A Comprehensible Introduction to CI in the Language Classroom

Bob Patrick discusses Comprehensible Input and what it contains.

Over the past four days, Miriam and I have been attending a workshop over Comprehensible Input (CI) in Latin.  The workshop was run by our friends, the estimable Keith Toda and the indefatigable Bob Patrick.  Both of these men have been delving in comprehensible approaches to Latin for years; Bob in particular has been incorporating aspects of CI into his teaching for 11 years.

Each day has had different focuses; and the teachers at the workshop vary from experienced teachers who have never spoken Latin to teachers like Miriam and myself, who have been using CI in our classrooms since we first began teaching.  It's a good mix; the teachers new to speaking Latin in the classroom are able to ask pertinent questions that about things that I know I often take for granted, and the teachers experienced in the method can add advice that the presenters may or may not think of themselves (though they most likely have the same practices).

And of course, I never pretend to know it all.  There are concepts and ideas that have been introduced in this week that I didn't have familiarity with myself.

I should also add that I didn't even get to attend the entirety of every day.  I had to leave early each day to pick up my son from a writing camp (that he chose and loves!), so I'll be linking Miriam's thoughts on the workshop here to fill in the gaps in my descriptions.

Day 1: Vocabulary is more than flashcards.

Our first day of the workshop was led by Keith, who incorporated his ACL presentation (that I have already written about here) into our introduction to a comprehensible approach.  Then we played some vocabulary games--unfortunately, I don't have any pictures (I was too busy playing!) but the games themselves are described below:

Whiteboard Games
These games are best played with whiteboards (you can easily get "whiteboards" made at Home Depot or the like; buy a showerboard and have the nice men cut it up into 1 ft x 1 ft), but you can always have kids write or draw on their own notebook paper.

Latin Scattergories: Give students a time limit (we had 1 minute) and ask them to write all the words they can think of in a certain category.  In the workshop, we did "starting with the letter ___," but you could do grammatical forms, rooms in a house, etc.  When they're done, assign them to a partner and have students compare their words.  Every word they have in common, they have to cross out.  Afterwards, the student with the most original words wins!  You can repeat this as many times as you want, and it can be a great closer for a class to see what students remember.

Fill in the blank: This doesn't sound as fun as it is.  Or perhaps, since I have a morbid sense of humor, I made it fun, but I believe your students will, too, if you create a classroom culture that is open to creativity.  You write a sentence on the board, such as "femina in via ___" ("The woman in the street ___").  The students then fill in the blank with whatever they decide fits.  Pair them up, have them read their sentences to each other (not just show each other their written boards), and decide a sentence to share with the class.  Mine was "femina in via cordia consumit" ("The woman in the street is eating hearts"--because "is walking" just wasn't exciting enough for me), and we had a good time trying to match the morbidity of that line for the other sentences we were asked to complete.  This allows repetition of certain forms and formats, yet still asks students to show off what they can easily recall, which makes it a low-stress review or activity.

Guess the word: With two students (or teachers, in our case) seated in front, facing the rest of the class and away from the board (the important part), the teacher writes a Latin word on the whiteboard behind the two students.  We then draw the word as best we can on our own whiteboards and when the teacher says, show the students our whiteboards.  The students try to be the first to guess the Latin word.  It's important to emphasize a quick turnover on this--don't give your students too much time to draw or the energy will wane. Concrete words such as "navis" ("ship") are easiest--but you end up with more of a 4 Pics 1 Word effect with more abstract concepts, and that can be fun.

Draw a connection: You put 3-4 words on the board and the students use their whiteboards to draw an image involving all of them.  If they can spin it into a connected story in a couple of sentences, so much the better, but as long as they get all the words down in some form, they are successful.  From there, you can have students share their images and describe them to a partner, you can take an image and project it (Keith has a document camera, which is quick and easy, but I also have been known to take a quick picture with my camera and email it to myself, and other options abound) and discuss, question, etc.  An image can become a spring-board for a shared class story or even something to use to open class the next morning as a review.

It was at this point, unfortunately, that I had to leave to pick up my son.  However, you can find out the rest of the day's activities by reading Miriam's post here.

Day 2: What is Comprehensible Input?

Bob took the lead this day, fresh off the plane from Ireland.  This is relevant--he had several revelations that connected language teaching to driving in Ireland.  I won't be able to do his stories justice--you'll have to meet him and ask him yourself--but I can describe some of the revelations and perhaps what they meant to me and my particular language teaching experience.

What Bob had to say first is, I think, one of the most important messages a teacher new to comprehensible input can receive.  Namely, it's a process.  Honestly.  It's a transition from one way of teaching to a completely different paradigm, and few people can simply shift modes like that.  You need training and practice and, above all, a slow, comfortable transition into the method.  Bob pointed out that it has taken him 11 years to reach the point he's at, and he still considers himself to be transitioning.

The next point Bob made that really stood out to me was this: he teaches with comprehensible input because he wants an equal classroom.  He wants equality for all students.  He doesn't want to just teach the elite, "smart" students that traditionally take Latin, he wants to teach them all, including the unmotivated, the ones supporting their own households, the kids who always struggle but work hard, and the kids with legitimate learning disorders.  Every kid.

