Language Learning and Teaching History Aaron Backlin FL 561 Fall I think that Ive always had something

g of a knack for language. I started speaking in complete sentences before I could walk, and have always been fascinated by language and words. I dont think that it would be at all surprising to anyone who knew me as a child to find out that I have decided to ply my trade in teaching language. So why Spanish, then? Well, Ive had several opportunities throughout my life to engage with the language in a variety of settings, and it seems that my decisions and some fortunate accidents have nudged me in that direction. Not to sound overly fatalistic, but it seems like this is what life has in store for me at the moment. hankfully, I seem to be a fair hand at it, as well. !y e"periences as a student of the Spanish language had their start when I was in the fifth grade in !ason #ity, Iowa. $ friend of the family, Steve, who attended our church was also a Spanish teacher at the local high school. !y father had wanted to take some language lessons as a family due to the increase in the local %ispanic population &my father was at that time working as the choirmaster at the high school'. $fter some arrangements were made, we began taking lessons once a week in Steves basement. We worked mainly with basic phonetics and standard ob(ects &animals, household items, etc', building vocabulary and learning grammar concepts via basic phrases rather than in)depth study. hese lessons continued through the end of my *th grade year, when we decided to take a break from the family lessons and as our family schedule became more hectic with two growing boys involving themselves in all manner of activities. We still interacted in Spanish at church with Steve and his wife, who was from +a(a #alifornia in !e"ico. It was good to keep up that practice, and it was fun to be able to say things that others couldnt understand. +eyond that, my ne"t formal e"posure to Spanish as an academic concept was not until the eighth grade, wherein we undertook a ,uarter)long Spanish e"ploratory that, unfortunately,

closely mirrored what we had done in fifth and si"th grade with Steve. What W$S fortunate, though, was that the teacher allowed me to pursue some vocabulary and concept studies on my own as I was already able to pass the end)of),uarter e"am at the beginning of the term. he

instructor spoke with Steve and got a better idea of where I should be, and it wound up being a very positive e"perience. -pon entry into the ninth grade and the high school Spanish program, I was given the opportunity to skip level one Spanish and enter at level two. +eing a standard)issue freshman boy, I took the path of least resistance and opted to enter level one with my friends. his was an

interesting choice, and ended up being one of the first nudges into the teaching profession. I dont know why it surprised me, to be honest, with my grandfather, grandmother, and father all being teachers . after all, these things seem to run in families. he /nudge0 I speak of took the

form of friends and classmates looking to me as one of the people in class who /got it0 and could help them with concepts they didnt understand themselves. he notion that I was the /go)to0 guy for my friends not only fed my pubescent narcissism, but also helped to give me a sense of identity in academic pursuits and also a good push in the direction of foreign language as a future course of study. 1ver the four years of my high school Spanish class tour &during which I started dating my now wife2', I remained one of the people that classmates would go to for help. I sat at a tutor table during my free periods &when I had them' to assist with Spanish, and I was eventually even asked by some of my teachers to re)e"plain concepts to the class from my point of view on occasion. In hindsight, as a current high school Spanish teacher, I reali3e that this was an enormous compliment, though naturally my teenage hubris thought it only fitting for so clever a lad as I was. It seemed I had a way of looking at things that was a little different than most others, and that I was able to e"plain complicated topics in a simple way that made sense to others. his skill, thankfully, has stayed

with me and has served me well in a number of areas in my life outside the realm of foreign

language, though it has served me the most in that capacity. !y high school Spanish e"perience ended my senior year in $4 Spanish four. he faster

