Amanda Wilson Learner Autobiography January 17, 2012 March 26, 2012 Why I Teach

Amanda, it has been wonderful seeing your growth this semester, although yo started at a pretty high level, I can see that there are many things that you ha learned throughout the semester that you can apply to your teaching. I have enjoyed your reections on language learning

Amanda, can you give me a word doc next time? Writing on this is a pain 5 5 5 5 5 5 = 35/35

As a gringa Spanish teacher, Ive often been asked, What got you into Spanish? Normally, I reply with one of two stories. One relates the tale of meeting a classmate in the second grade and not understanding why I couldnt talk with him like I could the other children. He was the child of an immigrant family and had moved around so often in his young life he had not yet learned enough English to communicate with his classmates. This was my first realization that language existed as something with the potential to divide human beings. The second tale is of a high school teacher who inspired me to begin the path that has led me where I am today. High school is a rough time for most adolescents. It is a time of discovery and difficulties. When I felt discouraged and trapped, my Spanish teacher encouraged me to keep trying. She took the time to impress upon me that I was capable of anything. She nominated me for a college assistance program and supported me as her teaching assistant. Through these experiences, I found a love for teaching that has never wavered in the 15 years that have come and gone since. These two experiences greatly shaped my own identity and are why I am a teacher today. How I Learned After meeting the aforementioned classmate, I began actively searching for ways to learn Spanish. Unfortunately, those were practically non-existent in my little world

(other than my prized dictionary), until I reached high school. There I took Spanish each year, for a total of five years from eighth grade to graduation. Typically, the classes consisted of approximately 30 students. None of my three high school teachers were native speakers of Spanish. In addition to the five classes I took, I was also a teaching assistant my junior and senior years of high school. The first three Spanish classes followed a textbook pretty strictly. These texts were supplemented with audio cassette recordings of native speakers. Some of the methods I remember best include class recitation of vocabulary, oral presentations, cultural explorations, and games. The one cultural exploration that comes strongly to mind, though there were many, was one in which the teacher talked about wine-making in Spain and a type of bottle called a porr from Catalonia. She actually had one, filled with water of course, for us to attempt to drink from. Honestly, I did not remember the name nor the significance of the bottle, but I remembered enough from the experience to have found that information online. However, I believe that had I encountered the object again within a shorter time period from the learning experience, more about it may have stuck with me. This particular experience, just holding this object in my hands, just laughing and joking as classmates attempted to drink without getting wet, this multisensory exploration did stick with me. It has been nearly 20 years since that class occurred. To me, that is proof of the power of hands-on learning. The use of this bottle could be viewed as using culturally authentic visuals. Since this particular experience was so very different from anything in our heritage, without some image, the device would be very difficult to explain; a wine bottle in the mind of a typical American would probably look nothing like a porr does. Culturally
also, use of realia.

authentic visuals are very important to Paivios dual coding theory. It was once related to me that while attempting to teach English in an inner city school, the teacher did a fairly typical activity for November; she had students trace their hand to make a turkey. During a comprehension check she realized that students made no connection between the animal version they were drawing and the food version they might eat. In fact, few even recognized the cooked version as a whole. Due to their socioeconomic status the only turkey they were familiar with was the sliced variety on a sandwich. This example of cultural misunderstanding from within my own world makes it ever more clear the importance of a French teacher showing a baguette when explaining the word pain to a group of American students accustomed to the visual of a bagged loaf of Wonder Bread. nice one! The activities that were most memorable were the oral presentations. Given the vocabulary and structures we were currently studying, we constructed sentences in Spanish. We then created illustrations to help us remember those sentences. Taking turns, each student showed their images and recited their sentences in front of the entire class. I remember working very hard on these assignments and being particularly proud when I managed entire presentations without errors. These oral presentations usually culminated thematic vocabulary units. By taking the words, which were often presented as lists, and creating a context of a paragraph with representative images, we were able make connections and chunk what we were learning in memorable ways. These activities fit well with the points made by Lee and VanPatten (2003) concerning making learning personal and involving learners (Brandl, 2008, p. 89). However, one way I could see of extending this activity
or perhaps different cultural eating practices

would be to have the presenter create an activity to quiz their fellow classmates on the story they told. This would incorporate a listening comprehension activity for the rest of the class and force them to pay attention instead of only focusing on what they planned to say when it was their turn (Brandl, 2008, p. 225). Since all students would be using the same bank of vocabulary terms, there would be little need for more pre-listening preparations. Developing their own presentations would have already served that purpose. Further, since each presenter is aware that the classs full attention will be placed on their presentation, they will be forced to focus on meaning, not just form. I often remember this exercise having stipulations about using different persons so that we could demonstrate our ability to conjugate verbs in the intended tense. However, if the presenter knows they must be understood, the focus comes back to meaning over form (Brandl, 2008, p. 108). The last two classes focused more on literature. I remember reading La Casa de Bernarda Alba which is a play by Federico Garca Lorca. Although we primarily discussed in this course how to teach language with childrens literature, it is not much of a stretch to apply those principles to teaching upper level courses with literature. I wish I remembered more clearly the details of these assignments. I know there must have been some pre-reading, reading, and postreading activities to support our experience. I imagine that Lorca is not an easy read for a native speaker. The majority of the themes of his work undoubtedly eluded us in high school. However, even a surface-level reading would have been challenging. If I were to attempt to use a piece of literature to teach such a course, I would need to remember to begin with predicting and previewing
yes, excellent point here!

