Meagan Geer's Blog 3
I truly enjoyed working with the teacher I interviewed, and I believe this experience has enriched my understanding of what it means and looks like to work with a class full of English language learners. The teacher I interviewed was able to give me a lot of insight about the challenges of teaching students who are learning to become proficient in English, and he highlighted a few things we have discovered in our texts. One thing I particularly liked that he mentioned was about the use of idioms and cultural references. He said that idioms should be avoided, but if they are used, they need to be explained. I found that this was an important point for him to make because I have experienced several different scenarios where a teacher has used an idiom, and it has left the students confused. Upon reflection, I can think of times where I have used a saying to which I thought was quite common, but in reality it was an idiom or a cultural reference that others could not follow. This i...
Thank you for sharing your story Meagan! It's interesting to consider your experience with Spanish classes being taken from you in the sense that you probably weren't able to enjoy learning the language too much because of the discipline issues in your classroom and the consequences for the misbehavior. I believe one of the most enjoyable things about learning a new language is being able to interact with the language and use consistently, which is not something you can do if you're just doing worksheets. As teachers, when you have a classroom of children with a lack of intellectual development and short attention spans it becomes harder to gain control of the classroom. In this case it becomes more important to develop some guidelines similar to the ones provided in the text, in the case of enticing the children to learn and inherit the language into their long-term memory repetition is vital, but not in a form that is boring for students, as teachers we need to find creative ways of implementing methods like repetition in a appealing way in the classroom (Brown & Lee 2015). I believe it's sometimes easy to forget this mindset in a system where teachers constantly have to meet set regulations on the curriculum for summative test but it we must retain in our mindset the importance of this to encourage students to thrive.
ReplyDeleteBrown, D. and Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by Principles. White Plains:Pearson-
Longman, 4th. Ed.
Hello Carla! Your opening statement really got me thinking that in a way… you are right. My experiences learning Spanish were often taken away from me as well as my other classmates. I had never really thought of it that way before now. It makes me realize how important it is to provide as much practice as possible. While some days, worksheets may have seemed like the best way to get the class to work and be quiet. I think providing more opportunities to use the language would’ve solved the issues of talking.
DeleteHi Meagan!
ReplyDeleteI loved learning about your background and your journey with trying to learn Spanish. I was in a similar position as you with your Spanish class. Many of the students were not engrossed in the subject and would instead play around and not pay attention or choose to learn. These types of classes seemed to be run by teacher-centered instruction. As these types of classes composed of the teacher being the authority figure in class instead of feeling like a community, it was often hard to feel very involved (Brown & Lee, 2015, p. 45). At least this was what it felt for me and my relationship with my past Spanish teachers. I also went through many worksheets that I felt were not benefiting my learning in speech. I feel like one learns the best when they have to apply it with speech and authentic examples that one can relate to real-life situations. Learning a second-language can be fun, but it is difficult without the proper instruction. Thanks for sharing about your experience!
Hi Jennie! I love what you have said here! I feel like it applies so much to my own experiences. It is so true that the classes were often run by teacher centered instruction. Between the two Spanish classes I took in high school, I cannot say my classrooms felt like communities. I am so happy you brought up community because I feel like it is an important aspect to include in the classroom. It is also something I meant to include in my personal teaching philosophy!
DeleteHey Meagan! I loved watching your video and learning more about you. It is a funny coincidence that you went to Puerto Rico this year, and the fact that I have so many extended family members there. It is truly such a beautiful place. It seems like you learned the majority of your Spanish the way most of us do, through the grammar-translation approach (Brown, pg. 36-37). I was in a class that did work with Spanish songs and poems, and I found it to be very beneficial in connecting the material with the real world. Although it does greatly help to memorize certain parts of the language, it is even better to truly learn the language and how to thoroughly process the language. I definitely agree that our role as a teacher is more than just being a facilitator. All students learn in different ways, so it is crucial that we use these differences between us to our benefit. We should our differences to bring us together.
ReplyDeleteHey Briana! I loved that I was able to connect with you through our experiences with Puerto Rico as well as our relations with learning language through family and interaction. I agree with your statement about how it is even better to be able to learn a language as well as how to process that language. I would have loved to have been in a class where we would have sung songs and poems because I feel like that would’ve been a great way to help retain certain information. I love that you agreed that we as educators are not strictly facilitators.
DeleteHi Meagan!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed watching your video and getting to know you more, as well as your experiences with language and culture. I think it is unfortunate that your mother stopped using the Spanish language after your grandma's passing. I think with the early exposure to the language through the speech around you and through the T.V., you could have probably been more fluent in the language had your exposure to the language continued. Coming from personal experience, English is my second language and Vietnamese is my first. I think that although learning English was hard at first, it came easier with time and practice and especially because I was at a young age when learning the language. I think that learning a new language at a young age is easier than learning at an older age because childhood is a critical period for language learning. I also share similar stories with you in that there were a lot of behavioral incidences in which we were also punished with worksheet after worksheet. The teacher almost seemed like she was moreover controlling us, rather than getting us to learn as a community and collaborate with one another (Brown & Lee, 2015, pg. 36). This, in turn, hindered our learning and our potential to learn the language to the best of our abilities. In conclusion, I think you made a very strong argument for how you think second and foreign languages are best learned. I agree that practicing it in many different forms, as well as being immersed in the language you are trying to learn will really make an impact on the knowledge you build.
