Report from the Field – Steven Ordiano

Steven writes:

Well, I am totally cooking with CI here.  I just finished my day 4 of teaching with OWI and CWB.  Just out of curiosity I asked if anyone wanted to retell our OWI.  It was a small golden piano inside the mouth of an alligator along with one of my student’s brothers.

Well my “qui-per” (who says “who” like an owl whenever I say “qui”) did a retell in FRENCH!  I was in shock.  We applauded together as a class.

I know that output does not equal acquisition and the structures were on the board but that was some other-world stuff.

Critiques may scoff saying that it was simply reciting but when was the last time you heard a parrot speak two complex sentences fluently in French?

As I learn from this work, I come to understand that compellingness trumps repetitions.

Thank you Ben for coming to California.