This is not just a myth - it is based on research that

activities such as advance organizers to prepare learners both for the cultural and linguistic challenges inherent in the text. La Casa de Bernarda Alba is one that would be easy to judge against modern standards of morality and equality were it not appropriately settled within its own time and space. It would be important to understand something of the way the world in which such fictitious events might have taken place to understand even a surface-level reading of the text. Additionally, I spent three summers in the Upward Bound program where I was lucky to have a wonderful Spanish professor from Chile. While he shattered the negative stereotype (I believe that due to a few bad experiences of some language
What you need to say here instead is that The stereotype is there because in the past, it was thought that if you speak the language you can teach it. Your professor obviously had training in making the unconscious rules of language conscious.

good!

learners, a negative stereotype is perpetuated that native speakers are incapable of explaining grammatical concepts to non-native language learners in an
just because you speak the language doesn't

intelligible way because they do not have the same learning experience that their
mean you can teach it - you need to study the

students had. I think the stereotype gets perpetuated because it makes sense
underlying rules and ways to explain it. This is what I will teach in 813K.

to us without any supporting data necessary to sustain the belief. This is unfortunate.) of native speakers by being extremely adept at explaining grammatical concepts in a very intelligible way, what I will always remember most is his guitar. We spent a good portion of our time together singing songs and reciting poetry. I can still remember the first stanza of a very long poem by Pablo Neruda called Puedo escribir los versos ms tristes esta noche. I believe that these exercises of song and poetry gave me a better mastery of the rhythm of the language than anything else could have. These songs and poems also constituted a context for the language that was realistic and authentic. It put us in touch with the living, breathing portion of the
good!

this is a super-long parentheses - probably better as its own sentence.

language, not just the dead and cut-off version available in our textbooks (Brandl, 2008, p. 80). Additionally, studying specifically music and poetry can show connotation of the language and various uses that would not present themselves in another form. The connotation and poetic uses of the language also derives from this use of authentic texts (p. 79). Besides the simple mnemonic value of a rhythm, I believe music is a powerful learning tool. No where else does language have such a transformative power. Artists can add new words or meanings to a language simply by popularizing a song. To me, this is the great cultural value of music. Lady Gaga, for example, will never be Beethoven, but her music enriches and transforms our culture just the same. Popular music is important to language study, especially in a situation
For what skills can you use music to teach? Can you list some activities?

where the learner is outside of the target culture. (Im guessing that after this coming week, Ill have lots of useful theory to cite on the importance of cultural embedding of language, but for now, I stand 100% behind my previous assumptions. I see textbook language as cut off from an ever-developing and evolving culture. Popular culture, be it music or movies or television, etc., can bridge the gap between what students learn in class and what is happening in the real world.) What I Believe It is often hard to determine the origin of ones beliefs; however, a majority of my beliefs about language learning matured and were informed by a linguistics professor named Dr. Richard McGarry. Dr. McGarry is a professor I came to trust during my undergraduate studies. His specialities include second language acquisition, linguistics, grammar, and neurolinguistics, to name a few. When I think back on what I believe

about language learning and teaching, I find myself spewing several of what I considered to be truisms that I picked up under Dr. McGarrys tutelage. During this course, I hope to examine these beliefs about learning and teaching language and make decisions on what I still hold to be true and what I might revise. I am cautious in attributing these statements to Dr. McGarry and I do so only by this caveat, these are my interpretations and understandings of his teachings. The caveat assumes that there is plenty of space for my errors of understanding and interpreting. Additionally, while I would credit Dr. McGarry with the majority of my beliefs on language learning and teaching, I also come from my own experiences. I believe students will only learn what they need to. Some people might interrupt this statement to add or want to, but I leave it out with purpose. I believe that if something is not necessary for us to know, we will not learn it. Now motivation can play a factor, but without a need for using the language, motivation will fail. I have always wanted to speak Spanish. Why do I not do it any better than I do? It is not because I do not want to. It is more likely because I have not needed to speak any better than I do. I believe the primary motivation of learning is necessity. An example is my blog A tu paso that I created last summer. I set this up as a way to maintain my language. However, last semester I took no Spanish classes and other than the occasional conversation with a friend, I had no need to use or study Spanish. This semester I am taking a course that requires me to maintain my language. I need to do this in order to be successful in this class. I realize that some people are self-motivated to maintain and improve their language for various reasons, but I would argue that I could find a need, be it physical, psychological, or otherwise, that was the true cause for the apparent