Hi Jenny! I love that you shared your own experiences with language being that English is the second language you learned growing up. It is so unfortunate that we had similar experiences in school with our foreign language classes. It is such a shame when students are punished with worksheets because there are not any opportunities for the students to interact with the language. I particularly like your closing statement when you say “being immersed in the language you are trying to learn will really make an impact on the knowledge you build”.
DeleteHey Meagan! I loved your video. I did not know that you were born in San Antonio. I loved seeing your family pictures. I too know some Spanish but always get a bit nervous around others. I spoke a lot of Spanish around my great-grand mother and after her passing I stopped. I feel like we have similar language paths. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Desiree! I am glad I was able to surprise you. I love that you were able to share your feelings about speaking in another language, particularly being Spanish, because I share some of your nerves. When I am around other Spanish speakers sometimes I am approached using Spanish language. While sometimes I know how to respond in Spanish, I do not feel comfortable enough to because I do not practice hardly at all. I am sorry to hear about your grandmother’s passing, but I hope that this class encourages you to practice using Spanish when you can!
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ReplyDeleteHey Meagan! Nice to meet you. I think a lot of our classmates have so much in common! I have noticed that a lot of us as young children were aware of other languages being spoken in our families, but as soon as we are faced with public school it begins to be forgotten little by little. I think for this reason that elementary schools should all teach a second language and culture along with diversity to all of its students so that we do not lose our primary languages entirely. I too have forgotten a lot of Spanish and was really only exposed to it through tv shows if not through my family. I can imagine that when family members forget other languages, their children also miss out on it. However, there is not “a method for all” (Brown, Lee, pg. 40). Therefore it is important to keep searching for different ways to learn and retain knowledge of another language.
ReplyDeleteHi Valerie!
DeleteI totally agree with you about how when we are faced with public school, the language we speak at home slowly is being used less and forgotten as well. This has happened to me and Vietnamese. Now that I only use it with my grandmother or distant relatives, I have forgotten how to properly use the language. I love how you also included that we should keep searching for different ways to learn and retain knowledge of another language. I know there are lots of reasons why it is good to retain a language and I feel that being connected to your roots is one of the important ones. Being able to pass on your culture and language to your future children and family is such a wonderful experience and I hope to be able to share it one day. Thank you both for sharing!
Hello Valerie! My favorite point you made was about how public schools should include teachings of second language as well as culture! I can only imagine what great work, inspiration, and sense of community could come from integrating these two aspects into school. I was just telling one of the teachers at the school I’m student teaching at that I think students need to be exposed to more opportunities to learn about other languages and cultures. It will help them to understand and appreciate differences.
DeleteHi Meagan, You have a great video and I can tell you really put a lot of effort into it. Congrats on your student teaching and being a senior about to graduate! It seems that we have similar Spanish learning in school stories. I don't feel that I really learned much in the two years I took Spanish in high school. It felt that I was learning the basics and how to write. I wish that learning a second language was more informed in our education system because we do like in such a diverse country. We have people that come from so many different back grounds and cultures, and that speak many different languages. I too have friends that speak Spanish but they do use it at home too.Your photos of where you have traveled are absolutely beautiful. Learning is something I love to do, it can be difficult but there is so much to learn in this world. I appreciate you video, best of luck!
ReplyDeleteHi Kaylie! While it is comforting to know that I am not alone in my experiences, I am sorry that you also didn't have the best experiences with learning Spanish in high school. Learning a second language is oftentimes a difficult task, and adding a high school setting can make for a big mess. Teaching to the "inbetween" age group is rather difficult in itself. I love that you brought up the diversity of this country because it is true and apparent. Especially in the Greater Houston Area alone there is so much diversity, and it is important that we take classes like this one to really understand how to cater to such a diverse community of speakers.
DeleteI agree that classes like this are a great way to understand our diversity! We should have more classes like this to take to grasp the concept and understand of english as a second language for people. Sometimes english speakers get frustrated with others that can not speak or understand the language but they need to take the time to understand that they come from different backgrounds.
DeleteHi Meagan, great video! It was very upbeat and engaging. I felt like I actually got a feel for your education when it came to language. I hope that you get to travel a lot more… your pictures were beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHi Meagan!
ReplyDeleteI really liked that your lovely video showed some pictures of your family. I understand what you have encountered when learning Spanish because I experience something very similar. I felt like the two years of foreign language was just there to let us have an exposure to the different languages and cultures out there. I know that learning the basics is important, but I think the way it was delivered to us could have been better. I was personally taught through the Grammar Translation Method, which wasn’t that helpful enough for me to fully retain it in my long-term memory. Thanks for sharing your journey with us!