Language Immersion Survey Results

1
Language Immersion Survey Results

• for WAFLT Conference March 20, 2004
• Compiled by Michele Anciaux Aoki,
  Ph.D.Washington State Coalition for
  International Educationhttp//internationaledwa.o
  rg

2
What I Wish Id Known (1)

• Immersion teaching strategies that are different
  from regular foreign language teaching.
• The average expected language proficiency of
  students for each grade level of a half-day
  immersion program.
• How to make immersion work with students who are
  not native speakers and still maintain the high
  academic achievement standards expected of them.

3
What I Wish Id Known (2)

• Kinds of materials/textbook I could start with.
• It's OK to teach actual language skills (in the
  target language).
• That is has proven helpful in our district to
  plan the language skills by grade level.
• Where to find materials in Spanish.
• Exactly what is immersion all about.
• Examples of immersion lesson plans and classes.

4
What I Wish Id Known (3)

• What are the very best activities to use to make
  children acquire the language?
• Access to various lesson plans on the language
• Any books or research papers about foreign
  language instructions based on anti-bias
  curriculum
• How challenging but rewarding the immersion
  experience is
• More about teaching Spanish reading as SSL.

5
What I Wish Id Known (4)

• More about management and primary skills
• More teaching ideas, where to find curriculum
  (for supplementing what we already have) i.e.
  good websites, etc.
• What I can expect for my students
• First year at Sheridan as principal. Everything
  is new in terms of language immersion. Every day
  is a learning day and I'm loving it.
• I wish I'd known more about classroom management
  known more about the curriculum

6
What I Wish Id Known (5)

• Hiragana VS. Katakana issue
• The role of the I.A. in order to build a
  successful team
• Useful technology available for free
• What kids like, what kids don't like in terms of
  the activities
• Which parts of the function of the language
  teachers should emphasize

7
What Makes My Immersion Class Successful (1)

• Having lots of supports.
• A combination of instructional strategies (direct
  instruction, cooperative learning groups, etc.).
• The support of an IA.
• Parent and community support.
• Combining content area, e.g., using language arts
  activities to support math and science.

8
What Makes My Immersion Class Successful (2)

• Repetition, modeling for students, consistency
  with the use of language, speaking slowly,
  visuals, using TPR and creating a community where
  students feel safe and not intimidated with the
  language
• The willingness of native speakers to serve as
  translators and to model behaviors or to respond
  in order to demonstrate the meaning of what I ask
  of them
• A well-planned day.
• A variety of learning techniques

9
What Makes My Immersion Class Successful (3)

• Having materials available to use having
  students interested in learning the new language,
  and showing them that they can be successful
  repetition hands-on activities help students to
  learn more.
• Students who have bought into the immersion
  experience
• My commitment to language learning and my
  students absolute thrill at performing well

10
What Makes My Immersion Class Successful (4)

• They have the opportunity to use more authentic
  setting and materials.
• The language immersion in my classroom is
  successful because I am passionate about language
  learning and I share that passion with my
  students.
• We talk a lot about culture using the language,
  read books in the target language, and
  participate in activities in the target language.
  
• Understanding of Spanish language

11
What Makes My Immersion Class Successful (5)

• Connecting the language to the students' lives.
• Having the students use the language in
  authentic, real life scenarios.
• Varying the lesson types. Some involve songs,
  repeating new words, games, body movements,
  playing bingo with new vocabulary...
• Ongoing support from colleagues, administrators
  and parents including financial support
• The love and dedication my students put into the
  program parent support, appropriate materials
  for teaching

12
What Makes My Immersion Class Successful (6)

• Working with a great first grade team.
• Good games
• Having materials/resources
• I do a lot of hands-on teaching and I do a lot of
  singing as well. I've made up songs for all of
  our science units, and that helps the students
  learn a lot of vocab, and remember main ideas of
  the unit.
• For our school, wonderful dedication from staff,
  strong parent support, and FLAP
• Grant, parent involvement, interest and
  cooperation, patience organization

13
Biggest Challenges (1)

• There are lots of non-teaching duties to make the
  program work.
• Students who are not motivated or interested in
  learning the language.
• Lack of materials in the target language/material
  preparation and/or translation.
• Preparing students for district and state
  initiated assessments.
• Motivating the students to use the target
  language instead of English when they can
  appropriate materials in Spanish sometimes,
  appropriate books but the biggest challenge is
  class size.

14
Biggest Challenges (2)

• Trying to use district curriculum materials and
  schedules to teach content in the target
  language trying to help students achieve the
  ability to communicate in the target language
  with one another
• Finding time to translate assignments and letters
  home
• Time to teach the concepts and vocabulary at the
  expected level.
• Not all students are motivated to learn Japanese.
  Those students either do not produce any work or
  disrupt the class lesson on a regular basis.

