Cycle 1 Forming Interview Questions
Findings
Students do remember things from Spanish 1 class.
When students brainstormed lists of icebreakers, I was impressed by how well the they remembered these phrases from Spanish 1 without much formal review. In the student work below, examples of this are seen with questions like "How old are you?" and "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
Students do remember things from Spanish 1 class.
When students brainstormed lists of icebreakers, I was impressed by how well the they remembered these phrases from Spanish 1 without much formal review. In the student work below, examples of this are seen with questions like "How old are you?" and "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
I wondered what made my students remember these icebreaker type questions. Was it because of skits in front of the class? I began to informally observe more of the activities being done by the Spanish 1 teacher and noticed there were a lot of skits, presentations, and graded conversations in front of the class or with the teacher.
I need to hold students accountable for participation.
For the second round of collective interviews with health-related questions, I let the students know that I would be taking notes as I circulated for their participation grade. Just by me having said that, and seeing the clipboard in my hand, students seemed much more on task. Sure, intrinsic motivation is ideal, but students still respond to grades and extrinsic motivation. As a beginning teacher I'll take what I can get and keep exploring both types of motivation. The results below are from my tally sheet while circulating during the second round of collective interviews on Day 4. The category "On task w/ English" means that English was being used to clarify.
For the second round of collective interviews with health-related questions, I let the students know that I would be taking notes as I circulated for their participation grade. Just by me having said that, and seeing the clipboard in my hand, students seemed much more on task. Sure, intrinsic motivation is ideal, but students still respond to grades and extrinsic motivation. As a beginning teacher I'll take what I can get and keep exploring both types of motivation. The results below are from my tally sheet while circulating during the second round of collective interviews on Day 4. The category "On task w/ English" means that English was being used to clarify.
The largest category of participation was "on task w/ mistakes" which seems likely since most of the students were still in the formative stages of learning the content. I was pleased that only 10% were "off-task," but skeptical of this being skewed because students had just been told they were getting assessed and graded for participation.
The data collection had other limitations. I know that as I circulate, it could be possible that students switch to "on-task" conversations just in time according to my proximity. The pie chart and tally sheet could show slightly higher representations of participation than what was actually taking place.
The data collection had other limitations. I know that as I circulate, it could be possible that students switch to "on-task" conversations just in time according to my proximity. The pie chart and tally sheet could show slightly higher representations of participation than what was actually taking place.
Reflection
Finding that students remembered things from their previous Spanish class was uplifting. What made students remember? After observing the veteran Spanish 1 teacher who taught my students last year, I noticed she implements many speaking activities in front of the class or in one-on-one conversation with her. Did the stress of these presentations in front of peers motivate the students to study harder and practice more? Earlier I've mentioned the theory of lowering stress and the affective filter to increase language gains. While stress can impede language learners in the moment, maybe the type of preceding stress that pushes one to prepare for an upcoming presentation or performance outweighs the other. Going forward, I will keep this in mind and maximize the opportunities for students to present or perform for an audience, being sure they have had the necessary practice to build confidence beforehand. As a teacher, I can influence their language gains as much as their own perceived motivation by designing activities, ones that give students the just the right amount of stress to push them to prepare and improve for a future presentation or interaction. I'm reminded of the findings from my literature review that said teachers' expectations of their students can be a bigger predictor of language gains than student motivation. I need to work toward expecting more from my students instead of fearing I might be overworking them creating a distaste for language class.
To improve motivation and language gains during collective interviews, I told the students they would be assessed for participation and used the tally sheet. I also tried to prevent them from choosing the same partners by having the worksheet with spaces for 5 different names and answers. I reflected-in-action during one round after I noticed students were starting to congregate in groups larger than two. I placed note cards at 12 different evenly distributed stations then stated the new rule of having to find a partner at a station.
To keep them from using English, I said, "For the next 5 minutes, I shouldn't hear a word of English." Instead, I encouraged them to use hand gestures if needed. In the future I would like to have an activity or two focus on non-verbal communication. It is an often-overlooked part of communicating and can be a very useful skill.