My motto, when I had to write a teaching philosophy at the end of my first year, was "all students can learn," so this struck a chord with me.  It is exactly why I began researching methods like TPRS before I even began teaching and why I am devastated by any student who does not succeed in my class.  And why, even though it can be uncomfortable, terrifying, and overwhelming, I still encourage all language teachers to find ways to incorporate comprehensible input into their classrooms.

It's really okay to be scared; I didn't know how to speak Latin when I started, and I was scared myself.

Making Cheesecake
After discussing these things with us, Bob had us gather around a table.

"Class, I'm going to teach you how to make a cheesecake."


He pulled out a list of ingredients and rattled them off.  He then put the list on the table.

Next, Bob started pulling out cooking accouterments, including a whisk and various measuring spoons.  He paused with each one, told us the name of each, but said nothing about how to use them.

What you need to make a cheesecake.

Then it was quiz time.  Questions over what each item was and one question that asked us to list all of the ingredients.  We were able to tackle those questions with some ease--after all, we had just discussed it and, generally speaking, were previously familiar with the cooking implements.  However, the last thing we had to do on our quiz was to write an "essay" explaining how to make a cheesecake.  Those of us with prior knowledge had no problems--I've made cheesecakes before, I'm familiar with recipe format, so it was pretty simple for me.  That was about three of us.  For everyone else, there was nothing in what we did that would help them figure out how to heat the oven, mix the ingredients, bake the crust, then the cake itself, etc.

You can see where this is going.  Having a list of ingredients (vocabulary) and knowing the names of tools (grammar) doesn't give you the ability to bake.  Even though some of us were able to come up with a decent description anyway, that was based on prior knowledge (students who have language experience or are already fluent in a second language), not on the information that Bob had imparted.

Even though we offer vocabulary lists and grammar terms to students, that doesn't mean we've taught them the skills necessary to function in the language--even if all you want is for a student to read in the language, as a student who learned grammar-translation, I was very good at analysis and very poor at just comprehending what I was reading.  I love analysis, I love grammar; neither is a good way to help students comprehend language.

Rules of the Irish Road (and Comprehensible Input)
Once we completed and graded our quizzes and discussed the experience, Bob explained how driving in Ireland compares to CI:

• The directions you are given may not mean what you think they mean.  Bob explained that the way a GPS describes direction in Ireland ("Go left at the rotary") doesn't always make obvious sense to our American training.  In the same way, often you think comprehensible input means one thing (everything must be in Latin!  you can never talk about grammar!), and it's not until you've had some experience that you learn that you were only really hearing part of the discussion.
• You can stay on a rotary as long as you like until you are sure where you are going.  If you've had a chance to drive a rotary (also known as a traffic circle) before (I have, in Arkansas), you know that you are free to continue going around the circle until you know which road you're actually meaning to take.  The same goes for CI.  You don't have to jump into anything; you can keep working on one part, or trying a little, or incorporating 10 minutes a day, or any number of things, until you figure out what is right for you.  
• Use tools the way they can best be used in the location.  In Ireland, there are no building numbers. In order to find a location, you have to use a nearby crossroad, and enter that in the GPS.  Which, though less precise than American addresses, can still get you where you want to go.  In the same way, you can customize the way you use CI methodology to your own classroom and your own situation.  

So, what is Comprehensible Input?

Comprehensible Input is regular and constant understandable messages in the target language.  Anything you do that keeps the language understandable is comprehensible input.  All student activities that include reading or listening can be made comprehensible, and if they are comprehensible, students are able to learn.  Very importantly, CI causes unconscious learning.  As Keith discussed on Day 1 (and is described in my blog post here), to acquire a language, to have it for use later on, the learning has to be unconscious.  If a student "learns" something by memorizing a list, it doesn't move into long-term memory, but instead is usually held for as long as it takes to complete a quiz, then dumped in favor of the next list the child needs to memorize.

What CI is not is immersion.  Immersion in a language implies that anything goes; students often are exposed to language that they do not understand, and that tends to be more frustrating than helpful--it's only through understandable messages that students can learn.  For an example of this, turn on an unfamiliar movie in a language you don't know.  Try to understand any of the conversations happening.  Sometimes you might get an impression of what is going on, but generally speaking, you are not going to learn the language this way.  At least, not quickly.

So if comprehensible input is not immersion, then how do you achieve the 90% target language goal recommended by ACTFL?  The answer is as simple as it is intimidating: practice.  Don't start out expecting to hit that 90% goal.  You're not going to do it.  Your students won't suffer, and they won't know you're missing a goal unless you've told them what it is (which would also be fine--sometimes it's nice to have them helping you stay on target).  Start small--20%, 40%, however much you think you can do.  Most Latin teachers have not been taught to speak the language, so often a slow start is the best way to find a comfort level with it.

