sábado, 23 de enero de 2010

New year goals for teaching/learning Spanish

I started a new job as a long-term sub teaching Spanish in a largish (1200 students) public school this month. As part of a warm-up activity my first day, I asked students to write their goals for Spanish class this semester. Most wrote what grade they wanted for the semester. One wrote that she wanted to learn some Spanish that she might remember, forever. I've been thinking about what my goals are, knowing that I have just under 6 months working with these students. It's easy to let the class become a series of grammar explanations, and exercises and games to practice translations, verb conjugations and understanding of vocabulary. I want to do more to share why I have spent so much time studying and using this language. Use more "real" language. Use a lot less English in the classroom. Start what can become a continued conversation for those students that want it. But it's hard when most of those students are focused on me as their evaluator and wanting a certain number on their report card.