One Step at a Time

Over the past few weeks, I have had a number of informal discussions with teachers who have tried CI/TPRS this past year but have abandoned it. In these discussions, I just wanted to hear what they had to say, so I simply listened and asked questions. I was not interested in trying to win them over back to CI/TPRS or to fix the problem, because that is not what they wanted. These folks simply wanted to be heard.

In each of the cases, these teachers truly wanted to implement CI/TPRS. They all had attended CI/TPRS workshops, so they had seen it in action. At the beginning of the school year, they began to use CI/TPRS, and things went very well...for awhile. The honeymoon, however, wore off, and trying to keep up the momentum became more of an effort. Essentially, they had no idea where they were going after a few months. When I heard all of this, I could totally relate, because when I first learned TPRS years ago, I went full bore with it, only to burn out after 6 weeks. Quite honestly, I was ready to give it up completely, but I had seen a change in my students' acquisition of the language but more importantly, students began to ask me how come we were no longer "doing the stories about students in the class." That is the reason why I decided to try out TPRS again the following year; that year, I lasted 9 weeks. By my third year, I had a much better and realistic idea about what to expect.

These discussions got me thinking: Why is that so many teachers who in good faith and with the best of intentions and enthusisam try out CI/TPRS but leave it behind to return back to their previous methods? Here are my reasons:

1. Trying to do too much too quickly. I liken one's first year of teaching CI/TPRS to one's first year ever of teaching: it is all so new, and there is so much to learn. In their zeal, so many first-year CI/TPRS teachers try to take on too much right away, and suddenly, it becomes way too overwhelming, because no true foundation has been established.
2. Feeling like one has to go "all in" or else. For a number of reasons, I hate hearing folks say "If you really cared about your students and truly understood what true second language acquisition was all about, then you would jump on board with CI." Number one, that statement is incredibly arrogant and employs shame to get folks into facilitating CI, but more importantly, it gives the impression that there is no middle ground/transition for new CI/TPRS teachers. There are certain CI/TPRS teachers whom I will deliberately avoid in person or online purely because they come across as intolerant of anyone who supports traditional methodology or textbooks. Although I can understand their zeal, essentially I find them very negative, because there is no middle ground or transition in their worldview. 
3. Doing it for the wrong reasons. I have seen teachers jump on the CI/TPRS bandwagon, because it is trendy. When a new trend, however, comes about, they abandon CI/TPRS. 
4. Lack of support. The reason why most professional developments fail is because there is no adequate follow-up or support. Speakers come in and then go. At most inservices, information is cast out among teachers, but the net is never pulled in to see who is interested and wants to explore it further with support. Instead, interested teachers are left to operate on their own with this information, which usually results in frustration and abandonment. So imagine a world language teacher embarking on CI/TPRS on his/her own for the first time. Though he/she may have blogs and online communities to rely on for support, these cannot compare to a live, in-person CI/TPRS support group. This is why instructional coaches can play such an important role in the school environment.  

So if you are new to CI/TPRS or are wanting to implement it but are still hesitant, here is my single piece of advice for you: continue what you are doing but take one or two CI/TPRS strategies, and run with it. Do not feel like you have to abandon the textbook right away. Pick a strategy such as circling or an embedded reading to do with your students. If you can Ask a Story, then do it. Implement an activity like TPR, One Word Picture, Stultus, or a dictation. Have your students do a Ping Pong/Volleyball reading. There is no rush to get it all right the first time. When you feel up to it, incorporate a new activity or strategy to add to your routine. The idea is to build up your CI/TPRS muscles one step at a time. Think of it like stretching a rubber band: in the beginning, you may only be able to stretch a rubber band so far, but after awhile, you realize that you can stretch it further. 

I hope that many of you who have fallen off the CI/TPRS bandwagon will one day get back on!

Instructional Coaching

I am currently pursuing an Ed.S degree in Instructional Technology, with an emphasis on Instructional Coaching. While I have appreciated my Instructional Technology courses, what I am truly enjoying though has been my course in instructional coaching and its field experiences. 