pace of the $4 course served my interests well, and being in a class of like)minded students of language offered a lot of opportunities to build upon my skills and e"plore the language more in) depth than had been theretofore possible. $nd to top it all off, the class was taught by none other than Steve, who had begun my Spanish education seven years earlier2 he course was a great capstone to my Spanish learning to that point, and gave me a lot of insights into the structure and nature of the language. $ll the while, I maintained the abstract perspective on things that seemed to resonate both with my fellow classmates and with the teachers with whom I interacted. I did not opt to take the $4 e"am &did I mention that I was also incredibly la3y during my high school days?', though I did take the #564 test upon my successful matriculation into the -niversity of Northern Iowa in #edar 7alls, Iowa. !y girlfriend &now wife' and I both ended up selecting -NI as our college of choice. I entered as a straight)up Spanish ma(or, and the #564 test placed me at the intermediate level, so I was able to skip ,uite a few classes that would have been easy but unnecessary. $s I began my studies in Spanish, we rehashed a lot of grammatical information that I had forgotten since high school. I found that the more... pedantic style of presentation actually suited me ,uite well. I liked the no)nonsense direct instruction of the professors . all meat and no fat2 1nce again, as I worked through my classes I once again found myself serving as a de facto tutor &I later tutored several members of the football team who were there on /scholarships0 and needed to pass their language re,uirements, but for money2' for several of my classmates. I and another student would often hold review sessions in the union for whoever wanted to attend, and towards the end they were very well attended. his gave me my second

real /nudge0 toward the teaching profession, as I found that, as was the case in high school, I very much en(oyed the act of teaching the concept of language to others. he third /nudge0 came

when my girlfriend &now wife' asked me the ,uestion /Spanish ma(or... what are you planning to actually do with that...?0 $fter my girlfriend &now wife's gentle suggestion that I might consider post)graduation implications for my selected ma(or, I elected to pick up a dual ma(or in Spanish and... 4ortuguese. I had stumbled across 4ortuguese by accident when I took a seminar course that was for both Spanish and 4ortuguese speakers on Iberian geography and culture. I began interacting with faculty from the 4ortuguese department and found that the language &particularly the +ra3ilian variant' was very interesting. classes at the same time. hus, I began to take both Spanish and 4ortuguese

he cross)interference was maddening, but I pulled through and found his led me to a more

it to be very enlightening as to the functions of 8omance languages. robust study in linguistics for several of my elective courses.

Still, my girlfriend &now wife' kept prodding me to consider what I might actually do with the degree I was rolling out, and about that same time, she was granted entry into the teacher education program at -NI. I read over some of the literature that came with the application process to the teacher education program, and found that many of the ideals they held matched with my own e"periences as a tutor working with classmates. his was my final

/nudge0 toward the teaching profession. 9espite the horror stories and tales of woe from my teacher family members, I decided to give it a try. I entered the teacher education program at -NI the ne"t semester as a Spanish:4ortuguese education ma(or. I continued my studies in Spanish:4ortuguese and education through my senior year. 9uring the summer between my ;unior and Senior year, I took advantage of a study abroad program offered by the Iowa +oard of 8egents and spent some time studying at the -niversidad de <alladolid in <alladolid, Spain. !y time in Spain was wonderful, and I made some new ac,uaintances and found that my self)doubt regarding my speaking ability was not well founded. I actually did ,uite well and it was very edifying to discover that all of my studies had very well

prepared me for my time there. I very much en(oyed the literature classes and the study of Spanish art, and of course most of all my study of Spanish wines2 his led to what is now a very

real passion of mine in the world of wine, but thats neither here nor there. he ability to see in person the Spanish countryside that I had until that point only seen in pictures and heard about in narratives of literature classes made a great deal of difference to me and made the cultural studies to which I had, unfortunately, to that point not really given any attention come alive and become so very vibrant. he effect of culture on language was made so

much more clear to me by immersing myself in the culture, and it is truly a regret of mine that I did not take the cultural aspects of the language more seriously in my undergraduate program, as this continues to be an area where I feel my e"pertise to be lacking. I returned from Spain with a renewed and refreshed interest in the Spanish language and took one additional semester of study at the university in some upper)level literature, translation, and linguistics classes. hen, as part of my education program, I spent the second semester of

