Unlock with PatreonThe Problem with CI
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Question About AIM
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15 thoughts on “Question About AIM”
https://benslavic.com/blog/aim/
https://benslavic.com/blog/aim-2/
They have AIM for Latin?
Maybe let everyone else adopt AIM and you can sell TPRS as “AIM for Latin because gosh, shucks, darn, well… they don’t have AIM for me.”
https://tprsquestionsandanswers.wordpress.com/2014/11/29/what-are-a-i-m-s-shortcomings/
The AIM ppl are on twitter using #aimlang so you can find ppl to talk to. I could/would never use it, because research does not support forced output (AIM is talking from Day 1), TPR runs out of steam quickly, and I cannot see the value in theatre productions.
But they do restrict vocab, insist on comprehnsibility, go for loads of reps, etc, so it’s not all bad.
I am concerned that John might have yet another battle on his hands and he doesn’t need one right now. He has been on the battlefield without a stop all year, and slaying with strength everything he has come up against. And now here are these output/memorization people on the Central California coast advocating that he look at what is clearly an inferior way to teach compared to stories (we’ve been through all that here over the years with AIM). I don’t like it. He just doesn’t need another fight over methods.
Also I believe our very own Kristin Duncan from Alberta knows AIM (I think she went to AIM training but then decided on TPRS).
If Kristin chose TPRS over AIM it says a ton because she is the real deal.
John the positive thing here if they in fact adopt AIM is that you already do it plus extras. AIM has kids memorize so that the overall result is nowhere near what we get in terms of spontaneous output (given enough of it…). It also works MUCH better at the lower levels when kids’ imaginations can fuel an AIM class of some memorized fairy tale with heavy costumes and prescribed texts but try that with a bunch of high school kids and watch it go splat. So AIM does what you already do and you do so much more.
That said, I like Hosler’s idea. If they don’t have any scripts for you to buy, how can you do this system?
Ya AIM only works for French and Spanish (I think). You need the complete package, gestures bla bla.
Anecdotally, it sounds as if AIM works great for younger kids where forcing output is less of an issue and they are less self-conscious about gestures etc. I cannot imagine that high schoolers would like it. All of the AIM refugees I know bailed from high school AIM and into TPRS which is much more flexible.
Because Latin at my school has always been immune to any fl dep’t policies, positive or negative, and because AIM does not offer a Latin package, I think I will be safe from being required to adopt it. Also, there are too many teachers who don’t think anything implicit is grown up enough for our darling precocious children of Berkeley parents.
That said, at our last department meeting, a colleague said he was interested in going to a Blaine Ray workshop in the area this summer. but then somebody mentioned that it wasn’t going to be taught by Ray, but by Katya Paukova. I then briefly told her story, and now five teachers, about 30% of the department, want to attend this workshop. Next year will be interesting. I am not pushing CI, but I am there to answer questions when peopke ask.
Here’s the sentence that I like:
…I am not pushing CI, but I am there to answer questions when peopke ask….
Katya works at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, as you know John. That is the elite language school of the U.S. Army. Yeah, they hired a TPRS teacher. I’m guessing they did that because they wanted results and Katya brings results, for those who have taken any training with her.
Here is a blurp on Katya from the iFLT 2015 website:
Katya Paukova is a highly-sought TPRS presenter and editor. She has adapted/translated various TPRS materials to Russian and is a key presenter for NTPRS. A gifted teacher, Katya has taught Russian and French for middle/high schools, the United Nations, and the International Monetary Fund. Katya currently teaches Russian for the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA.
And thank you for asking – yes, she will be at both national conferences in July so start thinking about which one you will be going to for summer camp fun this year.
https://tprstorytelling.com/conference/
http://ntprs.org/
Perfect. If you can get your colleagues in a room with Katya for a few hours, you’ve done all you can. She is great!
I have been introduced to the AIM program. It is used mainly by French teachers here in Canada in Elementary School. The repetition and gestures are positive for young children. It has a very narrow focus on fairy tales that are repeated over and over again. I found that I could not adapt it for German and that I would be bored stiff with one fairy tale repeated over and over again. So then I found TPRS. I could adapt gestures and use repetition and many different story lines and not be bored:)
^ this is what I have heard.