While data and proficiency ratings mean a lot to me (and my district), they do not necessarily thrill students. It’s that time of year when students are preparing for finals (we’re on trimester schedule) and most are tired of tests, a little burnt out, and pressured about grades. I have had most of my students all year and I really want them to see much they learned this year before they finish up level one!
How do we (and most classes) measure progress? Assessments!
Since most students take Spanish to actually learn how to speak I think it is really important to practice and measure just that. I’m not saying it is easy or a quick task. Assessing interpersonal skills takes time and patience but it shows the students’ true proficiency – and that is important.
As much as I don’t want to admit it (sniff, sniff)… they are NOT as pumped to talk to me 1 on 1. They do it everyday and I’m old news! So how could get my students ready for interpersonal assessments?
I was brainstorming about how to make speaking more “real” when a friend, who teaches across the hall, got the ball rolling. She suggested I borrow some of her Spanish-speaking students. So that’s just what I did. I brought in the big guns…
Since I don’t teach native Spanish-speakers I didn’t even know they were right there – right outside my classroom! When my students came into class I told them it was time to test their speaking skills. They groaned. Not another test! Then I told them we had “guests” joining us and they had to have a 5 minute conversation with them – NO PHONES and NO ENGLISH. Now I had their attention. Their first questions were… “Is it Shakira?” and “Are they young like us?”
I gave them 10 minutes to get into groups of three and plan and prepare for the task. I’ve never seen anyone work so hard. Why? Because THIS mattered to them. This was a REAL test.
I set up three small groupings of chairs in the hallway, set the timer, and sent the small groups out to chat. It was awkward and nervous and maybe the best practice ever!
After their conversation, they came back in the classroom and laughed about their mistakes and got ready for the next round. Oh, to have second chances! We all need them! Afterwards I asked them to reflect on the conversation and most said “We should do that more often.” I agree!
This was my New Year’s resolution – to bring in guest speakers. I was originally planning to get a few of my Hispanic friends to Skype or visit somehow. I didn’t need to though. I’m lucky to work with great teachers who are glad to help each other. This trimester I have had 6 latinos (3 Mexican, 1 Spanish, 1 Peruvian, and 1 Cuban) from three different classes in to talk to my students. They were glad to “help” and gave my students the kind of test they really needed!
You’ve inspired me for today!
You’ve inspired me — again!
Ditto! You’ve inspired me again! (I needed that just about now) Gracias
So cool! Wish I had Hispanics in my school that I could pull for something like that.
This is a great idea! When you say it was a test, does that mean that you assessed them somehow? What did you do with the kids who weren’t doing the speaking? Were you in the room with them or in the hall with the speakers? Also, what level did you do this with? And finally, did you give them prompts? Or just let them go for it.
What a great idea! When you say it was a test, does that mean you assessed them somehow? What did you do with the kids in the room? Were you out there listening to the speaking? Or did you stay in the room? What level was it for? Did you give them prompts, or just let them go for it? Sorry for the barrage of questions. I’d love to do this so I’m thinking logistics.
Good questions! I didn’t want to bog you all down in the details but here they are!
I didn’t assess them this day. We are actually doing that today. I’ll sit with them 1-on-1 in the hall and do a oral proficiency assessment by asking open-ended questions about the unit topics we have covered. I set the timer on my phone to 5 minutes and that is the limit. Most don’t think they can talk that long but they always do!
When I have the vistitors in the different groups I just sort of popped in on the different groups. Some students didn’t want me to be there for their conversation because it made them nervous. When the groups switched, I would go back into the class for a few minutes to help answer questions and chat with the groups that just finished. I didn’t think it would last the whole class but it did. Most students got to have two 5 minute conversations and some had 3.
This was my level 1B class (at the end of their second trimester). I didn’t give them any prompt but told them to find out about their families, what they like to do/plans, and favorite foods/restaurante/places. Those were our unit topics for this trimester but I overheard lots of them talking about Mexico, Cuba, houses, and baseball. They learned that Cubans call baseball “pelota” and loved that!
