Laurie’s Not Teaching Parrots
Got this from Laurie -it’s on her blog (http://blog.heartsforteaching.com) too:
I’m a bit of a youtube addict and yesterday I came across this great clip about a speaking parrot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kyh8KblQrqQ
The trainer is adorable and the whole schtick is about the parrot responding a certain way to the trainer’s clues. (ie. if the trainer says the word “pig” the parrot grunts like a pig). What makes it amazing is that the trainer has carefully arranged these clues so that it SOUNDS like the parrot and the trainer are really having a conversation.
I keep thinking about how much that resembles my pre-TPRS goals. If I said “Hola” they said “Hola”. If I asked a certain question, they provided a certain answer. Now, yes…there was a bit more thought involved on the part of my students…but in reality, the “show” was very much the same. Much like the trainer in this clip, it was my job as the teacher, to arrange the conversations in such a way that what I said, and how they responded, simulated a conversation.
I really didn’t get that at the time. I’ve got to save this clip to use at workshops. No wonder kids struggled so much more. What I wanted (and still do) is for my students to understand me and to answer me, in a clear and comprehensible response, expressing their own thoughts in Spanish. They were , and some still are if I am not doing my job as well as I would like to, being the parrot. They listened to see if they RECOGNIZE (not comprehend) what I say, search their memories for the corresponding response, and spit it out. If they didn’t get it right, I did JUST AS THE TRAINER DOES, repeat it so that that they could search that memory bank again. Sometimes they got it (and I applauded just like the audience…but that will be my next post) and sometimes they didn’t and I went on.
This will help me to slow down and to remember that I want responding students, not responsive parrots.
Thanks again Youtube!!
with love,
Laurie