Spring/Summer 2011 Volume 16 Issue 2. The Professional Journal of the National

Transcription

1 Spng/Summe 2011 Vlume 16 Issue 2 The Pfessnal Junal f the atnal etwk f Ealy Language Leanng

2 Gvng Kds a Can D Atttude BY ADIE JACOBSE T he questn gng nt ths actn eseach was, "Hw can a language teache encuage me pstve atttudes twad language leanng whle buldng a leanng cmmunty?" Afte ncpatng "I Can" statements nt the cuculum, me than 100 thd gade students wee suveyed. The suvey asked what they thught they culd d n Spansh. Fllwng the suvey, 30 students wee andmly chsen t be ntevewed assessng what they culd d. A cmpasn was made between what they culd d and what they thught they culd d. The esults f ths suvey wll be dscussed alng wth a evew f lteatue elated t studes f self-effcacy, mtvatn and the facts that can ethe, buld tea dwn a leanng cmmunty. Afte Audey L. Henng-Byntn (2007) suveyed a lage numbe f bys and gls attendng schls wth FLES pgams, the study evealed a declne n nteest f bth bys and gls. One student mentned nly usng what he leaned n a Mexcan estauant. Expandng the leanng cmmunty gave leanes me pptuntes than the lcal sem-authentc estauan t. Zns, Wessbeg, Wang, and Walbeg (2004) ague that, "We ae neglectng the st f pactcal and ceatve abltes that allw peple t deal wth eal-lfe pblems and unfeseen challenges" (p. 80). Ceatng a leanng envnment wth me pptuntes n schl t use the language wll encuage leanes t speak wthn a lage leanng cmmunty. Accdng t Gsuch (2009), "pactce and language use pptuntes pbably eque me attentn wthn dvsns n de f students t develp hghe levels f self-effcacy and thus pesstence n leanng" (p.534). By pmtng selfeffcacy and cultvatng a lage leanng cmmunty, leanes wll have pstve memes f the Wld Language pgam and seek me pptuntes t cmmuncate n the taget language. As Gundstad and Watke (1996) fund, students wh patcpated n a Wld Language pgam p t secnday schl wee me lkely t cntnue the Wld Language educatn. Theefe, gvng kds a CA DO atttude s the fcus at Dunn Elementay n Lusvlle, Ky. "CA DO" statements ae ncpated nt the leanng cmmunty and shaed wth the leanes' famles evey sx weeks by annuncng them as the leanng gals. Leanes cl n dts keepng tack f the success n the language as they ae asked t d s when they demnstate what they CA DO. The fcus s nw ff what they can't d and n what they can d. Leanes ften tansfe the class expeence, ncludng the assessment, hme wth them, bdgng the gap between hme and class and stengthenng the leanng cmmunty as seen n Fgue 1 and 2. Ths leane shaed hw she tansfeed the leanng expeence hme by teachng he mm and bthe usng the smple assessment stategy she leaned n Wld Language class. The student then demnstated what he mthe leaned by x~'v" ~a Ten8D Fgue 1: Student and paent demnstatn f knwledge Fgue 2: Student testmny ~ggng bth f the espnses as seen n Fgue 1. She then shaed he leanng/teachng expeence wth the class. (Fgue 2) By fcusng n the pstve and what we can d, we ae much me mtvated t d me n de t expeence me success and even shae the success. Ths behav s knwn as achevement mtvatn, when the antcpatn f success mtvates the leane t wk hade. Me ften f a leane expects falue, they ae less lkely t be mtvated t patcpate. Chen (2001) epts n self-actualatn, whch can be cmpaed t achevement mtvatn: Self-actualatn s the dve t actuale ptental and take jy and a sense f fulfllment fm beng all that a pesn can be. Self-actualatn s based n beng awae f abltes and talents, applyng them apppately n a vaety f stuatns, and celebatng the successful applcatn. (p, 41) The atttude f a student depends n mtvatn; theefe a pgam that successfully teaches students t d me wth the language than de n a sem-authentc estauant wll mve a student's atttude twad cntnung t lean the language. Classm Reseach Questns 1. What d my leanes beleve they can d usng the Spansh language? 2. Hw des what leanes beleve they can d wth the language COl;npaet what they can d?