Next time, I might give them a chart to jot down info and then compare the different people they interview. However, I think them stopping to write might kill the flow of the conversation. It was good for them to feel the awkward pauses and realize they need to stop asking yes or no questions.
Hope that helps!
Thanks, to both of you. I’m going to try and work something like this in for my next unit.
I would add that reflection is a powerful form of assessment, especially to them in this situation. I bet they could self-assess their language skills too.
Awesome! I will need to plan for that as we have access to several native speakers at my school! I had thought about trying to bring some outside Spanish Speakers and wondered if our own Spanish-speaking students would be willing to do this. You’ve given me motivation to try this out!!! Thanks again!
Most native speakers don’t want to speak in from of the whole class but had no problem “chatting” in small groups! Since then I have found a few more students. Word spread and a girl actually came to me and volunteered to visit class!
The other thing you could try is making short videos of native talking about different things… Name, age, where they are from, What they like to do, Favorite music + movies, family, and more! Then you can use them anytime!
Most students take Spanish to actually learn how to speak? This has not been my experience in high school classes. My students are great but they are mostly in my class to meet the graduation requirements and to impress potential colleges. Very few of them are willing to step outside their comfort zone and speak, and when I make grand pronouncements of “No English” the room goes eerily quiet. It’s even a tug-of-war with my AP students, who really should know better. Often I find my “best” students are those who are least willing to speak because they are so frightened of making mistakes.
I applaud your effort to bring native speakers into your classroom. At my school, all volunteers have to go through a (very expensive) background check at least a month ahead of time, so it’s almost impossible to get folks into the classroom.
Is Spanish an elective in your school or is it a requirement?
–AnneK
Hi Anne! Where do you teach?
Many of mine take the class because they HAVE to but want to learn to speak if they are in there. Now, I’m not saying it doesn’t take work, but speaking is a very important part of a language. I would say that 40-50% of their grade is speaking. The great part about proficiency based learning is that they don’t have to be perfect.
Have you ever seen the JCPS speaking assessments? Maybe you could start by having them record themselves responding to one of these scenarios. They could do it on their phones and submit to you by edmodo or email! It will be a good challenge and maybe will get them more comfortable speaking! Try awards! MVP – most creative – most natural!
What a wonderful idea! I wish we had more access to native speakers in my school! I’m going to brainstorm ways to do this for my middle schoolers!
The ACTFL “I CAN…” statements are a big help to the students. They are curious as to what they need to know to get to the next level.
I’m the teacher across the hall from Megan…she inspires me every day with her enthusiasm, energy and willingness to try new things! I have always had a few native speakers in my classes; however, this year, for the first time, I had a Peruvian student who was new to the US and spoke very little English. I teach Adobe Photoshop, and do not speak Spanish, so this was a bit of a challenge. As I consulted with Megan for teaching strategies on how to assist this student, the idea of “sharing” my 3 native speaking students with her class came about. This collaboration not only helped her students, but also helped my native speaking students gain confidence and forge connections [and new friendships] with students in her class. A win-win for everyone!!
Awesome idea! In my school we don’t have an ELL class, but our custodian is from Mexico. When we were learning about family, I invited him to come and speak about his own family in Spanish. The kids loved it and it reinforced my teaching that you don’t have to leave the country (or even your school) to use Spanish.
Ever hear that song “Do you like piña coladas?” I was out on Pinterest (doing professional development, of course) and found this awesome pin! And as soon as I clicked “visit webpage”
I knew the lime green of your page in an instant. Thank you for taking time not just to be awesome, but to share it with us! You are changing the way many other teachers plan their lessons (I know–I have been up for hours looking at what goodies they have pinned!)
Hi! This is a fantastic idea, Megan. Do you think this could work as a project online, too? If so, it could work also for for those without native speakers on tap.
I was able to bring my Spanish 2 students to a close senior community center, where a Hispanic group met. We went once a month prepared with questions to ask, games to play, we even danced with them! At first my students were terrified but afterwards they felt so good about how much they understood and conversed. The Hispanic senior citizens were always so loving, we became friends! Too bad the program stopped for economic reasons.