I
think I have finally been assigned a class I cannot
handle. Are they brutes? Nope, pretty sweet group of kids. Do they pay
attention? Sure, at least I think they are. Are they not turning in
their homework? Sure, the only exception is the one who already has a
slight
case of Senioritis.
My problem: I have a quiet class.
Perhaps in a different setting, I would be singing a
different tune, but I am a modern language instructor. The goal is to
communicate, isn’t it? And alas, I fear I have a group of 11 students who are
not just quiet, but I think they may be…introverts. Now I use the term “introvert” not in the sense of not
out-going, but in the Myers-Briggs’ definition. An Introvert (an “I”), then, is
someone who has the preference of
processing information internally, reflecting before speaking, and then
expressing themselves once and (generally) only once.
Time out! Have you met me? I’m little Miss “E” Extrovert and frankly
don’t learn a blessed thing unless I have talked it out. I was
“that kid” in class who felt the need to blurt out the answer before
anyone
else had the chance to even think about it. Sure, I found my foot in my
mouth
from time to time, but that’s how I learn, right? “Ready, Shoot, Aim!”
is how I find
myself functioning, not “wasting” time thinking about what I’m shooting
at! (I
know what you’re thinking: don’t let this girl loose at a shooting
range…but I
will go this month, I promise! Please see
proof of voyage at the bottom of this entry.)
Maybe we are not on the same page yet, so I will get to
the point. I feel as if I am confronted with a world-class crisis (oh, so
dramatic!) for which I am wrestling to find an appropriate solution. How do
we as teachers who have a strong affinity for one type of instruction, because
it is a reflection of our own personality type, adapt to a class that is in the
majority of a different personality type and therefore in need of a type of
instruction outside our comfort zone and/or abilities?
My “crisis” looks like this: about every
third lesson, I use simulation with a combination of PowerPoints to
introduce and review vocabulary and grammar structures. I ask some student
volunteers to act out a scenario in conjunction with my asking a series of
questions to them and to the rest of the class, using the recycling method
promoted in Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS).
Students who are not acting are required to respond in unison to the questions
asked. Other than the student volunteers, no one is put on the spot in this
situation, and all students get to practice the sentence structures and
vocabulary. In both this situation and in general class work, this group of
students is hesitant and even reluctant to respond. It appears that they are
slow to respond not because they do not understand, but simply because they are
processing. A lesson that took 25 minutes last year is taking 45 minutes this year.
Here are my reflections on the issue, but please, dear
readers, let me know what you are thinking:
1)
Buck up, Mme V, every class is
different. Don’t use your silly PowerPoints or your goofy simulations; it
simply does not work for this class. Find a different way to teach oral
proficiency.
2)
Keep at it! They are shy and it is
only the beginning of the year. You need to establish this room as a safe place, and then they will get it eventually and even
thank you for pushing them in this direction…maybe in French 3.
3) Combo of reflections 1 and 2: Find a sweet spot compromise. You know they
need more time to reflect, so grant them that time. Maybe you even need to do
more pair or group work in order to let students process together and in
potentially less embarrassing settings.
My responses to these reflections are as follows:
1)
I won’t go to a quiet room! I can’t
do it! I think TPRS has a legitimate claim in language pedagogy and I’m not
giving its strategies the boot. It is a great way for visual learners to see pictures and
read the words during a lesson. The kinesthetic learners get to move around and
blab a bunch. They sit down and take notes in all their other classes, but that
will not happen in mine. Long live the active classroom! Plus, several students
in this class have commented on how they enjoy this sort of presentation of
information. And I quote: “Mme V, I never liked learning grammar ‘till now!”
2)
What if I am being insensitive to
the learning needs of my students by pressing on? (Uh oh, for all you
Typewatchers out there, did you just pick up on my “F”?) I might think that
this is a great way to teach, but it might not be for this group of students.
Granted, this is not how I teach every lesson, but I use it enough that it
could be detrimental to the learning of most of the students. Will sticking
with it do more harm than good? Will they even want to enroll in French 3?!
3) So what is that compromise, little Miss Genius? Sure you can try to give
them partner work, but the age old problem is that those strong students finish
a lot sooner than others, and then when the slower students ask questions, your
focus is taken away from monitoring the continued practice of the quick ones.
The kids who are not confident get side-tracked because they fear judgment from
their partner, and you can’t step in because frankly you can’t monitor 5 pairs
at the same time. Stop whining and get better classroom management…?!
So it’s your turn. You get to pipe
up and potentially transform my classroom. I need a round of first-responders,
because this is, after all, a crisis of the classroom!
Bis,
Mme VD
The book my nose is in: Type Talk: The 16 Personality Types that
Determine How We Live, Love, and Work by Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen
(©1988).
Some sort of proof that I did in
fact shoot a gun:
