So I just got my class lists for next year. On the 17th Nov 2010 I posted about how the immersion program was working for 5 of my 8 students. These same 5 students signed up for my French III honors class.
5 OUT OF 8!
Woohoo!!!!!
Now... grammatically they are way behind....
Vocabulary-wise, they have some catching up to do...
But, THEY ARE HOOKED!
And they want BOOK WORK! They want to learn GRAMMAR! They want WORKSHEETS!
Sooooooo, I will have these students in the second half of the year next year. That means I have some time to prepare them before christmas. Maybe we will do some after school tutoring in French to get them a bit caught up...
I'm soo looking forward to being able to plan thoughtfully, structure my courses, and do it right, starting with an essential question. I'm so excited to give them a meaningful experience. :) yay Immersion! thanks Liz. You're the best.
21 June 2011
16 June 2011
My Reflections:
I asked my students to tell me what they found difficult about the class, how they overcame this difficulty, and what they want to change.
I found planning very difficult. I was overwhelmed by the amount of work necessary to plan an immersion course, and was often exasperated and tired, desperate to make it interesting.
I also struggled with keeping the class in French because the students resisted using the French. Two out of three classes complied, but my class of juniors wore me down, and eventually I lost my energy to continue the fight for French. I gave in during World War II. Many students in this class mentioned that they liked the immersion and thought it was great, but these were the kids I fought with the most about using the French. (!) more exasperation.
I tried to overcome these difficulties by stretching myself too far, by trying to crack down on language and by modifying the participation rubrics in order to remove some of the subjectivity from the grading. Some students accused me of playing favorites, and I understand their point of view because some students actively demanded my attention much more so than others. Other students avoided me, and in trying to accomodate them all, I lost the group in the middle, I think. I don't quite know how to go about fixing this, and that troubles me. But I think it troubles me because I want to fix all of the things that were bad this year by flipping an instant switch. I have a lot of work to do.
Next year I will be able to contribute more time to my planning. I look forward to planning more creative and shorter lessons, based on concepts that I will spend time developing and researching. I look forward to having an overview of the course before I teach it, with much more development and preparation. This year I spent so much time today just planning tomorrow. i was never ahead of the game, and many days I just wanted to let the kids do nothing because I was so exhausted, although I never gave in to this. WWII and the Ma Vie en Rose movie took waaaaaaayy too long! I have no idea of the length of time that would be necessary to go through these lessons.
In short, this year I felt like a first year teacher in many ways. I'm very angry about a lot of my shortcomings this year, and the way they negatively affected my students learning opportunities. I can only blame so much of this on being in grad school and therefore having less time. The rest is because of my over-ambition, my lack of perspective on the amount of work I created for myself, and the shallow depth that I barely managed to reach because of the breadth I expected of myself, and of my students. While they spoke more French, and experienced their dream of "less textbook", there were so many lost opportunities, so many undeveloped lessons that I taught, so much blatant return to exactly that which I was trying to avoid: meaningless information. In expanding too quickly I reduced myself.
In order to move beyond this depressed outlook, I remember the Woody Allen quote about failure. I can be uplifted by my need to improve, and as one of my students tells me "Reflect your reflections". I will continue to work forwards, but hopefully in the future, I will work smarter, smaller, and deeper.
I found planning very difficult. I was overwhelmed by the amount of work necessary to plan an immersion course, and was often exasperated and tired, desperate to make it interesting.
I also struggled with keeping the class in French because the students resisted using the French. Two out of three classes complied, but my class of juniors wore me down, and eventually I lost my energy to continue the fight for French. I gave in during World War II. Many students in this class mentioned that they liked the immersion and thought it was great, but these were the kids I fought with the most about using the French. (!) more exasperation.
I tried to overcome these difficulties by stretching myself too far, by trying to crack down on language and by modifying the participation rubrics in order to remove some of the subjectivity from the grading. Some students accused me of playing favorites, and I understand their point of view because some students actively demanded my attention much more so than others. Other students avoided me, and in trying to accomodate them all, I lost the group in the middle, I think. I don't quite know how to go about fixing this, and that troubles me. But I think it troubles me because I want to fix all of the things that were bad this year by flipping an instant switch. I have a lot of work to do.