In the next cycle, students would need to continue to gain practice and confidence with speaking and interviewing skills. They would also need to experience the challenges of obtaining a quality audio recording of an interview. I would continue with my plan to have them create a written and recorded mini interview in pairs.
Finding that students remembered things from their previous Spanish class was uplifting. What made students remember? After observing the veteran Spanish 1 teacher who taught my students last year, I noticed she implements many speaking activities in front of the class or in one-on-one conversation with her. Did the stress of these presentations in front of peers motivate the students to study harder and practice more? Earlier I've mentioned the theory of lowering stress and the affective filter to increase language gains. While stress can impede language learners in the moment, maybe the type of preceding stress that pushes one to prepare for an upcoming presentation or performance outweighs the other. Going forward, I will keep this in mind and maximize the opportunities for students to present or perform for an audience, being sure they have had the necessary practice to build confidence beforehand. As a teacher, I can influence their language gains as much as their own perceived motivation by designing activities, ones that give students the just the right amount of stress to push them to prepare and improve for a future presentation or interaction. I'm reminded of the findings from my literature review that said teachers' expectations of their students can be a bigger predictor of language gains than student motivation. I need to work toward expecting more from my students instead of fearing I might be overworking them creating a distaste for language class.
To improve motivation and language gains during collective interviews, I told the students they would be assessed for participation and used the tally sheet. I also tried to prevent them from choosing the same partners by having the worksheet with spaces for 5 different names and answers. I reflected-in-action during one round after I noticed students were starting to congregate in groups larger than two. I placed note cards at 12 different evenly distributed stations then stated the new rule of having to find a partner at a station.
To keep them from using English, I said, "For the next 5 minutes, I shouldn't hear a word of English." Instead, I encouraged them to use hand gestures if needed. In the future I would like to have an activity or two focus on non-verbal communication. It is an often-overlooked part of communicating and can be a very useful skill.
In the next cycle, students would need to continue to gain practice and confidence with speaking and interviewing skills. They would also need to experience the challenges of obtaining a quality audio recording of an interview. I would continue with my plan to have them create a written and recorded mini interview in pairs.
Cycle 2 Adventures in Recording a Mock Interview
Findings
Students still need practice in pronunciation.
When I opened each audio file shared with me, it was exciting to hear the students attempting to speak their best Spanish. They used intonations as if they were native speakers being asked to act, which they were doing in a way. There were many entertaining examples of an overemphasized "hmm" or "ah." Overall they did well, but I was surprised at how many mispronunciations I heard that would result in a lack of communication. In the file below students say two or three lines near the end that I believe would break down communication with a native speaker.
Students still need practice in pronunciation.
When I opened each audio file shared with me, it was exciting to hear the students attempting to speak their best Spanish. They used intonations as if they were native speakers being asked to act, which they were doing in a way. There were many entertaining examples of an overemphasized "hmm" or "ah." Overall they did well, but I was surprised at how many mispronunciations I heard that would result in a lack of communication. In the file below students say two or three lines near the end that I believe would break down communication with a native speaker.
Pronunciation room 4 improvement | |
File Size: | 4959 kb |
File Type: | mov |
The following day, students were engaged to hear their classmates and practice transcribing. At first, they focused, listening and writing intently, likely trying to figure out who was speaking as the main motivation. As I played more audio, students began writing less, but still seemed to be listening and showed understanding by calling out translations when prompted.
Timing and planning ahead is crucial in project based learning.
When we played the student made video to serve as a model for our product, students were very intrigued as it is an engaging and emotional video. As students discussed the project as a class, they seemed to be excited for the most part. One question that was asked would come back to haunt me. "What does the timeline or calendar look like?" The version of the project sheet I had passed out didn't have one at the time and the student was right to be concerned. She had likely done a video project already and knew that time was of the essence. I came up with a timeline soon after but would eventually realize that is was an unrealistic one.
Timing and planning ahead is crucial in project based learning.