3 FEATURE Pcedues An assessment tl was ceated fcusng 011 what a leane can d wth the language, ncludng demnstatn f the use f geat stateges whch ae nt language specfc. "S Se Puede" whch means, "Yes, t can be dne" s hw t s efeed t t wth leanes. Leanes ae nvlved wth keepng tack f what they can d usng the Spansh language. Each sx weeks leanes eceve the leanng gals wtten n "I can" statements based n a theme. Leanes measued the abltes n elatn t an "I can" statement f each f the sx unts. Fllwng suvey (Fgue 3), leanes chse fm the fllwng answes f each gudng statement f the unt: 1) 1 can wth n help. 2) I can wth sme help. 3) I need t wk n ths. The suvey was mplemented t all f the thd gade classes, equalng 119 students. The fllwng'week 30 leanes wee andmly chsen and ntevewed. Each al ntevew lasted a few mnutes and they wee scatteed thughut the week. Snce the pupse f ths study s t pmte ethcal teachng and suppt scal justce, thee ae n appaent ssues abut ethcs. The demgaphcs f Dunn Elementay (Fgue 4) demnstate the lack f nteactn wth Spansh-speakes n the schl envnment. The data als shws the lack f sgnfcant cntact wth thes fm dvese ethnc and lngustc backgunds n the schl envnment. The pecentage f whte students s 76 pecent, fllwed by black wth 15 pecent then Asan/Pacfc Islande at 8 pecent. F the pupse f ths study, the thd gade classes wee suveyed and ntevewed. (Fgue 5) When 1 hea leanes sayng, "I can't lean Spansh," "Why d 1 need t lean Spansh? Eveyne I knw speaks Englsh," 1 eale that they may have a lw self-effcacy when t cmes t leanng anthe language. They ae nt lvng n a cunty whee t s the pedmnant language, d nt encunte t n a egula bass have lttle n hetage cnnectn t the language. Fgue 6 demnstates the lack f expsue t the languages n Dunn Elementay. Leanes wh spke a language the than Englsh fst ae labeled L1 (fst language) the than Englsh. Thse wh lve n husehlds whee anthe language s spken ae labeled L2 (secnd language) spken n hme, and thse wh speak ne language and the languages ae nt spken n the hme wee labeled mnlngual. I can wtb S Se Puede! nbelp! smebelp. need t wk n tbs. 1. I can talk abut thngs n my classm!. I can gve dectns! fl. I can talk abut my bme! fl. I can talk abut bthdays! 5. I can talk abut tbe weathe! ". I can talk abut wbat I lke and dn't lke t d! 7. (Fll n wbat else yu can d!) I can: Fgue 3: Suvey. Demgaphcs f Dunn Elementay 01% 08% Black Whte AsanlPacfc Islande Hspanc Fgue 4: Demgaphcs Othe Amec anllndan/alaska atve f the schl Thd Gade Demgaphcs.72% Whte.Slack DAsanlPacfc Islande Othe Hspanc Amecanllndan/Alaska atve -c Z --- Fgue 5: Thd gade demgaphcs C Expsue T Othe Languages At Hme ~ ~ IT1 OL1 ahe1han Engfsh.94% L2 spken n hme Mnlngual Fndngs Fndngs evealed that 43 pecent f leanes feel they can speak Spansh. Fty-tw pecent felt they culd d t wth help, wth a ttal f 85 pecent f students cnfdent they culd d t wth and wthut help. Of the 119 leanes, 114 espnded. The seventh suvey questn asked leanes t fll n what they thught they culd d n the language. The esults ae exhbted hee fllwed by examples f the students' espnses t the fll-n sectn f the suvey. Althugh leanes eceve nstuctn n the taget language, they als daw, wte, and act ut what they ae leanng. can wtb Z IT1 02% :- Fgue 6: Expsue t the langauges W

