* Eyes, ears and brain on where the teacher has directed attention (the teacher, actors, a picture, a phrase, a reading)
* A signal when the student does not understand what is being communicated.
* A response when and how the teacher has indicated. This may be verbal or physical.
Required of the teacher:
* A clear explanation of the above and repeated reminders as necessary in a clear but kind manner.
* Honoring and celebrating when individuals or classes do the above.
* Clear, comprehensible TL during the lesson.
* Clear preparation of what responses are required and when.
* Consistent use of the gestures/indicators that have been taught as the lesson is orchestrated. (yes..pun intended)
A number of folks have great rules posted in their classrooms for students.These teachers teach the rules and use the rules. These work best when the teachers think about the needs of their own students and adjust/add rules as necessary. Some of these include (wording may vary):
Clear eyes on the teacher.
Listen and respond.
No language that isn’t part of the interaction.
Try to stay in (insert TL here)
The expectations are simple to state ….but involve scaffolded training and practice to use. The behavior of students according to these rules will also DIFFER from class to class, level to level and teacher to teacher.
Dialogue with teachers will help each of us to create the best wording and usage with our own students.
Now…these are the rules/expectations for the LESSON.
Rules/expectations for other classroom activities may differ.
(see the next post…if you’ve made it this far…)
What we, as teachers, need to think about, and add, bit by bit, step by step as we continue on down the road as CI teachers is what responses are needed from the class, how to teach them, how to elicit them and how to celebrate them. So much to think about…
What you see here is a compilation of comments from the MORETPRS listserv, TPRStalks, Ben Slavic’s blog, observations of other teachers and my own thoughts. I cannot stress enough how timely and important Sara’s question is for us as individual teachers this time of year AND in this season of language education as more and more teachers become interested in using
Comprehensible Input with their students. Teri has mentioned that we are getting closer to a critical mass of CI teachers and she is right. This issue of rules/expectations is crucial if we are to help teachers become CI teachers.
It is crucial if we are to convince departments to become CI departments.
Several of you expressed this so well: We need rules and we need expectations for our students in order to create an atmosphere that does the following:
a. allows and encourages each student to feel physically and emotionally safe, as a student and as a person.
b. allows the teacher to conduct the class and accomplish whatever leadership duties are important to the running of a safe school.
c. provides the maximum possible amount of Comprehensible Input each time the class meets.
d. facilitates both spontaneous and controlled interaction as often as possible.
When a teacher is first exploring the use of TPRS in the classroom, the conditions above are extremely beneficial, in fact nearly requisite, in order for successful CI based lessons to occur. The problem is that presenters are so often naturally gifted or extraordinarily experienced at creating these conditions. Not to mention the fact that the class during a presentation is made up of attentive language teachers!! (well…not always, but that is another story!)
There is also so much to see and take in, that when we first are starting out that we often only focus on what we the teachers should do in order to make a CI lesson happen. We have to figure out what story-asking looks like, how to make circling really happen, how to elicit responses, what to do with them when we get them, how to PQA, what to do with reading, how to work it in with what we already do…etc. etc. etc.
A piece has been missing and Sara has just pointed it out quite clearly.
Question #1: HOW DO WE TRAIN OUR STUDENTS TO BE TPRS STUDENTS?
a. They need to understand that a CI lesson is an INTERACTIVE lesson.
Many of them have never seen one…or haven’t since kindergarten….Here is a sample script:
“I am going to do or say something that will encourage your brain to acquire (insert L2 here). I will make it clear if one or all of you will respond, and what you should do in response.”
And then we have to live up to that promise. It will take a little time, but when it is clearly outlined, and clearly executed, with love and patience, it is nearly flawless.
Many of you know that I use the analogy of an orchestra with my students. The class is the orchestra. I am the Maestro. I will indicate if the entire orchestra is responding, one section, or if there is a soloist. If I don’t, there will be mess of noise. The students will attempt to play with insufficient guidance until one by one the give up drift into their own little conversations and activities.
You can follow Carol Gaab’s model on this. She clearly gestures exactly when she wants the response to happen so that wait/think time occurs. She may use a prop or a hand signal. Her entire body is poised and alert and frozen signalling “Wait for it, wait for it…NOW!” and the class responds.
You can follow Blaine’s model on this as well. Blaine’s signal is verbal…”Clase”….precedes the question and the entire class responds. “Princesa”…precedes the question and the class knows that Princesa will be responding. He inserts one individual response in sea of class responses and they know that they need to pay attention. If he doesn’t get the response that he wants, he lovingly chides them by saying, “Claaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase” with the occasional “Es obvio” and the class/orchestra is brought back in to play.
Teach.
Practice.
Reteach as necessary.
Not language: expectations and behavior.
In a CI classroom, language is acquired and behavior is learned.
The good news is that many of us have had years of experience in how to get kids to learn. All of the skills that we thought we helping them w/ language we can now use in order to help them learn the behaviors that they need in our rooms in order to be able to interact with us and with the language in order to acquire it.
So, for a CI-based lesson, whether it centers around PQA,discussion, story-asking or reading, our students must learn how to interact. We must teach them what is required, require what is required, and reteach when they are not giving us what is required.