When we played the student made video to serve as a model for our product, students were very intrigued as it is an engaging and emotional video. As students discussed the project as a class, they seemed to be excited for the most part. One question that was asked would come back to haunt me. "What does the timeline or calendar look like?" The version of the project sheet I had passed out didn't have one at the time and the student was right to be concerned. She had likely done a video project already and knew that time was of the essence. I came up with a timeline soon after but would eventually realize that is was an unrealistic one.
Reflection
"Remember you are still language learners."
This is what I had to tell my students on more than one occasion. I think high school language learners want to somehow immediately be as proficient in a second language as they are in their first. They forget the simple language they used when first learning English. My students constantly opt to use the help of native speaking classmates or translating apps to express their complex thoughts. This results in them getting into verb tenses above their knowledge and worse, not using and reinforcing the vocabulary they do know. I believe this is the reason for the many mistakes in pronunciation I heard. Students trying to express complex sentences and words they've never heard, seen, or said before.
Comparing their stages of learning to their English proficiency could also explain why the students sounded like they were over-acting in the practice audio interviews. I think they were making up for a lack of language skills with exaggerated delivery when reading their lines.
When I think back on it more, cycle 2 may have given students practice with recording devices and more speaking, but I realize it was a very different experience for them to have multiple takes recording in a room with one other person. For their interviews with Spanish speaking parents, it would be one take while working with a larger group of students and a stranger. I decided the only thing to help prepare them for that was to start interacting in the actual setting in which the interviews would be recorded.
"Remember you are still language learners."
This is what I had to tell my students on more than one occasion. I think high school language learners want to somehow immediately be as proficient in a second language as they are in their first. They forget the simple language they used when first learning English. My students constantly opt to use the help of native speaking classmates or translating apps to express their complex thoughts. This results in them getting into verb tenses above their knowledge and worse, not using and reinforcing the vocabulary they do know. I believe this is the reason for the many mistakes in pronunciation I heard. Students trying to express complex sentences and words they've never heard, seen, or said before.
Comparing their stages of learning to their English proficiency could also explain why the students sounded like they were over-acting in the practice audio interviews. I think they were making up for a lack of language skills with exaggerated delivery when reading their lines.
When I think back on it more, cycle 2 may have given students practice with recording devices and more speaking, but I realize it was a very different experience for them to have multiple takes recording in a room with one other person. For their interviews with Spanish speaking parents, it would be one take while working with a larger group of students and a stranger. I decided the only thing to help prepare them for that was to start interacting in the actual setting in which the interviews would be recorded.
Cycle 3 Interview with Spanish Speaking Parents
Findings
Click on the images below to view sample student reflections.
Findings
Click on the images below to view sample student reflections.
Summary
"It was like we were actually testing our Spanish."
This was one of the most memorable quotes a student enthusiastically told me while walking back from the first meeting. I could see how the student might feel this way. Trying to use a new language in context and outside of the classroom for the first time would feel like you were "testing" it to see if it worked. Students always want to know how they're going to use what they learn in the real world. Interacting with native speakers seems like an effective way for students to see an application and value to what they're learning in class.
The following are all excerpts from students' written reflections after our meeting. They were chosen because they were the most common responses or ones that supported that having students interact with native speakers in the community helps them to become more motivated to learn by making social and emotional connections.
Highs
"It was like we were actually testing our Spanish."
This was one of the most memorable quotes a student enthusiastically told me while walking back from the first meeting. I could see how the student might feel this way. Trying to use a new language in context and outside of the classroom for the first time would feel like you were "testing" it to see if it worked. Students always want to know how they're going to use what they learn in the real world. Interacting with native speakers seems like an effective way for students to see an application and value to what they're learning in class.
The following are all excerpts from students' written reflections after our meeting. They were chosen because they were the most common responses or ones that supported that having students interact with native speakers in the community helps them to become more motivated to learn by making social and emotional connections.
Highs
- "Getting to test my Spanish on a native speaker."
- "Understood lives of these women and their children."
- "I answered the questions she asked me."
- "They understood everything we said."
- "They were very nice and welcoming."
