesting to them.
We are not forcing production at the early phases of the class. But eventually we are building them up to be able to do so. And we are building with baby steps. Some of my students who were 'traditional' Spanish students last year still will use the 'r' on the end of their verbs because that's what the traditional conjugation type teaching leaves a lot of kids with. They don't remember to change the word. You teach it to them as 'comer' and then change it.
Well with TPRS, you don't tell them that 'comer' is the basic form and that it changes. You move backwards. Instead of saying "We change comer to como, comes, come, etc", we point out after having different forms of comer or other verbs that the 'R' adds the meaning of "to" to the verb. It seems backwards but it makes sense. If I want my students to use the verbs in context, I should teach them to use the verbs first in context and then to tell them to add the 'r' later.
My next classes were a little better. It was still a lack-of-enthusiasm-lunes, but hey, the days that are hard just remind me that those days where things work are that much more worth it. And I'm still far from being perfect as a teacher and at TPRS.
I started off with a few sentences about my weekend for the students and the phrases:
----------------------------------
Durante el fin de semana....
During the weekendFui a una fiesta
I went to the movie theatre.
No bailé.
I didn’t dance.
Toqué la guitarra.
I played the guitar.
---------------------------------
The first few hours of the day flopped. I cannot completely take the blame because my students were incredibly un-energetic. But my hope was the through using TPRS, I would be able to get my students to enjoy class more than ever before.
I understand that some students will be bored simply because they are in class. TPRS is not a cure-all for students to enjoy class. It does work well for those students who do not like the traditional class where it is teacher-centered. Nevertheless, some students will still be bored. This is a hard lesson to learn because I deeply want all of my students to connect with the material everyday.
Many TPRS teachers say that "Even bad TPRS teaching is better than the 'traditional' Spanish class." I can see where they are coming from. The difference with TPRS is that I believe in the methodology more than with the previous type of Spanish I taught. Why do I believe in it you might ask?
I believe in it because I have been able to see students connect to the language through TPRS. I have seen firsthand how a teacher can cater certain vocabulary to the class' preference to make class more interesting to them.
We are not forcing production at the early phases of the class. But eventually we are building them up to be able to do so. And we are building with baby steps. Some of my students who were 'traditional' Spanish students last year still will use the 'r' on the end of their verbs because that's what the traditional conjugation type teaching leaves a lot of kids with. They don't remember to change the word. You teach it to them as 'comer' and then change it.
Well with TPRS, you don't tell them that 'comer' is the basic form and that it changes. You move backwards. Instead of saying "We change comer to como, comes, come, etc", we point out after having different forms of comer or other verbs that the 'R' adds the meaning of "to" to the verb. It seems backwards but it makes sense. If I want my students to use the verbs in context, I should teach them to use the verbs first in context and then to tell them to add the 'r' later.
My next classes were a little better. It was still a lack-of-enthusiasm-lunes, but hey, the days that are hard just remind me that those days where things work are that much more worth it. And I'm still far from being perfect as a teacher and at TPRS.
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