Next year I will be able to contribute more time to my planning. I look forward to planning more creative and shorter lessons, based on concepts that I will spend time developing and researching. I look forward to having an overview of the course before I teach it, with much more development and preparation. This year I spent so much time today just planning tomorrow. i was never ahead of the game, and many days I just wanted to let the kids do nothing because I was so exhausted, although I never gave in to this. WWII and the Ma Vie en Rose movie took waaaaaaayy too long! I have no idea of the length of time that would be necessary to go through these lessons.
In short, this year I felt like a first year teacher in many ways. I'm very angry about a lot of my shortcomings this year, and the way they negatively affected my students learning opportunities. I can only blame so much of this on being in grad school and therefore having less time. The rest is because of my over-ambition, my lack of perspective on the amount of work I created for myself, and the shallow depth that I barely managed to reach because of the breadth I expected of myself, and of my students. While they spoke more French, and experienced their dream of "less textbook", there were so many lost opportunities, so many undeveloped lessons that I taught, so much blatant return to exactly that which I was trying to avoid: meaningless information. In expanding too quickly I reduced myself.
In order to move beyond this depressed outlook, I remember the Woody Allen quote about failure. I can be uplifted by my need to improve, and as one of my students tells me "Reflect your reflections". I will continue to work forwards, but hopefully in the future, I will work smarter, smaller, and deeper.
French III Survey: What would you change?
- The true immersion piece was maginificent. After that, you gave up...
- I like that we studied the holocaust, it was very interesting. I would change more projects and less quizzes or tests.
- More book work is good. Even though I don't like the book work it's very helpful in studying the language because it helps me memorize the material.
- Because everyone didn't like the war, to have a shorter lesson of WWII would be good. I like WWII but the other students don't like war.
- I think you play favorites with the students. We saw that. This put a bad attitude in the class, and made learning difficult.
- I don't want to change the class because I learned a lot of new French.
- I would change the projects, like video projects.
- I would change the quantity of text to translate. It was too much. WWII was too difficult.
- I would teach a little bit about tthe war a year before French III. A little in French II and then the rest in French III.
- I would change the two objectives in the journal because it's very difficult to think of two objectives. Also more time for learning new vocabulary.
- I would change the topic. i want to learn food. WWII is very difficult for French III.
- I would chyange the Second world war for the students next year.
- French III is good like it is. the students after me like the class becuase it's very interesting. STudying a language is very difficult, but you make the class interesting and fun. Immersion is very weird at first, but after you overcome the difficulty it is is easy.
- I would make more tests. More testsmake people work harder and pay attention. But over all, the class was good.
- Let the students speak English and have less WWII.
- I wouldn't change the class, but if I changed the class I would restrict the people in the class. I want to speak with people who are serious.
- I would change the quantity of spoken French. In a French III class it's a bit too difficult, but in a French IV class, it's too easy.
- For the class next year, I would change the course to have mor projects, and also make the projects more "hands on". A lot of people like projects and it's easy to make interesting things with your hands.
08 June 2011
French IV Survey: What would you change?
I asked all of the students to review the course, and offer suggestions to make it better for the next students to come through.
-I didn't like having an objective for each day. Often times I repeated the objective that I wrote the day before. Also, I wanted more written homework for the vocabulary and grammar to practice outside of school. I like the films and working with the films. My favorite activity was the film review for Edith Piaf.
-For me the exercises in the workbook helped a lot for grammar. Afterwards, I applied the grammar in the discussions in class for the films. Also for French IV I think that homework is important for a rigorous course.
-I would change the pace of the course. At the beginning we had lots of time with the films, but at the end we had less time. I would like equal time for each film.
-If I could change the course, I would change the amount of work in the book. I think the book exercises helped me a lot. It was very seldom that we did any book work for the class.
