Well, the first week (of three days) is finished, and I have survived.
It has been going okay, there have been some good and bad parts. These kids are VERY talkative. They are chatty nearly all the time. This is mostly a cultural thing, and it is pretty well known that they will be extremely talkative. Also, in the first grade, most of the kids English capabilities are fairly low, lower than I had expected. I have a few “embassy kids” in my class, who are American and speak English pretty well, and as far as I can tell, are on a pretty normal first grade level. These kids all had some English instruction in Kindergarten, along with Spanish, but most of them have lost much of this during the summer. This has been ovbserved in all three of the first grade classes, by the other two teachers I am teaming with. So…I am not sure where I should pick up. I guess mostly, I am not sure how to respond, and how exactly I should approach this. Teaching second language learners will be difficult, and I am sure I am going to have to use lots of different resources to try to adapt to this.
I feel I have a lot to learn. I think I will be able to learn alot from the other two first grade teachers, both of who have taught first grade for a few years.
We are STILL working on getting the internet in the apartment. However, on the bright side, we do now have a washer! Hopefully I will be more able to talk soon. I think I am going to go home and take a nap, as I am exhausted. I think I will probably go for a swim in the sea later, as that is pretty soothing. An ocean swim was very calming after my first day of school. A bunch of other teachers are going salsa dancing tonight, so I may get in on that too.
Love and miss you all! Hope everybody is doing well! More soon!
Linnea
Uf…. boy, have I stood in those shoes. My biggest tip:
Teach them some of the instructions you’ll use over and over all year in English. Test them on it. Make them practice telling each other to follow them. Not that these have to be complicated… I did a lot of “stations” around the room at least once a month, and every kid knew the command “Change stations!” Don’t even try to do a stations activity at the beginning. Just set up “stations” around the room (could be chairs with numbers taped to them) and make them practice, “Go to station 1. Go to station 2. Go to the next station.” That kind of thing. They get WAY too confused and frustrated if they don’t know what to do AND they don’t understand what’s being taught.
Some of it might even be new material. “May I go get a drink of water?” and “May I go to the bathroom?” might be legitimately new vocab for them. Your whole first week (month?) could just be “Working in the Classroom!” It’s good to have them using English to accomplish things and make things happen for them, not just to answer questions on a card. You’re not moving backwards if you take time to do this, I promise!
That out of the way (and I’m sure you already had an inkling of it yourself), I’ll offer some consolation: I know it’s not easy when most of your class just chats over you in Spanish. It’s actually harder for little kids to pay attention in another language, especially when my buddy Alejandro here is talking to me in my own language…
Separating them (in seating arrangement, if you can) is a good idea, and never let anybody have their backs to you, nor should you ever present your back to them. Even when writing on the board, maintain “stage presence” and at least let them see you in profile. Trying to get them to sit in a cluster (on the floor, moving their chairs up, etc.) often gets complicated. Plenty of shoving, punching, etc. Plus, they’re with their buddies again and can just chat over you. Keep them in their separated seats (or arrange them in a wiiiiiiiiiiide circle) and just walk around to show pictures if you read to them from a book.
Well, I’m sure you’ll figure the rest out, but if you need ideas, I’d be happy to help however I can! Like you, I arrived in classrooms where kids were supposed to be “bilingual” and were depressingly… not. Just absolutely not. Sometimes you do have to be flexible and accomplish SOME things in Spanish, but it IS possible to facilitate a working classroom in English, even if your kids aren’t actually fluent in it! (This is your year to be the Charades Champion of the World!!!!)
Much hugs, and carry on! I’m sure you’re doing great!
Kristen
P.S. Beth and I will be swimming the same ocean tomorrow… or fifty feet down into it, at least
) We’ll think of you!
By: Kristen on August 17, 2008
at 4:56 pm