The Perils of "Rigor" - My View of "i+1"

The following is my own personal opinion and may not necessarily represent those of the CI/ADI community as a whole.

Often I hear the phrase "i+1" thrown around by teachers as a way to encourage rigor in a CI/ADI classroom (and if I am being honest, these teachers are usually CI/ADI dabblers/critics who feel that the implementation of CI in a world language classroom is dumbing down/watering down language learning since we do not "focus" on grammar, hence students really do not "know" the language). "i+1" refers to Krashen's principle in his Input Hypothesis: in order for learners to acquire language, they must be exposed to input which is both understandable and is slightly more advanced than their current level of language proficiency (hence the +1) to progress in their language acquisition process.

On paper, the concept of "i+1" sounds like a "no brainer," with the thinking "Of course, I want students to progress in their language proficiency, so they need to be challenged." However, I am going to recommend that we exercise caution with the concept of "i+1," because while I agree with it in principle, it is in its execution where I see problems and misusage. I see teachers blindly run with this as justification for adding "rigor" to their curriculum.

Allow me this excursus to refer to my elevator speech about language acquisition: 

1. Language learning is unlike any other subject area, because it is not linear in nature.
2. Because of this, learners do not acquire language on a prescribed timeline or at the same pace.
3. The language acquisition process is subconscious in nature.
4. When encountering L2, the brain on its own is constantly creating, making connections to, and revising its mental representation of that language.
1. That language which the brain understands, it keeps and then creates, adds to, and refines those existing mental connections.
2. That language which the brain does not understand, it throws out.
5. As a result, learners need to interact with/have constant exposure to understandable, meaningful, purposeful messages in L2 so that the brain can create/revise its mental representation of that language.

Therefore, based on the above, especially the concept that learners do not acquire language on a prescribed timeline or at the same pace, then it must follow that in any particular moment in a classroom, every learner's "i+1" is different and is distinct to that individual student. Because every student's mental representation of that language will differ at a particular moment in time, students cannot receive the identical "i+1" to progress in their language proficiency, since every student is at a different point on the continuum. What is one student's "i+1" is another student's "i+100," i.e., "i+1" cannot be a "one size fits all," "cookie cutter" application in the classroom. 

So the question then is how can we teachers supply students with "i+1" which is specific to their individual needs? I struggle big time with the concept and in its implementation. Here are some suggestions:

• Spiraling (with Recycling) - 
• Spiraling is an ACTFL term which I learned during OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) training: the concept is that during an OPI, the interviewer will ask questions which will "sprial up" the proficiency levels until the interviewee plateaus at a specific step, and then the interviewer will "spiral back down" to the interviewee's comfort level and then "sprial up" again with possibly a new topic to determine if the interviewee can meet this new challenge. If not, "spiraling back down" will occur.
• In a CI/ADI classroom, the same concept can be applied. "Spiraling up" would be the "i+1," but the necessary component is the "spiraling back down" which allows for recycling/continued exposure of past material. In the "spiraling up" again a bit higher, recycling/continued exposure continues. The problem is that so often we never "spiral back down" and are only constantly "spiraling up". For the high-flying 4%er students, the summit of the "spirialing up" will be where they gain their  "i+1" needs, but for many students, the learning/acquisition of material will occur in those parts of the spirialing where recycling/continued exposure occurs, i.e., that is their "i+1". 
• Free Voluntary Reading (FVR) - Krashen himself is a HUGE advocate of free voluntary reading to develop and to further language acquisition in students. However, the key lies in providing students with readings of ALL levels and giving them the CHOICE to read what they want and to choose their "i+1". If the reading is too hard for them (or not compelling), then they can choose a new book to read which fits their current proficiency level or interest. In other words, students will self-select their own "i+1" needs. However, we can also facilitate FVR incorrectly and thereby defeat its purpose.  And it is perfectly okay if the reading is below their level of proficiency (read my blog post about the importance of "i-1" in FVR). Krashen states:

There is massive evidence that self-selected reading, or reading what you want to read, is responsible for most of our literacy development. Readers have better reading ability, know more vocabulary, write better, spell better, and have better control of complex grammatical constructions. 

• Student choice in input - When it comes to classroom work, in a perfect world, I would love to see students choosing both their level of "i+1" and how they best wish to experience, interact, and learn from input, such as graded/tiered readings and the use of technology (such as teacher-created websites, podcasts, videos, etc).  However, in reality as a teacher, I know that this would involve so much front-ending! Plus, I also know that if all of this were available for learners, students would take the path of least resistance, i.e., they are more concerned about ease than challenge, because to a large degree that is how I am! I will get back to you on this one when I figure this out.

And to be forthright, even Krashen himself has gone on record that he does not know what "i+1" looks like per se (one cannot point at something physical and say, "Yep, that is 'i+1'") since it is a nebulous concept and does not look the same for every learner at any point in time. This is not to say that "i+1" is not important to language acquisition - it is! It just cannot be quantified or manifested in the same tangible way for every student at the same time.

What are some ways in which you address "i+1" in your classroom?

