Peevy_Journal 3: Refine

Refine______________________________________________

Cognitive mapping, as mentioned in Chapter 8, is something that I plan to implement this year with my higher readers.  I found this link,  http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/  , that was in Chapter 8, to be most helpful and I cannot wait to use it in the classroom.   I was most interested in the internet resources that were introduced in Chapter 8, and I plan to start using them immediately to guide my instruction, especially the instruction of ESOL students.  The RTI website has a whole section devoted to ELLs: considerations that you should use with ELL students.  The International Reading Association has a website that I visited, but cannot wait to explore further!  There are lesson plans, books, videos, and much more available on the site.  I think the most interesting thing that I want to check out on this website, though is the section on the common core.   I am not sure how I will use the information on this site, because I have not fully explored it yet. 

I am also most anxious to use the graphic organizers that were presented in Chapter 18, as I use graphic organizers frequently and am constantly looking for new and different ones!  There were also several different surveys for students to fill out.  I want to start using a variation of those daily in reading, to have students do a type of self-assessment on their participation and involvement in reading class that day.  My thought is to have them complete that survey quickly at the end of reading using the student portal:  eclass.  There all the results would be scored for me to look at daily.  Also their parents could look at them. 

As a side note, I would like to add that I got a new NEP in my class this week, and I have been able to implement many of the strategies that I have learned in this class with her.  I really feel that, although she has only been in my class for three days, I have made more of an impact with her already that I have with NEPs in previous years.

Steven Krashen article response: C. Evans

As a kindergarten teacher, the part of this article that stood out to me the most was the fifth hypothesis, the affective filter.  One of our goals in kindergarten is to lay a foundation for a child’s educational career. If they have a negative experience their first year of school, it can cause a snowball effect and lead to low achievement down the road. With our EL students it is even more imperative that we make sure they are made to feel comfortable and that it is okay to take risks. As the article mentioned, positive affect alone will not help someone learn a language. However, I feel that at this age it is just as important as comprehensible input.

Stephen Krashen’s Theory of Second Language Acquisition

I enjoyed reading and listening to Krashen’s video.  One key point that he made was that people only acquire language one way, and that is if the message being relayed is understandable.  Krashen calls this process comprehensible input.  Krashen proceeded to speak in German, while speaking I could pick up on bits and pieces but had no real idea what he was saying.  Once Krashen began using gestures like pointing to his hands and eyes I was able to comprehend the language better.  The video and literature only reinforced how important it is for me to make sure when teaching L2’s that I incorporate as much visuals and strategies that build on background.  In other words if lessons are comprehensible learners build confidence and are much more likely to be able to apply what they have learned.  

Krashen's Theory

I read the article and once again had the thought- "It's amazing we can acquire other languages and become proficient with them at all! It's such a complex idea/process!" (This was prior to watching the video, and after I had scribbled notes on all various filters, systems, and learning processes in the article.)After watching Krashen's video and his demonstration, I let out a little sigh of relief seeing that language acquisition is possible and "manageable" through the use of comprehensible input. I really appreciated his comment that we can only acquire language when it is understandable to us, and the fact that research supports this, and not memorizing rules, vocabulary, rote memorization, etc. was good to hear as well.

Stephen Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition

The acquisition of language must be meaningful to the EL's like Krashen's opening statement in the video. "You acquire language only when you understand the message." Students do this naturally through communication. I find that is very natural to Kindergarten students. They are not worried about being grammatically correct just that their messages are understood.

Karshen said that those students who use the monitor all the time are over users; those who prefer not to use their knowledge are under-users; and those that monitor appropriately are optimal users. The information that I found interesting is extroverts are under-users, introverts, perfectionists, and those that lack self-confidence are over-users. I see this everyday with my students and didn't really understand as to why some are so conscious over the way their messages will be received. This was my big "aha" moment.

I was reminded from Krashen's video the importance of making the message clear. I need to make sure that I'm always using cues, hand movements, and gestures as I convey a message to all my students instead of just assuming they already know what I'm trying to tell them.

I enjoyed watching the short video about comprehensible input.  It was pretty amazing how much more I understood once Krashen used the hand gestures to go along with his German speech.  I think I learned most of this in Linguistics, but I had kind of forgotten about what one needs to be successful in their L2. One aspect that helps with learning an L2 is self-esteem.  I have a Hispanic boy who does not seem confident in his abilities, and has developed a habit of clearing his throat every time he speaks, which does not happen very often.  He also has a habit of missing school, so his confidence would probably grow if he had more exposure, interaction, etc. 

I'm trying not to get sucked in to watching all of the other videos, but Krashen seems to have gotten funnier as he aged.  Does he have a great plan for teaching grammar other than just making sure the kids understand and are interested in the subject?  I may have to start writing mentor sentences about Angry Birds to help them understands nouns, verbs, and adjectives!!

Krashen made his point in the video by showing how to use nonverbal cues while teaching a foreign language. I only understood a couple of words when he did not use the cues. However, with the cues I felt I understood his message. This really brings home the point of using cues with lessons. I will try my best to include them with the lessons I teach with all children. My students need the same kinds of techniques as ELs do. They need nonverbal cues, hands-on experiences, and information they can connect to their background knowledge.