Speech: Slow, Sweet and Savory
I had the privilege today to work with the teachers in the Camden School District. We talked about a number of topics, including the challenges that we encounter as we try to understand and incorporate TPRS skills into our teaching.
One of our greatest challenges is to go slowly enough. One of the reasons that we feel so uncomfortable is that we still hear those teacher voices in our heads saying, "Expose your students to a natural rate of speech!!! Going slow is not realistic!! How will they ever understand a native speaker? This is wrong!"
Sigh. My old beliefs often haunt me. Maybe yours do too. It is true that the rate of speech that we know we need to use with our students in the classroom is not "native." But the truth is that using an approach based on Comprehensible Input works differently. In CI-based instruction, when we speak to our students in the target language, we are not trying to produce language so that our students can GET USED TO IT.
We are trying to produce language that will fire up connecting synapses and allow the brain to weave input into a net that will capture the patterns, cadences, tones and rhythms of the language.
In order for that to happen, we must slow down. We must.
Even hen I "get right" with that concept, I am sometimes still troubled with the rate of speech. Or at least with my perception of it. It sounds, in my own head, like I am speaking to someone with bad cell phone service or like someone I think is a bit dim!! Or, even worse, I sound like Dory in Finding Nemo trying to speak to the whale! Hooooooooollllllllaaaaaaaa. Meeeeee llllllaaaaaammmmoooooo Doooooorrrryyyy.
The Camden group and I were trying to figure out why our TPRS heroes don't sound like that to us.
When I am the student, I am concentrating on the comprehensibility of the language. I care about what it means, not what the teacher sounds like saying it. The only way the rate of language used affects me is if tthe teacher is speaking too fast and I cannot follow it. I don't remember EVER thinking...gee this presenter is going too slowly. Ever.
I also think that there is a sweet little secret in the delivery. When our TPRS heroes speak for acquisition, they speak as if they are living completely and deeply IN THE MOMENT WITH THE STUDENTS. As if what they are finding out from the students is fascinating and profound. There is this sense of SAVORING every syllable of delectable information discovered and shared. As if the language, and the information shared with that language, is incredibly delicious.
I am not sure how to make that happen when I am teaching, but I have a plan. (Remember Napoleon Hill...Desire, Plan, Begin!) In my head I am going to insert the phrase...How cool is that?! ....as often as I can.
Take the sentence we were talking about in Camden this afternoon: Dylan lives in a red house.
Dylan lives in a red house. (How cool is that?! )
Dylan (How cool is that?!) lives in (How cool is that?!) a red house (How cool is that?!)
Dylan lives (How cool is that?!)in (How cool is that?!) a red house (How cool is that?!)
Maybe it will work. It's worth a try. I might have to try a few different phrases before I get better (and more comfortable) with the delivery. (I talk to myself all the time so this might work really well!!)
Dylan lives in a red house. (Yuuuuummmmmm))
Dylan (Can you believe it ?) lives in (Wow) a red house (That is so cool)
Dylan lives (I love that idea) in (mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm good) a red house (Incredible)
Acquiring TPRS skills really is like acquiring a language. It is hard to do on your own, in a vacuum. Observing other teachers and attending conferences gives us the input, and the modeling, that we need to fire up our own synapses. In person, on DVD or via Skype....we need the connection and the interaction with each other as much as our students need the interaction with us. (Thank you Camden folks for today's opportunity!)
with love,
Laurie
One of our greatest challenges is to go slowly enough. One of the reasons that we feel so uncomfortable is that we still hear those teacher voices in our heads saying, "Expose your students to a natural rate of speech!!! Going slow is not realistic!! How will they ever understand a native speaker? This is wrong!"
Sigh. My old beliefs often haunt me. Maybe yours do too. It is true that the rate of speech that we know we need to use with our students in the classroom is not "native." But the truth is that using an approach based on Comprehensible Input works differently. In CI-based instruction, when we speak to our students in the target language, we are not trying to produce language so that our students can GET USED TO IT.
We are trying to produce language that will fire up connecting synapses and allow the brain to weave input into a net that will capture the patterns, cadences, tones and rhythms of the language.
In order for that to happen, we must slow down. We must.
Even hen I "get right" with that concept, I am sometimes still troubled with the rate of speech. Or at least with my perception of it. It sounds, in my own head, like I am speaking to someone with bad cell phone service or like someone I think is a bit dim!! Or, even worse, I sound like Dory in Finding Nemo trying to speak to the whale! Hooooooooollllllllaaaaaaaa. Meeeeee llllllaaaaaammmmoooooo Doooooorrrryyyy.
The Camden group and I were trying to figure out why our TPRS heroes don't sound like that to us.
When I am the student, I am concentrating on the comprehensibility of the language. I care about what it means, not what the teacher sounds like saying it. The only way the rate of language used affects me is if tthe teacher is speaking too fast and I cannot follow it. I don't remember EVER thinking...gee this presenter is going too slowly. Ever.
I also think that there is a sweet little secret in the delivery. When our TPRS heroes speak for acquisition, they speak as if they are living completely and deeply IN THE MOMENT WITH THE STUDENTS. As if what they are finding out from the students is fascinating and profound. There is this sense of SAVORING every syllable of delectable information discovered and shared. As if the language, and the information shared with that language, is incredibly delicious.
I am not sure how to make that happen when I am teaching, but I have a plan. (Remember Napoleon Hill...Desire, Plan, Begin!) In my head I am going to insert the phrase...How cool is that?! ....as often as I can.
Take the sentence we were talking about in Camden this afternoon: Dylan lives in a red house.
Dylan lives in a red house. (How cool is that?! )
Dylan (How cool is that?!) lives in (How cool is that?!) a red house (How cool is that?!)
Dylan lives (How cool is that?!)in (How cool is that?!) a red house (How cool is that?!)
Maybe it will work. It's worth a try. I might have to try a few different phrases before I get better (and more comfortable) with the delivery. (I talk to myself all the time so this might work really well!!)
Dylan lives in a red house. (Yuuuuummmmmm))
Dylan (Can you believe it ?) lives in (Wow) a red house (That is so cool)
Dylan lives (I love that idea) in (mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm good) a red house (Incredible)
Acquiring TPRS skills really is like acquiring a language. It is hard to do on your own, in a vacuum. Observing other teachers and attending conferences gives us the input, and the modeling, that we need to fire up our own synapses. In person, on DVD or via Skype....we need the connection and the interaction with each other as much as our students need the interaction with us. (Thank you Camden folks for today's opportunity!)
with love,
Laurie
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