Immersion Can Turn into Submersion

In previous posts, I have blogged about my experience this summer learning Mandarin with Linda Li in a 4-day Fluency Fast class. Since then, my goal has been to continue acquiring Mandarin when I have time. Recently, I found a video on YouTube of a first day high school Mandarin 1 class, so thinking this video would be a great place for me to continue my language acquisition, I began to watch it. What I saw was that this teacher was using an 100% immersion approach on day 1. While there is nothing wrong with that per se, there was no attempt to establish any type of meaning in English, outside of gestures and handouts with Mandarin phrases where students filled in the English meaning during the class. In the video, when the teacher began to speak in Mandarin after the bell rings and asked the class to stand up, immediately you could see the confusion among the students, and only a few students caught onto what he was asking them to do. I am certain that affective filters immediately went through the roof with those students, because mine certainly did just watching it (and I was familiar with what he was saying in Mandarin!). For the remainder of the video, the teacher employed a traditional approach to an immersion classroom, with lots of the teacher saying phrases, students repeating after him (I wonder how many of those students actually understood what they were saying in Mandarin), and him correcting their pronunciation. Occasionally, the teacher would ask students (in Mandarin) to define words in English. While for me, much of what he said in the video was somewhat comprehensible (due to my limited Mandarin), I can guarantee that for most of the students in that classroom, it was not.

In reflecting on my experience with Linda Li this summer, I realize that from Day 1 of our Fluency Fast course, she could have employed a 100% immersion experience like the above teacher, but Linda also knew that this approach with beginning Mandarin students would not have been successful for every learner in our class. That is not to say that Linda did not utilize much more Mandarin as the class progressed, but it was not immediate from the first hour.

I am NOT saying that a classroom immersion environment in and of itself is a bad or terrible thing, but incomprehensible classroom immersion where the burden is completely 100% on students to establish and to negotiate meaning on their own in a "sink or swim" environment is where I have a problem. I have been in those types of immersion experiences, and I can definitely say that my affective filter went through the roof to the point of "fight or flight." Not every learner can succeed in that type of environment, and if equity in the classroom is our goal for all students, then a "survival of the fittest" attitude only excludes learners, as only "certain" types of learners end up finding success. Although we as teachers may have the best intentions in implementing an immersion approach, if we are not careful, immersion can quickly turn into submersion for students. When students do not perform well in this setting, our tendency is to to blame the students as being lazy or not trying (or even worse, that only certain students should take language, since not everyone can keep up in an immersion classroom). The reality is that students are not doing well, because we ourselves have not set them up properly for success in an immersion setting. An incomprehensible immersion environment is simply just noise to students.

In order to guarantee success for students in an immersion setting, then I feel that we as teachers must establish the following environment:

1. Create a safety net for students. In my opinion, this is vital. A safety net empowers ALL students to inform you as the teacher NON-VERBALLY that they are not understanding what you are saying, that they need you to go slower, that their affective filters are skyrocketing, etc. It is very easy to get a false impression of what students are understanding or processing in an immersion environment if we are only relying on the fast processors to inform us. Even counting "1, 2, 3" aloud after you ask a question can greatly slow things down in an immersion setting in order to give ALL students time to process what has been asked (thank you, Annabelle Allen, for teaching me this).
2. Strive to be 100% comprehensible by establishing meaning in L1. Nothing divides immersion-based teachers more than the topic of establishing meaning in L1. Some feel that this has absolutely no place in an immersion environment, as their argument is that students will figure out and determine meaning on their own or that students will be thinking in L1, instead of L2, if meaning is given in L1. Others feel that meaning can be established through props or pictures but still no L1. I am of the mindset that we teachers need to establish meaning in L1 if our goal is to be 100% comprehensible to learners. When understandable messages are delivered, then language acquisition can occur. In my language learning experiences with both Linda Li (Mandarin) and Betsy Paskvan (Japanese), each of them established meaning in L1 by writing any unknown language words on the board, having the English definitions next to them, and pointing/pausing when referring to them. I am so grateful that they did, because it made what was being said understandable to me. Yes, it was so helpful to have those words and meanings there as a reference, and yes, I was thinking in L1 during that time. To be honest, since I was negotiating meaning, it was necessary for me to think in L1. As the class progressed, I found that I no longer needed to refer to the words (although they were there if needed) and that I was starting to think in L2, instead of L1. Some may say, "If a student does not know a word in L2, can't just you explain the meaning in L2, instead of L1?" I have been in immersion environments where when I asked for a meaning of a word, the meaning was given to me in L2. Although these people had the best of intentions, i was already frustrated, because I did not know what the original word meant, so explaining the meaning in L2 only frustrated me more, thus raising my affective filter higher. In these situations, my thinking has always been "Just tell me what the d@*n word means in English, so that I can move on."
3. Facilitate constant comprehension checks. This is a key point, because comprehension checks give students an opportunity to let you know what they think that you are saying and give you the teacher a chance to see if you are truly understandable. This can be done very quickly and easily either in L1 or L2 by simply asking, "When I said that, what did I mean?" Depending on their answer, this feedback can tell you whether to move forward or to "circle the plane a bit," since students are not understanding what you are communicating.

What are some tools and strategies which you implement in an immersion setting in order to guarantee success for all learners?

Movie Talks

Movie Talks are becoming more and more a staple of CI strategies which teachers are implementing in their classrooms. The premise is simple: take a very short movie or a clip from a movie (preferably one with little or no dialogue) and when showing it to students, pause it at certain points to deliver understandable messages to students (circling, discussing what is going on). 

Even though I had seen presentations on Movie Talks at various conferences, I deliberately held off on doing them, because quite honestly, they looked very difficult to facilitate. In addition, a Movie Talk seemed like it would take A LOT of planning, because not only would I have to find a short movie to fit my particular lesson needs, but I would also have to script it for places to pause and to ask questions/discuss. To me, it just appeared WAY too much effort for the result.

