World Languages

Starting this week, Fifth and Sixth Grade students presented their culture projects. In recent blog posts I have not commented on culture nearly as much as language acquisition, however I do believe that culture has to be addressed as part of language acquisition. At Trinity we encourage students to be “active global citizens,” and culture exploration brings authenticity and excitement to the language learning process. Because our program is intentionally personalized, the goal was to match the students’ culture studies with the language they are taking on Rosetta Stone. This cultural exploration manifests in a project called CRAFT (culture.role.audience.format.topic). The students took on a role (president, teacher, farmer, etc.) of a person in a country that speaks their language. They were charged with the task to present a topic (religion, government, poverty…) to a specific audience using a format of their choice (powerpoint, iMovie, blog). Over the year, students researched, wrote, created, and now presented on their topic.

Today I just want to comment briefly on the presentations. My goal was to help older students prepare for future presentations, namely the Capstone project (which is a culminating project at the end of the Sixth Grade year). Using the same presentation guidelines as the Sixth Grade teachers, we talked about proper public speaking technique. These students are no strangers to speaking in front of a crowd, much less their World Languages class. All students have taken the stage at assemblies, performances, and project fairs over the years at Trinity. It is clear that these public speaking venues have helped our students to develop stage presence and, more importantly, confidence.

Yesterday I was especially impressed with Henry, a Sixth Grader. He presented a polished explanation of the government in Belgium. After his brief power point presentation, the students erupted in applause. He had certainly prepared and effectively communicated his message. Furthermore, he answered questions on the spot (which I will mention again later). I asked the students to identify why Henry was so effective. Here are some ideas they mentioned:
• “Good eye contact”
• “He gave extra information to explain what was on his power point”
• “He never read from the power point slides”
• “Confidence”
• “Articulation and pronunciation”
• “He knew his topic really well”
• “He was facing the audience”

At the age of 12, Henry modeled techniques that I learned in a public speaking course in college. Watching his confidence and the students’ reactions reiterated my feeling that students truly benefit from any opportunity we give them to present and teach. Now it’s up to us as teachers to step back and empower kids to take the stage.

As I said, the students asked wonderful questions to clarify and better understand Henry’s topic. I have to say, I never asked the students to prepare questions. I never asked students to take notes on the presentation. Yet, in every class I have been astounded with what the hands raised immediately when the presentation ends. They have an eagerness to ask more and know more about whatever is presented. They will make comments on anything from farming practices to national debt. Before they ask a question they often say, “Can you go back to slide four…” The students pay such close attention, and they’ll even identify minute errors (which led to a discussion on proper audience etiquette). In a Fifth Grade class, William F. presented on the fishing industry in Panama. After his four minute presentation he facilitated over 10 minutes of discussion and questions. I had no idea that kids would care about fishing, but William’s excitement was contagious. Students who never voluntarily share in discussions had their hand up and wanted to know more… teachers live for this stuff!

I did not anticipate the simple culture presentations to be as powerful to me as the teacher. It is not the fact that the information is profound or new to me; it’s the unanticipated energy in the class when kids teach one another. Perhaps other teachers have had similar experiences with project-based learning. I know this is a trend in education and something that I am excited to pursue.

Julia Kuipers (Fifth and Sixth Grade)

For World Languages homework, I made a memory game for French learners. And I was able to play it with a girl in Third Grade. We each won a game and tied a game. I liked drawing the pictures of the French words. The Third Grader was in her second unit on Rosetta Stone, so this game a review, and she did pretty good. I like learning with other people. I would like to make more French games like this, and I would like to play it with younger children. It would be fun to do an X day with World Languages games. Different grades could match up with different kids and we could all make games- that would be a lot of fun!

Katherine (Fifth Grade Student)

Comment from her teacher (Julia Kuipers):

I am so proud of Katherine. She takes great initiative and consistently seeks ways to make learning meaningful.  In a self-paced, personalized program, students truly do have the opportunity to explore language and work collaboratively across grade levels.  I love Katherine’s idea for a school-wide World Languages game day- how fun!

As you may or may not know, Fifth and Sixth Graders were presented with a World Languages challenge at the beginning of the year.  With the goal to complete 25 hours on Rosetta Stone, the students have been hard at work for the past several months.  With nine weeks to go in the school year, the students can see the mountain top, and some have already reached the summit!  Brittany was our first student to reach hergoal (a few months ago actually), and she was followed by Fifth Graders Kate and Mikaela.  I applaud their hard work and dedication.  They paved the way and showed that with hard work this goal is absolutely achievable.

