For those new to the group, Dana replaced me in my position in 2016 as the middle school French teacher at the American Embassy School in New Delhi, India and is now teaching the same kids who were the ones who actually started the Invisibles. She is one of few experts out there who have mastered the Invisibles. Here is one of her reports from the field to the group, written in 2018. (We always encourage from all group members all the time.) Thank you Dana!
Bonsoir Ben!
So, I just got home from the first night of Parent/Teacher Conferences. It all went well. I only had one where the father was somewhat upset about his daughter having taken 6 years of French but can’t say anything in French.
You may have had the same conversations that I had with him tonight as he seemed to be very up on the research, and I know you did a lot here at AES to shine a light on the research and Communication standard.
His daughter said that saying more in French was something she wanted to work on, but then said that she gets nervous. Even in Hindi, she starts stuttering so she thinks it’s a foreign language thing. So, I told her to come talk to me and we’ll figure out a plan that works for what her goals are. All this despite her saying how much more she understands during the stories, in her reading and how she likes learning French with the Invisibles approach.
Everyone else so far, including some pretty influential diplomat parents with high expectations, are pleased with the program and how much their child has improved. I had them explain what we do in French class with the Invisibles, and showed samples of it so their parents could see it to understand.
Parents were particularly impressed with dictée – originally one of your best gifts to CI teachers, especially when I explained what I’m looking for – that their child make the connection to their mistakes with the correct sentence and to check their child’s understanding with the translation. I’m especially happy that, so far, the parents are pleased.
I’ve spent the last two classes going over learning habits, doing self-assessments and preparing for the conferences by having them fill out a “guiding sheet”. This has been golden. We’ve gone over everything we do in French class. When they see all that we do, they realize that we aren’t just hanging out and having fun..
They made the connection to why the student jobs are important. We went over ways to know that they’re learning in French class (being able to write more words than before, understanding more of the stories, being able to read more difficult books than before, being able to speak more in French, etc.) and I told them to pick a few.
It was especially powerful when they could share their successes in French class with their parents – they were beaming – especially the kids who aren’t “strong” students. When their parents say that French is their favourite class, and they come home talking about French class, I know I’ve done my job well. I love Student-Led Conferences and having students share their learning with their parents. Having the artifacts (free write bar graphs, etc.) there with them is fabulous because they can explain their learning to their parents.
You are still a legend here at AES. So many kids in 7th grade told me that they remember doing that lesson with you when they were in 5th grade and they were soooo happy to be going into your class. And then they were so sad when they found out you weren’t coming back. I told them that I teach the way you do, and that I learned all of this from you so I hope that I come in at a close second. 😉 They seem happy to know that what I do is what you do. They asked if you were famous (because you were referenced on that one self-assessment rubric that was shared on the PLC) and I said that of course you were! 😀
About 6 weeks in, I share the rigor info with the students that you shared on the PLC – those great posters. I did that this week and it was so interesting to see how the kids interpreted it. I knew sharing it at the beginning of the year wouldn’t work but 6-7 weeks in would make a difference. There were a few A-HA moments. I’m going to pull it out throughout the year so we can revisit it.
So, thank you! My principal came in at the end of class today when we were sharing the story that the students finished last week. She absolutely loves this way of teaching language and she was beaming when she saw the student engagement.
Talk soon,
Dana