Implementing the NYS Standards
Shortly after emerging from our mothers’ wombs one can be confident that few of us were presented simultaneously with an English dictionary and grammar book and told to memorize both within a week. It seems so obvious and perhaps even ludicrous that anyone would believe that a language could be acquired this way, however all too frequently that is how second languages have been presented to students in the classroom. Is it any wonder that many adults recall negative experiences in learning a foreign language in a classroom setting? Frequently adults repeat the phrase “oh yeah I took that language in school, but I can’t remember a word!” New York State sets forth only two standards for teachers to meet when teaching a foreign language; Standard #1: Students will be able to use a language other than English for communication, Standard #2 Students will develop cross-cultural skills and understandings. Although these standards sound simple and straight forward, implementing them within the confines of the traditional classroom environment can present many challenges. In the process of integrating the New York State Standards into my teaching I hope to provide students with ample opportunities to acquire a second language in a sane, natural, and efficient manner. Also I hope to impart to my students some of the cross-cultural skills and understandings I have learned through relatable stories about linguistic and cultural differences between America and Germany.
In order to achieve the Standard of communication in a language other than English, emphasis in my classroom will be on comprehensible input. While the empirical evidence is neither conclusive nor overwhelming, my personal experience of learning a language albeit in a less formal setting than the classroom, convinces me that Krashen’s input hypothesis carry much weight. I learned German through emersion. It is my opinion that without comprehensible input and focus on acquisition activities monumental and unnecessary obstacles to learning a language are created. Obviously, acquisition activities alone will not complete the job. It has long been recognized that four key components should be present in any foreign language classroom; reading, writing, speaking, and listening. While I feel a greater emphasis should be put on listening and reading activities in order to hasten and reinforce true acquisition of a language, obviously speaking and writing components must also be addressed. I feel that as in the acquisition of one’s first language, speaking and writing activities should be emphasized only when the student is first prepared through a solid foundation provided by acquisition activities full of comprehensible input. Total Physical Response (TPR) and Total Physical Response Storytelling (TPRS) are two methods that can provide the needed comprehensible input and a basis for further target language exploration by the student (i.e. speaking and writing). TPR is a method that uses motions coupled with words to help convey the meaning and build students vocabulary. TPRS is a method that uses storytelling to keep the language learning interesting and engaging and to expand on the vocabulary presenting grammar in a more natural way than a textbook and drills traditionally do. Indeed Krashen himself concluded that the primary function of the classroom is to provide comprehensible input in a low-anxiety environment in which learners are not required to speak until they are ready to do so, and optimal input is comprehensible, interesting, relevant, and not grammatically sequenced; error correction should be minimal in the classroom since it is not useful when the goal is acquisition (Krashen,1982). Therefore TPR and TPRS will be integral parts of my foreign language teaching.
Fulfilling the cultural understanding standard in my classroom will consist of a two-pronged approach. First during class time I will weave in stories, anecdotes and activities that are demonstrative of cultural differences. I will point out things such as German students having thirteen years of primary school as opposed to our twelve. Also I will prepare a meal typical of the target culture and serve it to the class. Time for students to reflect on analyze and appreciate cultural differences will also be provided during lesson time and in homework assignments. In this effort insights gained through the years of my living and visiting Germany will be an invaluable teaching aide. In 1987 I spent a year as an exchange student in Rotenburg an der Fulda, a small German city. While the narrative approach is certainly useful and effective, because of my own understandings, I feel that first hand experience in language and culture is priceless.
Therefore my second focus will be, maintaining current event and cultural exchange components both inside and outside of my classroom. Periodically I will encourage students in class to bring attention to events that effect people in the countries where the target language is spoken. Both through authentic materials in the target language and news reports in the domestic press I will fulfill this goal. These efforts coupled with fostering a student exchange program and letter or e-mail writing opportunities will afford my students some first hand cultural and linguistic experience. For example I will try to establish a “sister-school” relationship in a city where the target language is spoken and set up regular opportunities for e-mail exchange and possibly teleconferencing. In conjunction with such efforts hopefully a chance to start both short and long term exchange relationships with target language countries will present itself. Undoubtedly collaboration with my colleagues and with parents will be required to monitor and sustain such efforts. However the rewards such endeavors can bring are well worth it. First hand experience in cross-cultural relations will provide our students with the tools they will need to function effectively in the global economy in which we now find ourselves.
As I gather the resources and knowledge I need to implement the New York State Foreign Language Standards in my classroom I am excited and confident the professionals I surround myself with now and when I become employed will help provide me with moral and logistical support as I work to meet the challenges in my classroom. With out a doubt it will be necessary for me to keep myself well informed of the current research and successful methods being employed by others in the foreign language teaching profession. Joining and being active in professional organizations and subscribing to professional publications will be two of the strategies I utilize to this end. While the techniques and style of my efforts will certainly be ongoing and ever changing the goal of providing my students with the ability to use a language other than English and better understand the cultures associated with those languages will remain steadfast.