With many students are on the brink of completion, we are looking forward to the influx of students who can add their name to the “GOOOOOOOOOOAL” board (an empty soccer goal, which is slowly filling with personalized soccer balls from each child who reaches 25 hours). One Sixth Grader, who is just five hours shy of his goal, said, “[When I reach my goal] I am going to feel incredibly relaxed and relieved from stressed.  It was helpful to have a point to which you are working towards, instead of just working aimlessly.”

As a teacher, I have enjoyed the process of goal-setting and reaching success with my students. Though it may feel daunting at the beginning of the year, the kids thrived with a goal right in front of their eyes.  They charted their work on a “Time Thermometer,” which served as a wonderful visual of where they were and where they are heading.  Exciting and “relieving,” every time a student meets their goal, the joy on their face is the highlight of my day!

Julia Kuipers (Fifth and Sixth Grade)

Recently my students have been working very hard to complete any in-progress lessons they might have on Rosetta Stone.  I challenged them a few weeks before our spring break to complete these lessons in order to move forward without anything from the past “weighing” them down.  Below are two blog posts written by students who completed ALL of their in-progress lessons today! (*Please excuse any spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors, as I am copying exactly what our fantastic students wrote.)

Charles, 3rd Grade

“I feel awesome! I had a bunch of X’s miss  Smith said you need to get more  checks in those boxes so I tried hard.  I had thirty five X’s,  I worked harder and harder.  I had 35 to 34 to 33… I felt better and better about my score. Miss smith got prowder and prowder of me I felt great! I was so happy!”

Katie, 4th Grade

“I just finished all of my in progress on Rosetta Stone in my world languages class and I feel very good about it. I started of a long time ago and I am just now finishing. It took a lot of work but I still accomplished it. First I would look and see which in progress was next and I would go over it and over until it was complete and I kept going until I finished every single in progress. I thought it was a very good strategy  and if you are trying to learn a language on Rosetta Stone and have a lot of in progresses you should try that strategy.”

Thanks for joining me in sharing their joy in this great accomplishment! These students truly are wonderful, hard-working, bright, and most of all….DETERMINED!

Abby Smith (3rd and 4th Grade)

It may seem that in a World Languages teacher’s free time, we might be learning languages, analyzing Rosetta Stone reports, or grading homework…however, while all these things DO happen in our spare time, part of what we do as educators includes learning about what other educators are doing to bring the WORLD to their classroom.  Intending to do the same in our World Languages classrooms, I recently discovered a neat blog post by the Buck Institue for Education on Global Project Based Learning.  Simply put, this means doing projects where global connections are utilized and research for the project doesn’t necessarily have to happen first!

Check out the Buck Institute’s blog post here.

In World Languages, where students are engaging in second language acquisition on a daily or every other day basis, learning about the world must go hand-in-hand with language acquisition.  Third Grade students thrive on learning about what tooth traditions (including Tooth Fairies, El Ratoncito, and throwing teeth on the roof!) other cultures have, as they are in a current World Languages project.  Fourth Graders are engaged in a solo country exploration as they learn about a destination that speaks the language they are studying.  In both grades’ global cultural experiences, the hope that students gain a perspective of their global neighbors and other cultures is the primary purpose.  Students are learning a second language in our Trinity community, while growing a deep and profound understanding of our global community.  Some say it’s all about community, and I can’t say I disagree!

Abby Smith (3rd and 4th Grade)

Today was a regroup and refocus day in World Languages.  The Fifth and Sixth Graders have taken off with their newly given independence in class. Since January, they have been in control of how they spend their practice time, and they love the options and freedom.  However, the process of deciding what language skill to focus on a matching it with the appropriate practice technique needs some refining.  Many students sprint in (literally) to grab an iPad, or play “Rock and Roll Dice,” which are both fun, but not necessary for every student, every class.

So we came back to our World Languages mantra: Acquire + Practice = Know.  We talked about the process of language learning and related language practice to football practice.  We talked about how football coaches run at least a dozen drills during practice to touch on different skills (throwing, catching, blocking, etc.)  Likewise, weneed to develop all of our language skills (writing, listening, pronunciation, vocabulary, etc.), which means we need to try a variety of practice methods.  Some practice options may be more effective than others, but doing the same 10 minute practice activity (reading off the number line, for example) is not the best choice. 

All that to say- I think the students are beginning to realize the power and authority they have over their own learning.  They identify where they need to develop, and
we work together to figure out effective methods.   In my Fifth grade class I saw a variety of practice choices that were all appropriate and meaningful for the student’s development.

