A Bit of Technology, a Lot of Language

I appreciate the benefits of using technology in the language classroom. However, I don't use technology for its own sake. Rather, there must be a strong linguistic purpose to support its use.

An opportunity to use music and technology to teach and reinforce language with my Twosies presented itself last week. The song I used is an authentic song, performed in Spanish by a group from Puerto Rico. Additionally, the song contains various reflexive verbs, which is the current grammar topic.

The students, donning headsets plugged into desktop computers, listened to the song. As they listened, they filled in the forms of the reflexive verbs they heard. The activity can be found here.

This activity worked for several reasons. First, the students were listening to a Spanish accent other than mine, which is a Puerto Rican accent. No matter how native-sounding I am, and I have been mistaken for a native Spanish speaker on numerous occasions, the students benefit from hearing Spanish being spoken by those for whom Spanish is their first language. Second, the students were exposed to cultural aspects of Puerto Rico via words and other artifacts in the song. Third, they had to recognize and supply the correct forms of the verbs they heard. Last, there was no fear of failure. If the students needed to hit the "replay" button, they could, and as many times as was necessary.

I will be using music and technology in similar ways in the weeks ahead.

Revision

Revision, also known as review - my colleagues across the Big Pond in England use the term, "revision" - is tricky in a foreign language class. While the students are in constant need of regular review and practice of previously-learned vocabulary and grammar structures, it can get pretty boring.

Therefore, I am always on the lookout for ways of making the old seem new.

Today included an additional wrinkle: The day before a two-week vacation.

So, following review of the homework, we did some review of previously-learned material. One of the activities we did, in fact, was collected from a website based in the UK called, Teachers TV. The activity is called, "Pass the Envelope." It is something along the order of musical chairs. Students pass an envelope containing whatever it is the teacher wants to review, while music plays in the background. To infuse some culture into the activity, I used a song by a group based in Puerto Rico. Today, we reviewed the preterite tense. The envelope contained sentences, in English, which the students had to translate into Spanish, using the correct form of the correct verb in the preterite. The students pass the envelope until the music stops. Whoever is holding the envelope when the music stops opens the envelope, pulls out a sentence strip, reads the sentence, and then translates it into Spanish.

The students seemed to enjoy it, and gained valuable review in the process. Additionally, it was the first time I used "Pass the Envelope", even though I created the activity about a year ago, but never used it.

The Real Challenge

The other day, a student in my Twosies class asked me the following question:

"Miss Profe, do you find it hard to plan different activities for our class?"

To which I answered, "No. Not the activities in and of themselves, but identifying and planning enough activities."

I thought that this was an insightful question, upon which I have reflected several times a day since it was originally posed to me. This is my answer:

As a language teacher, my main objective for students is communicating, and getting students to activate the four skills - listening, speaking, reading and writing. Sometimes we use the skills in isolation, but most of the time, we use the skills in combination: reading and writing, listening and speaking, reading and speaking, and, on occasion, all four in the same activity.

The activities I like to use the most are: student-created dialogues, pair/shares, dictations, student searches (also known as mixers), readings in the target language with comprehension questions in the target language, and translations - mostly English to Spanish, but also Spanish to English. I also like to use mini dry erase boards. I have begun to use a strategy where I pose a question in the target language, to which the student responds in kind.

I did the following with a crossword puzzle. Several years ago, I purchased authoring software, called Crossword Forge. With Crossword Forge, I can create puzzles and write the word clues in Spanish or English, depending on the objective. Today, the students reviewed reflexive verbs. Using clues in English, they had to identify the correct reflexive verb, then put the verb into the correct form. When they had completely filled in the crossword puzzle, they translated the sentence clues into Spanish.

What is this activity effective? The crossword puzzle aspect forces students to focus on form and spelling. The translation aspect gets them to activate prior learning.

So, planning and creating? The facets I enjoy the most. Filling an 85 minute block? Even after 15 years, this is what I find to be the most challenging.

How I Spent Valentine's Day 2009

What I did:

• Cleaned my oven. Not very romantic, but, it had to be done.
• Placed an online order with Victoria's Secret.
• Discovered two new websites.
• Got a brow wax.
• Got a luxury manicure and pedicure. We were treated to mini cupcakes, champagne, hot chocolate, and chocolate-covered strawberries.
• Took a nap.
• Spoke to my mother.
• Spoke to my sweetie.
• Enjoyed a small pepperoni pizza.
• Finished watching, "Three Burials for Melquiades Estrada."
• Watched two episodes of "Cops."
• Enjoyed a cup of hot tea with fresh lemon and honey.

A Loved One Leaves

My boyfriend left today. I am grieving.

He came to visit in late October - Halloween, to be exact - and stayed for about three months.

He was trying to find a job, but, I guess the market where I live is a lot tougher than we both anticipated.

Dear Boyfriend is a retired paramedic. He also served four years in the USAF, and later in the USAF Reserves.

He was called up to serve in Afghanistan after 9/11, and suffered injuries which prevented him from returning to his career as a paramedic.

He's very courageous, in so many ways. I cannot imagine having to follow another direction in my life, following a traumatic, life-changing event.

Today, he had to leave, and return home for awhile, to figure out what he's going to do. He's from the Northwest.

I miss him, very, very much, and look forward to seeing him again soon.