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Network of Illinois Educators of Spanish for Heritage Learners

Network of Illinois Educators of Spanish for Heritage Learners. www.nieshl.org. Presentation O utline. Introduction to NIESHL Definitions Why a heritage Spanish class and program is ideal Literary review Procedures and outcome of study New considerations

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Network of Illinois Educators of Spanish for Heritage Learners

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  1. Network of Illinois Educators of Spanish for Heritage Learners www.nieshl.org

  2. PresentationOutline • Introductionto NIESHL • Definitions • Why a heritageSpanishclass and programis ideal • Literaryreview • Procedures and outcomeof study • New considerations • 10 mosteffectivecharacteristics for heritageSpanishcourses • Activityworkshop and sharing • Studentplacementconsiderations Presentation and files available at aquintanar@wikispaces.com

  3. Save the Date: February 22, 2012 • NIESHL Spring Conference: • Leyden High School • Speaker Josh Sollie • Sharing of classroom activities

  4. NIESHL Network of Illinois Educators of Spanish for Heritage Learners The Network of Illinois Educators of Spanish for Heritage Learners (NEISHL) was started in 1999 to help teachers exchange ideas and resources in an ever-changing field of language learning. NIESHL supports teachers in the implementation, development and enrichment stages of Spanish Heritage Learner programs. As of 2006, NIESHL is an affiliate of ICTFL. We offer workshops each year, which are always collaborative in nature and offer participants CPDU credits.

  5. The purpose of NIESHL is… …to improve the study and teaching of Spanish as a heritage language and its literature and culture at all levels of instruction .

  6. We do thisby… *increasing professional competencies of teachers through education programs and in-service training. *providing a framework within which Illinois foreign language organizations can cooperate in improving the quality of learning and teaching. *keeping members informed of current issues and trends so they may become better educators. *encouraging excellence in education through public recognition of outstanding programs and individuals. *cooperating with regional, national and international organizations and agencies whose purposes are compatible with those of NIESHL.

  7. NIESHL Membership • Membership runs from Jan 1, 2011 through Dec. 31, 2011 • Membership costs only $15 • Forms and additional information in the brochure and is available at niehsl.org. • E-mail NIESHL President Kathy Bellavia at kbellavia@juno.com

  8. Characteristics of effective activities of heritage Spanish courses in the context of a heritage Spanish course Andrea Quintanar-Schafer aquintanar@lths.org Network of Illinois Educators of Spanish for Heritage Learners

  9. Definitions • Heritage speaker- someone who speaks a language other than or in addition to the mainstream language as a result of listening or speaking the language at home • Heritage speaker course- A course that aims to improve the literacy of the heritage speaker in their heritage language, building on their existing knowledge of their heritage language and culture • SHS- Spanish for heritage speakers • HSS- Heritage Spanish speaker

  10. What do heritage Spanish speakers want? • Credit for what they know and choices (Pino, 2001) • Culturally relevant material (Gonzalez-Pino, 2001) • Practical information (Faltis,1984) and (Geeslin and Reber, 1998)

  11. What goals can SHS help these students accomplish? • Spanish literacy (Boyd, 2000) (Hislope, 2003) • Academic vocabulary (Lewelling & Payton, 1999) • Appropriateness of register and dialect • Overall academic improvement (Peale,1991) (Boyd, 2000) • Ethnic pride and improved self-image (Lee, 2002)

  12. Heritage speaker course versus mainstream Spanish course • Spanish FL learners and heritage Spanish speakers both are frustrated when mixed in the same classroom • SHS needs do not coincide with FL learners ie. listening comprehension, basic vocabulary, fluency, pronunciation etc. • Culture is taught from an outsider perspective in FL course, (Beaudrie, 2011).

  13. Detrimental effects of mixed language background classes • SHS students are not challenged • Courses can be seen as a waste of time • Success is expected, therefore never allowing the student to feel successful • Psychologically devastating when an outsider seems to know their language better than they do (Krashen, 2000; Correa 2011) • “Mixed” classes are pedagogically inappropriate (Beaudire, 2006, 2009 et al; Correa 2011)

  14. Why SHS courses are appropriate • SHS student feels comfortable with peers of similar experiences • More appropriate pacing and activities to focus students • Awareness of areas which need improvement is developed (Correa, 2011) • Course can be specifically tailored towards goals of literacy which will assist SHS students across the curriculum. • The effects of improved Spanish literacy seen on English literacy are a result of the students’ exercising skills such as questioning, inferring, predicting, and development of mechanical language.

  15. Literacy of the heritage Spanish speaker • In many U.S. Hispanic societies reading and writing skills are not emphasized in their culture (Boyd, 2000). • If they are able to read in Spanish, they usually only read entertainment or recreational magazines. • The lack of academic vocabulary in Spanish has also been reported evident in many of the Hispanic heritage speakers (Lewelling & Payton, 1999). • More instructional time than that of a heritage Spanish course is needed to develop literacy skills. (Villa, 1996; Beaudrie, 2011). A several year program is recommended.