And it's worth finding a comfort level with comprehensible input.  Direct, explicit grammar instruction (charts, lists, rules) only informs a small percentage of students who are naturally inclined towards grammar and strong in logical thought (you are probably one of those people if you are reading this post).  This is hard to face, or even to see, as a Latin teacher, because as a Latin teacher, grammar and translation aren't just ways to approach a language, they're a lifestyle and life choice.  Most of us completed degrees in Latin precisely because the grammar enticed us.  Which is also why it's hard for Latin teachers to differentiate between true reading and speedy translation.  Many Latin teachers, especially if they have translated a text more than once, can very quickly go through the text and turn it into English.  However, if you aren't forgetting that you're reading and experiencing a movie in your head (as fluent readers do in their native language), then you aren't reading--you're translating, possibly very quickly, but not reading.

And reading--real, fluent understanding--is my personal goal for my students.  I don't want my students taking Latin as a stepping-stone or to improve their SAT scores (though I know that's why many do); I want them to take Latin to learn to think in Latin.

This is as much as I got to experience the theory before I had to head out to pick up my son.  As before, Miriam was able to finish out the day and posted about it here.

Day 3: TPRS

The third day had a focus on the methodology of TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling) and what a year and week of TPRS-centered Latin pedagogy look like.

This inspired me to see what I have posted about TPRS, and it turns out I haven't posted much (just an explanation of the method here and a video of my own lesson here) .  When I reflected on why I haven't posted much over a method that I use almost every day in class, I realized it's because I consider TPRS old news.  I have been using the approach for nine years, have known about it for eleven, and it has existed for at least twenty.  I think I forget that not everyone knows about it, understands it, and knows how to do it.

Aside from my general rundown linked above, here are some observations about TPRS as a comprehensible input method.

TPRS is comprehensible because it "shelters" vocabulary.  What this means is that the vocabulary is limited; you only introduce a few words at a time (generally four or so a day).  Grammar does not have to be sheltered because comprehensibility actually tends to be centered in vocabulary.  Try an experiment in your own class.  Using words you have used over and over in class, speak a sentence that uses unfamiliar grammar but completely familiar vocabulary.  Then check understanding.  There will be kids who recognize you did something different and want to ask you about it.  Overall, though, your class will have at least a basic understanding of what you said, because it's the words, not the grammar, that communicate most meaning.

Bob himself, along with some other Latin teachers (I am in on the conversation, as is Miriam, though we have not been actively participating; I believe for both of us, our online classes take up much of our free time) have been collaborating on a generalized list of the 400 most important vocabulary words for students to learn--based on Latin authors they want their students to read--which is intended to be taught slowly, over three years.

To check understanding in TPRS, you can ask students what something means or test them over their comprehension, but the biggest clue is to teach to the eyes.  If all eyes are on you, all eyes are focused, and students are responding appropriately to your questions (called circling; it is also discussed in my blog post), that generally means they are not only engaged, but they are comprehending what you are saying.  There is a TPRS maxim: Teach to the Eyes.  Kids lose interested when they don't understand you.  When kids start looking elsewhere, when they stop showing any focus, that is when you should take a step back, focus on those kids, and bring them back to the conversation.

If you have kids who have trouble maintaining focus, one thing you can do is assign them a "job" to help you keep up with your success as a teacher.  Several jobs are suggested here, in a blog post by James Hosler; my favorite two are the ones who count your repetitions for you, and the ones who let you know when you slip into English.

Bob also advises a teacher new to the method to just begin using comprehensible input and TPRS with Latin I students, then follow them through their different levels.

And if you're curious what a year in the life of a Latin I Comprehensible Input teacher looks like, here it is (I simply typed up Bob's powerpoints at this point of his presentation):

What a year looks like:

• Day 1: Cards for circling with balls, teach safety net rules and daily engagement in the first day
• Two weeks of TPR with classroom objects and commands and circling with balls
• Circle with balls until you know and have interviewed every student in the room
• Establish 4 words/phrases for 3 days per week to circle via TPRS and PQA
• Read Stage stories when students are handling the vocabulary well
• R and D the story: read and discuss, or read and draw.  Assess comprehension.
• Teach to the eyes.
• Ask them questions, Latine
• Ask them to re-tell the story to you if they seem ready
• When they seem ready to produce, introduce Timed-Writes, with and without drawings
• Create portfolios of timed writes and word counts. (Bob uses portfolios as an exam--students have to choose their best writing and write about why they chose those and why it's their best writing.  They give themselves a grade, then teachers check portfolio and decide if they agree with the grade)
• Begin using embedded readings* when students begin to be overwhelmed with vocabulary.
• When individuals seem ready, ask for them to retell the story.  Use tag-team approach if students seem reluctant: choose two students who can help each other along.
• Pop-up grammar (quick, no more than a one-minute explanation IF a student asks a grammar question)
• As story lines become more complex, use Dictatio to introduce characters and some new vocabulary
• Create a word wall on which you put the most important words, about 100 per semester
• Culture and word study can still be done in English discussion periods, for homework, as flipped classroom, etc.
• Stage tests which focus on comprehension, in Latin with Latin questions and answers, in context isolated grammar (the natural grammar that has been surfacing with the kids), m/c culture and derivatives
• 80/80 rule: if 80% of students have gotten 80% of the material you can move on

And to move from a macroscopic view to a more day-to-day guide:

What a week looks like:

