I was talking to a friend last night who also teaches language. She is not a TPRSer, but she is between a grammar freak and a TPRSer. In fact, I think she would love to be a TPRSer, but she's afraid of making the leap until she gets permission from the higher-level teachers.
A couple of her former students came to visit her after school and said that language was SO HARD this year. At first, she dismissed this as the idle complaining of teenagers. Then they talked a little bit more about WHY it was so hard. On the fourth or fifth day of school, the students were given a list of 150 verbs that they are supposed to know. They are supposed to know the translation, spelling, conjugation, etc of all 150 verbs. Some of the verbs were irregular...so the students couldn't even rely on a pattern to complete the assignment. They were given one week to study and then given a quiz on the information. Next, they were given a list of essential vocabulary that included words like divorced.
My friend handled it very well and said "Oh, the teacher is just trying to weed out the low-level students...do your best and try not to worry too much." But inside, she was freaking out! The upper-level teachers have never shared this information with her, but yet her students are expected to know it! So she is feeling like a failure for not preparing her students well, but also realizing that the upper-level teachers are not teaching in a way that will help the students learn the language. They might be able to conjugate a verb, but will they be able to survive in a foreign country?
So sad... She is now looking for research on the best methods for learning a language. I'm going to guide her to Krashen and all of his online papers. Anyone else know of other sources of research?
Oh my heart goes out to the kids and the teacher!!! In times like these I go back to the old idiom" People can change. We can't change people. We can only change ourselves.
ReplyDeleteNo matter how she teachers, she cannot please those upper level teachers. Neither will the students. Anyone's students. The expectations are beyond unreasonable. The UL teachers have set it up that way. The best that can be done is to give the students the best deep background possible and love. Glad she has you as a friend!!