- Couldn't understand everything she said.
- Didn't get to talk with as many women as I'd have liked.
- Our group could not understand their responses.
- We didn't have anymore questions.
- It was pretty awkward and just silent.
- Pronunciation
- Listening and responding to her responses.
- Understanding their questions.
- I really want to do what we did regularly
- More students asking questions to keep the conversation going
- More students in a group
- Have better questions ready to go
- Practice, practice, practice.
Reflection
This was the most intimidating and rewarding cycle for me. I had no idea how the students would do. I knew they would struggle a bit, yet saw that as a necessary and motivating factor for learning and improvement. Hearing and reading how the students felt excited about testing out their Spanish completely reinforced my belief that community and immersion with native speakers are very effective ways to increase motivation in language learning. I was equally excited that students were already making social and emotional connections, learning about others lives and finding them welcoming, patient, and friendly.
Of course all of the emotions weren't warm and fuzzy. Just as I felt tension and fear of the unknown, I'm sure the students and parents did as well. Students reported being lost, not understanding or knowing how to respond to parents' questions. They commented on some of the parents being shy, speaking quietly, or not speaking unless they were asked a question. Students also felt "awkward" as many put it, not knowing how to keep conversation flowing. This would be the main skill we would work on improving in the next cycle before meeting again with the Padres Unidos. We would practice our follow up questions and students would benefit from repeated visits to build confidence and rapports.
This was the most intimidating and rewarding cycle for me. I had no idea how the students would do. I knew they would struggle a bit, yet saw that as a necessary and motivating factor for learning and improvement. Hearing and reading how the students felt excited about testing out their Spanish completely reinforced my belief that community and immersion with native speakers are very effective ways to increase motivation in language learning. I was equally excited that students were already making social and emotional connections, learning about others lives and finding them welcoming, patient, and friendly.
Of course all of the emotions weren't warm and fuzzy. Just as I felt tension and fear of the unknown, I'm sure the students and parents did as well. Students reported being lost, not understanding or knowing how to respond to parents' questions. They commented on some of the parents being shy, speaking quietly, or not speaking unless they were asked a question. Students also felt "awkward" as many put it, not knowing how to keep conversation flowing. This would be the main skill we would work on improving in the next cycle before meeting again with the Padres Unidos. We would practice our follow up questions and students would benefit from repeated visits to build confidence and rapports.
Cycle 4 A Second Meeting with Padres Unidos
Findings
The graph below compares the levels of participation in speaking activities during Cycles 1 & 4.
Findings
The graph below compares the levels of participation in speaking activities during Cycles 1 & 4.
Speaking activity participation
When looking at the data from the tally sheet for the second speaking activity I first noticed more off-task behavior. I thought I would have less "off-task" behavior than the previous assessment because students were practicing for their interviews that day. Maybe they were already feeling confident and not worried about cramming in more last minute practice time. Maybe the speaking activity was more demanding, leading to frustration, less motivation and eventually off task conversations. It could also be the case that health related questions were less interesting among students than the icebreakers in cycle 1.
On a positive note, they showed more participation without mistakes. There could have been a slight increase in the use of English due to students having more unique questions than the previous health questions. It could also be due to me not starting the activity stressing to use gestures instead of English like I did before. Again I'm reminded that delivery and instruction from the teacher can be just as important in students' learning as motivation and community interaction.
Second meeting with Padres Unidos
Click on the images below to view sample student reflections.
Overall I think the second meeting went much better than the first. I could tell that students and parents alike seemed more relaxed. Some students were able to meet with the same parent and others were able to interact with a new one. Students reported participating more and being better prepared. Below I have summarized my findings with excerpts from the student reflections following the meeting. The prompts were slightly different this time.
Highs
Lows
Differences from last meeting
Room for improvement
What does it mean to live a language?
Highs
- We had a lot of questions this time.
- They were nice.
- I participated more.
- More comfortable, had fun, and laughed
- They joined with us and sang
- Understood more
Lows
- The singing was awkward.
- We were still not ready for their responses.
- Could have understood more.