• Die Lunae: Dictatio based on model sentences or key sentences from a story.  Reminder of dictatio and engagement rules.  Collect Dictatio and grade as a daily quiz.
• Die Martis: 4 new words delivered by TPRS, asking or telling a story.  PQA mixed in.  Teach to the eyes.  Use jobs.  Collect data from jobbers (kids with TPRS jobs) at the end of the period
• Die Mercurii: 4 new words delivered by TPRS, asking or telling a story.  PQA mixed in.  Teach to the eyes.  Use jobs.  Collect data from jobbers, quick end of period assessment of yesterday's words: choral or pass out of class.
• Die Iovis: 4 new words delivered by TPRS, asking or telling a story.  PQA mixed in.  Teach to the eyes.  Use jobs.  Collect data from jobbers, quick end of period assessment of yesterday's words: choral or pass out of class.
• Die Veneris: there are options
• Review word wall and all the new words this week--largely English, point out derivatives.
• Read and discuss the story you've been asking all week, typed up from Scriptores notes and including artwork from Articices
• Read and discuss a story, embedded or from text.
• Timed write.
• Word chunk game

*Embedded Readings.  Go through a text and mark all the new words for your class.  If there are too many words, shelter the vocabulary.  Choose 4-5 new words that are important, and circle them.  Then either rewrite the story with a synonym to avoid certain words, exclude a sentence if it is not important to the story, or rewrite sentences to avoid certain phrases.  Read this version first, then read the original.  For particularly difficult texts (such as Virgil), you can actually embed at several levels to help students reach the text with a real understanding of the vocabulary and words.

At this point, I had to leave to pick up Phoenix.  Miriam, however, continues the day here.

Day 4: Practical Application

Patrick Yaggy asks a story.

So, the great thing about having teachers at various levels of experience is that we can be mixed into groups that allow a more experienced person to help out someone with less experience.

On day 4, the last day of the workshop, we were asked to break into groups to work on a story together.  Our groups were assigned to choose 4-5 words or phrases, prepare a plan for practicing them out loud, then create an embedded version of the story.  Bob and Keith provided feedback on our repetitions, practice, and stories so we could best know how to improve.

There's not a lot to add here; the practical application was time well spent, though not easily expressed or experienced via typed descriptions.  The best thing you can do is either find a teacher to mentor you through (almost any TPRS and comprehensible input teacher will be glad to do so), so you can watch the method in action and hopefully be watched and coached in turn.

At the CASIE Speakeasy for Gaelic -- a student perspective

     Recently, Rachel and I went to the CASIE Speakeasy's Gaelic presentation. We both went with different intentions and, thus, you will find two blog posts about this. When Rachel posts hers, I will link to it.

A few bits of background on me that will make this post make more sense.

1. I am a 4%er. I love, L-O-V-E the intricacies of language and I am that student who sits in the front (partly because I wear glasses) and raises her hand and asks, "okay... so what if I were to do this in the language... how would that look". I love the puzzle languages present and I love the rush when I try to put something together myself and I get it right. 
2. I am a perfectionist. Someone commented to me while there that they noticed how I wouldn't respond unless I was sure I'd get it right. I am also that kid. I get frustrated when I don't get it right and I get upset when I can't figure it out. Sometimes that is mistaken for lack of caring or anger... if it is, it is anger with myself because, as a 4%er, I feel like I should be able to get it. 
3. I am Irish. I bleed green, white, and orange. I come from two different Irish clans. While we do not have family there now, to the best of my knowledge, we know where they are buried and we've kept our Irish heritage alive within the family. It has long been a dream of mine to learn to speak the language. I have tried numerous times on my own and, as my dad put it after coming back from his recent trip there, it is the language that eludes. So, you can imagine the squeal I let out when I saw that it was being offered -- an hour and a half of direct instruction in the language I have been longing for.

     The thing to remember about the CASIE speakeasy events is that these are full immersion events. The speaker is to speak no English once the session begins. There is a Q and A session in English afterwards, however. Our teacher, Ms. Eilis Crean (founder of The Irish Gift) was teaching us through folk song. We were given a handout with the original Gaelic lyrics, the English phonetic version, and an English translation. Ms. Crean used a PowerPoint presentation to introduce the song, it's history, and certain pronunciation points. 

     After she was introduced, the lesson began. I was poised and ready to take notes. I knew I wouldn't understand everything, but I'd hoped to start putting pieces together right away. Man, was I wrong. Okay, that sentence was hard to write. I wasn't expecting to struggle in the beginning to the degree I did and that threw me for a loop. It wasn't the teaching or the teacher. It wasn't the setting or the materials, it was me! I had gotten caught up in my own 4% that I'd forgotten about the 96%. I'd forgotten to listen. I mean, really listen. I'd forgotten that in order to figure out the puzzle, you have to take a step back and get a sense of things first.

(left to right) Me, Rachel, Eilis Crean

     Once I realised what was happening, I was quick to take a step back and start over. Then, I was able to start picking up things from what she was saying. She gave examples of pronunciation in the language  She had us repeat after her. I knew that even if I didn't get it at first, by the time it got to me, I'd have it... or... I'd be first and she'd correct me until I got it. At first, I was scared (being the perfectionist), but I quickly got over that because she made it clear that we'd speak, even if we were "just" repeating. There was, oddly, some comfort in that. I started scribbling notes.

