Here is an observation of the learning lab at iFLT by Carol Hill (perhaps better known to many blog readers as “Chill”) a French teacher from New Jersey, who attended the sessions for two days.

I recently attended the iFLT conference in Breckenridge, Colorado where I was able to watch teachers teach children in the ultimate lab setting. The organizers suggested that we observe a different teacher on each of the three days. On day one, I did not visit Bryce, but on day two, I did. The first thing I noticed was the rapport that Bryce had built with the kids. In addition, he was dealing with a group ranging from beginning level 2 through AP.  If I had not known they had just met, I would have thought that Bryce was working with his own students from Johnstown HS! His genuine warmth and caring had, in a few hours, created a team.  At the end of day two, I knew I had to return on the last day to see how the story and the process ended. The value added for me: I was acquiring Spanish!!

Day 2 was about focusing on the target structure quiere que vaya. He noticed that some of the students in this multi-level group were weak on the quiere + infinitive structure and was careful to work in some reps on that too. They reviewed the story with a reading that Bryce had typed up from day one. The kids took four steps and re-told the story to a partner. They gathered more details to expand the original story. Bryce was careful to go back to sprinkle in reviews of the story – more reps! After some intense work, the students got up to play a fast paced numbers game in Spanish, “Frijoles”, for a brain break. They then reviewed the story and did another re-tell. They read a story that Bryce’s students had made up using the same structure. They got into groups and made up their own stories. Bryce guided them into perspective changes – “I want Emily to go”. When the period was over, Bryce checked their comprehension and asked them in English (what he calls his caretaker speech) what was hard for them. Making sure that the kids were okay was a priority.

Day 3 Kids put big story together to be filmed. The kids offered great details for the story. Bryce was afraid he was going too far out of bounds so he asked the kids if it was okay to put up so much extra vocabulary and they said it was fine with them! Without saying the word “subjunctive” Bryce kept re-stating the story and repeating the key structure. He even was able to add an “It is probable the bullet comes from Ben’s gun”  – another diguised subjunctive repetition which all of the students were able to understand because of the context and background built into the story. The class did another brain break – another round of the numbers game, but this time at a higher level “Arroz con Frijoles”. The group then finished final details of the story. Things got really interesting when one of the student actors had to leave and another student actor had not shown up for class. With the two leading males missing from the story, two adult male teachers had to step in to play the roles. It was seamless. The kids were so comfortable with them. I was amazed how well they took it in stride. The story was filmed with actors. Finally, Bryce got to the meta cognition piece. He described some of his behaviors:

  • Giving them little bits of English once in awhile.
  • Telling the kids it’s not about how much you can speak but about how much you can understand.

His “caretaker” speech at the end of class addressed the affective filter. Is everyone okay? This worked well here and seems like it would be specially important in level 1 classes. Bryce then asked the kids what was helpful for them and what they liked.

  • They liked the relaxed atmosphere.
  • They liked hearing language in context
  • They liked the comprehension checks and repetition.
  • They appreciated the little bits of English which acted as a mini brain break.
  • They felt like they learned a lot. A girl who had had four (?) years of traditional Spanish and had stopped studying the language was able to verbalize the differences between the two methods. She appreciated the real use of contextualized language as opposed to learning about the language.
  • They liked the words on the board and having more new words.
  • They liked the speed – not too fast, not too slow, but just right!

Bryce’s story succeeded so well because he had taken the time to get to know the kids via extreme PQA and he worked elements of what he had learned about them into the story. To say that they had a vested interest in the story would be an understatement.

I am sure I have missed some details, but Bryce’s inspiring lesson has given me a chance to reflect on an excellent example of best practice in the TPRS/TCI classroom as I begin another year with my own students.

Thank you, Bryce, for the passion you bring to your craft and your willingness to share it with the rest of us who are striving to deliver comprehensible input to our students.

Carol Hill