Recuerdos Entre Dulces y Amargos

This past week, I finished up my placement at Lincoln Hall. I can’t believe how quickly it went by. I had a great time there and am really going to miss it. It was a bittersweet week as I felt so blessed to have such a great placement and so sad to have to leave. The students were really sweet, though. They made me feel really special by proclaiming to me how much they were going to miss me as well.

One of goals for last week were to maintain communication with Lincoln Hall after I’m finished, which I will have to do in the remainder of the semester/year. My other goal was to have a great final week at Lincoln Hall and to make sure I leave as a good role model to all of my students. I had a great last week at Lincoln Hall and know that I’m going to miss being there a lot. I believe that I left as a positive role model in my students’ lives as well.

My goals for this upcoming week are to have a good first week at my new placement and to learn how to prepare for and present an upper level Spanish class, since this will be new for me (something I can work at all semester).

The word I chose to describe this past week at my placement is bittersweet. I had such a great placement and we all felt so comfortable together that it made it really sad to have to leave so quickly.

One thing that I think is really cool about teaching Spanish is the ability to incorporate so many different content areas and relate what we’re learning to students’ lives. For example, this past week, I taught students about Direct Object Pronouns (DOPs). In order to do so, I had to relate what they knew about DOPs in English/teach them DOPs in English. I was also able to relate it to their lives, because it’s something we use in language without even realizing it; it just come naturally to us. I gave them several practical examples in which they might be able to use them in everyday situations. Because Spanish is a foreign language, we are able to cover all the different content areas and life situations/career language throughout the course of learning.

In learning a language, there are times when we misinterpret pronunciation, grammatical rules, and cultural tendencies. One way I try to correct students’ misconceptions is to try to show them where they might have gone wrong and then explain how they can correct their thought. This week, I encountered an example that goes along with this perfectly. While teaching students Direct Object Pronouns, I noticed that several students were getting mixed about knowing when to use “nos” (we) vs. the nosotros form of the verb. While checking their homework one day, I stopped and asked how many students were using “nos” instead of “lo, la, los, or las.” Several students raised their hands, so I decided to write the sentence on the board and show them where their misinterpretation took place and how they could fix it. I made sure to remind them that underlining the verb and then circling the DO can help them determine which DOP they need to use. Then, they should make sure the DOP they have chosen stays the same in their final sentence. By explaining to students where their thinking may have gone wrong, they are able to correct their misinterpretation and fix their false ideas. It was exciting to see many students light bulbs go on while explaining to them.

This week, I taught several lessons about Direct Object Pronouns, incorporating several different ways to explain them and let them practice. During one day’s lesson, I started out presenting their homework in a different way than usual. Instead of just putting the answers on the overhead for students to correct and make changes on their own, I made sure they understood how to find their answer by breaking down the questions for them. It seemed to help them a lot more than if I had just put the answers up. I was also able to correct their incorrect ideas as we went on by answering questions that students had on specific questions. I was able to explain where students were going wrong (as I mentioned earlier) and how they could fix it. After this, I handed each student a piece of paper with a picture on one side and question on the other side. I started them off by asking a question. Then, the student with the picture of the Direct Object I was asking about would respond by changing the verb form and using the Direct Object Pronoun. After they answered, they would ask the question on the back of their sheet. The game would continue on throughout the classroom so that each student had a turn to ask and answer a question. (For example, I asked, “¿Quién lleva una chaqueta?" (Who wears the jacket?) and whoever had the picture of the jacket would answer by saying “La llevo.” (I wear it.) Then, they would read the question on the back of their sheet which might say something like “¿Quién prefiere la primavera?” (Who prefers spring?) and so on.) This activity helped a lot of students understand how to use DOPs when answering a question, which was great!

Although we only had time for two different activities (and a quiz) this day in class, we practiced several different ways to use DOPs, which met the needs of different learning styles and abilities. It was helpful for them to do these different exercises not only because it helped a range of students who learn in different ways, but also because students were able to see that what they were learning applied to their everyday life. In English, we use DOPs without even thinking about it. My goal is for students to eventually become more comfortable with using DOPs that they won’t think about it in Spanish either.

This past week, I didn’t have to use any adaptive devices to provide access to students with disabilities. I usually have to wear a microphone around my neck for one of my students with slight hearing loss, but this week it was being fixed. I reassured her that I would talk pretty loud and to let me know if she was ever having trouble hearing me. We got through the week just fine, though, which is great.

Throughout the review of last years’ materials, I have had to teach my students many grammatical rules in Spanish. In order to do so, I often relate it directly to what they know about grammar in English, which helps them transfer their ideas. I also reviewed the numbers in Spanish and did some simple math problems for them to practice. There are also units that students often cover in Spanish in which they learn about the body parts in Spanish, different occupations, household items, and much more. There are so many different subject areas and life experiences that Spanish can relate to, which is great. It helps students realize how we can use Spanish in our every day lives and how they can transfer what they know about one content area to Spanish and vise versa. These lessons can be taught in several different ways, including the ways I have already chosen to teach them in.

By incorporating other content areas and life experiences to what students are learning, I am able to practice making Spanish even more relevant to their lives, which, in turn, would hopefully make students more interested in learning.