Brown: Chapter 1 & 2

I appreciate how Brown began the book by creating a context that readers could relate to. He set up the first chapter with an observation and view into a lesson in a classroom. This was a nice way to start and build conversations from. As far as the observation, I felt the teacher did something’s well and others things could have been executed better. For example, the audio dialogue on the CD. I was bothered by the sample the teacher chose to use. She chose a conversation with improper English and idioms. I would not have chosen a sample saying “Well, that’s what makes the world go ‘round.” Also, idioms are fine if you make a teaching point with it but to present it and not address it, I believe is a mistake. Then, the choral drilling that followed. If the teacher had a good speaking sample and made a point to instruct students to carefully listen to the speaker’s accents and try to emulate it that would be fine but she did not. She simply had the students repeat it two times without clearly stating a teaching objective. It felt as if the teacher was going through the motions. As a student, I would be bored and not understand the point of it if the teacher did not explain the purpose for the activity. I also felt certain parts of the lesson were very teacher centered. When she was explaining the “would rather” statements the students were not engaged at all. Then the parts that were student–centered, they were not provided clear instructions. It was admirable that she moved beyond the textbook and into collaborative work where they could use the knowledge and practice with it. However, the purpose and instructions for the activity were unclear. Obviously, I became frustrated with this teacher as I was reading this chapter. Something else that bothered me was the t-chart, where it was labeled “Would you rather see it?” It didn’t make sense. It was not clear. The teacher needs to model English correctly! Another moment that I did not agree with was when the teacher reverted to the L1 to explain. It does not help the students (in this case). The teacher should have rephrased herself, explained it differently, or provided a model in the L2. It was lazy of her. If the teacher makes a habit of reverting to L1 to explain, students will stop trying to understand in their L2 if it’s difficult because they know their teacher if just going to explain in their native language in a moment anyways. Also, when the teacher asked if they understood, her students clearly did not, but she moved on anyways. She should have done some further questioning to see if they understood or to see what part needed more clarification. Or she could have employed another formative assessment like showing a thumbs up or down to get a good read for their understanding. When reading about the history of language teaching I found I was able to make a lot of connections to things I had learned previously about affective filters, TPR, classical method, the natural approach, Krashens’ theories, the WIDA standards, and more. However with reading this chapter it was the background for the things I had previously learned. I found Gouin particularly interesting and sad that he was not as widely recognized. Unfortunately, that seems to happen to many bright theorists. They are overshadowed or society just isn’t ready for their way of thinking and way of seeing things. I can see how approaches seem to take some things from another, change it a bit, and create a new approach. It does seem cyclical. It’s interesting to read about. I can say that one of my language classes in high school was very much like the grammar translation method. It was the most boring thing on Earth. I am glad to read it “theoryless” but saddened that some teachers still employ this approach to their instruction.

About Me

Hello! My name is Nicole Gonzalez-Milligan. I am the first grade teacher at Bent Schools' developmental bilingual program in Bloomington. In our program we build a strong foundation in our students' native language, Spanish, and transition teaching so by fifth grade students are fluently bilingual. I am proud to work in a school where we value and respect our students native language and culture while introdcuing them into a new one. I got my bachelors at the University of South Florida in Elementary Education with a TESOL endorsement in 2008. I am now working on my masters at ISU for Curriculum and Instruction. However, I need this course to complete my bilingual teaching certificate.