Honoring Time: Strategy #2 Remembering the Formula
Strategy #2 Remembering the Formula
Time is not the only thing that students need in order to acquire language, but it is a vital part of the formula. It is easy to forget that it IS part of the formula because it will be different for each student. Because we, as teachers, have little to no control over Time, it has been easy for me to disregard it, to stop paying attention to it. I think that my students have suffered some because of that. I am not exactly sure HOW to honor Time, but through trial and error, observation and reflection (hence the blog!) I hope to discover ways to do so.
It is also easy, with TPRS, to downplay the role of time, because the power of TPRS is so immediately observable! It deceives us into feeling that it is all "downhill from here!" and that picking up speed is a natural part of the process. I need to fight that feeling!
Strategy #1 will be to remind myself to keep the long view...teach until the students embrace and/or acquire the language...regardless of the timetables imposed on us; to assume that EACH STUDENT WILL GET IT...in his/her own time and not one moment sooner.
Strategy #2 will be to remember the formula that I believe will create a successful environment for my students. My own formula is a compilation of other teachers' ideas and subject to change without apology. RICH (Repeated, Interesting, Comprehensible, Heart-Connected) Input + Personalization + Love + Time = SUCCESS.
I should probably break that down. Blaine Ray has often used the concept of Repeated, Interesting, Comprehensible Input in his program. I like to add Heart-Connected to the list. If the material in class (stories, conversations, activities, games, movies, songs, literature etc.) can connect with a student emotionally or spiritually, then the student is inexorably drawn in to the language being used.
Susie Gross has convinced me that Personalization is the absolute key to connecting with anyone, in any situation. Making people realize that they matter is a gift that we can all develop. It isn't that hard to do, but it requires intent...and it takes practice. Including students in as many ways as possible creates a relationship between the students and the teacher, and the students and the material. Those relationships are incredibly valuable.
Love is a variable that is difficult to identify in a few short sentences, but it is undeniably a part of any successful classroom. Whether or not you are religious, these (paraphrased) lines from Corinthians can transform a classroom environment: Love is patient, Love is kind, Love does not envy, Love does not boast. Love is not rude. Love is not self-seeking. Love is not easily angered. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Substitute the words "The teacher" for
the word "Love" in those lines and imagine the classroom that is the result.
What ties these three elements together is TIME. Time to process input, Time to develop a relationship, Time to identify and accept love. It all needs time to marinate within each individual student before the student is really ready to be transformed by a language.
Teaching without honoring Time can be like preparing the dough and never letting it rise. Still edible...but a bit flat. It can be hard to wait for the results .....but I think that it will be worth it.
with love,
Laurie
Time is not the only thing that students need in order to acquire language, but it is a vital part of the formula. It is easy to forget that it IS part of the formula because it will be different for each student. Because we, as teachers, have little to no control over Time, it has been easy for me to disregard it, to stop paying attention to it. I think that my students have suffered some because of that. I am not exactly sure HOW to honor Time, but through trial and error, observation and reflection (hence the blog!) I hope to discover ways to do so.
It is also easy, with TPRS, to downplay the role of time, because the power of TPRS is so immediately observable! It deceives us into feeling that it is all "downhill from here!" and that picking up speed is a natural part of the process. I need to fight that feeling!
Strategy #1 will be to remind myself to keep the long view...teach until the students embrace and/or acquire the language...regardless of the timetables imposed on us; to assume that EACH STUDENT WILL GET IT...in his/her own time and not one moment sooner.
Strategy #2 will be to remember the formula that I believe will create a successful environment for my students. My own formula is a compilation of other teachers' ideas and subject to change without apology. RICH (Repeated, Interesting, Comprehensible, Heart-Connected) Input + Personalization + Love + Time = SUCCESS.
I should probably break that down. Blaine Ray has often used the concept of Repeated, Interesting, Comprehensible Input in his program. I like to add Heart-Connected to the list. If the material in class (stories, conversations, activities, games, movies, songs, literature etc.) can connect with a student emotionally or spiritually, then the student is inexorably drawn in to the language being used.
Susie Gross has convinced me that Personalization is the absolute key to connecting with anyone, in any situation. Making people realize that they matter is a gift that we can all develop. It isn't that hard to do, but it requires intent...and it takes practice. Including students in as many ways as possible creates a relationship between the students and the teacher, and the students and the material. Those relationships are incredibly valuable.
Love is a variable that is difficult to identify in a few short sentences, but it is undeniably a part of any successful classroom. Whether or not you are religious, these (paraphrased) lines from Corinthians can transform a classroom environment: Love is patient, Love is kind, Love does not envy, Love does not boast. Love is not rude. Love is not self-seeking. Love is not easily angered. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Substitute the words "The teacher" for
the word "Love" in those lines and imagine the classroom that is the result.
What ties these three elements together is TIME. Time to process input, Time to develop a relationship, Time to identify and accept love. It all needs time to marinate within each individual student before the student is really ready to be transformed by a language.
Teaching without honoring Time can be like preparing the dough and never letting it rise. Still edible...but a bit flat. It can be hard to wait for the results .....but I think that it will be worth it.
with love,
Laurie
Thank you for beginning Hearts For Teaching. This is my 39th year of teaching French but I am always anxious at this time of year. Your words are inspiring to me. Merci.
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Dear Margaret,
Thank you so much for writing. As you can see, I get anxious this time of year too. Please keep in touch. I hope that you have many wonderful moments this school year.
with love,
Laurie
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