-I would change the balance between cinematography and grammar lessons. I really like the cinematography part of the class because it forced me to think about the importance of the films and also the concepts for life, not just the plot. But I want to see more grammar for the class because I needed more comprehension between my classmates and I during the discussion. It's easier to understand the films and my classmates ideas when we have a better knowledge to explain our ideas.
-For next year in French IV class I would change the order of the class. I would start with a grammar revision because when the students enter the class, their French is bad, and it's difficult to work in the beginning. After that I would like to watch the films. I thought the films taught us a lot of French.
-In my opinion there were too many films. I think that different art or music projects are a good idea for the students next year. The discussions were good for comprehension. Maybe for the journal just an objective for the day is sufficient. A variety of activities is my ideas for a change.
-I didn't like having an objective for each day. Often times I repeated the objective that I wrote the day before. Also, I wanted more written homework for the vocabulary and grammar to practice outside of school. I like the films and working with the films. My favorite activity was the film review for Edith Piaf.
-For me the exercises in the workbook helped a lot for grammar. Afterwards, I applied the grammar in the discussions in class for the films. Also for French IV I think that homework is important for a rigorous course.
-I would change the pace of the course. At the beginning we had lots of time with the films, but at the end we had less time. I would like equal time for each film.
-If I could change the course, I would change the amount of work in the book. I think the book exercises helped me a lot. It was very seldom that we did any book work for the class.
-I would change the balance between cinematography and grammar lessons. I really like the cinematography part of the class because it forced me to think about the importance of the films and also the concepts for life, not just the plot. But I want to see more grammar for the class because I needed more comprehension between my classmates and I during the discussion. It's easier to understand the films and my classmates ideas when we have a better knowledge to explain our ideas.
-For next year in French IV class I would change the order of the class. I would start with a grammar revision because when the students enter the class, their French is bad, and it's difficult to work in the beginning. After that I would like to watch the films. I thought the films taught us a lot of French.
-In my opinion there were too many films. I think that different art or music projects are a good idea for the students next year. The discussions were good for comprehension. Maybe for the journal just an objective for the day is sufficient. A variety of activities is my ideas for a change.
Film Class: Français IV
The most successful class I had with immersion was the French IV film class. During the course of the semester we watched, in this order:
Ma Vie en Rose
La Vie en Rose /La môme Piaf
Jean de Florette
Manon de Source
Les Tripelettes de Belleville
La Cité des Enfants Perdus
Le Fabuleux Déstin d'Amélie Poulain
La Haine
Their two favorite films were La Vie en Rose and La Haine. I thought that the confusing nature of the story of Edith Piaf, mostly flashbacks and dark scenes that were often difficult to see in my well-lit room, would put them off. They fell in love with her. They went online, downloaded her music, memorized her lyrics, and when I pulled up her songs in class to study, they belted them out at the top of their lungs.
They really enjoyed watching Jean de Florette and Manon de Source, especially after the dark style of La Vie en Rose. The film didn't really stick with them, though, not the way that Edith did, and they said that this was because she was a real person, with real problems.
The other film they loved dearly was La Haine. Prior to watching this film I had the kids read two articles from my college French books about the banlieues and the social implications of subsidized housing and poverty on the culture of these areas. They struggled a lot through the reading, but when we discussed the reading comprehension in English, they did very well. By the time we watched La Haine, they were well prepared for the violence and the difficult cycle of hatred between the banlieue and the police. The next time I teach La Haine I will spend at least two weeks on this, and include work about the riots of 2005, and Sarkozy. They fully grasped the cycle of hate and how it was perpetuated by both sides.
They found the film La Cité des Enfants Perdus bizarre and disturbing, which it is. We finished this film by reading a French philosophical review, and then the american review by Roger Ebert. They did an excellent job of identifying the contrasts between the physical elements of the film and the ideas, for example, the adults are underdeveloped, while the children are wise, street-smart and resilient.
They found Amélie very confusing and difficult to follow, even with English subtitles. Next year when I teach that film, I will break it down into various scenes, and do a better job of scaffolding the story through cinematography.