- They spoke quietly and fast
Differences from last meeting
- Larger groups
- Conversation flowed more
- We sang.
- They asked a lot of questions and we were able to answer them.
Room for improvement
- Better understanding of their responses.
- Ask more personal questions
- More back and forth
What does it mean to live a language?
- Not just storing it and keeping it inside ourselves, actually using it.
- Experiencing and absorbing the culture
- Applying the language to your everyday life
- Tasting the food with the same tongue that makes the sounds of the language.
- Hearing the music with the same ears that hear the language.
Reflection
Student reflections and improvement
Observing the overall improvement in language skills and community connection reminded me how important repetition and exposure are when learning a language and connecting with others. I think it is so important for students to see and feel progress after experiencing tension and applying effort to improve.
Singing can be awkward, but brings us together
Many students commented on how the singing at first made them feel awkward. I think this is mainly because I had them separated from the parents and singing for them instead of with them. It was also the first thing we did without really greeting or becoming reacquainted with each other.
At the end of the meeting students and parents sang together while seated. It was touching to hear the togetherness and see all of the smiles. Many students also expressed this as one of their highs. In the future, if I have students sing at the beginning of a meeting as well as the end, I will have them seated with parents and encourage everyone to join in together.
Seeing the students' excitement to sing during class time and seeing how it connected us with the Padres Unidos makes me want to use music with every future group of students. After our project for exhibition had to be redirected and so many students suggested incorporating our songs, I wanted to focus on the connection between music, community, and ultimately identity in language learning for Phase 2.
Living the language
When students answered this question on paper and in discussion, they seemed to grasp how entwined language is in our experience. They saw how language is almost inseparable from culture, community, and identity. Many students wrote that "living the language" was about experiencing culture. Again, culture is directly related to community and identity. Others wrote about connecting with others, bettering ourselves and the world around us. Another revealing and common response was about actually using and applying language. All of the responses supported the idea that connecting with the community and incorporating the language or culture into one's own identity can be factors to increase motivation and language gains.
Student reflections and improvement
Observing the overall improvement in language skills and community connection reminded me how important repetition and exposure are when learning a language and connecting with others. I think it is so important for students to see and feel progress after experiencing tension and applying effort to improve.
Singing can be awkward, but brings us together
Many students commented on how the singing at first made them feel awkward. I think this is mainly because I had them separated from the parents and singing for them instead of with them. It was also the first thing we did without really greeting or becoming reacquainted with each other.
At the end of the meeting students and parents sang together while seated. It was touching to hear the togetherness and see all of the smiles. Many students also expressed this as one of their highs. In the future, if I have students sing at the beginning of a meeting as well as the end, I will have them seated with parents and encourage everyone to join in together.
Seeing the students' excitement to sing during class time and seeing how it connected us with the Padres Unidos makes me want to use music with every future group of students. After our project for exhibition had to be redirected and so many students suggested incorporating our songs, I wanted to focus on the connection between music, community, and ultimately identity in language learning for Phase 2.
Living the language
When students answered this question on paper and in discussion, they seemed to grasp how entwined language is in our experience. They saw how language is almost inseparable from culture, community, and identity. Many students wrote that "living the language" was about experiencing culture. Again, culture is directly related to community and identity. Others wrote about connecting with others, bettering ourselves and the world around us. Another revealing and common response was about actually using and applying language. All of the responses supported the idea that connecting with the community and incorporating the language or culture into one's own identity can be factors to increase motivation and language gains.
Overall Findings and Reflection for Phase 1
I started out wanting students to make connections in the community. I wanted them to experience tension from lack of communication as well as satisfaction from improving through effort and exposure.
I first thought that having a problem to solve would be key in motivating students to learn. I realized that students were also motivated by teacher expectations and clear instruction. Students were motivated to apply their learning in the real world with native speakers. Students quickly formed bonds with community members by going through the challenges of second language communication together.