15
Biggest Challenges (3)

• Students with learning disabilities integrating
  them into the daily activities which already
  require more from the teacher than a "normal"
  classroom teacher would experience. Doing it all
  in another language seems to really add another
  dimension of difficulty.
• Getting kids to use the language more
• The biggest challenge as a language immersion
  teacher is finding the resources to teach in the
  target language. I have to create almost all of
  the materials and activities used in class.

16
Biggest Challenges (4)

• Finding, good and authentic material in Spanish
• More support on a district level would be nice as
  well. I also feel that language immersion
  classes should be very small in class size.
• Knowing exactly what immersion means. Not being
  able to cover enough content
• Incorporation of the language into the various
  subject areas when students do not have enough of
  the language to comprehend the subject material
  being taught

17
Biggest Challenges (5)

• Thinking of better and more efficient ways of
  getting my students to acquire the language.
• Finding time to prepare the materials because I
  have to translate and make most of them.
• Teaching conflict resolution skills because I
  don't know how to teach them without depending on
  language
• Finding appropriate materials to implement the
  same curriculum that the children in the regular
  programs learn
• Lack of Materials and adequate funds.
• Time
• Resources

18
Biggest Challenges (6)

• Making sure the students are really understanding
  what I'm teaching.
• Knowing what to expect.
• Continuing to upgrade the program so that it
  meets the needs of kids and helps us to make AYP.
• Receiving new students with no language
  experience, large classes

19
Biggest Challenges (7)

• Finding materials in Spanish making the subjects
  fun to learn maintaining Spanish immersion when
  the students don't understand the material.
• How to support kids who joined later
• How to support kids who have behavior issues and
  disabilities
• Time money

20
If We Had Extra Dollars (1)

• Buy more curriculum materials (books, computers,
  etc.).
• Materials in the target language math games,
  books, software, text books
• New books that go with my lessons, and new
  computers for my students.
• Work with parents to teach parents the target
  language so that they could help the students at
  home and communicate outside of school in the
  target language--perhaps with special classes
  after school and/or weekends perhaps for
  computer software.
• Field trip to Japan during the summer.

21
If We Had Extra Dollars (2)

• That's too much to even wrap my mind around at
  this time! Technology for one. Sets of
  appropriate chapter books for another.
• I would buy books in the target language and
  computer software. Also lots of children's movies
  in Spanish and have Spanish-speaking classroom
  aides.
• Technology that can be useful for immersion
  programs, and good dictionaries
• Invite Spanish speakers with different skills to
  the classroom to make workshops. I'd invite
  scientists, artists, cooks, musicians,
  politicians, etc.

22
If We Had Extra Dollars (3)

• It the 50,000 was just for my classroom, I would
  love to buy (or pay someone to translate) our
  math curriculum in Spanish. I would also like a
  classroom library of Spanish reading materials at
  a variety of levels. And I would like laptops for
  each student for on-line research and interaction
  with other Spanish speaking students. I would
  also like to take a small group of students to a
  Spanish speaking country for a week or two in the
  summer...but that's just a dream.
• Attend summer conferences, seminars, workshops

23
If We Had Extra Dollars (4)

• Buy books and materials/props that re-create the
  real world in our classroom.
• Buy curriculum for the students, teacher guides,
  foreign language learning tools, including
  language listen and learn type of tapes
• To purchase materials such as books.
• To hire another instructional aide.
• To travel to Spain, get materials, take classes
  at university level, get myself immersed in
  Spanish, bring as many real materials to teach
  in my classroom.

24
If We Had Extra Dollars (5)

• Buy books and materials/props that re-create the
  real world in our classroom.
• Buy curriculum for the students, teacher guides,
  foreign language learning tools, including
  language listen and learn type of tapes
• To purchase materials such as books.
• To hire another instructional aide.
• To travel to Spain, get materials, take classes
  at university level, get myself immersed in
  Spanish, bring as many real materials to teach
  in my classroom.

25
If We Had Extra Dollars (6)

• Technology-based reading enrichment books story
  videos.
• Send them all to France. OR!!!! French club after
  school with lots of help. We would cook, do Art.
  I'd have lots of paintings and HUGE books on
  artists...Tons more books at their level...Tons
  of Science and Art materials...An aide.
• Buy books, computer programs and hire an extra
  Spanish speaker!
• Have extra help (Spanish-speaking) to work in
  small groups with students, to give them more
  individualized instruction.
• Have another teacher in my room

26
If We Had Extra Dollars (7)

• I would also use money to get subs to visit other
  immersion classrooms to get ideas from them, and
  also to buy more materials for class.
• Purchase additional materials in target languages
  including books, videos, and software.
• BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS!!!
• Videos, DVDs, CDs, a couple of new computers, 28
  good headsets, 280 Notebooks and 100 ERASERS!