Overall the film class went well. Film as text is definitely something that will continue to use at the higher levels, although developing my understanding of cinematography and how to extract the language from the films in order to teach it is something I have to work on.
Ma Vie en Rose
La Vie en Rose /La môme Piaf
Jean de Florette
Manon de Source
Les Tripelettes de Belleville
La Cité des Enfants Perdus
Le Fabuleux Déstin d'Amélie Poulain
La Haine
Their two favorite films were La Vie en Rose and La Haine. I thought that the confusing nature of the story of Edith Piaf, mostly flashbacks and dark scenes that were often difficult to see in my well-lit room, would put them off. They fell in love with her. They went online, downloaded her music, memorized her lyrics, and when I pulled up her songs in class to study, they belted them out at the top of their lungs.
They really enjoyed watching Jean de Florette and Manon de Source, especially after the dark style of La Vie en Rose. The film didn't really stick with them, though, not the way that Edith did, and they said that this was because she was a real person, with real problems.
The other film they loved dearly was La Haine. Prior to watching this film I had the kids read two articles from my college French books about the banlieues and the social implications of subsidized housing and poverty on the culture of these areas. They struggled a lot through the reading, but when we discussed the reading comprehension in English, they did very well. By the time we watched La Haine, they were well prepared for the violence and the difficult cycle of hatred between the banlieue and the police. The next time I teach La Haine I will spend at least two weeks on this, and include work about the riots of 2005, and Sarkozy. They fully grasped the cycle of hate and how it was perpetuated by both sides.
They found the film La Cité des Enfants Perdus bizarre and disturbing, which it is. We finished this film by reading a French philosophical review, and then the american review by Roger Ebert. They did an excellent job of identifying the contrasts between the physical elements of the film and the ideas, for example, the adults are underdeveloped, while the children are wise, street-smart and resilient.
They found Amélie very confusing and difficult to follow, even with English subtitles. Next year when I teach that film, I will break it down into various scenes, and do a better job of scaffolding the story through cinematography.
Overall the film class went well. Film as text is definitely something that will continue to use at the higher levels, although developing my understanding of cinematography and how to extract the language from the films in order to teach it is something I have to work on.
06 June 2011
Fin de l'année
On Friday we will be watching La Rafle. which is a film about the jewish raid and the Vélodrôme d'Hiver.
The kids are very excited. They find WWII interesting, but without the essential question to guide me, the unit has been rough.
They have been good sports, for the most part. I'm looking forward to planning things better for next year, for being better prepared, for putting scramble mode in the poubelle where it belongs.
Their final exam is to identify and explain the role of resistance in their own lives. We all resist something, whether it be ideas, activities, whatever. It's a healthy part of the human condition.
They are going to identify and explain it with a visual.
Qu'est-ce que tu résistes dans ta vie?
Pourquoi est-ce que tu résistes ça?
Pourquoi est-ce que c'est important à toi?
Comment est-ce que tu résistes ça?
Est-ce que cette résistance personnelle est facile ou difficile? Pourquoi?
Quel est le résultat de cette résistance?/Comment est-ce que ta vie est changée par cette résistance?
The kids are very excited. They find WWII interesting, but without the essential question to guide me, the unit has been rough.
They have been good sports, for the most part. I'm looking forward to planning things better for next year, for being better prepared, for putting scramble mode in the poubelle where it belongs.
Their final exam is to identify and explain the role of resistance in their own lives. We all resist something, whether it be ideas, activities, whatever. It's a healthy part of the human condition.
They are going to identify and explain it with a visual.
Qu'est-ce que tu résistes dans ta vie?
Pourquoi est-ce que tu résistes ça?
Pourquoi est-ce que c'est important à toi?
Comment est-ce que tu résistes ça?
Est-ce que cette résistance personnelle est facile ou difficile? Pourquoi?
Quel est le résultat de cette résistance?/Comment est-ce que ta vie est changée par cette résistance?
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