I want to pause here for a minute and make a note: I've studied many languages in one form or another (9 including this brief session). The three that have stuck are Latin, English, and Arabic. Over the years, I have found English to be incredibly lacking when it comes to language learning. So much so that I rarely take language notes in English. I pause to say this because there may be a situation where a student is taking notes in his or her native/another language. I am not sure this is a bad thing. I can make connections to Gaelic using Arabic and Latin that I cannot do using English. English is not my "language-learning" language. 

     I scribbled furiously. After the session, it was noted that I'd been scribbling all over my paper. The people at my table, at one point, just stared at me. Ya, I'm that kid. I realise it was distracting to them at some point, but, from my perspective in that moment, I was in my zone. I was figuring out the puzzle. It didn't bother my table too much and some of them took from my cue and started their own notes. One of the benefits I think of working with a folk song to learn the language was that I could take notes. We didn't move so fast that I had to quickly scribble and then start something new. I had the time to figure things out in my own way. Things were repeating constantly and I could start to put pieces together. The great thing about a song is that you can look for similarities in the structures and words that stories and straight up sentences don't always provide. From that, I was able to start pulling vocabulary out. 

   

Eilis Crean and her violin

 Ms. Crean went over each line, repeatedly. She'd go over it slowly, speaking, then she'd introduce the rhythm. Finally, she'd introduce the tune. By the time we were to sing, I felt confident enough to be vocal. It was easy to feel confident in this class. We spoke as a class at first, then by tables. I never felt singled out, but I also knew that I wasn't going to get an easy pass and not have to participate. By the end of the hour and a half, I felt confident with the song, if not all the words. By teaching each verse and chorus in the same manner, I was able to pull other vocabulary, like some numbers, words of praise, the command to "repeat", and some other tidbits. 

     Using the lyrics, I started pieces together the history as well. There were certain adjectives that went with certain nouns and there were repeated phrases that, using the English translation, showed clear Gaelic idioms. It was a piece of heaven to me and I had great fun taking it apart and putting it back together. 

     Overall, I think the lesson was great. I feel like I walked away with some immediate knowledge about the language and, as I will detail below, about myself as a teacher and a student. Ms. Crean did a great job and, even though I found Gaelic to be difficult, I am inspired to continue. As a teacher, I feel like that is the goal. Besides teaching the language, instilling passion to continue learning. I walked way knowing three things: I'd forgotten some about being a student, I've learned some things about being a teacher, and I will not give up my dream of learning Gaelic and will sign up for more classes. 

I'd forgotten some about being a student

• I am a 4%er. I accept that. As a 4%er, I get caught up in the puzzle and forget the first step of learning a language -- the wonder. I imagine that there are quite a few 4%ers in our own classes that do the same. I wonder if they have the thought to stop, take a step back, and wonder?
• There is joy in figuring things out on my own, even if at a very basic level. I hadn't forgotten this so much as forgotten what it felt like. As a teacher, I need not underestimate that in my own students. 
• Culture shock is real. This kind of goes back to the first point. That overwhelming moment when your brain says, "oh... no. nope. sorry. NOT going to happen."
• If I know that I will not be let off the hook, but the pressure of performing perfectly that I already feel is not doubled by the teacher, I will learn faster and will remember more. 
• I was personally invested in this lesson. Even with the culture shock, I continued on, with excitement. 

I've learned some things about being a teacher

• I cannot assume that my students will remember to listen, on a very basic level. I need to work with that. I need to make sure my students get that if they are not getting it themselves. It should be low stress and should not be based on the time I have, but the time they need
• There is a way to remove the pressure of speaking individually while making sure every student knows they must speak. Choral response is a good start and small group response is a good follow-up. Students who need to extra repetition get it and students who are moving ahead get to be leaders.
• Breaks are necessary. Krashen says i +1; Brain research says that students can only learn for a specific time based on brain age; WAYK says that "full checks" should be frequent and taken very seriously. Culture shock is okay, but only in small doses. 
• I must find topics that students are interested in, either by my design or theirs, or some combination of both. 

     Ultimately, as a teacher, this lesson reaffirmed for me what I know about Comprehensible Input. Basic skills, small steps, enjoyment, breaks, self interest -- all of these are key pieces. In order for 100% of students to learn, I need to reinforce basic skiills, take small steps, enjoy their accomplishments fully, with them, force breaks when necessary, and make sure they are interested. 

     Even if CASIE is not the venue, I'd recommend some language learning for all foreign language teachers. We need to be reminded of what our students go through. We need to be aware of their struggles and their thoughts while learning something we've known how to do for a while. 

A Little Truth in Graffiti

A couple of weeks ago, I was monitoring a test.

It was my third test of the day.  I was bored.  This particular test is a state-mandated standardized test that asks teachers to "actively monitor"--meaning no grading, no planning, no computer, only watching students stare at computer screens--students to make sure the test is as secure as possible.  My job was to walk around, not read the test at all, make sure no one is looking at anyone else, etc.

