Enjoy, and, Feliz Mes de Historia Africana-mericana.
]]>Learning how to learn is life's most important skill.
T. Buzan
The teachers at my place of employ have just finished writing midterm reports, and each time, the report of a particular student challenges me to reflect on what is most important for learning and for teaching, especially if the student in question is struggling.
A case in point: One of my Spanish Two students - aka the Twosies - turns in all of his homework, and performs reasonably well on quizzes and tests. However, he lacks initiative when working independently, is inclined to key his peers shoulder the brunt of the workload on small group, and doesn't retain what he learns.
Given that the retention issue is due to a learning disability, there may not be much in my power to remedy that. Still, perhaps through his learning skills teacher, the student can adopt strategies to improve memory. The capacity to retain, recall and apply what one has been taught is critical in foreign language learning. That said, repetition aids memory, and there are drill-type revision activities which help to strengthen his memory and recall. Flashcards for vocabulary and comjuguemos.com for verbs are two such activities.
As far as the lack of initiative, this is partly a home training issue, and partly a school training issue. For my part, asking the student what he has done to find the answer if he says he does not know/understand places the responsibility on him.
Group collaboration is a life skill as well as a school skill. Unfortunately, this is a student who has been let off the proverbial hook by his peers and teachers to not saddle up and do his share of the work. Short of literally standing over him, which is neither appropriate nor helpful, I am considering devising a self-check sheet for use during group work. The sheet would outline the things which one needs to do in order to be a productive and cobntributing member. It is also a personal accountability tool. The student and I would discuss the group work experience, and identify what went well, and what needs work.
So, what's most important? For me, it's being able to collaborate, learn idependently, and demonstrate what one knows and is able to do.
]]>Enjoy the day!
]]>Thus the reason why I think that the Fluenz language learning system may have tapped into something that most language scholars have wanted to ignore: One doesn't learn a foreign language in the same way as one learns his first language. First, one learns a foreign language; one acquires his/her native language. Second, to say/suggest/imply that one learns a foreign language the way one learns his/her native language sounds...well...far more interesting and intriguing. In my almost-two decades of teaching Spanish to middle and high school students, I can honestly say that the process which one undergoes to learn a foreign language versus the native language is not the same. In fact, they're not even similar.
Fluenz bears closer examination by foreign language teachers, especially secondary-level foreign language teachers in the United States. The approach, given the conditions under which students learn and teachers teach a foreign language in the United States, makes greater curricular sense.
]]>Second, here is some background information re: Google Voice, from another colleague with whom I tweet.
Third, here is a good article re: using cell phones and Google Voice in the foreign language classroom.
Last, here is an EduCause article re: a Spanish teacher's experience using cell phones and Google Voice.
I myself am an emergent user of Google Voice in my Spanish classes. Prior to this, I used a digital voice recorder. I like Google Voice much better. Not only do the students phone in to an actual number, as if they are really leaving a message, but a ready-made log of the recordings is available to me. This makes assessment much easier than using my personal or school voicemail. I can also store the recordings for future activities.
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