my senior year student teaching. hankfully, I was able to ac,uire student teaching placements near my parents home in !ason #ity, as was my fiancee &now wife'. !y first placement was at 7orest #ity %igh School in 7orest #ity, Iowa, with 5inda, a veteran teacher of some thirty)odd years. I found 5indas approach to be a good one, and building off of her began to develop my own teaching style. I worked with her for the first few weeks as I gained awareness for the building and the students in the classes before I began taking over the classes progressively for nearly a month. I was teaching level two through four classes, and found her strategies and ideas to be clever and practical. his was also the time when I started to really ,uestion a lot of the theoretical nature

of the university curriculum regarding the teaching of foreign language. his skepticism was supported by my area supporting teacher, who led our weekly area human relations course &the only class we took during the student teaching placements'. In fact,

much of our discussion in that class was vetting theories we learned in our courses at the university in terms of practicality in the face of the demands of the modern foreign language teacher. I very much en(oyed this time, as the frank honesty served to bolster my resolve when I faced setbacks. I concluded my time at 7orest city in late 7ebruary and went on to my ne"t placement at 8ockwell)Swaledale %igh School &which was consolidated several years ago and no longer e"ists as an individual entity'. here I worked with !arty, who was also a thirty)odd year

veteran of Spanish teaching. She was also a department of one, which was interesting to see and ,uite different from what my e"perience had been to that point.&It would, however, become my e"perience going forward'. 1ne of the une"pected things to happen to me here had to do with the re,uirements for my student teaching and licensure in Iowa. he licensure for Spanish in Iowa can be =)>? or @)>?, depending on your hours of study. I ,ualified for the @)>? licensure, but in order to attain it, I had to have student teaching e"perience within three grades of the parameters of my licensure. 8)S had indicated that they had an Ath e"ploratory in place that I could teach, but in reality, they had only intended to begin offering one. -pon my arrival no such class e"isted, and I was given the task of developing it, planning it, and e"ecuting it, all under the guidance of my cooperating teacher, !arty. his was

an ama3ing e"perience, and my first real taste at full control of a class. I worked hard to develop this class, and it went well. I believe that !arty kept most of what I put together in place. -pon the conclusion of my student teaching, we had a few final classes of human relations, and then graduation day2 1ne of the wonderful things that -NI does for its education ma(ors is hold a career fair which is well)attended by representatives from school districts all over the -nited States, and even a few beyond2 I attended one such fair with my fiancee, as we were intending to apply as a teaching couple . she in kindergarten and I as Spanish. his, alas,

was not to be, but I did attract the attention of one district that seemed overly desperate &and now

in hindsight, perhaps I should not have been so eager' to find a home)grown Spanish teacher. his was ri)#ounty #ommunity Schools in hornburg, Iowa, and it would be my first (ob as an educator. 5auren &my wife' and I were married the summer after our graduation, and I inked my contract with ri)#ounty later that month. We moved to southern Iowa in the area around hornburg in the nearest town large enough to have a chance of reselling our home if need be. !oving to 1skaloosa and buying a home on one starting teachers income was not without risk, but 5auren found a (ob in another nearby district the day we moved into our house, and we both looked to beginning our new careers. Working at ri)#ounty was an interesting e"perience for me, as it was my first real e"posure to the small, rural Iowa school system. Iowa has == counties, and most of them have four or more individual school districts. It was not uncommon even seventy)five years ago for each town to have at least its own elementary school. $s such, many small schools will consolidate together to a central hub in their area. ri)#ounty was one such hub. hough

hornburg, a town of B*, was the smallest of the towns in the consolidated area, it was the most central, so it became the hub school. I was a Spanish department of one, and I taught A)>? Spanish &later B)>?'. here were some une"pected challenges in being a Spanish teacher in such an environment, and towards the end of my third year and throughout my fourth year, I seriously considered leaving the teaching profession because of them. Some of these challenges were community mindset about the purposes of learning a foreign language &often heard was /why do we have to learn their language? Why cant they learn ours?', teacher inconsistency year)to) year &turnover was ridiculous', and availability of resources. he position I inherited had been filled by five separate individuals inside of three years. his was due mostly to the fact that it had been filled on a semester)by)semester basis by guest