4 FEATURE Student examples f fll-n "I can" statements: I can ask basc questns and espnd t them. I can cunt n espanl. I can name the peple n my famly. I can say my name and hw I feel n Spansh. I can say what I lke t d utsde and nsde. I can say what my m s lke. I can talk abut anmals. I can talk abut cls. I can talk abut days, mnths and seasns. I can talk abut englasa (chuch). I can talk abut fd. I can talk abut math. I can talk abut my cat. I can talk abut my spt. I can ead n Spansh. I can ead sme Spansh. I can fllw dectns. I can ead a bk n Spansh. I can talk abut myself. I can talk abut schl supples and bks. I can talk abut schl. I can talk abut seasns. I can talk abut the weathe. I can talk n Spansh!! I can tell what spts I lke t play. I can tell when my bthday s. I can sng a bthday sng n Spansh (Espanl). I can sng a pnata sng. I can wte Spansh bks. Of the espnses, 89 pecent talked abut what they can sayltalkjsng abut n Spansh. Leanes appea t feel me successful n speakng than n wtng. Suvey vs Oal Assessment Once the suvey was cmplete, 30 students wee andmly chsen t be ally ntevewed. A sample f the ubc used t detemne what the leanes CA DO can be seen n Fgue 9. Hw des what leanes beleve they can d cmpae t what they can d? Ove 50 pecent f the espnses eflect they wee cnfdent they culd demnstate the "I can" statements wthut help. Fgue 10 eveals what t was detemned leanes culd d by ntevewng the leanes ally n cmpasn t what leanes sad they culd d n the suvey. Oveall, the numbe f espnses fm the suvey statng leanes culd talk abut a patcula subject wthut help was hghe than what was detemned by the al ntevew. As a esult, leanes demnstated a hghe level f self-effcacy by statng that they CA DO me than they actually culd as a esult f the al ntevew. I Can Statements Fgue 7: All CA DO statement esults I can fll n the blank e~nses [J89%. Fgue 8: Fll n the blank espnses The Oal Intevew Rubc Examples can wth help eedt W(1k O' Respnse. Unt 4) Cuand es tu cumplcafts? Cuants Dns tenes? Que ee gusta hace en Ie fest:a? Can yu sng It Bthday sng? Able t answes questns: 0(3) 1 (eed t wk :;:;3) 2 (sme help;: 2) 3+ (Can d=1) Unt S} Que temp hace? Able t descbe the weathe gven pctues and gestues leaned n class! 0(3) 1 (eed t wk =3) 2 (sme help = 2) 3+ (Can d=1) Unt 6) Que ee guna hace? Que n te guna hace? Able t answe gven pctues and gestues actng ut actvtes leaned n class: 0(3) 1 (eed t wk =3) 2 (sme help =: 2) 3+ (Can d=l) Fgue 9: Detemng what students CA DO 120~ , 100 ~ BO ~ 60 &! can d Wth help eedwl< OSUlVey.Intef\ew Fgue 10: Suvey and al assessment f30 students

5 FEATURE Cnclusn and Implcatns What tls ae needed f a leanng cmmunty t gw, stengthen even suvve? By equppng students, paents and the nvested adults wth a cmmn language and the ppe tls, the leanng cmmunty can develp and becme stnge. Cnvesatn can develp and stengthen leanng cmmuntes by smply ntegatng language chunks and askng questns such as, "What CA yu d wth the language?" and "I can _." Wthu ha;ng suveyed what the leanes thught they culd d befe the "I can" statements wee mplemented, the gwth f self-effcacy s unknwn. On the the hand the esults demnstate ptental f the "I can" statements. One f the mst evealng sectns f the suvey was the cmpletn f the sentence, "I can _." Hee ne can see the nfluence f the lage leanng cmmunty wth espnses such as "I can talk abut the englasa." (glesa/chuch), "I can talk abut my cat." And "I can name the peple n my famly." F mst schl age students, the schl, hme and few the places make up the leanng cmmunty. As educats we need t ceate lessns and cmmuncatn that encmpass the leanng cmmunty and encuage leanng and teache utsde f the classm. Henng-Byntn, A.L. (2007) A Ten-Yea Chncle f Student Atttudes Twad Fegn Language n the Elementay Schl. The Mden Language Junal, v. 91 n. 2 Summe 2007 p Gsuch, Geta (2009) Investgatng Secnd Language Leane Self-Effcacy and Futue Expectancy f Secnd Language use f Hgh Stakes Pgam Evaluatn. ACTFL Fegn Language Annals, v. 42 n. 3 Fall 2009 p Watke,]. & Gundstad, D. (1996) Student Reasns f Studyng Language: Implcatns f Pgam Plannng and Develpment. Leanng Language, The Junal f the atnal etwk f Ealy Language Leanng. v. 2 n.1 Fall 1996 p Zns, ]., Wessbeg, R., Wang, M., & Walbeg, H. (Eds.) (2004). Buldng academc success n scal and emtnal leanng: What des the eseach say? ew Yk, ew Yk: Teaches Cllege Pess. ABOUT THE AUTHOR adne Jacbsen teachesspansh K- 5 at Dunn Elementay n Lusvlle, KY She s a cuent bad membe f the Kentucky Wld Language Asscatn(KWLA) and the ELL epesentatve f Kentucky. Yu canfnd me f he "I CA" statements at: REFERECES Chen, J. (2001). Cang classms, ntellgent schls: The. scal emtnal educatn f yung chlden. ew Yk, ew Yk: Teaches Cllege Pess. 21st C en Ju ~ II BUll ~1~ g I ea c y entepeneualsm ~pesnal synthess technl~ pblem-slvng ceatvty "'YSED August 2-5, 2011 SUY Onenta - Onenta, Y jlssessment P PS ttechnfgy Cultue CJl&atfn 'Wtn Speakn jltfvcacy and mel ""0 --- c :s:: :s:: FT1 IV 0 FT1 0 lei! V1