By the middle of the first test I felt like going crazy.  I had random urges to jump around and wave my arms spasmodically in the air, just to change my pattern: weave this way between the computer tables; now this way.  I will admit to a certain level of hyperactivity and a pretty persistent need to keep my mind busy that often requires a pen and paper (at least) to record my thoughts.  This walking in circles thing while watching kids stare at computers, listening to mice click, scroll, click, is about as opposite my natural modus operandi as it gets.  When I first started teaching I used to carry a stone in one hand when I gave tests in my classroom so I could at least fiddle with something, but I didn't bring one to this test.

It was during one of my passes between computer tables that I noticed it.  Thin, shaky lines, obviously originally written to be hidden, but now betrayed by a simple rearrangement of cardboard dividers, spelled out one student's despair in three straight-forward words: school sucks balls.

School sucks balls.

I silently agreed with the concisely authored phrase as I did a quick turnaround just in case students might think they knew my path well enough to steal a glance at someone else's test--a test that contained different questions in a different order than their tests.  In that setting, at that moment, how could I disagree?  There was no learning, no spirit of inquiry, no empathy, nothing that makes school special, in that setting and at that moment.

There was the test.

And, before that, there was preparing for the test.

Teaching this year has been an eye-opening experience.   Before this year, I was already against standardized testing, pre-testing, interim testing, post testing, and field testing (we did all of these this year--none of that is made up).  I follow SOS: Save Our Schools, a movement against testing as a means of measuring student and teacher achievement.  I recognized the invalidity of a standardized test as a means of measuring either intelligence or learning even as a preteen who was extremely good at testing.  I have hated standardized testing for a very long time.

Yet, I had never experienced teaching a class that culminated in a standardized test.

This year was the first year I've taught Language Arts in a public school.  Previous to that, I have mostly taught Latin, an untested field, and have had the freedom to tailor my classes to my students' needs.   If they knew the current concept and were ready to go on, we did.  If they needed more reinforcement of a concept, we spent more time on it.  I created a community in my classrooms; generally my Latin classes have been joyful and celebratory, filled with fun, jokes, and a personal relationship with my students that let me experiment with methodology and let them tell me with honesty what was working for them.

I still had two Latin classes this year, but I also taught three Language Arts classes.

The difference has been astounding.  I feel like I only got to know maybe a fifth of the students very well.  We were rarely creative.  We were rarely laughing.  We were rarely having fun.  I spent most of my time in the front of the room, lecturing, or pacing through the room while kids read, worked on worksheets, filled out forms.

I should say, this is not my school's fault.  My administration is amazing and supportive--I have never seen such a cohesive and reasonable group of principals.  My course team for Language Arts has bent over backwards to help me teach as effectively as possible and has been there for me every time I had a question--and that's been often.

Instead, it's the fault of the current push to punish schools and teachers for past trespasses that rarely have to do with anyone who is now in the field.  The current cry of "accountability" has spawned a testing craze that makes a huge amount of money for textbook companies and hurts everyone else in education, especially the students.

My students never got to experience the joy of enjoying a great book, never got to celebrate characters and revelations, connections between themselves and literature.  Instead, I got to spoon-feed them as much information as I could so they could be ready for The Test.  The Test, a state-mandated standardized test, was worth 20% of their grade.  Everything I did in class ultimately revolved around The Test.  And my kids, already convinced they don't like spending eight hours a day locked in a building being told what to do, found class boring, tedious, uncomfortable, and uninspiring.  So did I.

Every day I had both subjects, Language Arts and Latin, juxtaposed against each other as a clear illustration of the difference between a standardized and unstandardized subject.  Every day I would so enjoy my Latin classes that I came to dread facing my Language Arts classes and their lack of motivation.  It wasn't the students or the subject, it was the way I had to approach both.

All my spoon-feeding and worksheet-pushing achieved its goal; nearly all of my students not only received a passing score on The Test, but received a good score, one that improved their grade average in my class.  However, I know, from their expressions every time we started a new reading, that they got no joy in my class, found no new literature to love, and generally think Language Arts is one more class that they need to "get through" to graduate.

This is no way to educate life-long learners.  As things currently stand, "school sucks balls."

I only hope that, as this current unfortunate generation of students graduates and gains control of our politics, things will change and this trend will be remembered in history as the mistake and disaster that it is.

FLAG Presentation: Creating a Differentiated Classroom Without The Headache

I was honoured to be asked to present at the Foreign Language Association of Georgia's annual conference in Augusta this year. I decided to present on a topic that I have been very self conscious about this year: Differentiation. It seems to be a very popular "buzz word" in education now and often throws teachers for a loop. There are twenty billion definitions it seems and every person has different standards for what it would look like in a perfect classroom. My hope was to provide real examples of differentiation and help take some of the pressure off of classroom teachers when it comes to differentiation. So, without further ado: Creating a Differentiated Classroom Without the Headache!

