No vacation goes unpunished.  ~Karl Hakkarainen

Perhaps some would consider me an aguafiestas - a killjoy, a wet blanket.  Still, I believe that students should be thinking about and practicing Spanish during their vacations.  My belief is: If the students aren't thinking about Spanish, they're not practicing, and if they're not practicing, they're not learning, and if they're not learning, they're forgetting, and if they're forgetting, well...one can put five and two together. 

I assigned Spring Vacation work to my Onesies and my Twosies.  To the former, a web quest re: foods of the Spanish-speaking world.  Although we're studying the family at the moment, foods are a nice compliment.  To the latter, I created a Wallwisher wall for them to post a Spanish word a day for ten days.  Those who participate will earn extra credit, but they must participate for the ten days.  

Having said the aforementioned re: the assignment for the Twosies, I haven't decided what to do with the students who are going on vacation, and who won't be able to do the ten days, and who may be interested in participating.  I suppose one can have the view that those who are privileged enough to travel to exotic places near and far are being penalized, since they won't be able to commit to the ten days.  That said, I may offer them the option to participate during the second week, but, they will receive far less extra credit.  The students who commit to the ten-day project should and will earn more extra credit.

This is the first time in several years I have assigned Spring Vacation homework.  I have wavered on the subject in recent years, but, this year, I was able to come up with options which are more engaging than a standard worksheet, and which are language-rich.  However, there is nothing wrong with a standard worksheet; I've assigned those during Spring Vacation, too.

The only kind of learning which significantly influences behavior is self-discovered or self-appropriated learning - truth that has been assimilated in experience. - Carl Rogers

I am a confirmed believer in a student's ability to learn independently, teach the self, and use critical thinking skills. However, in a culture which promotes group work at my place of employ, many students lose the ability to think for themselves, and rely on one person - usually the person who is "smart."  

Such was the case on Tuesday in my Onesies class.  The students were working on a crossword puzzle, which, incidentally, I created using Crossword Forge, a wonderful puzzle maker software program.  Unlike some puzzle online maker programs, Crossword Forge allows me to write in Spanish, and go beyond the one-word type clues. Anyway, the puzzle contained word clues in Spanish, so the students not only had to translate the word clues, but they also had to then determine the correct word based on what they had translated.  Some whined, saying they "couldn't do it."  Others fell into the old stand-by: Work with another student.  Now, I am not group-work adverse.  Quite the contrary.  What I do oppose is that most students don't really understand the difference between collaborating - applying creative problem-solving to determine not only the right answer, but also why it is right, with each person doing her part to contribute to the process - and simply giving another student the answer.  The latter, to me, isn't group work.

Then there was the student to came to me, hoping I would tell her the answer.  Now, this particular student had completed 98% of the crossword.  So, I ask myself, "What's the problem?"  But, I had included a very long word, almost the length of the puzzle itself in a horizontal direction, and it was posing a formidable challenge to the students.  The thing about this particular word is that it is actually a combination of two words, and that had not occured to the student in question, or to some of the others, for that matter.  In fact, I said to the student in question, "Has it occured to you that it isn't one word, but a combination of words?"  With that, she solved it.

What I told the aforementioned student as she beamed in her success is that I won't give her or any other student the answers that that they can find for themselves.  But, many of my students won't bother to look up words they don't know, and then say that they didn't understand what the passage or sentence said.  They won't bother to pull out the reference guide or handout to refresh, or, even in some cases, re-learn a previously-taught grammar structure.  And yet, I give the students many tools for self-learning and self-teaching.

For me, training students to become self-learners and self-teachers, apply critical thinking skills, and arrive at an answer that isn't just right, but why, is my greatest challenge next to getting them to speak Spanish.  For certain, the aforementioned tasks may not be as much fun as Flyswatter, but, they go a long way in promoting a successful foreign language experience.

"I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon." ~Unknown

For the past several years, I have purchased Necco Hispanic Sweethearts for my Onsies and Twosies.  I can't remember exactly when I began to purchase them, but, I do recall I obtained the idea from a colleague on the FLTEACH listserve. However, it wasn't until last year that I discovered activities that I could use along with the Necco Hispanic Sweethearts, which I purchased from Teachers Pay Teachers.  I have ordered the Necco Hispanic Sweethearts from different sources, but, the one which has bee the most dependable is Homewtown Favorites. I have been told that the Necco Hispanic Sweethearts may be purchased at Walmart. But, since I don't live in close proximity to a Walmart, it is easiest and most convenient for me to order online.

Last year, I purchased a series of worksheets which got the students categorizing the Necco Hispanic Sweethearts by color and number, and writing and translating the messages written on them.  This year, I purchased a bingo-type activity. The students learned common St. Valentine's Day words and phrases, in Spanish and in English, and used the Necco Hispanic Sweethearts as markers.

