Pamela: “I made lots of copies with “fill in the blank space” exercises, so at least I can tell the parents that I tried everything I could, and their kids are just not able to understand it. I do think that we all are able to learn a language – we already did so with our mother tongue. But maybe that’s just idealism and wishful thinking.
Tina: YES, this is so true and it is what you need to keep repeating to yourself as you make this transition. It is a shift in your thinking and it is learning a bunch of new skills, but it will be worth it, because one day soon you will start to see the kids’ progress. Have them do a free write after a month and see what they can write on their own. (Note, in a free write, I do not give them any reference materials. I do not require them to retell any particular story or use particular words. It is a beautiful thing to see them just writing in their new language.)
OK, you might want to get away entirely from using targeted language, at least for a while, while you develop your skills at providing comprehensible input. I would highly recommend Story Listening. In Story Listening, you simply tell them a story, and you draw/write on the board, use gestures, use vocal intonation, body language, etc. to make the message, that is to day the plot, understandable.
In telling stories like this, you do not need to circle. In fact, Beniko Mason, who has been working with Story Listening, and refining it, and researching it, for over two decades, asserts quite energetically that circling is too much like a skill-building exercise and has a lot in common with the Audio-Lingual method. You would sometimes do some light circling, like repeating or asking a question or two to just lightly emphasize certain words (Was he old or young? Yes, look class. it is obvious, he has a long beard; he is old! He is very old!).
There are many examples of Story Listening online. There is even a Facebook group called Story Listening for Language Acquisition.
Here is a link to Beniko telling a story in English (she teaches English as a foreign language in Japan)- http://beniko-mason.net/
Here is a recent one from my class. Part One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LgN8OnwyHo, Part Two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_XDphJc0Io
Here is a Story Listening I used as an assessment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-YIZZMk_tM It was the first time they had heard it.
Sending my best wishes and appreciation to you! You are doing something brave.
Tina
