I chose domain one because I want to improve in this area the most. I believe this area to be the most crucial of all four domains, even though I know that been good in one area doesn't guarantee overall success in the classroom.
Which component from this domain are you most comfortable with?
I am most comfortable with demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy. Spanish is my first language and I feel at ease when teaching the language and the nuances of the culture. I am well aware of the cultural differences between Spanish speaking countries and I try to convey this important fact to my students as they learn the language and about the culture in general.
Which component from this domain do you believe most strongly ties to instruction?
I think setting instructional outcomes is the strongest tie to instruction. A unit is comprised of individual lessons, but these lessons must connect and move progressively toward an intended learning outcome. In teaching a world language this scaffolding is essential if learning is to be meaninful, otherwise students will know words in isolation without any context in which to make meaningful connections. The result will be what is commonly said by those who take a world language for four/five years and then say" I took ________ (fill in the language) for 4/5 years but I don't remember anything."
Which component from this domain would you like to zero in on in your own instruction?
I would like to focus on designing student assessments.
Question for my group:
How can I best assess oral communication in Spanish in P1 (kindergarden)?
I had to laugh a little when reading your post because it reads almost exactly like mine. Although you would need to take out Spanish and insert Mathematics. Maybe we think similarly because I find that learning a foreign language is similar to math because math is a language of its own. Maybe that is also why I loved learning Spanish and know that I have to practice it to keep it, just like in Math.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your question, I think that it would be very difficult to assess oral communication at your level because students are still trying to learn their first language. It would be intersting to see if students could communicate with one another in Spanish though. Maybe you could use a conversation as an assessment.
Carmen I understand your frustration when you ask someone who has been learning a language for 4 or 5 years, and yet they can’t have a 2 minutes conversation, and give the one work answers. But look at the bright side you and I and many others like us can make a difference and create the contextual learning, the learning that lasts forever.
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