For this course we were asked to submit three journals throughout the course of the block, each of which focusing on a different topic as a way to tracking our learning progress. Therefore, I figured what better way to demonstrate my learning from this course than to input my journal entries. Throughout the journals, you can see that I started off my learning with developing an understanding of why it is important to learn how to speak a second as well as to fully teach a second language, and then you can see my journey evolve into classroom practice, next steps, and further inquiry.
The Why Behind the Language
EDUC 351 Journal #1
So far, throughout this crash course of language learning, I have gained immense insight into not only how to learn and teach a second language, but also why. Second language classes in schools, whether they be elementary, secondary, or even post-secondary, often serve as something that students can optionally learn, regardless of their time spent practising. It is with purpose that students will begin to want to learn and retain the information. For students, it is imperative that they have reason behind their learning, otherwise it becomes redundant and is quickly forgotten. The Common European Framework of Reference states that
Statements of the aims and objectives of language learning and teaching should be based on an appreciation of the needs of learners and of society, on the tasks, activities and processes that the learners need to carry out in order to satisfy those needs, and on the competences and strategies they need to develop/build up in order to do so. (Council of Europe 2012).
The emphasis from the quote above is that the learning of a second language needs to come from a needs basis, as opposed to what most of our learners assume, which is simply a must. The difference, in my opinion, between a societal need and a curricular must, if explained to the students could entirely change their perspective on their learning and help encourage them to learn the content with purpose. Without purpose, students see much of their learning as a curricular must, meaning that they must learn the content simply because they are in school, and they feel as though they have to go through the motions and do what they are told. However, if the students can see that there is a societal need behind this new learning, they can begin to see how they can use the material in their day to day lives and how it can benefit them in the future with jobs, communication, travelling, and relationship building. The societal need that our students should recognize and be taught in their language learning is that there is so much more tied into language than vocabulary and grammar. Culture, traditions, history, expression, art, and so much more are forever entwined with language because while it can be translated, there is always emphasis lost due to the impact of a word being changed, or even parts of history changed during translation due to there not being word equivalence in the new language.
What I find most important to remember regarding teaching a second language to my elementary students is that there is a chance that they would not have had experience with learning a second language until grade 5, and by the time they are in grade 5 they are already beginning to go through life changes which often are accompanied with self-confidence issues, a desire to be popular, and other subject material that is increasing in difficulty or larger projects than they are used to. During this time in their lives, it is important for educators to remember that this new learning of a second language will cause the students to put themselves in awkward or uncomfortable positions as they stumbled through new vocabulary and unfamiliar sounds. Explaining the why to the students and playing language games in class should help break this ice and give the students reason behind their learning as a way of encouraging them to persevere.
Garbati and Mady (2015) also provide some teaching techniques that can provide our students with their why behind their learning in their article Oral Skill Development in Second Languages: A Review in Search of Best Practices. The step that could help students develop their reasoning for their learning is “C. Providing Authentic Encounters” (Garbati & Mady 2015) in which it suggests giving the students the opportunity to be enriched in the culture of the language they are studying and giving them real life opportunity to practice what they have learned. This experience will allow the students to see that there is purpose and place outside of the classroom for the language to be used as a form of self expression, and that there is so much more tied into the language than conjugating and grammar.
References
The Common European Framework of Reference: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. (2012). The Common European Framework of Reference. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847697318-002
Garbati, J. F., & Mady, C. J. (2015). Oral Skill Development in Second Languages: A Review in Search of Best Practices. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 5(9), 1763. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0509.01
Second Language Classroom Practice
EDUC 351 Journal #2
Last week’s assignment of constructing a lesson plan to teach a second language has had me thinking quite a lot about what my own classroom might look like, be managed, and the methodologies which may be present in the day-to-day teachings and activities. The main thing that I learned during this activity was that teaching and learning a second language requires a much more diverse and well-rounded classroom environment than any other subject because language is so intertwined with more aspects of life and is more easily integrated into our students every day lives and their communication. Communication is such a vital part of the human life: it enables us to learn, love, build connections and relationships, and survive.
By looking at my learning from the lesson plan, my thoughts then wander to think about what I would want to do in my own future classroom to support this second language learning environment and to ensure that my students are not only learning to speak a second language, but that they are also learning how to confidently communicate. An element of this course so far that has really interested me has been the Action-Oriented Approach because holistic instruction and assessment are strongly prevalent in my own developing pedagogy, and this form of instruction seems to fit in seamlessly. In my future classroom, the Action-Oriented Approach will recognize the students as the primary participants of the task or activity at hand and will hopefully be visible through speaking, listening, writing, or any other mode of communication between students. Instead of the classroom’s focus being on conjugating verbs, the main lesson of each day that we do French can be learning how to interact in a different social situation. With lessons like that, the conjugating, vocabulary, sentence structure, listening, speaking, and writing come along with it. This way they are learning the curriculum in a way that they can use, while avoiding busy work and rote memorization.