The students had fun with both activities, but, eating the Necco Hispanic Sweethearts is their most favorite activity of all.  

 Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results.  John Dewey 

After all, it's their learning, their process. But, nothing steals my joy more than when students don't do their homework. I take it personally when my students don't do their homework. But, why? More than likely they didn't do another teacher's homework, either. That said, I do believe that there are students who perceive their foreign language studies as tertiary - not even secondary. However, many fail to connect the proverbial dots between learner success, progress, and homework completion. Perhaps this isn't the case in every subject area. But, in disciplines where the learning builds on itself, such as foreign language, the daily practice and reinforcement is tantamount.

Still, students, for the most part, view it as, "no big deal", despite the fact it's costing $30,000.00 per student per year to attend my place of employ. Even the money the parents are breaking off for their children isn't enough of a motivator. Nor should it be, in actuality. What should be the motivator is making progress, and that progress comes from being able to demonstrate what one knows and is able to do, which comes from, in large, part, from doing the daily assignments.

Just feeling a bit discouraged...

Excellence is not an act but a habit. The things you do the most are the things you will do best.  Marva Collins 

I had a very engaging conversation via Twitter earlier today with Alice Ayel.  The conversation commenced with Alice posting a link for the Michel Thomas Method for teaching MFL (Modern Foreign Language).  My curiosity piqued, I asked Alice if the Michel Thomas Method is widely embraced in the UK, because it has had little/no traction here in the United States.  According to Alice, the Michel Thomas Method is being embraced more and more by teachers in the UK, for there are, as she put it, "less and less pupils willing to try."  

The statement - "less and less pupils willing to try" - intrigued me.  So, I delved further by asking: "Less willing to speak, lack of motivation, or both?" Alice responded, "Both. Students lack motivation because after years of learning a language, they still can't speak it!"  I delved further still by asking Alice why she thought students weren't able to speak the language, despite many years of study.  She said, "I think as teachers we are too worried about the exams. Also maybe too much focus on vocab. and not on sentence structure?"

I agree with Alice that there is too much focus on vocabulary, and not enough focus on sentence structure. Vocabulary, after all, lends itself more to the fun factor, i.e. games.  Conversely, grammar structures are perceived as mind-numbing drudge work by students and teachers alike in most cases, i.e. not fun. However, the grammar structures play a critical role in written and spoken communication.  I recall a workshop leader having said several years ago that the verbs and grammar are the glue which hold the vocabulary together. One can know lots of words, but, if she isn't able to create with the language, which is what grammar structures allow one to do, there is no value in having learned all of those words in the first place.  

To be certain, creating with the language is hard work, and, given the super-heated 'steem movement of recent years in the United States, too many MFL teachers have sacrificed learning for communication for fun and games. They wanted their classrooms to be low-stress and high-interest, which meant not pushing students too hard in order to get them to do the work that creating with the language requires.  Although the students may have had fun in their MFL classes, they have been rendered unable to utter even the most basic of sentences in the target language. 

Alice and I also talked about the power of words. The Michel Thomas Method focuses on the teaching of cognates and near-cognates.  I responded by saying that recognizing the power of words aids communication. In fact, I teach my own students to recognize cognates in Spanish.  But, it is then up to them to apply the learning, especially when reading for comprehension in the target language.  Alice elaborated by saying that, according to studies she has read, 100 POWER WORDS are repeated over and over in 50% of all communication.

Alice concluded our Twitter conversation by saying, "One doesn't need a lot of words to communicate," which is true, and yet, it amazes me that students don't use the few words they do know to express themselves.  I am constantly prompting my students to say the things for which they have learned the vocabulary and structures to say.  For example, just the other day, two of my Twosies (Spanish Two) students were talking in English just prior to the start of class. One asked the other, "Are you going to the (town) center today?" Having heard this portion of the conversation, I immediately intervened and said, "Ok. Now, say that in Spanish." Well,after some hesitation, the student did, and, with relative ease.  It is not because the student in question didn't know what to say or how to say it.  But, she did need to be pushed to do so, for doing so on her own didn't seem occur to her.

As I explained to the students following this exchange, speaking the target language begets good speaking in the target language.  I believe that most students want to learn to speak, but lack the motivation to do so on their own and without prompting.  This lack of motivation could be the result of many factors, and, as they say, is fodder for a separate post. Having said the aforementioned, I do believe that students who are adept at self-learning and self-teaching, and who demonstrate a greater willingness to create and take risks with the language, are more motivated to speak the language.

Alice is going to experiment with the Michel Thomas Method in her classes.  I look forward to reading her feedback.

I don't recall exactly how I happened upon this resource, but, in the short time since I downloaded it, I have been able to infuse my classes with speaking, listening, and hands-on activities which not only promote active use of the target language, but which are also high-interest and very engaging.

Check it out!

Enjoy, and, Feliz Mes de Historia Africana-Americana.

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!