Last blog post, (sorry it's been so long - this point of the semester is a STRUGGLE!) I talked a bit about how I've developed an asking & answering questions atmosphere in my Junior High Class as my guinea pigs. This, however, has been a process of observing how students were learning over the course of the year. It first started when I would ask my Spanish I students questions like, "¿Cómo eres tú?" and they would look at me with blank faces. Or, when I asked my Spanish II students to write the answer to the question "¿Quién va a darte la tarea?" and they would look at it and guess and be totally off.
But, of course, if I were to have them do the T-Chart of SER, they'd own it.
Or, if I were to ask them to write down all of the direct & indirect object pronouns, they'd be able to do it in a matter of seconds.
Real victory there, Sra. Panqueque. At least that's how I felt :)
I really started to notice this problem after the midterm. My students did relatively well, except when it came to answering questions.
So I started to think...hmm...When we speak, what is the major aspect of conversation? It's questions!!!! (this is what I talked about in my last blog post).
I KNEW that they would be so overwhelmed if I started making them get in groups, asking and answering questions as if it were their native language.
I KNEW that if I had them practice writing answers to these kinds of questions, they may develop some kind of better understanding, but still wouldn't be able to answer questions conversationally.
SO, I made a game (mind-boggling, right?). I mean, I didn't technically make it up. It's the same concept of Go Fish. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
I made one for the Spanish I-ers, using SER & pronouns, and one for Spanish II-ers, using direct & indirect object pronouns. In this game, the students would have to ask a question that is in their deck of cards to a specific person. That person would either have to say the answer, or "No lo tengo." If they ran out of questions, they could start asking if the other student had the matching question for their answer.
SOOOO....What did I hear? I heard my students asking questions and giving answers and thinking logically like it was NO BIG DEAL. (But in my head, I had a little break dance victory party because getting these kids to speak Spanish is like getting a right wing republican to vote for Hilary - it just ain't happenin'.)
Although I would like for all of my Spanish classes to be WAY more conversational and WAY less grammatical, I have had (and still have) a hard time figuring out how to do that with little time, little resources, and little research. So, I've tried to push towards more conversation and more reading, but I still find it burdensome when the book says "Now teach the next 4 types of irregular preterite verbs!" So, I would call my methods this year a "hybrid" of the old and the new. (I am not saying old ways are bad; I think they may just serve a different purpose).
In an attempt to work towards more conversation, I also decided that I would make preterite and imperfect conversation cards for my Spanish 3 students. Every other day, they have been speaking in the past tense for 6-9 minutes (the number goes up every day that we speak). They are given cards that look like this:
But, of course, if I were to have them do the T-Chart of SER, they'd own it.
Or, if I were to ask them to write down all of the direct & indirect object pronouns, they'd be able to do it in a matter of seconds.
Real victory there, Sra. Panqueque. At least that's how I felt :)
I really started to notice this problem after the midterm. My students did relatively well, except when it came to answering questions.
So I started to think...hmm...When we speak, what is the major aspect of conversation? It's questions!!!! (this is what I talked about in my last blog post).
I KNEW that they would be so overwhelmed if I started making them get in groups, asking and answering questions as if it were their native language.
I KNEW that if I had them practice writing answers to these kinds of questions, they may develop some kind of better understanding, but still wouldn't be able to answer questions conversationally.
SO, I made a game (mind-boggling, right?). I mean, I didn't technically make it up. It's the same concept of Go Fish. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
I made one for the Spanish I-ers, using SER & pronouns, and one for Spanish II-ers, using direct & indirect object pronouns. In this game, the students would have to ask a question that is in their deck of cards to a specific person. That person would either have to say the answer, or "No lo tengo." If they ran out of questions, they could start asking if the other student had the matching question for their answer.
SOOOO....What did I hear? I heard my students asking questions and giving answers and thinking logically like it was NO BIG DEAL. (But in my head, I had a little break dance victory party because getting these kids to speak Spanish is like getting a right wing republican to vote for Hilary - it just ain't happenin'.)
Although I would like for all of my Spanish classes to be WAY more conversational and WAY less grammatical, I have had (and still have) a hard time figuring out how to do that with little time, little resources, and little research. So, I've tried to push towards more conversation and more reading, but I still find it burdensome when the book says "Now teach the next 4 types of irregular preterite verbs!" So, I would call my methods this year a "hybrid" of the old and the new. (I am not saying old ways are bad; I think they may just serve a different purpose).
In an attempt to work towards more conversation, I also decided that I would make preterite and imperfect conversation cards for my Spanish 3 students. Every other day, they have been speaking in the past tense for 6-9 minutes (the number goes up every day that we speak). They are given cards that look like this:
Because these conversation cards have hints as well as options for follow-up questions, the students have been able to have conversations, and tell stories in the past. Before, when I would ask them "¿Qué hicieron ayer?" they would look around at each other like I was crazy for speaking them in Spanish. I can already tell that they're increasing in confidence and have more of a desire to be able to speak in the past. Now that is encouraging. :)
So, what are some ways you encourage conversation in your classrooms? Where have you had struggles with this aspect of teaching foreign language? Where do you see your classes going?
Have a good rest of your week! You all inspire me! :)
So, what are some ways you encourage conversation in your classrooms? Where have you had struggles with this aspect of teaching foreign language? Where do you see your classes going?
Have a good rest of your week! You all inspire me! :)