Ana Rubio is a Spanish teacher at Chugiak Elementary School in Chugiak, Alaska. Today she tells us about her day-to-day life and the specifics of teaching Spanish in the United States. Ana is a former student of the Master of ELE and is now a teacher of the Expert in Teaching Spanish to Children and Adolescents.
Before starting, tell us where you work, and how are your students and your classmates at school?
I work as a Second Grade teacher in the Dual Immersion Program at Chugiak Elementary School in Chugiak, a small town near Anchorage, Alaska. The students who are in the program attend 50% of their time classes in Spanish and the other 50% of classes in English, with two different teachers. The curriculum they follow is the same as their classmates who study in English but add the Spanish language. At Chugiak, we have what is called “One-Way Dual Immersion” since the number of students who speak Spanish at home is minimal. In Spanish class, we work on language, social sciences, and natural sciences.
My students have already completed two years in the program so for them to have two teachers and spend half the time in Spanish class is normal. They are 6-7-8 years old and as I have mentioned, they do not usually have any other contact with Spanish than in class. In the classroom, I only use the target language and in second grade we already require students that most of their communication is also in Spanish.
I work side by side with my English classmate because we have the same kids and the shared responsibility of getting the course through successfully. I also collaborate with the other Spanish teachers at the school. We share resources but also experiences and concerns. It is important to know what is expected of each course in order to have an overview of what the learning process of our students will be like.
What is the main difficulty in learning Spanish that the children you teach have?
For my boys, perhaps the most difficult thing is to make the leap to writing. Although we do not expect the level of written expression to be the same as in English, in second grade we begin to put a little more emphasis on this skill. They feel quite comfortable with oral interaction (at their level) and are taking steps in reading, however, it is very difficult for them to start writing beyond usual words or expressions. The oral component continues to be the protagonist of our classes but we are including written expression tasks that some of them suppose a great effort.
Another thing that is difficult for them is using Spanish to talk to each other. It is in the first courses of the program where we lay the foundations for learning in higher courses and in unguided oral interaction in the target language is what we must insist on if we want them to be able to deepen their learning later on.
Finally, as is common in many learning contexts, exposure to the target language in contexts outside the classroom is rare, so my students do not have many opportunities to put their knowledge into practice. When this contact occurs, it is usually a very enriching and motivating experience for the children, since they verify that what they do at school can be used outside of it.
What methodologies do you use in your classes?
In Dual Immersion classes, it is usual to combine different methodologies and resources. I rely on the communicative approach as it offers my students a logical context for using the language. That is, it gives them a reason to speak in Spanish. Boys and girls should know what they are doing and why they are doing it, and the communicative approach helps me to offer them just that. They find themselves in situations in which they need to use the language to be able to solve the activity and they must establish an interaction.
In science, the content becomes a channel to work on the language, as well as being an objective in itself. In these cases, it is very useful to work on projects. It is a way of working that motivates students a lot.
For social sciences and language, I have used the task-based approach with students in upper grades and I have developed some activities in the past with younger students but I have not yet taken the step with my little ones this year. I plan to design some activities on the history of Anchorage according to this approach but I have not decided anything.
What is the evaluation system that you use?
We start the course with an initial diagnostic evaluation in order to have a base on which to work. Throughout the course the main evaluation is formative and the observations of the children’s daily work are the best guide to know how we are doing, them and me. In each unit, block, or project I evaluate how the objectives have been achieved according to the performance and production of the children. As required by the educational institution, I must carry out summative evaluations several times a year and I must include the results in the report card. This can be somewhat complicated in lower grades since students have not yet developed their academic skills to face evaluations and exams, much less in Spanish. I usually design short, concrete tests that assess skill and that I can easily score with a numerical rubric. The test corresponds to half of the notes of that skill in the bulletin. The other half I get from observing formative assessments.
On the other hand, once a year and beginning in second grade, all students in the program pass a standardized and official exam that aims to offer an idea of the general level. For my little ones, that exam is going to be oral comprehension and expression. In high school courses, these exams also have the ability to help students earn advanced course credits that can then be transferred once they go to college.
How is the American educational system different from other systems?
The American educational system has the peculiarity that it is a unique path until finishing secondary education. It is true that students have many electives, especially during the «High School» years, but all students graduate with the same degree regardless of the path they are thinking about for their future. In other systems, there is the possibility of choosing paths directed towards university preparation and others towards professional training. It is true that at the same time students build a personal curriculum and can choose very diverse subjects that are not included in formal training in other systems, such as photography, journalism, theater, cooking, and advanced courses in science, mathematics, or foreign languages.
In recent years, American educators have seen an increasing demand for objective and standardized data collection in order to plan interventions and evaluate schools and teachers. This has its advantages because it unifies the objectives and evaluation criteria, but at the same time, more and more teachers are publicly expressing their disagreement with a calendar full of standardized tests. I can say that although this is not the case in my case, the English classmates I have had over the years here are often very overwhelmed because they have barely finished some tests and already have to start others.
One thing that draws a lot of attention to teachers who come from other places and start working in the US is that in schools of any level, the extrinsic motivation of students is encouraged through rewards. It is the basis of motivation and the construction of a good classroom environment. They can be on an individual or group level, even for the whole school competing against another school, but the reward is almost always present.
What motivations does a student in Alaska have to choose Spanish and not other languages?
My boys obviously have not chosen to enter the Spanish program, since they start it in Kindergarten, but the majority of high school students who have studied in immersion choose to continue their training in the language in advanced courses and even in their university training because they know that their level of knowledge is an advantage to be successful in those courses. Spanish is also offered as an optional subject in all secondary schools and universities. As is the trend in the rest of the US, Spanish is the most studied foreign language and this response to socioeconomic reasons since we already know that the Spanish-speaking population is growing more and more in the country. Traditionally, students in Alaska chose to study Japanese or Russian, as both languages are very useful due to the business contacts in the region. Nevertheless,
What do you think is the future of teaching Spanish as a foreign language?
In general, I think that studying foreign languages is seen as something essential for citizens who want to understand the world in which they live and expand their professional but also personal possibilities, and to get to know other cultures. I think that even in societies where the idea of studying another language has never been very popular (as is the case in the US), opinion is changing and it is being understood as an educational necessity. In the case of ELE teaching, I think we are going to see a growth in the demand for teaching at an early age and in secondary education. Many educational systems have included English in lower grades and are betting on including a second language a few years later. Many times the chosen one is Spanish. On the other hand,
In my opinion, ELE teachers are going to have to adapt to the challenges that these families and students expect from us. Resources, materials, and methods that motivate and facilitate the path of learning must be recycled, changed, and adapted to new needs.
