TELL Framework

The TELL framework broke down how to be an effective language teacher in a very concise and easy-to-read way. Some seemed very important to me, and others seemed trivial and almost not worth the mention, but it was good to see everything in the framework. Some things from the TELL framework that really stuck out for me were the parts about creating a good classroom environment, providing a good learning experience, and a couple of points within the professionalism category. All of the others, of course, are equally as important. I think that the classroom environment needs to bring out the personality of the teacher and the language that is being taught. A student should walk into the classroom and feel ready and interested to learn every day, and that environment should reflect the language culture. I really think that this is the foundation for student interest in a Spanish classroom. Tailoring to the students' needs to provide a good learning experience is also something that stuck with me. I think that helping the "students see connections among learning experiences" is very important, that way the students can be conscious of everything they've learned as a whole, not just moving from day to day and getting the grade. Also, making everything clear to students by clarifying what is said in a variety of ways such as simplification, restating, and adjusting the speed, as said in LE4d. That, along with talking in 90% of the target language, the students will hopefully pick up quickly on understanding the language, and that will make bridging the gap toward speaking much easier. That way they can work on that output, or producing the language, when given the input. Lastly, I think that being professional and interacting culturally out of school is also important. Teachers must keep ties with information in the real world in our constantly changing society, and there is no better way to do that in language than using the language outside of school in his/her everyday lives. This way, the teacher knows what it's like to to be out in the real world, and he/she can share his/her experience with the students.

The rubric that we will use for teaching observations touches on many things found within the TELL framework. As far as the communication, using a variety of strategies and trying not to talk in English is very important. One thing that I have found in certain TPRS classrooms is a lot of talking in English, and a lot of translation from the target language to English, which worries me. I believe that no translation should be seen, as mentioned in the rubric. Also, constantly checking for understanding using different types of questioning is something to really look for, and assessing that understanding and providing corrective feedback is crucial. As a student in foreign language, corrective feedback is very frustrating and must be handled with care. It should not be skipped over, but it shouldn't be given to the student very bluntly, but rather eased at them with care and concern that doesn't discourage the students. The learning activities must be very interesting to the students in order to get them motivated to work. This, as said before, I believe starts with the classroom environment, but then translates to activities, as the activities must grab the students' interests. Culture is another thing that must be included in both the environment and the lesson. Small group activities are very important to get students communicating with one another, as that is the key. I believe grammar is a little more important than what the rubric states simply because it is the foundation for language, and I personally like to speak very well in certain settings. As a learner, I believe that grammar is very crucial and there must be a solid grammatical foundation in order to start communicating correctly with others, especially Spanish speakers. Grammar, however is very boring for must, and should be put into interesting contexts within dialogues and other exercises. As far as materials go, it is very important to get the students' hands on different types of texts such as novels, poems, song lyrics, and more. Also tying back to the classroom environment, the visuals in the classroom must be very stimulating culturally and grammatically.

I'm most concerned with working with a TPRS teacher, especially one that is not as experienced as others. I don't really favor the teaching style because I like a more grammatical approach to language, but I also think it may be a great learning experience. Another concern I have is my Spanish ability being up to par both for the students and with the teacher. In all honestly, I would like to speak better Spanish than the teacher that way I can become more confident in my skills.

My goals for this semester in teacher assisting is to improve my Spanish skill and really figure out what makes students interested in foreign languages. Spanish especially is almost a "blow-off" class for most high school students, but I believe that I can really get students to see the benefits of Spanish in our modern, changing society with a heavy Hispanic influence. I also really just want to gain confidence in my teaching skills and find methods that work well for both myself and the students. I have a lot to learn, and I'm very excited to become a better teacher.