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The Rules

1. Keep it simple - As teachers we can over complicate things, not on purpose, but just because we like to think of every angle of how an activity will work and what it will mean for us and our students. As I've experimented this year with differentiation, I've found the simpler it is, the easier it works and the better it works. 
2. It's all about choice - Bearing in mind the first rule, this one is incredibly easy to follow. Make it about the students choosing. This is the simplest form of differentiation. You can limit the choices, but ultimately, let the students choose. Provide guidelines, but let them be the keepers of their educational destiny. They will thank you for it and you won't be reading the same 3 paragraph essay/story over and over again.
3. It's okay to relinquish control, every once in awhile - I made this a rule as a follow up to rule #2. As teachers, we are asked to always be in control of our classrooms. I have found though, that the more you try to control differentiation like you would classroom management, the more unbearable it becomes. It's okay to say "yes" every once in a while when a kid says, "Hey... what about...." You never know where it may go.
4. The more you do it, the easier it becomes - Practice makes perfect... or in this case, practice makes fun. The more you try differentiation, the less afraid you become and, if you relinquish a little control, let kids make choices, and you relinquish a little control... it can become a whole lot of fun!
5. You define the parameters, they get to show you their style - Often it is said that we teachers should teach life skills. Why not take this and apply to all classes with differentiation? Define the parameters (grammar topics, sentence limits, vocabulary targets) and let them have creative freedom. This will make the grading process more interesting as well as make it more fun for them (as well as anyone observing your classroom!)

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The Ideas

• You probably already do it! - You may not realise it, but every time you review vocabulary, grammar, culture, do a warm up or summarising activity... you are differentiating the content. By reviewing, acting out, drawing, giving synonyms, "previewing", or answering those quick "student driven" questions, you differentiate! Point this out to your supervisors, parents, and make note of it. You'll be surprised by how much you do it already.
• Only Half the Story - Differentiate the content by breaking students into groups and only giving them part of the information (e.g. the first/second half of a story, a list of half the vocab from a chapter/activity/story, a picture that evokes certain words/ideas/phrases, etc.). Ask students to come up with a list of what they think the item is about, what emotions it evokes, what they think is going to happen, what they think happened, etc. Then, share with the rest of the class and start a discussion. If you look at the photos in my presentation (listed below), you can see what kind of words a well put together activity can evoke. Use this as an opening activity, or as a tool of summary, or a pre-reading strategy.
• Student Choice Assignment - This is all about choice. I collect four grades each chapter/unit --> a classwork grade that I choose, a classwork grade that they choose, a grade from their computer study day, and a quiz grade of their choosing. I reserve the right to collect any assignment, and I set specific parameters for each assignment. Students then choose their best work. This ensures that their grade isn't reflecting a day where they were sick, absent, or what have you and they get to show me exactly what they found valuable or learned. Here are my parameters for the three grades they get to choose:
  1. classwork grade - must be an activity that took the majority of class and pertains to our stories.
  2. Quia lab day - students must work for the entire period on our Quia activities. They may fill out a questionnaire or base their grade off of time spent/notes taken.
  3. Timed Write quiz grade - students complete a series of timed writes (described below). They choose their best and submit for a quiz grade.
• Embedded Stories - You may wish to read this earlier write up about embedded stories. I find myself doing these more and more. In my presentation (listed below), you see an upper level example based off of Ovid and a first year example based off of a story we read. Embedding involves taking the story and simplifying it. This can take many forms like a wordle or a summary for pre-reading, a very simply version for Day 1, a dictatio (dictation), a more complex version, so on and so forth. The idea is to severely limit vocabulary to make the language become comprehensible for students. You can lead students with an embedded story through a dictatio, a read and discuss, a guided notes session, a reader's theatre, etc. By embedding it, you create 2, 3, 4, even 5 versions that students can learn from and you've increased your way of reaching them. 
• Timed Write - Start with 5 minutes after a discussion or reading. Ask students to silently write for the entire 5 minutes. Everything they remember. No aids. Ask them to do their best. If you do this consistently  you will find that you can keep track of their progress, as can they. My students often tell me excitedly how their word count has increased or how they notice certain minuscule details about their writing. I love hearing that. When I collect these, I NEVER grade them on grammar. I simply grade them on understanding. As you do this, students will start complaining about the time given. This is when you increase the time you give, eventually getting to 15-20 minutes. 

In my presentation and handout, you will find a few more examples as well as my resources and contact information. I hope you find this information useful and please feel free to contact me with any questions or stories! The more ideas the better! 

Happy Spring and happy differentiating!

How to Make an Ablative Absolute Quilt (From my article in the Classicist)

Today I woke up and (as happens all-too-often) realized that I really had no realistic plan for teaching my Latin II class. I was bored with the normal day-to-day activities that we all do as standby, and wanted to do something a little different.

As I stood looking around my room, willing my desks and chairs to give me an idea, that ever-elusive muse of teaching touched me and I knew what I was going to do with my students—we were going to make a quilt! A paper quilt, clare, because I don’t have the money for fabric or ... (you can read the rest here)

Activity for an Insomniac: Quick, Easy, and No Prep!

Last week I was facing my class after a night of almost no sleep.  Like many teachers, there are those times when my head gets filled with a huge list of responsibilities that have to be carried out in the next day or week.  This was one of those times; I woke and started working out how I was going to get everything done.  Unfortunately this was around 1 AM.  Which meant that when I finally got to school and had to teach around 6 hours later, I had little energy to offer my students.

