High School Practicum Journal

High School Practicum Journal Spanish II, III, IV / AP Sra. Ashley Velazquez Lucy Ragsdale High School Jamestown, NC

This journal focuses on topics that I discovered in the FL practicum experience. Block Scheduling

Block scheduling in the High School is an alternative chosen by many schools over traditional classes. As opposed to having 7 or 8 classes each day that last 40-50 minutes during both the fall and spring semesters, the block schedule divides the day into four classes that are taught in the fall and four classes that are taught in the spring.

Although I never experienced a block schedule in the high school I attended, I did have an experience taking only a few classes during my senior year of high school, five classes to be exact, which I took online or via correspondence in a home school setting. Obviously the advantages any student would see in a block schedule is an expectation of less homework due to less class, although this may not be the case. I was, however against this type of scheduling because I thought it would interrupt sequential learning sequences necessary for math and foreign language classes and pose a possible hindrance regarding the success of Advanced Placement students who are always required to take exams at the end of the Spring Semester regardless of when they completed a given course. As a college student, however, I took a summer course and experienced the benefits of taking part in a condensed course that lasted a month. Because the information was not spread out over such a long period of time it was easy for me to get the big picture regarding the information studied.

Ragsdale High School students are placed on a block schedule. The teacher I observed says that there are both advantages and disadvantages to a block schedule. She says that when she taught middle school she was on a traditional schedule. She did not mind the relatively fast pace of the classes and said that in a traditional schedule she had a longer planning period. On a block schedule at Ragsdale, she has a planning period first thing in the morning for about two hours. I thought that this was a substantially long planning period, as teachers at my private school were lucky to get one 40 or 50 minute long planning period if they got one at all.

I think that apart from the drawbacks regarding foreign language sequence, practice, and AP exams that are represented in the block scheduling system that it is not completely bad. I observed that students can do much more in this extended period of time, one positive observation being the tense or nervous students eventually open up toward the end of such a long class and actually communicate when they may not do that in a shorter class. I think now that I may actually like teaching on a block schedule rather than a traditional one, but I would plan opportunities for students to practice their Spanish (such as a very active Spanish club) if they happen to be “in between” semesters.

The FL classroom

The foreign language classroom can be significantly enhanced by visuals for the students. In first language classes, teachers are encouraged to promote literacy by having word walls and to reinforce student learning through visual and auditory aids. In the foreign language classroom these are all necessary not only for reinforcing the subject but for simply teaching the subject without having to rely simply on Grammar Translation Methodology.

Although my Spanish high school class was technologically equipped the same as the class in which I observed, mine did not include the same amount of words around the room available for reference or to assist retention.

Sra. Velasquez’s classroom was equipped with the kind of technology that every classroom should have in order to facilitate the oral and visual images that teach and reinforce the language. The classroom was equipped with a media cart that included a large television set, a VCR, a computer, and an overhead screen (I assume she has access to an overhead although I did not see one in her class that day). The class also has access to a computer lab, since the class only has one computer. In addition the room was full of visual language enforcers. The Pared de Palabras (Word Wall) included student work depicting commands teaching class rules as well as comparisons between feminine and masculine versions of words reinforced by pictures (for example: el policía—single police man, and la policía—the police plural). The class also included question words with pictures above the white board in full view of the students at all times.

I was inspired by this classroom and how well it was decorated with words and the visual images that teach meaning. I will have students create pictures including the clarification words and I will put the question words above the board so that students can reference them if they are asking questions and need to get started with their idea.

Using Student Interest to Design Lessons: SPN 2

Designing lessons around student interest is known as Community Language Learning. Gina Doggett’s Q&A “Eight Approaches to Language Teaching” (ERIC Clearninghouse on languages and linguistics).

In Curren’s method, teachers consider students as ‘whole persons,’ with intellect, feelings, instincts, physical responses, and desire to learn. Teaches also recognize that learning can be threatening. By understanding and accepting students’ fears, teachers help students feel secure and overcome their fears, and thus help them harness positive energy for learning. The syllabus used is learner-generated, in that students choose what they want to learn to say in the target language.

All teachers in the education program at High Point University are taught to consider the experiences and interests of their students in order to relate better to their students and to promote student interest in any given subject. In my Spanish class experience in high school, students were much more likely to communicate in Spanish verbally if they were learning vocabulary pertinent to a topic they selected (one case being dating, romance, and love). I assumed that every high school class would be equally motivated when they expressed their interests and the teacher designed lessons accordingly. Apparently I was incorrect.