Julia Kuipers (Fifth and Sixth Grade)

Directly from the students…here’s the best way to describe conversation groups:

“Conversation groups are
groups so you can learn and experience what it feels like to have a
conversation in your language.” ~Dickson,
Mandarin

“I think conversation groups
are things that help you get better at your language. I also think that you can
help people. Every time you do a conversation group it makes you better.” ~Parker, French

“Conversation groups are a
group with an adult leader that knows your language and helps you know your
language better and helps you understand things that you don’t understand.” Ellie, French

“It is where parents and
teachers teach you your language and they are fun.”  Carter, Mandarin

“Conversation groups are where
you go with a group and look and learn more about your language.” Kate, Spanish

“A conversation group is a
place for learning. It is also a time for learning new things. A lot of
questions are answered in conversation groups.” Henrietta, French

“A conversation group is a
group that language learners go to practice their language and to learn a
little more. Someone who speaks their language will lead the group’s
discussion.” Nicholas, French

“Conversation groups to me are
learning things you have learned on Rosetta Stone but more detailed. And it is
also with someone who is fluent in your language.” Lily, French

“Conversation groups are you
talking in your language with a teacher and 3 or 4 other students. Every time
you study a different thing.” Alex, Spanish

“Parents and teachers teach
you the language. They use their spare time and they speak in your language to
you. Then you respond.  They teach you
sentences and words.” Peter, Spanish

“Conversation groups are when
a group of people taking a certain language get together, and learn new, fun
things with a volunteer who also speaks that language.” Claire, French

“Conversation groups is where
everyone has some people in their group of their language. Every group also has
a teacher who can speak your language and who reviews your language with you
and tells you words that we don’t know.” Lauren, French

“Conversation groups are way
to learn new words that you don’t see on Rosetta Stone. And to have fun
learning.” Eli, Spanish

“Conversation groups are for
learning new words and to practice your language with other people that take
your language. You get to learn words that are not in Rosetta Stone.” Hector,
Spanish

“A conversation group is when
some people who take your language get together and talk with a group leader
that knows your language. Sometimes you learn how to spell words that you don’t
know.” Caroline, Korean

“Conversation groups are a way
of practicing your language with your friends that are taking the same
language.” Kate, Spanish

“Conversation groups are when
you get with a group and share what you know. If you mess up, you learn from
your mistakes.” Mattie, Spanish

I think every teacher desires to truly understand their students. Discovering passions and encouraging talents is part of the excitement of working with young children. One of the benefits of working with nearly 120 kids across 2 grades is the opportunity to form a unique relationship with each child. Students are studying different languages, creating personalized culture projects, and moving at the pace that best suits their learning. There is a great deal of variety in each class, and the passion of each student is, of course, unique. Today I had the opportunity to practice language in a new way with one very special student.
Outside of Rosetta Stone, Nathalie enjoys reading familiar books in Spanish. This is a great way for her to improve her pronunciation, reading, and comprehension skills. Over lunch we read through two children’s books together. Nathalie brought the books, and excitedly began reading with confidence. The first book she read was Clifford, one of my childhood favorites. I was impressed and inspired by her ability to read Spanish text and use clues to deduce meaning. As I listened to her fluid speech and beautiful accent, it was clear that she practiced these stories at home before. I have learned a new strength and passion of one of my students, and I enjoyed the one-on-one time. We set another date to read through other books and practice The Lord’s Prayer, in Spanish. I cannot wait!
This was perhaps one of my favorite lunches this year. I was delighted to see this student experience language in a way that was meaningful to her. I know other students are experiencing language in significant ways such as singing songs, writing stories, or creating comics. I look forward to supporting students to find the way they best learn language, and I am hopeful that I will have more one-on-one lunches with enthusiastic students.

Julia Kuipers (Fifth and Sixth Grade)

In Third and Fourth grade World Languages classes recently, I have introduced some exciting (and essential!) additional learning tools.  We started with iPads in Fourth grade classes who, in addition to some quality teamwork time working in pairs, the students learned to navigate on the iPads and engaged in apps designed specifically for their language learning! Third graders had the opportunity to visit some language learning games online and practiced everything from colors to numbers, food to animals.  The richest part of both experiences for students was the moment they realized how much they know! Students freshened up on old vocabulary that they learned a long time ago, practiced newer words being added to their vocabularies each day, and were also introduced to new words in these activities.  It was great fun to see the students’ levels of engagement during these language practice times.

Here are some photos to give you a taste of the energy in the room.

Abby Smith (Third and Fourth grade)

This is blog post is a thank you to our wonderful conversation group coordinator, Jackie.  We had 20 conversation groups this week and 10 conversation groups on Tuesday alone! The languages represented this week for conversation groups included Mandarin, Spanish, French, Latin, Hebrew, German, and Portuguese.  The students were clearly excited to participate, and I was impressed by their ability to comprehend language from a fluent speaker.  We are fortunate to have such eager students, committed volunteers, and a devoted Conversation Group Coordinator.

Here is a movie clip of five wonderful Fourth Grade Mandarin students in a conversation group:

Julia Kuipers (Fifth and Sixth Grade)