The final piece of the puzzle is to continually focus on my students as people who are acquiring language, not students fulfilling requirements under my watch. I do not need to know all of the personal details of their lives, but I do try to remember that they have lives. In a few short years, they will be out in the world working with my future grandchildren, helping my generation to pay for retirement, defending our country, earning a living and each of them already affects a world of folks around them.
I try to remember to ….
Treat each student as if he or she has the potential to change the world.
Because they all do.
I’m not sure that that answers all of Laura’s questions, or yours…so keep in touch.
In the last 5 years I have required less and less homework…and instead grade all in-class assigments.
Inspired by research and exhausted by the battles which always seem to accompany homework, I have chosen to actively and clearly offer as little as possible. When I give homework (usually one day per week if it is a 5 day week) I make sure that it is accessible from the Internet and easy to do without help.
My students have NOT learned nor acquired any less. In fact, they spend MORE time outside of class using Spanish. They actively listen to music and watch programs in Spanish or read online in Spanish because it interests them. Yes…even in my little rural district. Parents often report siblings speaking to each other in Spanish at home.
By de-emphasizing homework I have eliminated several things:
a) an ENORMOUS battleground where no one ever won a battle nor a war.
b) frustration over who did it and who didn’t.
d) students entering class a failure before class even starts.
I can also frequently remind students that when we use class time well, I can continue to keep homework to a minimum.
Now, before TPRS, this really didn’t seem possible. What progress students made, they made because of the ‘memorization’ that took place via those assignments. Homework really appeared to make the biggest difference in gains.
With TPRS, those output activities are just a little decorative icing on the cake. A little goes a long way. It may go “against’ the “traditional” approach….but it has been working for my students for over a decade, so I’m sticking with it!
A reader asked a number of great questions on a post where I wrote about NOT using participation points. I will try to address some of them here.
How do you get there?
Which system do you have that replaces participation points that works?
How do you deal with discipline (attitude, absences, English)?
Which is the social contract you have with your students and parents?
How did you reach this social contract?
How do you enforce the rules that make daily living (la convivencia) possible?
Below is the contract that I created to address these issues. When I have an administration that requires a signature, I’ll collect that. Our Dean of Students and Principal have a copy. A copy is on my website and a copy is sent home to parents.
The key to this, however, is taking time the first week of school to address each point below:
Your Rights and Responsibilities
1. You have a right to be treated as an individual who interesting, capable, and important.
You have a responsibility to treat others the same way.
2. You have the right to a positive learning environment every day.
You have the responsibility to learn and accomplish something positive every day.
3. You have the right to be informed about the academic and personal goals of this course and your progress towards
those goals.
You have the responsibility to complete the class work and homework designed to help you achieve these goals and to monitor your progress.
4. You have the right to communicate with me in a respectful and appropriate manner about issues that affect you in class or in this building.
You have the responsibility to communicate with me whenever you have a problem, question, or concern about issues in this class, or your achievement in this class.
You have the responsibility to communicate if you, or anyone else, is in danger of physical or emotional harm.
These are posted in the room and referred to as necessary. We address them as “new information”, one per day the first week…IN ENGLISH…along with any number of team-building and get-to-know-you activities in Spanish.
I address infractions to the above immediately and directly…although not always publicly. A one-to-one conversation often goes a long way. The first two are the most important. As the teacher,
I have the final say if there is disagreement on what kind of behavior falls “outside of the lines”. I briefly mention and discuss “boundaries” so that students understand that there is a need to have lines drawn for appropriate/inappropriate behavior.
What we allow, we encourage.
The first few weeks with a new teacher, it is the students’ job to find out exactly what that teacher will allow. For example: talking when the teacher is talking, writing on other students and/or their belongings/desks etc., arriving late to class, not engaging in class activities, pretending to not know anything, sarcasm, mean remarks, making fun of others, inappropriate clothing, not doing homework, passing notes, texting, eating and drinking in class………………………………………..
I don’t take it personally when students test the boundaries. As adolescents, that is what they are wired to do. They want to know how I will handle trouble when it comes. They need to know that they can trust me to keep the classroom a safe place. Ironically, it is the “troublemakers” that need to know this the most. Many of them are extremely bright and knowing where the boundaries are is how they function. Many of them have learned survival skills outside of the classroom and want to know from the beginning which of those skills they will need to survive this venue. Some of them have a reputation to uphold. If I am consistent about the rules, their classmates will not look to them to act up. If I am NOT consistent, then it becomes their role to see what I’ll be like today. They learn by watching adults….and each other. Adults who are inconsistent become playthings and entertainment. I let them know up front that we have other things to do.
So…Step 1: The Rules and Responsibilities
Step 2: Identify the Boundaries and Stand Firm
Step 3: Offer the Better Option….Calmly.
Step 4: “Conduct” the Class
I tell students that this class is much like a band/chorus/orchestra and I’m the Maestro. I literally “conduct” the class. They need to follow my words, facial expressions, gesture etc. and respond appropriately. The first piece we learn is the “Signal” (check out the post below)
I take my job as Maestro seriously and choose my activities (pieces) carefully based upon the strengths, interests and abilities of the students. From Day 1, I make it clear that I have chosen everything for THEM. Not because it is next in the book, what the other classes are doing, I think it’s cool, it makes me look good or another group liked it. For THEM. I choose activities which I know that my students will enjoy and will be successful at.
Every day for the rest of the year, I keep those rules and responsibilities in mind. I know that we will need to review them regularly.