However, at last summer's NTPRS conference, I got the chance to experience a Movie Talk myself as a student in a session where Alina Filepescu was teaching Romanian. She seamlessly presented a Movie Talk to us in very comprehensible Romanian and had us interacting with the movie short in the target language. More importantly though, because the movie short which she was using was incredibly compelling, I was so focused on movie short that Romanian simply was the vehicle to learn what happened next, so the learning became subconscious.  

As a result, this past school year, I did a few Movie Talks. Yes, I struggled with them, but I found that students really enjoyed them and that they did lead to language acquisition. As a result, I will continue to implement Movie Talks.

Miriam Patrick has written up a great set of directions for implementing a Movie Talk on her blog Pomegranate Beginnings. With her permission, here is how she prepares a Movie Talk.

Set Up

Choose your video. I chose films based on, primarily, the vocabulary I was working with. I can edit the grammar to be whatever I want for whatever level I want, but the vocabulary needs to be sheltered, so this was key. For this particular unit, I was focusing on words like polypus (octopus), transcendit (climb across), and tam/adeo/tantus...ut... (he was so.... that...). YouTube has a wide variety of videos. All one has to do is search for Pixar Shorts, Disney Shorts, or movie shorts.

Write Your Script. You won't need it except for the first few times you use it, but it is good to have it written down, especially since you will be pausing the video in key spots. I found this to be, by far, the most time consuming of the project, but even then, if you have chosen a video and know your end goals clearly, it did not take more than a few minutes.

Set up support activities. This is a great CI activity that you can use for one day or for multiple days. You can use other activities like TPR and TPRS with this. After we spent the first day going through this video, we then did it daily for a while, but only once, and paired with embedded readings, PQA, and TPRS.

                                                                (taken from the blog Pomegranate Beginnings)

Back to me now. 

Procedure
1) Using your script, show the video but stop at the times where you wish to talk about is in the screen.
2) Circle, and ask questions about what is on the screen.
3) If you wish, ask a responsible student to serve as the "Movie Talk pauser" - this student will need a copy of the script to know when to pause.

Movie Talks can be used in a couple different ways. One way is to preteach vocabulary (which is how Miriam describes in her directions). The following is a screencast of me demonstrating how to do a Movie Talk - I would not use a screencast to do with this students, but in this, you can see how I implement circling and PQAs in Movie Talk. I did this particular Movie Talk recently at the ACL Summer Institute as part of a presentation. The Movie Talk is not very long, but you will get the idea.

Movie Talk to Preteach Vocabulary

Movie Talk as a Predictor

You can also use movie shorts to get the class to predict what they will happen when you pause the movie. This takes a bit more language control though due to the output. Last summer at Rusticatio, Justin Slocum Bailey demonstrated how to do this. As a group, we all had whiteboards, and when he paused the video, he asked us what we thought happened next. Following that, we would share them in small groups and then he asked us for examples to share with the group as a whole. After that, he would unpause the movie, pause it again at a particular point and restart the process all over again.

The following is an example of this activity with the same movie clip as above. Students would not have seen this video clip prior.

So consider doing a Movie Talk.Yes, they take A LOT of planning, but in the end, it is worth it. 

Resources

• List of possible Movie Talk shorts - this is a four page list of movie shorts compiled by Rachel Ash and Miriam Patrick
• Movie Talk database - this is a MASSIVE searchable Google database started by Jason Fritze. As it is a collaborative document, new Movie Talks can be added.
• Mike Coxon explaining and demonstrating how to do a Movie Talk

• Alina Filepescu demonstrating a Movie Talk in Spanish

One Word at a Time (OWAT)

This activity was developed by my friend and fellow Latin CI user Bob Patrick, and it has now become one of my go-to activities for starting a new "chapter" because it allows me to introduce 8-10 new vocabulary words/structures in a fun, engaging way.

Directions

1. Pick 8-10 new vocabulary words which you wish to introduce. A mix of nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs is good.
2. Write one vocabuary word and its English meaning on an index card. Repeat until all words are done.
3. Organize class into groups of 3-4 students.
4. Each group needs to have a sheet of paper, a writing utensil, and a student who will serve as recorder.
5. Give each group a card.
6. Inform students that they will be writing a short story in Latin as a group.
7. As a group, the students are to create a sentence in Latin which uses the word on the card. They are to underline their word in the story when they use it.
8. When the group is done, they call you the teacher over to check the "grammar" of the sentence. If something needs correcting, then tell them.
9.  When the group is done with the word, they are now to switch with another group who is done. Sometimes, I have more words than groups, so I put the extra cards on a desk so students can go up to the desk and exchange words there.
10. The group then writes a new sentence as part of a story which now incorporates the new word. The group calls you over to check the grammar and to make any corrections. Once that is done, the group finds a new word and repeats the process.
11. Once most groups have used 3/4 of the words (if not all of them), tell the groups that they have a few more minutes to come up with an ending to their story. For this part, they will not call you over.
12. Collect the cards and stories
13. You as the teacher type up their stories (they may require grammar editing), and read them as a class on the next day.

Observations

1. This is a fun activity, because since students do not know which new words they will be getting, the stories suddenly become very random, which makes them all the more fun to read.
2. Students really want their group's stories to be read.
3. This is a great way to do pop-up grammar when students ask you to look over their sentences.
4. Because each story has specific targeted vocabulary in it, students enjoy seeing how different groups use those words, so there is a degree of anticipation and of vested interest.
5. Because each story has specific targeted vocabulary which students had to use, and because you review each story with them as a group, students acquire those 8-10 words VERY quickly.

