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Rosalie - Bienvenidos a el Spanish Chat. I am your host Rosalie.
papucha - hi roalie...this is the first time that i've made it to the chat!
papucha - I am very interested in talking about advanced Spanish at the high school level
Rosalie - hola
Rosalie - What is your question?
papucha - Saludos de Fort Wayne Indiana...do you know of any advanced immersion courses currently being used for immersion students?
Rosalie - I teach Elementary Spanish but I'm a native speaker and I have tutored at the college level, so I'm sure I can help you with any questions that you might have or any ideas that you might need.
papucha - How do I actively engage my students in SPEAKING...they are very capable and I've tried to encourage them with points but to no avail.
Rosalie - no, I don't know of any immersion courses.
Rosalie - what are your topics?
Rosalie - What do you have to cover this year?
papucha - Topics range from what is going on in the lessons to what I think they might find interesting.
Rosalie - Ok, so what topics are covered in the lessons?
papucha - I will be covering 4th year materials...but I need to spice them up.
Rosalie - I need some of your topics to give you some examples and ideas to use in your classroom. Do you know what TPR is?
papucha - Example topics...Cuando eran ninos...Que hicieron ayer/el ano pasado...
Rosalie - Ok, but not every 4th year is the same. Each district designs their own curriculum or uses the topics from the book that they use.
papucha - I'm familiar with TPR but have not been trained as such...I use alot of gestures and exaggerations in my communication
papucha - Correct...the 4th year level deals with what is going on around us...locally and globally.
Rosalie - Ok, well for the "Cuando eran ninos", students can create their own scrapbooks with pictures from their childhood, with headins under each picture. Students can turn the scrapbooks into storybooks of their childhood and share them in class. Also, do you have computers in the classroom?
papucha - only one computer in the classroom...but we have a computer lab that is available.
Rosalie - We have IMacs at our school, and we had a workshop during staff dev. on how to make IMovies. Your students can use AV equipment from the Media Center and make home movies about themselves and add a narration in Spanish. Maybe have them work in groups.
papucha - The real question is getting students to talk at ALL times in Spanish. They have been immersed in Spanish since kindergarten so the vocabulary is there. How can I enourage them DAILY to speak only in Spanish in the classroom??
Rosalie - Making IMovies for example is very, very easy. Students can edit their movies easily, and add music, etc. Not to mention the tie in to technology.
papucha - Good ideas...I'll talk to our tech expert at school. Thanks for the suggestion!
Rosalie - Well. I understand your concern, but if you offer activities where students can use their vocab. in Spanish, your students will speak in Spanish all the time. The porblem is, they probably don't feel comfortable yet speaking in Spanish because they are afraid of making a mistake or of being judged.
Rosalie - Same thing happens to my students. Now, they can ask questions in Spanish, for example, If you like carrots?
Rosalie - They can also expresss\ their likes and dislikes, give the date, describe things by giving its name in Spanish and telling what color it is, etc.
papucha - True...but these students are capable of living in a SPANISH speaking environment...I am not a big grammar fanatic...I do correct but inconspicously.
Rosalie - Something that my students loved last year was tp put on a talk show in class, we had celebrity guests, and everything. They were able to use their vocab. to ask questions and what they didn't know how to say they looked up becuase they were so eager to talk.
papucha - The idea is that the students use their language skills freely...they don't get points off for using it incorrectly but rather points off if they don't use it.
papucha - Next question...do you know of any research that supports the "traditional" schedule vs. the blcok schedule?
Rosalie - I know, I'm not either but my students tell me that they are afraid of saying something wrong in front of me. But now that they see how much fun learning Spanish can be and how easy it is to learn new words and use them, they are starting to loosen up.
Rosalie - Before I answer your next question, one of our Spanish teachers uses this idea, whenever she needs to group kids for an activity, she has them introduce themselves and say please to meet you in Spanish.
Rosalie - The traditional classroom can be just as effective as block scheduling.
papucha - I'm in a block 8 system (where you meet with 4 classes daily with a total of 8 classes and only see them every other day for an hour and a half.only
papucha - I'm finding that with the block system there isn't enough constance in meeting with the students.
Rosalie - I can't remember any research that supports this off the top of my head right now.
papucha - Do you teach in an immersion program?
Rosalie - I teach at the Elmentary level, 4th grade and I see my kids for 15 mins. every day. Some teachers want to change it to 2 days per week for about 40 mins. but I don't think that would work. Our program works because of the repetiveness of our material in creative ways throughout the week to reinforce our lessons. Meeting with our students daily even for a short period of time offers us a chance to reinforce what we have taught them.
papucha - Do you know of any Spanish Master's programs that can be completed via internet or long distance?
papucha - I agree with your method of teaching daily...students retain more and look forward to the "short" moments they have!
Rosalie - I have an article at school come to think of it that my supervisor gave me. I belive it's from the New Jersey State Department of Education (I teach in NJ). I remember a part of it discussing what types of World Language Programs are most effective but I can't remember if they discussed High School as well as Elementart. Check the NJ Dept. of ED. website if you need it right away.
papucha - thanks...i'll check it out later tonight!
Rosalie - If I can get back to you with that information, I might have some info. at school. I speak Spanish (native speaker) and I graduated with a double major in Elem. ed. and Spanish, so I want to complete a Master's in another field, like Reading.
Rosalie - So, I haven't really looked into Spanish Master's Programs.
papucha - I'd really appreciate it...here in Indiana it is very difficult to get and impossible via long distance or internet. My email is toiyonna.arias@fwcs.k12.in.us
papucha - Thanks for your suggestions. I'll try them out after Christmas break. De donde es usted?
papucha - No soy latina pero me case con un tico...extrano mucho a mi segundo patria!
Rosalie - Naci en Nueva York, pero mi familia es de Puerto Rico y de la Republica Dominicana.
Rosalie - lo siento, un tico?
papucha - Oops...supongo que hubiera puesto mi direccion en privado...es costarricense!
papucha - Estoy planeando un viaje con estudiantes a Costa Rica para el verano de 2002...tiene usted alguna surgerencia de compania con quien puedo viajar?
Rosalie - No, lo siento porque yo enseno a 4 grado (elementario) en Nuieva Jersey, y no puedo viajar con mis estudiantes.
papucha - Bueno...mucho gusto en conocerla...espero que no haya demasiado nieve alla...creo que manana no tendremos clases por tanto nieve y hielo. Buenas noches!
Rosalie - Buenas noches. Aqui no tenemos nada de nieve. Solamente viento fuerte y mucha lluvia. Hoy subio a 63, y eso es un milagro. Ya esta bajando y esta hace mas frio pero no como alla. Aqui esta como 40 o algo haci.
Rosalie - Good night everyone and thank you for coming to the SPanish Chat. Unfortunately though, not enough people have been taking advantage of the Spanish Chats so they will be cancelled until further notice. If you want the Spanish Chat back, please e-mail T-Net. Thanks, Happy Holidays and Goodnight!!! =-)
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