I learned that with project based learning and being a first year teacher, I was prone to being over ambitious and at risk of not planning enough ahead of time for complex products like videos. Not only was planning instruction important, but so was setting up meetings between students and the community. While the student responses showed that were valuing learning Spanish through meetings with native speakers, they weren't getting enough opportunity to do so. And when they did, the ratio of student to native speaker was such that one could participate very little if they chose. This pushed me to change my approach for phase 2. I wondered if I could change the context of the community that students were "using their Spanish" for. Instead of the Padres Unidos and local Hispanic community outside of school, students would use their Spanish to perform to their local public community of friends, and parents in school during exhibition night.
I realized that what we had already been doing in class with the singing was increasing motivation through community and identity. I wanted to continue to explore the avenue of identity and do so by personalizing and performing our songs for exhibition.
Next Steps
I've just begun to explore the role community can play in language learning. Now I have to consider what community means without its counterpart, the self and personal identity. Our community imposes an identity on us, but we also have a part in forming our own identity based on the communities that surround us. One must first have an identity before they can be part of any sort of community, culture or group. Languages are an inherent part of our identity and the communities we belong to. Which leads me to wonder, If I can encourage students to incorporate a part of the language or culture intro their own identities, could it increase their motivation to learn? When I say incorporate into their identity, I mean find at least one thing from the language or culture they relate to, understand, and would like to share with others. Maybe it's learning enough vocabulary to help as a nurse, maybe just enough to order at your favorite restaurant. Maybe it's a few words to understand your neighbor, maybe its just enough to join in singing the chorus of a popular song. Music has deep roots in emotion, culture, and identity. In phase 2, I would like to see if it can be the medium with which students can begin to incorporate the language and culture into their own identity, increasing motivation in language learning along the way.
I started out wanting students to make connections in the community. I wanted them to experience tension from lack of communication as well as satisfaction from improving through effort and exposure.
I first thought that having a problem to solve would be key in motivating students to learn. I realized that students were also motivated by teacher expectations and clear instruction. Students were motivated to apply their learning in the real world with native speakers. Students quickly formed bonds with community members by going through the challenges of second language communication together.
I learned that with project based learning and being a first year teacher, I was prone to being over ambitious and at risk of not planning enough ahead of time for complex products like videos. Not only was planning instruction important, but so was setting up meetings between students and the community. While the student responses showed that were valuing learning Spanish through meetings with native speakers, they weren't getting enough opportunity to do so. And when they did, the ratio of student to native speaker was such that one could participate very little if they chose. This pushed me to change my approach for phase 2. I wondered if I could change the context of the community that students were "using their Spanish" for. Instead of the Padres Unidos and local Hispanic community outside of school, students would use their Spanish to perform to their local public community of friends, and parents in school during exhibition night.
I realized that what we had already been doing in class with the singing was increasing motivation through community and identity. I wanted to continue to explore the avenue of identity and do so by personalizing and performing our songs for exhibition.
Next Steps
I've just begun to explore the role community can play in language learning. Now I have to consider what community means without its counterpart, the self and personal identity. Our community imposes an identity on us, but we also have a part in forming our own identity based on the communities that surround us. One must first have an identity before they can be part of any sort of community, culture or group. Languages are an inherent part of our identity and the communities we belong to. Which leads me to wonder, If I can encourage students to incorporate a part of the language or culture intro their own identities, could it increase their motivation to learn? When I say incorporate into their identity, I mean find at least one thing from the language or culture they relate to, understand, and would like to share with others. Maybe it's learning enough vocabulary to help as a nurse, maybe just enough to order at your favorite restaurant. Maybe it's a few words to understand your neighbor, maybe its just enough to join in singing the chorus of a popular song. Music has deep roots in emotion, culture, and identity. In phase 2, I would like to see if it can be the medium with which students can begin to incorporate the language and culture into their own identity, increasing motivation in language learning along the way.
After reviewing certain literature and implementing phase 1, my AR question would finally change to focus on identity.
How can I help students incorporate the Spanish language and Hispanic culture into their own identity to find greater value in learning?
How can I help students incorporate the Spanish language and Hispanic culture into their own identity to find greater value in learning?