TPRS Spanish Newsletter



TPRS Spanish Newsletter

¡Hola a todos y a todas!

Beacon’s entire Spanish department recently had the opportunity to go to the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Language (long name, but a great event). After attending an amazing workshop by Blaine Ray, the creator of Total Physical Response through Storytelling (TPRS), we have decided as a department to begin teaching with his suggested methods of practice. He has been teaching high school Spanish in Utah for over 20 years and has had phenomenal results with this method.

With administrative approval, we will be piloting this program for the balance of the school year. During this time, we will also be analyzing test results, surveying students and parents and measuring student vocabulary gains. What does this change mean for you and your child(ren)? First and foremost, it means that they will be learning Spanish in an environment that will allow them to pick up the language more quickly and in a style that is being adopted across the country by foreign language teachers. It also means that the students will no longer need to bring their red Exprésate textbooks nor workbooks to class. We would like students to bring the textbooks and workbooks to class one more time (preferably before spring break) so that we can collect and store them properly.

As the experts have proven, “we acquire language through comprehensible input (listening and understanding). This is the only way a person can learn to speak a language.” Because of this, classroom language acquisition needs to be comprehensible input that is repetitive and interesting. Blaine Ray is an expert in TPRS (total physical response through storytelling) teaching. His studies, along with the studies of many others, and his own teaching experience have proven that 300-600 fluency words are needed for speech. We need to limit vocabulary in order to create fluency! A textbook (like our red Exprésate book) drowns students in vocabulary and grammar lessons that are incomprehensible and not relatable for the students. The TPRS method brings the language to the students in a comprehensible, meaningful way and allows them to bring their individual personalities and interests into the stories. Therefore, Beacon’s Spanish team is moving into all TPRS in order to enhance and speed up fluency in our Beacon Academy students.

This curriculum also meets the needs of students at every level in Spanish! It does not matter if a student has had five years of Spanish or if this is their first exposure to the language. The stories promote fluency in Spanish at every level!

What will class look like now? A basic schedule is as follows:

Monday-Tuesday: telling/asking a story using students as actors

Wednesday – Thursday: Reading a story, elaborating and adding details to story

Friday: novel reading (ex: Pobre Ana). Read story, compare it to students’ lives, translate, etc.

This is a rough outline that the classes will follow. If we are enveloped in acting out a story, it very well might take longer than two days to finish it.

Will students have homework? Yes, but there will be less homework now in Spanish class. Students will have on average one or two daily work/homework assignments per week. Some weeks there may be more; some weeks there may be less. Please see grading information below.

How do we know this method is effective? Attached to this email are studies sent from Blaine Ray, the author of many TPRS curriculum, which prove its effectiveness.

Grading

50% - Tests (unannounced)

All tests are cumulative, including vocabulary from the entire year. Final exams can assess vocabulary, listening, reading, writing, and speaking. These tests show the teacher how much the student knows and how well he/she can use the language. These are not tests designed to catch exceptions to the rules, but to show how much the student has mastered.

25% - Daily Work

This includes any non-test grade such as timed writings, essays, drawings, summaries, and any homework assignments.

25% - Participation

This grade is based on only 2 rules:

a. No English may be spoken without raising your hand

b. Look like you are participating*

All students will begin each trimester with 110 participation points. They receive a 5-point deduction (called a “págame” which means “pay me”) infraction each time they are not participating or they choose to speak in English. Students get 4 free makeups. Two of these makeups are done by making the teacher a card. The card must say something nice about the teacher or the class. It may be in English or Spanish. Two págames can be made up by a simple handshake. After the four “free” makeup págames, students must make up these deductions with 100-word essays in Spanish. This is a positive system! Students get an easy way to earn 100% participation.

*Look like you are participating: this means that the student is paying attention and giving their best effort to participate. We ask many questions throughout the period and the entire class responds. We have taught the students how and when to choral respond in class. All students need to be responding during this time. We are looking for each student’s best effort in participation. Again, this is a positive system in which students can earn their points back if they happen to lose some in class.

What to do if you miss class?

If you cannot attend Spanish class for any reason, no matter how many days you are gone, you need to do two things:

a. study the 100 Most Common Words in Spanish (posted on weebly)

b. read a book in Spanish – you do not need to read an entire book, but this is just to ensure that you are practicing Spanish in context, like what you would be doing if you were in class.

Because 50% of your grade is based on unannounced tests, it is important that you are practicing the language if you miss class. Quiz yourself on the 100 Most Common Words in Spanish, and practice the feel of the language through reading a book. You don’t need to understand everything.

When you do come back to class you need to ask classmates or the teacher if we did any written activities in class. If you did miss an in-class written activity, (which is part of the daily work grade) you will need to make it up.

Final Thoughts

Our Spanish department is excited to help all Beacon students enhance their fluency in Spanish though TPR Storytelling. We are all eager to teach students through an engaging and comprehensible curriculum. If you have any questions, please see the Spanish weebly website and feel free to email your child(ren)’s Spanish teacher. ¡Gracias!

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