I have learned so much about instructional coaching, and quite honestly, it is so different from what I thought it was going to be. In my mind, instructional coaching was going to be folks coming to me for instructional advice, much like Lucy at her psychiatrist's booth. While instructional coaching can reflect that, it is different on so many levels. Below are some points which I have learned about instructional coaching. Though much comes from Jim Knight’s book Instructional Coaching, a lot comes from my own field experiences this past semester:

1. Coaching is a partnership. Instructional coaching is not a top-down implementation, with an expert blindly dispensing advice to novices. Rather, both parties come to the table as experts in their areas and possess knowledge/information which the other needs. Each party needs the other in order to succeed, and no one is more important than the other.
2. Coaching is relational. Instructional coaching is not a one-time meeting but is a process. It takes time for trust and a level of comfort to be established. Not every potential coachee is open to the idea of being coached.
3. Coaching is non-judgmental. It is important to create an atmosphere of trust and of respect for the coachee. Though colleagues may disagree with each other pedagogically, it is imperative that both treat each other with respect, as both are professionals.
4. Coaching requires close listening and asking the right questions. What is the coachee saying? What is it that the coachee exactly wants? What parameters are the coachee setting? If this is to be a partnership relationship, then it is imperative that the coachee be heard. As the instructional coach, it is very easy to come to the table with one’s own agenda and plan for success. While the coach’s lesson may work out with a wonderful outcome in the classroom, it may be not at all what the coachee wanted.
5. Coaching allows for a coachee to find his/her voice. Although the coach may be an expert, he/she is not the one in front of the coachee’s classroom. While giving the coachee a pre-made lesson which a coach has created may yield classroom success, that is not the coachee’s voice but rather the coach’s. The coachee’s voice is one which needs to come through in the lesson. As part of a partnership relationship, both parties craft a lesson together which reflects each voice.
6. Coaching involves potential rejection. Not everyone is open to the idea of instructional coaching, and even in a coaching relationship, coachees may reject suggestions/ideas and even the coach.

Though my field experiences this past semester in instructional coaching primarily dealt with technology implementation in the classroom, I absolutely loved it. I was surprised at how natural the process all felt for me. Maybe it is because I have been a teacher for almost 20 years. Maybe it is because of my personality. Though I possessed a lot of book knowledge on instructional coaching, I was astonished at how quickly it turned into heart knowledge. 

I hope to be able to facilitate this knowledge with world language teachers. I will be serving as an apprentice coach this summer at IFLT, so I am looking forward to add that experience to my instructional coaching arsenal.

I wonder if I have found a new calling...

Memory Card Game

I am sure that you have played the Memory Card game, where you had a number of picture cards turned face down in front of you, and your job was to turn over 2 cards at a time in order to match the pictures. Many of you may have played this game using single vocabulary words, but here is a post-reading version which can be used with a story or a novella.  

Materials

1. 2 packs of 100 index cards. You can have one pack of 100 but you will need to cut the cards in half. Ideally, you will be using 200 cards for 10 groups.
2. A list of 10 sentences from a story or novel, with which students are very familiar. It is best that the senteces are not too overly long, so you can divide a long sentence into phrases.
3. Ziploc sandwich bags

Directions

1. Type up the list of 10 sentences, and print enough so that every student has a list.
2. Divde the students into groups of 3 students each. You can have groups of 2 students, but groups of 4 is too big. The groups will need to arrange their desks so that they have a common working space
3. Give each student a list of sentences.
4. Give each group 20 index cards.
5. Tell students to pick 3 different sentences from the list. If a group of 3, one student will have to pick 4.
6. For each sentence, a student will write the sentence on one index card and then illustrate the sentence on another card. NOTE - it is important that everyone in the group select the SAME SIDE of the card to do this, i.e., the group needs to pick either the blank side or the side with lines to write and to illustrate.
7. Give about 10-15 minutes for this.
8. Have each group collect their cards and shuffle them.
9. Have each group put their cards into the sandwich bag.
10. Collect the bags and distribute the bags so that every group receives a different bag, i.e., they will not receive back their own bag
11. Tell each group to lay their cards face down on their common working space.
12.  Explain to class that they will be playing the Memory Game where each group member will take turns turning over two cards at a time trying to match the sentence with the proper picture. They may use their list as a reference. It may be that students will turn over 2 picture cards or 2 sentence cards during play - this is okay.
13. When a match is made, that student will remove the two cards and keep them. You as the teacher can determine if you wish to have that student continue with his/her turn. I usually do not in order to allow for more students to play instead of having one student monopolize the game.
14. When all of the matches have been made (or time runs out), then the game ends for that group. The student with the most matches in the group wins.
15. If time remains, collect the decks and redistribute them again.