Here are some other writeups about OWAT

Latin Best Practices CI Resources 

TPRS Q&A

Example of OWAT w/ Latin 1

Targeted Words

1) sollicitus 

2) invenit

3) femina

4) bonus

5) frater

6) fortis

7) semper

8) parvus 

9) conspicit

10) gladius

Story

Ariel est nympha marina (mermaid). Yoda Arielem conspicit. Yoda est parvus. Ariel fratrem emere vult. Yoda est sollicitus et perterritus, quod Ariel Yodam emit. Ariel est tristis, quod Yoda non est bonus frater. Ariel fortem fratrem vult. Ariel fortem fratrem videt sed eheu! frater est femina! quod frater est femina, Ariel est irata, et gladio (with a sword) feminam necat (kills). nunc Ariel est semper irata. Ariel fratrem non vult, sed pecuniam vult. Ariel Publix invenit, et Yodam vendit. Ariel pecuniam habet. subito Flavia apparet! Flavia Yodam emit, sed Flavia displodit. edepol!

Getting Caught Up in Activities and Not in Acquisition

Every time I go to world language conferences, I am always looking for new activities for my students. If you are like me, you find yourself getting into a rut with the same old activities, and you want to add some novelty to your classroom. A danger exists, however, in doing this, because we can easily get caught up in activities and not in acquisition itself. We look for the next "fun" activity to add to our arsenal. We so want to engage our students that we actually end up just entertaining them instead, and as a result, in blindly throwing activities at students, sequencing and scaffolding can become disjointed, and little/no language acquisition actually occurs.

Now do not get me wrong: I am not opposed to activities. I like a good game of vocabulary BINGO, because it is a nice break for students (and for me), and I definitely enjoy using Kahoot with students every once in awhile. At the same time, I do not want to rely on these as primary activities.

If I am going to be implementing Comprehensible Input in my classroom, regarding activities, the basic questions which I must ask are this: is this activity promoting language acquisition through the delivery of and interaction with understandable messages? Where does this activity fit in the acquisition process, i.e., if it is output related, has enough input preceded it that output is a natural overflow? These two questions serve as my litmus test.

But let me also say that teaching using CI is a process and definitely takes time to learn. By no means do I ever want to turn off someone from using a CI activity regardless of his/her familiarity with CI. I will be the first to say that I am still learning how to implement CI in my classroom!   

If you have never attended a Blaine Ray workshop or attended NTPRS, I highly recommend that you do, because you will get the chance to experience language learning first hand like one of your students. I feel like I have learned so much about sequencing CI activities just from attending Betsy Paskvan's Japanese sessions at these past two NTPRS conferences (and yes, in many cases, i have taken her Japanese lessons and Latinized them!). Apparently, Betsy's sequencing of activities has worked, because I can still retell her "Yoda, Darth Vader, and Oprah" story in Japanese, and that was almost two years ago! 

Word Wall

Last year, I implemented a word wall for the first time. After 17 years of teaching, I finally created one, and I do not know why I did not do this sooner! It is an incredibly easy concept from which you can get LOTS of mileage.

A word wall is a very basic tool - the idea is simply to post vocabulary words on the wall which will remain there for as long as you want. There are many different types of word walls in the world language classroom:

1. ones which have all of the semester words up there already and are referred to when new words are introduced
2. ones which have words for a particular unit and are then taken down after the unit has been completed
3. ones to which new words are constantly added and serve as a running, cumulative list for students

I use example #3. Once I introduce a new target word, then I add it to the wall (I add about 6-7 new words a week). 

Here is my Latin 1 word wall from last year just after a few months of instruction - note that I was limiting vocabulary.

Observations

1. A word wall, however, does not work unless it is reviewed constantly. Reviewing the words on the word wall serves as a great warmup activity. I point my laser pointer at the word wall and can ask a variety of questions, e.g., quid tristis significat Anglice? quid vocabulum significat Latine gives to him?
2. As a result of the word wall, students know exactly which specific words I want them to acquire. Just because I use a particular word in a story does not mean that I want them to acquire it at that particular moment (as it may be a word which I am previewing for later acquisition or it may just be an "icing" word). If students see the word on the wall later, then they know that it is a target word.
3. The wall serves as a reference for students when using the language, especially in a timed write. If students cannot think of something to add to their story, they can glance at the wall and use a word for inspiration.

Circling with Balls

For anyone wanting an easy strategy to introduce CI to a class (and for you as the teacher to ease into it), here is a great activity. It is a wonderful way to learn about students and for them to learn about each other. Circling with Balls is staple of any CI/TPRS classroom.