teachers from Spain serving in a cultural teacher e"change program through the State 9epartment. here was, understandably, not a lot of communication between the outgoing and

incoming teachers &sometimes they werent even lined up until the week previous to the start of classes'. $s such, upon my arrival, I discovered that my Spanish four students knew pretty much the same things as my Spanish one students. his I eventually fi"ed, though I fear that my

seniors that first year might have gotten the short end of the stick. -ltimately, by my third year, and two room relocations later, the classes were suitably distinct from one another, attitudes about the possibilities of studying Spanish had improved, and pacing was closer to where I wanted it to be. %owever, about that time, I seemed to hit a wall in how far I could push the students. I repeatedly attempted to enhance the academic rigor of the classes and re,uire more of the students, but the resistance to this that I encountered was ,uite une"pected and passive)aggressive. Students saw fit to simply buckle and stop trying when it got too difficult, and the amount of failing grades I was giving out went up dramatically &this was a syndrome that was particularly common at this school, as has been related to me by several other former teachers of this institution'. +y the middle of my fourth year at ri)#ounty, I was so frustrated with the Cwho cares attitudes of students and their parents &most, not all, mind you' that I was seriously reconsidering my choice to teach. $s a young teacher that had been so convinced of my ability to reach people, I was devastated by the fact that I could not control what was going on around me. 1nce again, my wife asked me the ,uestion that nudged me towards the ne"t iteration of my teaching careerD /Is it you, or is it the place that is making you want to ,uit?0 -pon consideration, I enrolled in the business school at the -niversity of Iowa and began an !+$ program, thinking that that would offer me a viable career option. +ut, as I earned one fourth of my !+$, 5aurens consistent promptings to consider changing venue before career finally resonated with me and I decided to apply to area districts and see what happened. I found a (ob

opening at Erinnell #ommunity %igh School &my current position' in Erinnell, Iowa, also the home to Erinnell #ollege. I was granted an interview, and was struck by the positive attitude toward academia that e"uded from the school. +eing a college town, many of the students were children of professors, and the overall feel of the school was refreshing. $dministration, the community, and the students saw the school as more than a life support system for an athletics program, and that was music to my ears. I felt the interview went well, and that feeling was reinforced as I was given a call on my way home from the interview and offered the (ob. he following !onday, I accepted, and that

has proven to be a wonderful decision on my part. 7irst of all, I am now part of a department, with another Spanish teacher that can sympathi3e with and understand the struggles of our (ob. It is wonderful feel a part of something that wants you as much as you want it, and that is what I truly feel at E%S. I now teach level two and three Spanish, which means I get to focus on my practice more diligently, and with that focus came the reali3ation that I could use some brushing up in my practice, and that led me to enroll in the !$ 5 program at the -niversity of Southern !ississippi, and to 75@*>. I am currently in my third year at E%S, and I wouldnt give it up for the world. I have been so completely satisfied by my time there, at the support that I receive, and by the ,uality of the student body that I cant help but look forward to going to work every morning. In applying to the !$ 5 program, I was re,uired to take the 14I through $# 75. $t first, I took umbrage with this, as I am generally very prideful and pigheaded. %owever, I ultimately took it as a challenge, and a nerve)wracking one. he 14I marked the first full)length his, naturally, gave me

conversation I had had in Spanish with a native speaker in si" years.

pause. %owever, all went well, and my score on the 14I given the circumstances served to strengthen my resolve to persevere in this course of study and to focus on internal improvement and giving back to the school community that has so graciously welcomed me as a member of

their faculty. I am a Spanish teacher. I have been blessed with a modicum of natural talent in this regard, and I do my (ob well and with en(oyment. I am not perfect. hanks to the course my life

has taken, I have the ability to continue my studies and improve upon myself. I eagerly undertake this action with a thankful heart for the blessings I have had to this point in my career and an eagerness to better my practice and the ,uality of instruction at the institution I now call home.