Observations

1. Because students are already working from a story with which they are familiar, the sentences should be very comprehensible for them. 
2. Because students are personally drawing pictures, this will aid in their acquisition process.
3. Due to the nature of the game, students are receiving constant repetitions of the language via the sentences or the pictures.
4. My absolute favorite part of the game though is students trying to interpret other group's pictures! I love hearing "Who the heck drew this?!!"
5. I have found that students help each other to remember where particular cards are.
6. I love the fact that as a teacher, I am simply facilitating. 

Consider giving this activity a try!

CI is the New Buzzword

Recently at a conference, a fellow-CI user attended a session which was publicized as one involving CI (the words "Comprehensible Input" were in the title). To her surprise, she found that the session really had nothing to do with CI, as the speaker was focusing on full immersion, forced output, and no translation into L1 for the establishment of meaning. Yet, the speaker was saying that these were all components of a CI classroom. 

The term "CI" has become the new buzzword in world language education, but unfortunately, I do not think that many people who use the term truly understand it. On the one hand, I am happy to see that many teachers are embracing CI, but I also do not like the fact that CI has become "trendy." As I write this, please do not think that I wish to play "CI police" or that I own the market on CI, since I too still am learning about Comprehensible Input. By no means am I a full expert on the topic. 

In many occasions, however, a misinformation regarding CI is disseminated. This may be the result of a number of reasons. Now there is a difference between those who knowingly use the term CI but possess a limited understanding of it and acknowledge that they want to learn more about it vs. those who use the word generously but think it to be something else. I feel that there are many out there who possess an academic knowledge of CI but not a heart understanding of it.

Ways to learn about CI:

1. Attend a local CI workshop in your area. Here is a listing of Blaine Ray TPRS workshops, and Laurie Clarcq has an updated list on her blog. 
2. Read CI blogs. On the sidebar, there is a listing of CI blogs which I regularly read.
3. Join CI communities, either online or in person.
4. Attend national CI conferences, such as NTPRS and IFLT.
5. Collaborate with other CI users, either online or in person. This is key. I really do not think that I would be the CI teacher which I am today if it were not for a my community of local CI users.

Although learning about CI through reading blogs is helpful, in my opinion, it is not enough, as it is limited; blogs can only go so far in teaching about CI. I cannot say it enough: one of the best ways to understand Comprehensible Input is to experience it first hand learning another language which you do not know from a teacher using CI and to experience all components of the language (listening, reading, writing, speaking) in a CI manner. I always point to my experiences with Blaine Ray at my first TPRS workshop where I learned German and with Betsy Paskvan at two NTPRS conferences where I learned Japanese. The first hand experiential knowledge of CI is key, because you will understand how your own students feel in your classroom.

I have found that in my own experience that the more I learn about CI, the more I teach using it, and most importantly, the more I myself experience it, the deeper my knowledge of CI becomes. I hope the same for you too.

CI Sessions at the 2016 ACL Summer Institute

At this summer's American Classical League Summer Institute (the national conference for Latin teachers), there will be NINE CI-based/friendly presentations. This is up from four presentations last year! If you are a Latin teacher who is interested in CI, consider attending the 2016 ACL Summer Institute and checking out one (if not all!) of the following presentations.

6-hour PreInstitute Workshop

• Comprehensible Input Strategies: Scaffolding and Sequencing for the Latin Classroom - Keith Toda, Robert Patrick,  Rachel Ash

Regular Presentations

• Technology in the Comprehensible Input Latin Classroom: How to Go Beyond Kahoot - Keith Toda
• Let's Make a Story! ‐ Story‐Asking for the Comprehensible Input Classroom - John Bracey
• Hard Grammar? What Hard Grammar? Justin Bailey
• Comprehensible Consequences - Traci Dougherty
• Teaching Vocabulary with Movie Shorts - Rachel Ash
• Gradūs Parvī: Creating Tiered Readings for Any Level of Instruction - Kevin Ballestrini
• The Value of Writing in the Cl Classroom - Robert Patrick
• Teaching Latin with a Novel‐‐All Modes of Communication - Robert Patrick

If there are other CI presentations of which you know, please let me know so that I can add them to this list.

Camera Freeze Frame

If you are looking for a good 1.5 day project, this is a good one. Camera Freeze Frame is an activity which I learned from Carrie Toth at NTPRS a few years ago, and it is an extension of another activity which I had done in the past. Essentially, the basic idea is to give students a digital camera, with which they will take pictures which depict scenes from a particular story. These pictures can then be used as a matching activity (which scene is this from the story?) or as a digital storybook. Carrie Toth has taken this idea to a whole new level using the app Educreations.