Instructions

1. Give students an index card and have them write their names at the top. I use different color cards for different periods.
2. in English (or in the target language depending on the level), ask two questions to which students will draw their responses on the card - the question may vary depending on their level, e.g., 
1. what animal do you have or want to have?
2. what is something which you like do?
3. where in the world have you visited or want to visit?
4. who is your favorite celebrity? actor? singer?
5. if you were to be any animal, what animal would you be?
3. Collect the cards and now pick 3 students' cards.
4. Write any unknown necessary vocabulary on board along with their English meanings in order to establish meaning. For level 1, you will probably end up writing all of the vocabulary and various word-form changes. Whenever one of these words is used, point/pause at the word before moving on.
5. Now in the target language ask student #1 about one of their picture (again, it may require pointing/pausing). The student will respond in the target language: "O Rhonda, do you HAVE a snake? (no). Oh, do you WANT a snake? (yes) Oh, you want a snake. O class, Rhonda wants a snake. (ohhh).
6. Depending on your students' level, you can go further by asking, "O Rhonda, do you want a big snake? (yes), Oh, you want a big snake? O class, Rhonda wants a big snake (ohh). O class, does Rhonda want a big snake? (yes). O class, does Rhonda want a big snake or a small snake? (a big snake)? O class, does Rhonda want a small snake? (no) O class, does Rhonda want a big cow? (no) O class, what does Rhonda want? (a big snake).
7. Move onto to student #2 and do the same routine. After finding out what student #2 asks, you can go back and ask the class "Does student #2 want a big snake? (no) Who wants a big snake? (Rhonda) Ah, Rhonda wants a big snake. What does student #2 want?"
8. Check off those students whom you interviewed afterwards, and start anew with three new students the next day until all you have gone through all of the cards. 

Observations

1. I do this starting on Day 1 of class. Because I have written meanings on the board and implement point/pause, the activity is completely comprehensible. Even though there is output, it is totally scaffolded and limited.
2. This is a great way to know your students and to find out information which you can use to personalize readings and stories about them. The whole activity will take about 10 minutes a day, but students will still remember months later what other students answered.
3. It is a great way to practice circling and to get in lots of repetitions!

Safety Net

One of the components of Krashen's Comprehensible Input hypothesis is that when one's affective filter rises, learning is compromised. Perhaps, a better way of putting it is that in order for students to learn, they need to feel emotionally safe in your classroom: safe to ask questions, safe to interact with their peers, and safe to make mistakes. If students feel safe in your classroom, they are more apt to learn.

Our primary goal as CI/TPRS teachers is to deliver understandable messages in the target language. Many CI/TPRS teachers incorporate a "safety net" for students, which is a series of hand gestures which students can use to communicate non-verbally when anything impedes the comprehension of those messages. Students have full permission to use any of these signs/gestures whenever they want. Some basic signs are:

• Slow down, you're speaking too quickly
• Louder - I cannot hear you
• Say it again please
• What does X mean?
• I don't understand at all what you are saying

My friend Evan Gardner, founder of Where Are Your Keys? best explains it when he tells students, "These techniques are like super powers. You have the power to control me, your teacher. You want me to slow down? Use your "Slow Down" power. You want me to say something again? Use your "Again" power, and I will do it." 

I always add, "If I ever say something in Latin which you do not understand, then that is MY fault. BUT if you do not use your powers, I am going to assume that everything is okay, and I will keep moving on. If you do not understand something, do NOT just sit there and suffer in silence when you have the power to control your own learning."

You can make the gestures whatever you want them to be, or you can have the class create them. The idea though is that these gestures are part of the class "safety net". Because these signs are communicated non-verbally, they do not interrupt class; students can give a sign without saying a word, and you as the teacher can address the concern on the spot without drawing attention to that student.

I am amazed by how students have taken ownership of these hand signs and use them in class. As a teacher, I SO appreciate it when students will flash me a sign. In fact, I have students saying, “I wish that I could use these hand signs in my math class!” Why don't more teachers in other subject areas adopt them?! 

The Art of Point and Pause

In a couple of my blog posts, I have referenced a CI strategy called Point and Pause, so allow me an excursus in this post to explain what it is. Point and Pause is part of establishing meaning, and it is done exactly how it sounds: you point to the word and meaning which you have written on the board, and you pause to allow processing time.


Writing the word on the board with the English meaning and then Pointing and Pausing allows the following:

• it allows time for all students to process the word
• a reference for students whenever I use that word again in the lesson
• it levels the playing field for all, as comprehension of the word is now immediate for all, not just the 4%rs and fast processors

The irony is that Point and Pause is not as easy as it sounds, and it is a skill which I am still trying to master. My biggest problem is that whenever I point and pause, I actually forget to pause. I point and then rush to go back to the story which I am telling. By not pausing I am denying adequate processing time. I now have to remind myself constantly to count to 5 whenever I pause. Five seconds may seem like a long time, but some students need that processing time. 

A few months ago, I was co-facilitating a CI inservice for teachers in my district. I was giving an example of circling in Latin since the majority of the teachers did not know the language. I was demonstrating Point and Pause, but since I was among language teachers, I figured that I did not have to slow down too much. One of the French teachers in attendance raised her hand and said, "I need you to slow down. I am the barometer student in the room. I am a slow processor. I am that student who needs LOTS of repetitions and LOTS of processing time." Even language teachers need adequate time to process! 

From my own experience at NTPRS last summer, when learning Japanese via CI from Betsy Paskvan, she had our target vocabulary written on the board, and she implemented Point and Pause. I immensely appreciated that she did this, because it helped slow things down a bit so that I could process everything. 

Some may argue that establishing meaning/Point and Pause is counterproductive to language learning, as students need to construct their own meaning in the target language.

We need to remember though that our goal is that all students acquire the language. Not every student will be able to construct their own meaning correctly or at the same time - the 4%er probably can do this, but what about the other 96%? Establishing meaning/pointing and pausing lowers stress and confusion, thus lowering the affective filter and thereby allowing students to learn. 

If you ever get the chance to see a teacher demonstrate Point and Pause as part of their lesson and if they do a good job with it, let him/her know. That teacher will definitely appreciate it!