want that was really the reason for successful learning. If this assumption carries any truth, one secret to success in language teaching would be to tap into what our students really need to know in order to succeed in their goals. This, to me, seems to be the greatest appeal to tools like LinguaFolio. We need motivation. For me, school and teacher expectations have always been motivating. My blog that I mentioned here got about two entries for this class. Because we werent required to show evidences of our readings or language maintenance, when something had to be left off the to do list, this was often it. What was actually required was having something to discuss for ten minutes and fulfilling this requirement did not make it essential for me to post something. Personally, I need to find a way to make improving my language more intrinsic. I know that delving into completing my portfolio and my LinguaFolio would help with this; however, due to the nature of my life and doctoral program, these cannot be top priorities for me. Also, LinguaFolio is just too big to jump into. I think starting LinguaFolio near the beginning of language learning is extremely successful for students; Ive seen it work. However, attempting to go back through all of it as a more advanced language learner is a daunting task. Therefore, I plan to focus specifically on the advanced low statements for the immediate future because that is the requirement for the portfolio. I hope the feeling of accomplishment for completing some of the LinguaFolio will motivate me to continue to work on completing it and using it to further my own language learning. As I stated before, currently, there is no immediate or high-priority need for language learning to improve; therefore, my only chance of improvement is deliberate practice.
semester - haha.

maybe I need to change the requirement and m

you all take a prociency exam at the end of the

I believe the best way to learn a language is to be in a country where it is a native language and that, short of study abroad, a native speaker or the ability to hear a native speaker through recorded or other technology is invaluable to learning. It is quite possible to bring many of the elements of being in a foreign country to students through the use of the Internet. Students can now interact with native speakers from anywhere. I can bring these experiences to them through tools like Skype, Voice Thread, and so many others. While there is no replacing the experience entirely to live and breath the language and culture 24/7, some of the value can be attained without the expense of travel. MITs Cultura project is one of the leaders of this kind of learning, matching up ELLs in France with French learners in the US, they create a combined and negotiated understanding of culture, politics, and life. I think the occurrence of similar programs will only increase as technology becomes more capable and available. While I believe that I am just as capable of a language teacher as any native speaker, I believe that at least part of my value lies in my understanding of my own limitation and my ability to utilize resources to supplement any shortcomings I may have. What Constitutes Effective Teaching Effective teaching is when a learners needs are sufficiently met. I have been fortunate to have innumerable effective teachers. Dr. McGarry was one such teacher. I had several linguistic and grammar courses with him during my undergraduate career and was also able to secure a practicum in one of English for Internationals courses. I used to tell my peers that if they could manage it, they should definitely sign up for his courses. He is personable and entertaining, which are undervalued traits in faculty, but
good!

more importantly he is brilliant and adept at guiding students to understanding. It is artful to watch how he changes students as they progress through his classes. I believe this is due in part to his focus on progress across time. He is less concerned with achievement and more concerned with proficiency. It is not as important for students to regurgitate factual knowledge as it is to be able to apply what they have learned and show growth in their understanding over time. Get to Dr. McGarrys classes a few minutes early. He is always sitting up on the desk. He asks each student how they are doing and what they have been up to every day. He makes it very clear that you are not only welcome but he is genuinely interested in who you are and what youre interested in. He makes it clear that what is important is not meeting a standard. In his classes growth is the definition of learning. If you can show that your understanding has grown through your study in his class, you will make the grade. His classes were dominated by complicated readings that we were then able to dissect through group discussion to reach an understanding. There were games like Stump the Chump in which we brought in music and he tried to guess what language it was in. He would win about 98% of the time. Little strategies like this were invaluable. For one, we were being exposed to vast varieties of language and culture. Another value I see now that I am reflecting on this one is the encouragement it provided to us as language students. If he could recognize all these languages, it was possible for us to learn that much too. It was inspiring in that way. Most of the assignments for his courses were big projects that we worked on all semester long and got lots of feedback on as we worked. To me this is one of the most effective ways to learn and teach. Dr. McGarry was very overt with his application of positive feedback. He would

encourage us to pursue our interests and congratulate our successes. There was little negative feedback. More often, we were set some task that would we would fail if we did not understand. This set us up to recognize and investigate our own mistakes and was very effective for learning about pedagogy and linguistic theory. When I was in his classes, I once thought that there were some people who just sort of slid through without much effort. Looking back, I realize that he was aware of the readiness of different learners. There were students ranging from freshmen to graduate students in those courses. He took the time to understand where we were and what we needed and pushed each of us to the levels that helped us learn. The most ineffective teacher I ever had taught by sitting in the front of the classroom and reading to us from a textbook. His accent was thick and difficult to understand. Our assignments consisted of regurgitating information onto a test. The teacher rarely looked up at the class and blatantly refused to answer questions. I honestly only learned how not to treat students in this class. I cant remember the information that I studied in the course and I believe this is mostly due to my high levels of frustration with the teacher. For me, the most important quality of all to be an effective teacher is to be interested in and working toward helping individual students along their paths. Dr. McGarry did this by taking an interest in his students and really caring about what they needed to learn, while the unnamed teacher above moved along without consideration for who was in his classroom. These few examples, along with all the other teachers I

could fill a book about, have helped shape who I am and what I believe as a teacher today. My goal is to help my students realize and reach their goals.