The concept is still the same: give students a digital camera and have them depict scenes from a story which the class has been reading.

PreClass Directions:
As the teacher, you will need to do the following:

1. Pick out a short story which students will depict using pictures. I have found that the story should be no more than 9 sentences due to time restrictions.
2. Organize the class into groups of 6 (if possible). I preselected the groups myself based on student personality types so that there would be a mix.
3. Set up a Google Drive folder where students will deposit their pictures
4. Reserve digital cameras for the class. Each group will need a camera. I chose not for students to use their phones, because since they will upload their pictures to Google Drive, every student's phone is different which results in interface issues.
5. Reserve a few laptops so that multiple groups can upload their pictures at the same time.

Class Directions
Day 1

1. Go over your particular story to ensure that meaning has been established for all students. For this story, I did a choral reading and then played a round of Stultus.
2. Here are the directions which I handed out: Freeze Frame directions
3. Go over the directions with the class to ensure that all understand what they are.
4. Give the groups time to select student jobs and to begin to stage each scene.

Day 2

1. Give a digital camera to the photo taker in each group.
2. Give students a choice of props.
3. Set out 2-3 laptops around the room.
4. Each group will have 30-35 minutes to "shoot their scenes." 
5. When each group is finished, the photo taker will upload the pictures to his/her group's folder. 

Day 2 Post Class Directions

As the teacher, you will need to do the following:

1. Using Educreations,for each group, create a presentation by uploading each picture onto a slide. Because each picture has the sentence number in it, it is easy to put the pictures in order.
2. For each presentation, record your voice narrating each story. Add any graphics using the whiteboard function.

Day 3

1. Show each group's video to the class.

Observations

1. What a fun activity for students! This activity also ranks high on Bloom's Taxonomy, as it is a high-level critical thinking activity; students are creating their own meaning and interpretation of the story.
2. Students actually want to see each other's videos. Because they are all familiar with the story, students want to see how others interpreted the story.
3. In showing the video to students, you are getting in repetitions of the story, although students do not realize it. All students care about is watching the videos, but this is a VERY sneaky way to get into subconscious repetitions of vocabulary and of structures.

Here are some links to a few of the presentations which my students created (you will need Flash to view them):

1) Group 1
2) Group 2 
3) Group 3

Thanks again to Carrie Toth for this idea!

A Time for Change

I wanted to let you all know that I will be transferring schools next year. I have decided to leave Brookwood High School (where I am currently one of four Latin teachers) to go to Parkview High School (a school 10 minutes away from my current one). Bob Patrick, the department head, asked me to become the school's 5th Latin teacher there next year, and I have accepted. In August, I will join its current team of Latin teachers and will be teaching alongside Latin CI users Bob Patrick, Miriam Patrick, Rachel Ash, and Caroline Miklosovic. 

The big question which folks are asking is why. I wish I could give a better response than "It is time for a change," but that is indeed the truth. I wish I could say that I was mad, angered, or offended at my co-workers or administration, but that is far from the reality; they, in fact, are the reasons why I wanted to remain. Simply put, though, it is time. I have been at my school for 17 years (over 1/3 of my life!). My stay has run its course, and it is time to move on. 

Yes, the opportunity to work in a completely CI Latin program certainly was a HUGE motivator but not the sole reason. I am very much looking forward to working alongside Bob, Miriam, Rachel, and Caroline, as they have "untextbooked," and I am so ready to leave behind the textbook. One of the main draws for transferring was that they are teaching from CI Latin novellas, which they themselves have written. I also really want to teach the soon-to-be-published Latin version of Brandon Brown Wants a Dog! I have been waiting years for this book to come out, and nothing is going to stop me from teaching from it!

I am thankful for my time at Brookwood. Over the past 17 years, my administration has always been incredibly supportive of the Latin program. I came to Brookwood in the fall of 1999 as the 2nd Latin teacher, where the Latin enrollment was 225 students. Now in the spring of 2016, I have helped grow the program to now four Latin teachers and over 500 students enrolled in Latin. I know that I am leaving the Latin program in the very good hands of my three colleagues.

My goal for these final 3 months is to enjoy every moment left at Brookwood, even the bad ones. I am very grateful for what I have learned at my current school and am looking forward to what my new job will have to offer.