The Need for Establishing Meaning

A few months ago, a college student in a language education program asked me about TPR, since she was having to lead a lesson in Latin for elementary school students. As she had never worked with any type of oral Latin before, I explained the basics of TPR and how one could do it in Latin. I then told her, "Be sure to write the Latin word and the English meaning on the board or if the students cannot read yet, define the word aloud in English in order to establish meaning." She immediately responded, "We are not allowed to use any type of English. It has to be full immersion." 

We world language teachers are very familiar with the ACTFL guideline of 90% classtime in the target language, and in our methodology classes in college, we heard all about the necessity of an immersion classroom. But we also must be mindful of the following: immersion can turn very quickly into submersion for students. To quote Carol Gaab, "In an immersion environment, students cannot control the comprehensibilty or the amount of language thrown at them." The 4%rs may be able to keep up, but they are the exception. An incomprehensible immersion environment is simply just noise to students.

In order to avoid the use of English, many times, we rely on props, pictures or gestures to convey meaning. The problem with that is what seems obvious to us as meaning is not always obvious to students. Lauren Watson, a fellow CI teacher in my district and co-CI presenter/facilitator, uses the example of showing a picture of a swimming pool for the word piscine. To Lauren, it seems obvious that she is trying to communicate the word swimming pool, but students can interpret the picture in other ways: water, to swim, swimmer; and if she were to gesture the act of swimming in a pool, some could interpret that as to dance!

Once with Latin 1 students, I was demonstrating the word carry in Latin via TPR. To me, since the action matched the meaning of the word, I did not feel the need to establish meaning. At the end of class, after doing lots of repetitions via TPR of the word, I asked in English, "What does porta mean?" One student answered "To hold something and to walk with it at the same time." I was a bit dumbfonded and responded, "Do you mean carry?" He replied with a smile, "...Oh yeah..." While we all had a nice chuckle, I realized, "Oh my gosh, I just wasted that student's classtime by not establishing meaning. If I had just told him the meaning right away, he could have acquired that word SO MUCH sooner."

So what is the best way to convey the meaning of a word so that everyone understands? Quite simply: write the word and its English meaning on the board. So many times, we will try to define the word in the language, to draw a picture, to use props, to use synonyms, etc. In my language learning experiences where it has been an immersive situation, my attitude is "Just tell me what the word means in English so that I can move on! You are wasting my time by trying to do everything else, because I do not understand what you are saying!!"

Already, I can hear folks saying, "Hey, that is translation!" My answer is "No, it is not - it is establishing meaning. If you are going to hold 90% of classtime in the target language, then consider this as part of your 10% classtime in English."

Writing the word on the board with the English meaning allows the following:

• immediate comprehension of the word for all
• a opportunity for me to "point and pause" whenever I use the word
• a reference for students whenever I use that word again in the lesson

If I get in the necessary repetitions, then students will no longer need to use the written words as a reference. They will no longer be focusing on the written English translation whenever they hear that word, because after time, they become very familiar with it and begin to internalize it. At my first TPRS workshop with Blaine Ray, where he demonstrated this in German, and at NTPRS with Betsy Paskvan, where she taught us Japanese, each of them had the target words written in the language and in English. Whenever the word was used, both of them "pointed and paused" for us and then continued on. I so appreciated this, because in the beginning, I was clinging to those cues. After awhile, though, due to the massive amount of repetitions and of interactions with the language, I noticed that I was no longer having to look at the English meanings. I was now comprehending what they were saying!

You can also conduct comprehension checks in English to ensure that meaning has been established for everyone. Take a 1-2 minute timeout, where you ask, "When I said 'X,' what was I saying?", "What does 'X' mean again in English?" "What word means 'X'?", etc. If you receive incorrect responses, then that tells you that you need to re-establish meaning again.

Whenever I introduce a reading for the first time (assuming that I have done pre-reading activities), I will have the class do a choral reading in order to establish meaning of the story for all. To me, this is a necessary step, since I plan to do 4-5 post-reading activities of that reading; if I do not establish meaning right away, then it becomes much more difficult for students.

So try establishing meaning right away - your students will thank you for it!

Same Coversation, part 3 - Morning Routine

This is the last post of a series.

I have found that students very much want routine in their lives. To a degree, routine brings comfort, and to deviate from it can bring stress. In between class periods, I can usually be found standing outside of my classroom, greeting students as they enter - heaven forbid, if I am not there! A few times, I have been neglectful of being out in front of my classroom, and i have had students "panic," thinking that I was sick and that they had a substitute instead!

Establishing a short 5-minute morning routine of target language activities can be a very easy way to enact Same Conversation. Something as simple as greeting the class in the target language on a daily basis can go a long way. Examples of activities which you can do as part of a morning routine:

1. greeting/salutation
2. the day of the week/date - this can be kind of tricky depending on how your target language handles dates. I tend to stick with just the day of the week.
3. weather report - this can be something as simple as hodie nubilosum est, hodie sol lucet, hodie pluit, hodie ventilosum est. One day, i am going to add props for this!
4. "word of the day" - my school has a "word of the day" which we are supposed to go over with students. Why not tell them in Latin? "vocabulum hodiernum est (English word), et significat (English meaning)."

As long as you establish meaning early and are delivering understandable messages in the target language, then students will have no problem understanding what you are saying. Because this is all a daily morning routine, you have a natural built-in way to get in repetitions needed for subconscious acquisition. 

A morning routine is also a great way to introduce those topics which may not appear in your textbook. Or if your textbook spends an entire chapter on weather (this seems rather unnecessary), this is a way to "cover" that topic so that you can devote time to other topics. 

