Brian has a unique situation. Please comment:
Well day one for the year is this coming Monday. I’ve spent this past week in deep thinking on how to approach my greatest dilemma: non-natives and what I call heritage learners (understand Spanish with no problem because they grew up around it here in the States.) in the same Spanish II class. It has been this way always and the top reason for my plane crash towards the end of last school year (The flight was great though! Still my best year yet – first year with a CI+P approach).
The good news is that my department is finally taking proper student placement seriously – going up to our new principal and new supervising AP with our concerns and actually receiving support. The only caveat is that changes won’t show up in my level 2 classes until next year – The mixed batch from last year’s level 1 must have two consecutive language classes so they are all coming to me this year. Anyways – fingers crossed for a more pure group of non-natives next year…
In the meantime, it’s high time to build a new plane. I’ve got to tap into the dynamics of my student group, not fight it. I’ve got to teach my HL (heritage learners) to be able to deliver CI as well – not just me. I’ve got to teach my NN (non-natives) to embrace CI when it comes and shoot for just getting the gist when we fly a bit high. I’ve got to balance both wings: the goals of listening to understand/learn new words for my NN & the goal to develop skilled speakers and writers/learn new words for my HL.
I can hear Ben and the gang crying foul as to having Spanish knowers in with the know-nots, but that’s my passenger list – no choice. I’ll take all the suggestions, warnings, encouragement and criticism I can get – I love a good hashing out of ideas: its why I hang around this blog. Test pilot? Yes. Might crash this year? Yup. Freaking-out-nervous like I was when I started CI stuff last year? Nope. Looking forward to the exploration. I’ll keep you updated.
p.s. Big vision here: whats more natural that teaching humans, regardless of language skill level, to be able to find common communicative ground and connect? It happens in the real world in multiple ways: between two people who know the same language, between one person who knows a language and one who knows only some, between two who do not share any common language (gestures, teaching each other words for those gestures), etc…In THEORY, teaching ANYONE to be able to deliver CI to ANY OTHER should be possible in the classroom. It’s time to be a pilot and have an HL crew of sorts.
Succed or fail with my mixed group – it’s all good. They all seem to always get something out of the class in proportion to what they are willing to put in.
Brian