Every day Sra. Velasquez asks her unmotivated Spanish 2 class, “What do you want to learn today?” or “What do you want to learn to say in Spanish?” When I observed her class the student response was “I don’t know” or “You are the teacher---you decide.” She even gave them options about writing topics and the only suggestion she got was a smartelicky “zebras in America.” She informed me that she asks them the same question every day at the beginning of class and that they never give any kind of satisfactory answer.

Although this experience may be discouraging, I still believe firmly that teaching to student interest will provide some motivation, however small it might be. Some students may not want to voice their interests because they may been embarrassed by their hobbies or interests, or they may not wish to be labeled as a nerd or teachers pet for speaking out. As a teacher I will use the personal essays students write in order to probe their personal interests and use these to motivate them.

Writing Activities: SPN 2

Just as it is important when teaching students reading to include literacy skills such as skimming and scanning, among other things, when teaching writing teachers cannot assume that students are bringing to class writing skills from the curriculum in their first language. Writing is a very different mode than speaking and it must be taught to students in the foreign language classroom because they feel that if they cannot speak fluently then it follows that they will not be able to write in a foreign language. However, this is possible. Teachers must provide students with the proper instruction for writing before they can expect students to simply write a paragraph or a paper about any given topic.

After taking a writing course during my undergraduate studies of the Spanish language I not only learned about different writing techniques but also about different thinking techniques regarding writing. Students should be exposed to these different techniques and understand the purposes and elements of each kind (including description, narration, and so forth). They should be given many authentic examples with which to compare and contrast styles and use as a model for their own exploration of writing in different forms. Writing in a foreign language requires a different kind of thinking. During my class I had to learn to significantly simplify what I was trying to communicate in order to express my ideas with a the limited vocabulary of a second language learner.

The writing assignment I observed in the Spanish 2 class involved the teacher saying something like this in English (not in the target language) “We are used to writing about imaginary things, but now we are going to write about real things. Instead of having pictures of a girl and what she does during class and saying “Hay una chica,” you will write about your experiences in the Spanish classes you have taken and what you have done.” She had to leave the class and I walked around the room observing students. They continually told me that they were never taught certain words like “to learn” or they said that they could not do it at all.

Although I did not believe these attempts to get me to do the student’s work for them, I did notice that they had reason for complaint. As a teacher I would have provided a more thorough focus and review of vocabulary and expectations of the essay in order to activate what they did know, clarify what they were unsure of, and transition into a new context so that there would be no room for cop-outs or complaints.

Native Speakers in the FL classroom: SPN 3

Many high schools require students to take at least two foreign language classes and/or foreign language classes are offered as electives for students who desire to continue taking foreign languages in order to prepare for college or because they simply enjoy their language classes. In schools where there are immigrant students from Spanish speaking countries, native speakers are often placed in Spanish classes, sometimes beginning in Spanish 1 and following the sequence. At the same time many of their classmates have never been exposed to the language or have only been minimally exposed, as in the Taco Bell commercial with the slogan “Yo quiero Taco Bell” or the mixture of Spanglish and Spanish vocabulary in movies and television shows.

To my knowledge the Guilford County School System, NC, only offers foreign language classes teaching French and/or Spanish, and occasional programs offering Latin (a class a close friend of mine took via live video systems with the teacher teaching from another classroom in another school). While there were no native speakers or bilingual students in my high school Spanish classes, almost all of my undergraduate study classes, especially higher level courses, have included native or bilingual speakers. I have experienced heightened anxiety and less inclination to speak because I am afraid that I am under constant scrutiny by these “perfect speakers,” as I see them.

During my observation of the Spanish 3 class at Ragsdale High School I noticed that in a class of about 25-30 total students, 5 are native speakers (whether or not they are bilingual I am not aware). They are expected to answer the same questions as the non- native learners in the class, and I saw this as a positive thing for the non-learners because these native speakers provide authentic input that can act as a healthy model for students outside of teacher modeling. Some of these students do not understand their contribution to the class. One native-speaker sat in the back of the room and showed by his posture that he did not want to be their nor participate in the activity. He called out something in Spanish in response to a question, however his response was something that was not answering the question, and this distracted and confused the non-native speakers. The teacher informed me after class that at the beginning of the year the non-native-speaking students objected to the native-speakers being in the class and said they did not want them there.

