Do we need to change the way we teach a Second Language?
I've been asking myself this question for quite sometime. My curiosity began few years ago when my daughter got placed as a freshman in high school in an honors Spanish class. My kids grew-up in a bilingual household because my husband is American and I am Mexican. I raised them bilingual and I knew my 13-year old would do just fine in an honors class. After the first week of school I asked her who else was in her class. I knew that most kids would be juniors or seniors, and I was surprised when Bella said that several of her freshman friends were with her, including her friend Lilly. Lilly? I said, I didn't know Lilly spoke Spanish! Mom, she said, she doesn't!
My daughter's answer forever changed the way I thought about Foreign Language learning and education. Her answer made total sense after I realized, during my first year as a Spanish teacher in a very high-achieving school, that most of the kids never learn to actually speak the language. They just get REALLY good a "filling-n the blanks" and memorize skits.
How is it possible that, with all the incredible tools we have to make second language learning meaningful, practical and fun, we are still teaching our kids to memorize oral sentences or written paragraphs? How can we measure their mastery of language by simply putting a check mark on all the vocabulary words and verb tenses that we have covered with them in class?
Learning a language is MUCH MORE that that. Lets not forget that to be able to say "I speak Spanish" (or any other language) we must be able to perform the four skills the language: Listening and Reading for Input and Speaking and Writing for Output.
My journey since the day my daughter told me "she doesn't" has been looking for ways to improve my teaching and enhance my student's learning experience. Many things have changed the way I teach, but one of the most powerful ones
is Technology.
I have adopted a completely different approach to teaching and learning. I'd like to believe that I've embraced an "innovator's mindset" that hopefully will allow my students to go beyond "filling-in the blanks" and into the fascinating world of real communication.
This is my journey right now and I hope to share what I discover during this journey with the rest of you.