Often on days where I'm sick or feeling wiped out (which are rare) I fall back on worksheets, which my class receives rarely enough that a worksheet elicits concern from my kids. 

This time, however, my son had just been sick the week before and I had given the substitute worksheets for my students to do while I was away.  I really had no interest in giving them worksheets again.  As the clock ticked closer to our late bell, I finally realized what I could do that would be low impact on me and enjoyable to my kids.

I assigned a comic.  They were required to form small groups (I arranged the desks in 4-person "tables" before class actually started) and write a comic in the passive voice (the grammar topic we've been working on).  Once I had all the comics turned in, I taped them around the hall, far enough away from each other that students wouldn't have to crowd each other to read them.

Lastly, because I wanted them to interact with each other's work, I gave each group seven squares of paper.  The papers were new comic panels, I explained,  for them to write and illustrate new endings for their classmates' comics.  Groups fanned out and eagerly read the other comics and discussed the best way to change each story.  There was a lot of discussion, a lot of laughter, and only a little need for a Latin teacher.   So I stood back and watched the movement and the relaxed Latin atmosphere.  

 I will break this activity out again sometime--it's a great rainy day activity with its natural kinesthetic aspect and light tone.  Yet students had to flex their Latin muscles too as well as solve the problem of writing an entire story in the passive voice (try it--it's hard).

If you've used similar activities in your classes, I would love to hear about it!  Post below.

My Date With CASIE (Part II)

I'm not really normally a two-part blogger.  If I have a lot to say, I just sort of put it all in one place and hope you don't get too tired of me halfway through and stop reading.

But this month has been a very, very busy one, and even though I wasn't yet ready to actually blog about the lesson I posted, I wanted to put it up online so anyone who was interested and possibly struggling might have a chance to watch a communicative method in practice.  I don't claim to be the best example, but I do claim to be an example, and when it comes to Latin, there are really too few examples of Latin lessons taught in the language itself.  As an awesome side-effect, another Latin teacher, the wonderful James Hosler, also braved the critiques of his fellows and posted a video of himself teaching using PQA (Personalized Question and Answer--a traditional and effective TPRS technique).

Long introduction.

Myself and John Wilson and Bubo.

I had a really unique opportunity this January.  At a regional conference, I met John Wilson, who organizes monthly Speakeasies for CASIE, the Center for the Advancement and Study of International Education.  We talked while I tried very hard to calm my nerves before a presentation (I am always nervous before a presentation) and thanks to that chance meeting, he booked me to teach Latin for one night at one of the Speakeasies.

I really love the concept behind the Speakeasies.  If you are interested in language and language-learning, you can sign up for a free ($1 donation optional) one-hour course in a variety of languages.  Every month, there is a Speakeasy featuring a different language.  They have ranged from Tagalog to Swahili to Polish, and each lesson is taught, with mine being a necessary exception, by a native speaker.  There is one rule for the lesson: it must be taught in the target language.

This rule was harder to follow than I initially grasped, because initially I figured, hey, I teach using spoken Latin all the time.  But though I have used TPRS since my second year teaching, I eventually realized that TPRS has, almost since I heard of it, had no problem with introducing vocabulary in English as long as that builds meaning.  And now I had to figure out how to teach words like quid ("what"), words I have always introduced by simply writing them on the board with their English translations, in context without English.

Quid?!

How do you do that?

I won't take you through the painful process of the many, many false starts I had when creating the lesson I had in mind.  My creative process always includes false starts--perhaps why I encourage my students to write first and figure it out later.  I also won't take you through my final decisions (they're all recorded in the video of my lesson that CASIE and John were kind enough to allow me to make).

Teaching Latin without English gave me a chance to really think about language, how my students process language, how hard it can be to just want a simple word-to-word correlation and have to settle for vague similarities between word meanings.  How do you teach the word "have" and not end up communicating something more like "want" or "love" or any other possible meaning that could correlate with holding something like you own it?  I didn't want the Speakeasy participants to leave feeling confused or unsure of exactly what the language had been communicating.  I easily admit to being scared that I would be a poor representative of the spoken Latin community and more than once the coward in me considered calling up the many wonderful Latin teachers I know and seeing if I could find a substitute.  I felt just as vulnerable as some students feel, when they have to leave English behind in my class, because it's our safety net.  If they don't get it, I can quickly explain in English, then move back to Latin.

I did draw my words.  Many, many pictures.

Perhaps this is a problem that is not too prevalent in languages with fluent speakers and immersion opportunities.  Latin speakers have had to create our own immersion opportunities, which we do, but I know my progress in the language is much slower and more laborious than I would prefer.  My lack of fluency can hinder my bravado sometimes.

Watching the video I made, I see my nerves coming out during my lesson.  My arms are swinging constantly (also a sign of me thinking on my feet) and there are many significantly long hesitations when I realize I'm not sure how to move forward at the moment.

I also see myself having fun.  Because it was fun.  Teaching is fun, and teaching in an environment full of willing and responsive students is close to unreal.  The energy at CASIE and the Speakeasy was so positive and receptive that it would have been difficult to fail.

I am really excited to continue to take part in the CASIE Speakeasies.  I am already enrolled in one for Gaelic and another for Bulgarian.