  16. Aspects of successful SHS courses according to literature review • Adoption of an “additive approach” (Fischer, 2001) vs. a“limited normative approach” . • comprehensive language approach • basic composition • introduction to transactional writing • Free Voluntary Reading (FVR) (McQuillan, 1996) • Involvement of the family and community (Fishman 1996)

  17. The study of which activities to include in a HSS course to achieve stated goals Participants: 30 14- 18 year old suburban high school students who are currently enrolled in a SHS course as well as 15 teachers of Spanish as a heritage language.

  18. Measures: • Likert scale surveys were distributed to the students to rate which activities are effective to their learning Spanish in their SHS class. • 15 heritage Spanish teachers were also given a similar survey to complete. • I interviewed at random three students from each school and the teacher of the SHS course. • A checklist for classroom activities observed was used during each visit.

  19. Strategy analysis: • I recorded the number given by each participant for each item to figure the mean and standard deviation. • The items with the highest mean and lowest standard deviation contained activities that were most effective to teach SHS students Spanish. • I studied these results with the interview results to determine what characteristics of the activities made them important components.

  20. Results of student surveys

  21. Items with the highest rating with a relatively low standard deviation (SD) • “involve Spanish Speakers in the community” mean - 4.3548, SD - .5699 • “grammar exercises” mean- 4.348, SD -.6607 • “spelling exercises, (phonetics and accent placement)”

  22. Analysis supported by student interviews • Accents, spelling and use of a sophisticated vocabulary are a concrete representation of correct production of language. • Half of the students interviewed stated that reading in general or reading of literature was one of the activities that help them the most to learn Spanish which correlates to its rating mean of 4.2258. • Writing in general was an effective activity which would correspond to the favorable mean of ratings of 4.2258 given to writing literature, which the subjects agreed upon as it had a SD of .6688. • Half of the students interviewed also included group work or discussions as among their list of most useful activities which was also indicated as a useful activity in the survey with a rating with a mean of 4.129. This sentiment did not extend to class debate.

  23. Results of teacher surveys

  24. Items with the highest rating with a relatively low standard deviation (SD) • reading literature mean- 4.7857, SD-0.4258; • reading magazines and newspapers, mean-4.7333; SD-0.4577 • using Spanish references, mean-4.5714; SD-0.5136

  25. Analysis of teacher survey results • To compensate for the common lack of emphasis on literacy in heritage Spanish speaking culture, instructors have targeted the development of literacy and reading skills as one of the most effective forms to develop their overall Spanish proficiency. • The lower rating of grammar is an indication of varied philosophies which have been created around the conflicting research on the usefulness of explicit grammar instruction in language classrooms

  26. Comparison of teacher and student surveys

  27. Analysis of comparison:disagreement among teacher and students surveys • Since the six lowest rated activities (visual projects oral presentations, correcting each others’ papers, sharing family and personal stories, role play and class debate) involve a presentation, public speaking or critique from peers, produce too much anxiety in a first level HSS course. HS instructors disagreed. • Students rated “involving Spanish speakers in the community” highly where teachers did not; many teachers rated in “not applicable” • Teachers may want to make an extra effort to include Spanish speaking community members through sociolinguistic surveys, oral history interview, dialogue journals, ethnographic observations, linguistic autobiographies, and service learning activities (Correa, 2011).

  28. Analysis of comparison:agreement among teacher and students surveys • Teacher surveys indicated that peer editing, role playing and class debate are not particularly effective tools to teach HSS students in agreement with what was indicated in the student surveys. • Both the students and the teachers consistently rated one form of writing favorably, the students towards the writing of literature (mean-4.2258) and the teachers towards the informal writing (mean-4.533).

  29. New considerations • Startingwiththe 2012-2013 schoolyear, allstudentsenrolled in a Spanish / Englishtransitionalbilingualprogramwillbemandatedtobeenrolled in a Spanishlanguageartscourse. • TheSpanishlanguageartscoursemustbecorrolatedwiththe WIDA SpanishLanguageArtsStandards.

  30. Conclusions and implications for HS instructors • Make a variety of literature available for students • Incorporate and value student guided writing practice • Create a cooperative versus competitive learning atmosphere • Involve the community members in the classroom • Create activities with concrete outcome and feedback • Encourage the use of and experimentation with new vocabulary • Lower affective filter • Establish personal connections • Use themes of interest of the students and incorporate relevant issues • Do not assume that students want to or feel comfortable sharing details about their family in front of the whole class

  31. ActivityWorkshop • Sampleactivities: El Sueño americano El Autorretrato Una causa que vale la pena La Entrevista

  32. ActivityWorkshop • Getintogroups of 3 • Choose a number 1-10 • Writedownthepresentationimplicationorcharactersticyouwillberepresentingwithyouractivity idea • Writedownthegoal of theactivity • Writetheprocedures of theactivity

  33. Placement of students Considerationsbeforeplacementtesting: • What are thestudent’sgoals in and afterhighschool? • Howmanylevels of native speaker, AP and otherSpanishcourses do youhave? Howmanysections? Willthosesectionsalwaysbethere? • Whatyear in schoolisthestudent? • Willallstudentshavetheopportunityto complete 4 years of highschoolSpanish? • Thematurity and discipline level of thestudent

  34. Placement of students • Language/cultural backgroundquestionaire • Oral interview • Writing test gradedby a rubric • Standardized Test withreading, listening, grammarand vocabularycomponent

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