Melissa Foltz has been working in and around TPRS since practically the beginning. This report is from Oman. It’s lengthy but fun to read because it conveys a feeling that we might all recognize – a feeling of hope and possibilities:
Hi Ben,
Thanks for your energy, time, sharing, and devotion.
I wanted to introduce myself officially. I am thrilled that you are in this region and can’t believe that Linda as well is next door. I feel very alone here in regards to teaching with TPRS/ CI and not nearly as brave as many of you to get my coworkers onto it. In fact when I got here they were all sort of dissing it.
I started teaching over 20 years ago in Maine. I worked with a couple of amazing teachers, Mike Walker and Leon Gin then. We attended Stand up Sit Down Then What? conference with James Asher and Bertie Segal and a bunch of others in Seattle in like 1995 and were blown away by the idea of TPR. Then at that same conference Mike went to a session on storytelling (not Blaine…) I can’t remember who and it was all he could talk about on the plane back to Maine.
So we started experimenting. Bought the first Green Bible and went to conference after conference with Blaine. Then we presented to the Maine conference (the first and only time I have ever had courage to do that!) and had a huge crowd and lots of interested people. The 3 of us were so jazzed that we created a t-shirt of the top 10 reasons for using TPRS and sold a bunch to Blaine.
Anyway, my husband and I moved to the International System in 2001. We started in Taiwan and I was an ES ESL teacher there, trying to figure out how to do TPRS with little ones when all the teachers wanted me to do was assist them in the classroom. After 2 years, we moved to ISKL in KL Malaysia. I was ESL there too, but was given after one year the opportunity to create the new Elementary World Language program. I went straight to Hola Niños and Cuentame by Carol Gaab. Went to the Las Vegas NTPRS conference, had Blaine come to KL, met Linda Li in KL at a conference… and got re-energized and really JAZZED again. We had a successful program going and all of the 3-5 graders and their parents were excited by the fluency they were experiencing. My coworker believed in TPRS and it was AWESOME.
At the same time the MS was experiencing problems with the results of very strict, traditional unbending teaching styles and had an opening for Spanish teachers. The principal saw what was happening in the ES and wanted the same for MS. I jumped and we hired Natalia Giraldo who was new to teaching but believed in CI and wanted to make it work. We worked our butts off and taught using Cuentame Mas and stories we made up from Realidades. We went to NTPRS in Vermont and were really exciting but tiring too…
It was so much work I think we both burned ourselves out. She had a baby and we adopted a baby and our lives got diverted.
My husband and I moved back to Maine for 3 years, I took time off. However we soon realized that we needed to get back overseas.
So…we took this job in amazing Oman. Upon arriving I quickly realized that I was alone in CI/TPRS. My coworkers literally had no interest in talking about it and even went as far as to bully me a bit. Passive aggressive stuff.
I went to Dallas NTPRS to get re-energized. However I guess it was the adjustment here and the fact that all of my attention was focused on our 5 year old daughter who needed much of our attention – I caved and gave up on TPRS.
Mid last year, I knew that I had to get back to what I knew worked – even if it meant doing it alone.
So I joined your community and starting reading the posts. Over the summer I decided that I was going to get back to it. I was blown away when I read you talking about Delhi and even more determined to keep trying to make this work here.
Knowing that you and Linda and Zack too, are so close and believe in this approach is keeping me honest and pumped up.
I’m finding it amazing and fun and real and so great. However, it’s like starting over and it’s becoming a bit of a tangled mess. I teach 7 preps (grade 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and HS Level 1) and within each class I have a plethora of levels. Kids who have been in Oman forever and have had Spanish in grade 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc. and then I might have completely new students.
My challenge is to meet all of their needs. How?
My challenge is to narrow all of the CI tools. How?
My best classes are those with 5 words and then I build something – a conversation with the kids. We write it, read it, I make a quizlet with those words. We move on. Your observation of Linda’s class gave me courage to continue. I looked over the VPQA slides and am inspired to contribute.
My desktop (physical and computer) is a mess of files, presentations, papers, ideas, books…I am still challenged by it all. I started Brandon Brown, but chapter 4 has so many new words and the teacher resource manual has so many awesome ideas. I could spend all year on that alone. How do I get through it all…songs, culture (Day of the Dead got very little airplay other than a quick MT) FVR, dance, joke of the day, reading, writing, agggg!
So my goal is to get better at this. To learn how to teach a class of multilevel learners, to keep my sanity, to read every post by Krashen and people in your LC. To keep my sanity and to have courage to post on your online LC.
Welcome to the region. Sorry about this long-winded intro.
Thanks again for leading the charge. It’s worth the bloodshed. I will try to rally my courage too.
Melissa
ES/MS/HS Spanish Teacher
The American International School of Muscat
Box 584 Postal Code 130
Muscat, Oman
School Phone: 968- 2459-5180
On Thu, Aug 20, 2015 at 4:19 PM, ben slavic <benslavic@yahoo.com> wrote:
Thanks. We can do this.
Paul sends kind regards with special mention of best wishes to you and family.
I am really into the iPad thing right now. No time to get it fully on the blog but for me it’s a whole new level and brings lots of cred with homework and tech. I’ll try to get that communicated onto the blog soon. For me it’s a breakthrough.
Best,
Ben
A student learns a language because she wants to. It has nothing to do with thinking.
From: Melissa Foltz <foltzm@taism.com>
To: ben slavic <benslavic@yahoo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2015 9:03 PM
Subject: Re: Welcome!
Ben, I am thrilled you are here. I feel a bit of a lone wolf here and that did seem to break me down these past few years to the point of reverting to…well you know where. But now I am super energized.
Enjoy and plan to visit Omsn. It’s a hidden gem.
Melissa
On Wednesday, August 19, 2015, ben slavic <benslavic@yahoo.com> wrote:
O man! An email from Oman! Wow. Hey thanks for the tip on stories on an iPad. Nice. I’m definitely gonna do that bc of this being an iPad wonderland.
Yeah, I will give Paul best greetings. I met with him in Chicago before trying this gig out and lunch with him and Betsy was all I needed to make the decision. So far it’s about a 60 on a scale of 10.
Thanks for being in our PLC!
Ben
A student learns a language because she wants to. It has nothing to do with thinking.
Hi Ben,
I just wanted to welcome you to the region and to this amazing experience teaching at an International School. Paul Chmelik was my director when I taught at ISKL in Malaysia. Please give him my best if you see him in the halls! He’s a wonderful, sincere and caring, person.
Melissa
ES/MS/HS Spanish Teacher
The American International School of Muscat
Box 584 Postal Code 130
Muscat, Oman
School Phone: 968- 2459-5180