No learning block of the day is complete without a learning structure with routines and expectations. These are also huge factors in the classroom environment, and are another part of second language learning which it vital to the students ability to learn and to avoid roadblocks in their thinking. Routines that I would like to implement into my classroom would be music and time set aside for casual or personal conversation or writing. For music, I can see myself starting each class off with a song and asking the students to write down words that are new to them (playing the song first just to listen, and then writing down the new words while playing the song for the second time). Then, after listening to the song twice, students can raise their hands to express one word at a time that was new. From there, we can work together as a class to find the definition and then add the word to our Word Wall. Time set aside for casual social conversation or personal French writing is also important because it allows the students time to decompress, practice their new learning, and reflect on their day. This is likely how I would finish each learning block. Even if just for five minutes at the end of class students can play with the vocabulary without the pressure of being assessed or judged, their skills can begin to grow into something more conversational. This then leads me to another imperative factor that I would like to see in my future classroom: no fear of “failing”. It is so incredibly important to me that my students feel comfortable and at ease when playing with and trying out their newly learned language, therefore by not interrupting when they make an error and gentle correction at appropriate times, the students might be more willing to try. I have learned that community is ginormous when it comes to learning a second language, and hopefully this brainstorm will help me in my future classroom.
References
A Guide to Reflective Practice for Core French Teachers: The Action-Oriented Approach. (n.d.). French as a Second Language.
Second Language Assessment and Differentiation Strategies
EDUC 351 Journal #3
Assessment for second language learning follows many of the same markers as assessment for other subjects. For example, teachers would still conduct formative assessment to help scaffold the students as they learn, as well as summative assessment to determine what the students had learned. However, what I find to be different between assessment for second language learning are all the “smaller” or “unseen” parts of their learning that are often not found in other subjects, such as the ability to communicate (auditorily, orally, and written), the culture and history that is entwined with the language, or how second language learning is incredibly embedded in cross-curricular topics and can influence their learning in other subjects (or vice versa). Because learning a second language requires a much deeper learning that just rote memorization, the assessment strategies also need to take more time and effort and need to be completely understood by everyone involved.
Students should be involved in the co-creation of the summative assessment criteria because that way they develop a sense of ownership of their own learning as well as so that they fully understand what their goal is for practising and learning. When students help to co-create assessment criteria, they can each see their strengths and skills within the goal content, which would ultimately instill confidence in them because they can visualize themselves achieving whatever outcome they desire or are aiming for.
Co-creating assessment criteria also helps students understand and accept differentiation within the classroom because they can have a say in and see the different stages of learning and then work towards hitting the criteria that works for them. Differentiation in a second language learning classroom takes place in two places: the co-created criteria represents the students view of the work being done in the classroom and the teacher implements differentiation into the lesson planning itself so that the ability to move around in their learning is available to the students when they start, as opposed to everything having to be adapted after the learning has already begun to take place. The Differentiated Activity Worksheets by Languages for All: How to Support and Challenge Students in a Second Language Classroom could be used by teachers for both steps of the differentiation process (planning and assessing) by reviewing the different steps of an activity in which differentiation could be added to benefit the exceptional learners in the classroom, as well as when co-creating criteria with the students. If students can see that their product, process, or even content can look different than their classmates then they are much more likely to engage in a more personal learning experience.
In A Guide to Reflective Practice for Core French Teachers Module 5: Assessment and Evaluation, they state that teachers need to plan with the end in mind and to ensure that we are creating “Assessment tasks that are meaningful for students and through which they demonstrate what they can do in French are open-ended and involve them in constructing a response.” (FSL 7). They also list out three questions to keep in mind when assessing a second language that I will carry with me into my own future practice:
- “What do we want each student to learn?” (FSL 5) – Differentiation in content
- “How will we know when each student has learned it?” (FSL 5) – Differentiation in product
- “How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?” (FSL 5) – Differentiation in process
References
Arnett, K. (2013). Chapter 5: Phase 4 Support: Differentiated Activities. In Languages for All: How to Support and Challenge Students in a Second Language Classroom (pp. 109–142). essay, Pearson Canada Inc.
A Guide to Reflective Practice for Core French Teachers: Assessment and Evaluation. (n.d.). French as a Second Language.