Although I can understand the anxiety and insecurity that native-speakers present in the foreign language class can cause non-native speakers, I would use such a conflict to explain the advantages of having them in the classes. First of all, non-native speakers need to know how helpful it actually is to have native speakers in the class to provide authentic input, different perspectives, and first hand experience of the target culture. Secondly, native speakers need to know that being in these classes will help them in their other classes because they need the literacy techniques taught in their first language in order to succeed in their second language. Lastly, this is a wonderful opportunity for students to learn to work with others who are different than they are and to encourage students to reach outside of small cliques and comfort zones in order to make other people feel important and valued.

Socratic Seminar: 4/AP

Socratic Seminar is a discussion session, obviously modeled after the wise and notable Socrates. This discussion is unique in the it is driven by questions that the teacher prompts and that students ask one another in order to develop and expand ideas and opinions as well as general understanding of a given subject or topic.

Although I have never participated in a Socratic Seminar, I have seen it done in an Advanced Placement English class. Students arranged their desks in a circle used this style in order to discuss a work of literature, characters and character development, plot, theme, and setting. I never would have thought of doing this in a language class before I observed a Socratic Seminar held in a high school foreign language class.

The Socratic Seminar in the Spanish 4 / AP Spanish class was very similar to the AP English class discussion, and very impressive given the limited language ability of foreign language students compare to those of AP English students in a first language class. The discussion centered around the novel “La casa en Mango Street.” The teacher passed out a worksheet with some basic questions about characters, plot, and theme. These students were able to discuss such things independently. They asked one another to clarify themselves and rephrase questions and comments when they were not very understandable, and they asked one another questions that forced students to defend their statements with details from the story.

Although the students did not always use proper grammar and pronunciation, their conversation was communicative and facilitated the exchanged of ideas within the context of the story. I was impressed at how willingly students participated as well as their valiant efforts at language production despite their limited vocabulary to speak on deep themes. Since that observation I have included a Socratic Seminar in a high school lesson plan within the context of a modern day fable. I will continue to use this format as part of teaching reading in order to encourage and facilitate communication and assess reading comprehension. Motivation Levels: Comparing SPN 3 and 4/AP

Educational psychology highlights motivation as it is classified in two main categories— intrinsic motivation, and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is internal motivation on the part of the student. This student wants to do well, loves learning and/or enjoys the subject, and so forth. Extrinsic motivation comes from the outside. The student feels outside pressure from parents to work hard, the student wants to get a good grade to stay on a sports team, etc. Although intrinsic motivation is the most effective motivation type, teachers must understand that this represents a minority of students. However, no matter what type of motivation a student has, many students remain un-motivated for whatever reason and this has an adverse effect on their success in the classroom.

In the education program at High Point University, pre-service teachers are taught that student motivation is a key factor in student drive and academic success. Personally, I would consider myself to be intrinsically motivated to succeed in school. I value learning and knowledge, I enjoy school in general, and I enjoy a variety of subjects. This intrinsic motivation, in combination with other factors to be sure, has enable me work hard enough to make the kind of exceptional grades to become a junior marshal at my university. I have never been able to understand the apathy that many students exhibit, yet I have seen the adverse effects of such an attitude in the Spanish classes as Ragsdale High School.

I observed two Socratic Seminars (a discussion style described in a previous journal entry) that took place the same day during two separate class periods. One took place in a Spanish 3 class. This was the first that I observed. A class of about 25 to 30 students, only about a third were willing to offer up some kind of comment or question. Many students simply repeated a comment or question previously submitted by another student when prompted by the teacher to contribute to the conversation. Other students (3-5) said nothing when prompted or simply said “No sé” (“I don’t know”). Although these students had been preparing for this discussion for two or three days, and they were all aware that they would receive a test grade of 0 for refusing to participate, many were reluctant to participate or blatantly refused. The Spanish 4/AP class students did not need such prompting, carried on a deeper discussion that need to teacher interference, and used more accurate grammar. Later the teacher informed me not to let the class titles fool me. The students in both the SPN 3 and SPN 4 / AP classes had all started Spanish classes at the same time and that the reason that they had progressed differently was a direct result of motivation levels.

Clearly students who are more motivated are more likely to succeed. These students will take the risks necessary to achieve the goals they set, whereas many students do not set goals at all. I think it is important for students to set personal goals at the beginning of the class, revisit these throughout the year, and reflect on them when the class is over. I plan to pass out note cards at the beginning of each class and have students write something they would like to learn about or would like to be able to speak about in Spanish by the end of the class (“I want to go to a Mexican restaurant and order in Spanish”). They need to know that what they are learning is meaningful and valuable for their own needs and desires, and they can also use the language to set personal goals for their future if they do not have any.