Variation: After a few months of doing this, assign students to do some of these tasks. Due to the sheer daily repetitions, it really is not that difficult for them to do. I stumbled upon this, as one day I forgot to say salvete to the class as soon as the bell rang. A student called me out on it, and immediately, I said, "You know, I am not the only one who can do the greeting. Why don't you greet the class for me today?" At once, she did, and soon, other students began to ask if they could do the greeting the next day.   

Same Conversation, Part 2 - Movie Director

This is part 2 of a series of three posts.

My last post dealt with the technique Same Conversation and TPR - how to have the same conversation in a novel yet meaningful way when using TPR. What are some other ways outside of TPR?

Many textbooks have dialogue practice in them, but in most cases, the dialogues themselves are rather stilted. Here is another VERY easy and fun strategy of doing Same Conversation with textbook dialogues: 

I call this activity Movie Director. Carol Gaab demonstrated this at NTPRS last summer (I do not think that she called it "Movie Director"), but I remember doing skits like this (in English) at summer camp when I was growing up:

1. Pick two students whom you think are good actors. (or as many are needed for the dialogue). Many times I will ask the class, "Whom in this class do you think will do a good job of acting?" 
2. Project the dialogue or part of it - eight sentences is about right. 
3. Have those students come up to the front of the room and simply read it aloud without any type of emotion. You may have to translate it into English first in order to establish meaning for the class.
4. Now you as the Movie Director say in the target language, "Okay, that was good, but can you do it now loudly"?
5. The actors read the dialogue aloud and act it out loudly
6. Now you as the Movie Director say in the target language, "Okay, that was better, but this time do it happily?"
7. The actors now act out the dialogue happily.

The idea is that after each time, you tell them to do it differently, such as sadly, angrily, romantically, slowly, quickly, etc.

Observations

•  It is absolutely hilarious watching students act out the same dialogue differently each time, and it makes reading through a dialogue less "painful." 
• The class is engaged in watching the dialogue acted out differently each time, when in reality, it is hearing the same dialogue over and over again, thus getting in the necessary repetitions of language needed for subconscious acquisition. This is also a great way to work with adverbs. 
• Sometimes I ask students for different ways the dialogue can be acted out - you will be surprised at how many times you can have the same dialogue acted out differently. Suggesions have included: Valley Girl accents, Darth Vader/Yoda voices.

Same Conversation, part 1 - TPR

This is a first of a series of three posts.

One of the main tenets of CI is that language learners need constant repetition of vocabulary/structures in a meaningful context in order for them to acquire the language subconsciously. The problem is how to do this without making it boring for students, because in the words of Carol Gaab, we know that "the brain CRAVES novelty!"

One way of accomplishing this is Same Conversation, a technique which I learned from Evan Gardner, founder of "Where Are Your Keys?". Same Conversation is exactly how it sounds - have the same comprehensible conversation in the target language multiple times in order to get in the necessary repetitions. Due to the "sameness" aspect, language learners become familiar with what they are hearing and can anticipate what will be said next.

There are a number of ways in which one can accomplish this and still keep it novel. Total Physical Response (TPR) itself is full of repetitions, as the teacher is the one telling students what to do in a Simon Says kind of fashion, and students demonstrate their comprehension by completing the action. Commands are constantly repeated in various ways. After awhile, however, TPR can get really old, really fast for students. At NTPRS last summer, Carol Gaab demonstrated a great way of doing Same Conversation with TPR which really resonates with students. Based on her example involving the word "pick up," here is how I accomplished it in Latin 1 on the 3rd day of class - it simply involved a baby doll. The target word was sume (pick up) - because it was only day 3 of Latin 1, I spoke in a mix of Latin/English:

Me: Joe, sume infantem! (Joe picks up the baby doll by its neck)

Me: Really, Joe? That is how you sume infantem?! This is an infans! Let me show you how to sumere infantem! (I overdramatically pick up the baby doll gently, cradling its neck and put it back down)
Me: Katy, veni huc (come here)and show Joe how it's done. Sume infantem! (Katy picks up the baby doll somewhat gently)
Me: Really, Katy? That is how you sume infantem? Again, this is an infans! Melissa, veni huc and show Katy and Joe how it's done. Sume infantem! (Melissa picks up the baby doll very gently and does a better job)
Me: Ok, better, but gosh, Ben, veni huc and show Joe, Katy and Melissa how to do it. Sume infantem! (Ben overdramatically picks up the baby doll as if it were a real baby)
Me: Optime, Ben! Now Melissa, sume infantem! (Melissa overdramatically picks up the baby doll as if it were a real baby).
Me: Optime, Melissa! Katy, sume infantem! (Katy overdramatically picks up the baby doll as if it were a real baby)
Me: Optime, Katy. Joe, sume infantem! (Joe overdramatically picks up the baby as if it were a real baby).
Me: Optime, Joe! Now you know how to sumere infantem!

Observations

1. During that whole interchange, I had repeated the phrase sume infantem (or some variation of it) ELEVEN times in the span of a couple minutes, but students did not realize it or tire of hearing the phrase due to the "problematic scenario" which I had created.
2. The class was entirely engaged and laughing during the whole interchange, watching their fellow students pick up a baby doll, being chastised for doing it incorrectly and only being praised when it was done overdramatically. Little did they realize that it was all a ploy in order to get them to hear the phrase sume infantem over and over again in a meaningful and novel way. They simply thought it was just about learning how to pick up a baby properly. Haha, I am so devious..
3. Even though I used the infinitive form sumere at times, it did not impede comprehension.

