after new attempt #1

     Well, I finally went through with it. Today we worked through talking about the students themselves, slooooooowly, with little to no prep beforehand. Meaning that I had a short list of questions- name, age, origin, and activity- but no set vocabulary list. No set unit or theme beyond discussing activities and related vocabulary that were related to the students' actual interests. It was our second day back and for my only Spanish 1 class this semester, the second day of Spanish ever, so we started with a super simple story from the fabulous Martina Bex before moving into group discussion. Especially for my 1s, I wanted them to hear and see Spanish in a nonthreatening, silly environment before anything was directed at them. It worked. I'd go as far as to say it went well. It wasn't spectacular, but even my weak students were saying 4 or 5 out of 10 so far as comprehension goes and while that's not where I want them, it is an improvement from where they normally are.
     First and second block each had one interview. First block is my Spanish 1, so the list of vocabulary they didn't know is like twice the size of my other classes, but that's okay. I used a hybrid of different ideas- Scott Benedict's template for vocabulary that I wanted the students to keep and the physical white board for cognates and words that they asked about that were not as high frequency. I need a better way to make that work because I couldn't decide whether I should write out the general terms (canta- s/he sings) or the specific ones as a full phrase (Bob canta con Joan Jett porque canta muy bien) and my hybridization was weird. Third and fourth block both had two people, so we actually got to do some comparison. This made it more fun to some degree, but I'm reworking my plans a bit because I don't think that I can keep it going in an engaging manner for ninety minutes straight, or even close to ninety minutes. Now, what to add to tomorrow to pad out the time with useful input instead of something pointless?

the first day

     Our first day in my district was scheduled for January 4th. The weather decided that the teachers and students needed an extended winter break. This is nice in some ways. (More time to prepare! More time with my family!) However, I don't think my nerves can take much more of a delay. I try to extend myself a little more each semester. This semester, I plan to use Immediate Immersion a bit more faithfully. This means opening the semester with extended student conversation surrounding the students' favorite activities. There seem to be a variety of names for this. Circling. Circling with balls. PQA. Power PQA. Card talk. I'm sure there are some that I haven't heard of yet. Some people have mastered this on the first try. Their conversations flow effortlessly in any language they speak. They remember the words for obscure hobbies without a dictionary.

     I am not that person.

     In fact, this technique has bombed every time I've tried it. I have had decent success with a highly scripted version of this later in the year, but it always feels somewhat artificial. Every technique is not for every teacher. I know that. However, I finally got to experience this technique in person at ACTFL 2017 as a student. I'm not generally a learn-through-doing type, but this was different. This was fabulous. It was relaxed. It was teacher-intensive, but it was not as teacher-focused as I'd always thought, if that makes sense. I don't know why I couldn't see it from the videos I've watched of people using this. Why did it make a difference that I was a student rather than an observer? I was not even one of the students compared in this presentation, but for whatever reason it clicked.

     The teacher's guide starts with the students, but I think to build my confidence and the students' I will start as Scott did in his Power PQA video, by talking about myself first before discussing the students. Only one class this semester is Spanish 1. My other three are Spanish 2, but some of the students will be mine, and some of the students will belong to my coworker's Spanish 1. I'm following the activity conversations with Spanish 2 as well because I'm hoping it will serve as a decent review of this vocabulary for my Spanish 2 students and quite honestly I don't think I'm ready to implement two separate versions. Wish me luck!

an introduction to me and my purpose

     My purpose. Why create a blog? I don't consider myself especially noteworthy. I am certainly not an expert on many things and that includes the evidence-based methods that I use to teach. My purpose is two-fold. One, I feel that there are a plethora of really spectacular teachers who have blogs that detail their successes. They often detail their failures as well and they are generally introspective, but many of them are at the point in their career where a failure is "my story flopped in this class" or "I forgot the word for platypus". These are realistic failures for their level of experience, but not all of us are to that level yet and I feel it can be disheartening at times. Or maybe that's just me. Two, I struggle with accountability. I have inattentive ADHD as well as a neurological disorder that makes it difficult for me to pay attention for extended periods of time. Both are helped by written records. I highly doubt that I am the only member of the teaching community with a learning difference or a medical condition, but I feel that the needs of teachers in this respect are often ignored, whether accidentally or deliberately. It's unfair of me to expect others to expose their own struggles if I'm unwilling to expose mine. I'm not conceited enough to think that I can change the overall community, but I hope that I can make one person feel less alone.
     About me. The most important thing about me in terms of this blog is that I am a Spanish teacher in my hometown of Newport, Tennessee. Teaching was not my first choice. I passionately hated school. During my freshman year of high school, I was homeschooled. During my senior year, I went to college at ETSU rather than spending another year suffering through what I saw as pointless. Early college entrance was not quite as common then as it is now, so my college experience was somewhat unique in that regard. I was, to my knowledge, the only person of my student type on campus. I originally majored in English and Spanish with the intention of becoming a court interpreter. Life interfered, as it often does. I applied for DCS and Cocke County High School. At that time, Tennessee still had a fairly easy route to alternative certification for people with no education experience if the person had a degree in a high needs subject. I was hired and began the process of getting my certification through UTK while I was teaching. It was an interesting experience but not one I'd care to repeat.
     To my utmost surprise, I love teaching. I am primarily an introvert and dealing with large groups of people, especially those I don't know, causes me an unfortunate degree of anxiety. That anxiety doesn't disappear because I love teaching. I have not become any less of an introvert. But I love teaching, and that makes the anxiety and exhaustion worthwhile. My first semester was almost entirely textbook-based. I was introduced to comprehensible input and TPRS through a combination of my fabulous mentor teacher and online blogs. Every semester I have improved a bit more. Every semester I have implemented new techniques. My goal is not perfection, but progress.