Eric Herman

7 thoughts on “Eric Herman”

1. Diane N.

   October 30, 2013 at 9:52 am

   Hi Eric, sorry for my ignorance of islands in Canada(?). What does MV stand for? Thanks.

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   1. Diane N.

      October 30, 2013 at 9:52 am

      OOPS! Got it now. You’re in Massachusetts on Martha’s Vineyard.

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2. Nathaniel

   October 30, 2013 at 7:06 pm

   Great website, Herman. I look forward to give it more than a cursory view. I am also looking forward to view your videos as time permits.

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3. erichermanpchn

   October 30, 2013 at 9:09 pm

   Thanks Nathaniel.

   For others: I have tried to make my school website a place to get info on CI, watch demos, and include listening and reading resources for students of Spanish as a Foreign Language.

   I have many more videos to edit from this summer, which I will post. These videos were filmed with a rural, Honduran public school.

   I have 2 new videos of my 8th grade, US Spanish class doing the Matava story “Afraid of the Package.” You will be able to see how much fun we are having and how much the class comprehends in these 2 videos. On multiple occasions the events of the story, the student jobs, and the actors sent us into uncontrollable fits of laughter 🙂 I will upload these videos this weekend.

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4. James Hosler

   October 31, 2013 at 12:18 pm

   Eric, I just watched the first 45 seconds of the first video and I am already super impressed and inspired. Thank you so much for uploading these. I’ve said before that whenever new videos of in-class action pop up it’s like finding water in the desert. You’ve given us an aqueduct here.

   I LOVE HOW SLOWLY YOU ARE GOING! There is something about watching CI/TPRS being done in English. Very powerful for me. I love how slowly you said “ridiculous.” It’s a great reminder that we are never speaking too slowly.

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5. erichermanpchn

   October 31, 2013 at 6:59 pm

   I love to hear that, James. 🙂

   This was an amazing learning experience for me. I take any chance I can get to practice more TCI.

   Being self-critical, there were times when I spoke too much English. The kids LOVED the TPR, although I do little to no TPR in my classes in the US. The kids were great at choral responses, because that is largely how they were used to responding.

   There were some HUGE cultural/socioeconomic/educational barriers. The kids are shy, conservative, authority-fearing, horrified of making a mistake, and most (all?) of their education has been in rote learning. The first day I had to teach in the regular classroom (I was later moved to the only air-conditioned classroom in the school). You hear how loud it is? If you only knew how hot it also is! And there are only 1-2 tiny wall fans! I’d venture to say that half or more of these students cannot afford to go on to the 7th grade and will drop out.

   It was so amazing to see the kids open up, start to take risks, and to gain their trust. Wait till I upload the video when I tried some Reader’s Theater. That didn’t work so well, because the acting was way outside of the kids’ comfort zones.

   Teaching English in a country with “English Fever” has its perks. More kids are self-motivated. On days that school was cancelled, I’d still get 90% attendance for my class. Unfortunately, the country is spending money it doesn’t have on useless English programs. I was so outraged that I had 2 articles published in “Honduras Weekly” to suggest solutions:
   http://hondurasweekly.com/culture/item/17053-teaching-english-in-honduras

   and to lay into the current programs:
   http://hondurasweekly.com/culture/item/17086-treating-english-fever-in-honduras

   If you read the comments section to the first article, you will see that I had an uneducated commentator and I tore him a new . . .

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6. erichermanpchn

   October 31, 2013 at 7:03 pm

   Oops.
   “Being self-critical, there were times when I spoke too much English.”
   That should read: “too much Spanish.”

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