Dance Party USA

Update (7/19/23): The official name for this activity is Musical Pairs. I still think Dance Party USA has a better ring to it.

I learned this reading strategy from Justin Slocum Bailey, a Latin teacher and fellow user of CI, at this past summer's Pedagogy Rusticatio. I do not know if "Dance Party USA" is the official name of this activity, but this is what I call it. It is a variation of Ping Pong/Volleyball Reading. It is a fun activity which gets students moving around to music and has a Musical Chairs kind of feel to it.

1. You will need two different colored index cards for the class, so that exactly half of the class will have one color and the other half will have the other. If there is an odd number of students in the class, you as the teacher will participate.
2. Give each student a copy of a reading. The reading should be a re-reading of a story which students have already read (like an embedded reading) or a VERY COMPREHENSIBLE sight passage which they can easily read.
3. Give each student one of the two colored index cards. Again, exactly half of the class needs to receive one color, and the other half needs to get the other color.
4. Now play music, and tell students to circulate around the room while the music plays. Students may dance around as they move around the room!
5. Stop the music after 25-30 seconds or so. Tell students now to pair up immediately with someone near them who is holding the other color index card. if there are an odd number of students, remember that you will be participating!
6. The pairs of students will do a ping pong/volleyball reading of the story with each other
7. After 90 seconds, start the music again, and tell students to stop reading and to circulate around the room.
8. Stop the music after 25-30 seconds (this will give students time to move around the room), and tell students to pair up immediately with a new person who is holding the other color index cards.
9. Continue doing this until students have read at least 1 1/2 times through the passage.

Observations

1. You will need LOTS of room for this activity - a big open space is best. This is difficult to do with desks in the way. I have used the cafeteria area and hallway for this activity. 
2. This activity gets loud due to the music. Warn the teachers around you that you will be doing this.
3. This is a great way to get students to interact with each other. Like in Read Dating, if a student does not "prefer" his/her partner, he/she only has to spend 90 seconds with that person before moving on.
4. Even though it is just ping pong/volleyball reading, the fact that students are moving around the room to music gives it a very different feel for them. As Carol Gaab says, "The brain CRAVES novelty."

Parent Meetings Reflections: A Justification for CI/TPRS

These past two weeks, I have attended five parent meetings regarding students in my Laitn 1 classes  - a combination of SSTs, IEPs and referrals. Because we have passed the midpoint of the semester, suddenly, there is much parental concern regarding grades. Each of the meetings, however, seemed to have the same scenario: the student was failing or close to failing the majority of his/her claseses but yet was flourishing in my Latin 1 class with at least a 95. 

In each meeting, as we teachers, the parents, the counselor, the curriculum administrator and special ed case manager all discussed the student's overall academic performance, it became obvious that something was going on in my Latin 1 class which was making these students succeed. At some of the meetings, I could tell that the core subject area teachers were dismissing the student's high grade in my class with an "But it's just Latin 1 - you really do not do anything in that class" attitude (these teachers really need to come to my classes if they think that!). One parent even commented, "My daughter says that she never has to study for your class. I'm concerned. I see her making vocabulary flashcards for Language Arts all the time - shouldn't she be doing that for Latin too?"

At each of these meetings, when it came my turn to talk about the student's performance, my first instinct was to defend everything about my methodology and why I have adopted a CI-based classroom, but I also knew that this was the last thing which parents wanted to hear, nor was that my purpose for being there. I instead decided to let the student's performance do the talking for me. In a nutshell, here is what i said at each of the five meetings:

• Even though it is Latin 1, it is still a "rigorous" course, but my job as the teacher is not to make it feel like it is for students
• My job is to teach the language by delivering understandable messages to students in Latin. I choose to do this through comprehensible, compelling stories.
• All I ask is that your child pay attention in class and to interact with the stories/readings in various ways
• Acquiring a language happens subconsciously - here is proof that your child is acquiring Latin
• Your child is not having to make flashcards, because he/she does not feel the need to; unbeknownst to your child, he/she is internalizing the target vocabulary subconsciously
• All of my vocabulary/comprehension quizzes are unannounced, but yet your child has at least a 95% quiz average, i.e. even though I give no prior notice of a quiz, your child still feels prepared and never feels "put on the spot" when I announce one. The vocabulary quizzes are cumulative, so the amount of words increases on each quiz - in fact, we are up to 40 words now. If your child were not acquiring the language, the proof would be a much lower quiz average. 
• Your child's processing skills in the language are improving due to constant and repeated (but not repetitive) interaction with the Latin. Your child's word count output on his/her biweekly 5-minute timed writes has increased each time
• On tests, your child is able to read a comprehensible story at sight in Latin and then to answer a mix of multiple choice and of true/false questions about the story in the language, thereby demonstrating comprehension. If your child were not understanding what he/she was reading, his/her test average would be much lower. 

At one of the meetings, the special ed case manager said to me, "Will you be teaching Latin 1 again next year? Because I want to send more of my cases to you!"

Each of these meetings confirmed for me that CI is the way to go when teaching Latin. Definitely under a grammar-translation methodology and even under a reading method with extensive vocabulary, these particular students would be failing, but under CI, they are flourishing. Even though all of this evidence is just anecdotal, I need no other proof that CI works for all students.

At the end of one meeting, a parent said to me in front of everyone, "I may not understand everything that you are doing, but keep doing it, because _________ is succeeding in your class." With results like this, I definitely will.