What Teachers Should Know About Their Classroom Learners

Harriet Barnett Dobbs Ferry (NY) Public Schools

ABSTRACT Foreign language education is now be- ing made available to students of all abilities and in- terests. A positive, accepting, and understanding at- titude coupled with appropriate techniques will help us succeed with the new student population in our foreign language classes,

Among the new areas of focus in foreign language education today is one which is very exciting to me: the movement to include all students in foreign language classes. We have finally realized that the knowledge of a foreign language and culture is important in the lives of aN students, not just the selected few. In order to succeed with our new students, we must understand who they are, how to reach them, and why it is impor- tant for them to study another language. We must set new, meaningful and realistic goals and adopt creative, strategy-based methods and materials, designed for different kinds of pupil populations.

Second language ability is often a life skill for “average” and “below average” students as well as for pupils with special educational needs. After leaving school, these pupils will often not earn as much as their high-achieving peers. They are likely to live among the new waves of immigrants and work in lesser-skilled

Harriet Earnett (Master’s Degree, College of New Rochelle) is a teacher of Spanish, French, E.S.L., and Remedial Reading at the Dobbs Ferry Public Schools, Dobbs Ferry, NY.

jobs. It is therefore essential for them to understand and accept linguistic and cultural differences without judgments of right or wrong. If the specific language studied is the language of the neighbors and co- workers, so much the better, as it can foster their in- tegration into that cultural community. Whatever the language studied, the attitude of accepting differences and the understanding of the difficulty of learning another language are value contributions to the development of the individual.

Knowing another language can help a person ob- tain, retain, or advance in a job. The secretary, mechanic, beautician, technician, waiter who can speak to customers and fellow workers has a distinct advantage. Most of the new students need every ad- vantage possible. Master mechanics, for example, who cannot speak to their co-workers, cannot be advanced to foremen if they cannot supervise workers in a com- mon language.

All students are tomorrow’s citizens of an in- terdependent world. AN students must therefore understand a culture other than their own in order to vote intelligently and understand world issues which will affect everyone.

Not only will all students benefit from the foreign language classroom, but foreign language teachers will benefit, as well. As an academic subject being taught to all students, foreign language study can take its place in scheduling with other academic subjects

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which have traditionally included all students. Since the advantages to students and teachers seem

so obvious, why has there been some resistance on the part of teachers to the inclusion of the new students in their classes? The reasons seem to stem, not from philosophical objections, but from practical con- siderations. Teachers have neither had experience nor training in working with any but the average and above-average students; they have not had the ap- propriate materials; and they recognize that the old goals for foreign language instruction don’t fit these new populations.

In terms of experience, this factor will take care of itself as more students become foreign language students and as foreign language teachers begin to work more closely with teachers in other discipline areas for whom these new learners are not foreign. Ap- propriate materials are rapidly becoming available as the market for them grows. naining must come from a revamping of college teacher-education courses and from inservice and credit courses given through teacher centers, education departments and foreign language organizations. And the new goals will fit our new students. These goals are:

COMMUNICATIVE (transmitting and processing ideas, feelings, information, likes and dislikes about various topics in common situations at different levels of proficiency);

CULTURAL (understanding and appreciating one’s own and other cultures); and

GENERAL (foreign language study is an integral part of a learning experience).

These goals are attainable by all students. Who is the new foreign language student? What are

this student’s weaknesses? How can we overcome or work with these weaknesses? It is essential to realize immediately that the weaknesses are many and varied. Some students are of below average intelligence. Some have physical problems such as poor eyesight-or none; poor hearing-or none; speech deficits; poor motor skills; an inability to sit still. Some have learn- ing disabilities, they have them to varying degrees, and they have them singly and in multiples. Many have reading problems arising from poor skills and lack of interest. Many have attitudinal problems, such as, “I hate school” or “foreign languages” or “you!’ Some are educationally disadvantaged. They are lacking the knowledge and skills most teachers expect them to have Many have problems which remain undiagnosed. Many are simply slow-functioning human beings in school systems which are timed. Many have poor work habits and do not know how to study or keep notes or attack problems. Many have limited physical strength due to illness. Many have family problems. Many have

emotional problems. Many have specific disorders of listening, thinking, talking, reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic Many have a combination of the above which makes it difficult for them to function in the typical school environment.

Since it might seem overwhelming to deal with these individual problems, we need to ask: What do the students have in common? They usually score low on standardized tests, so these tests are often not true in- dicators of ability. They are very sensitive They rely on you for verbal and visual cues of approval. They are not sure they can trust you not to make them feel un- comfortable. They have low self-esteem. They have unusual and often ineffective learning styles. They have very low frustration levels. They are disorganized. They cannot be counted on to bring materials to class. They don’t take notes, and if they do, these are unusable or lost. They don’t keep a notebook. They are sporadic in their homework performance. They usual- ly read on a literal level without making inferences or drawing conclusions.

If you are wondering about my sources of informa- tion for the list of individual and common problems I have just provided, my twenty-five years of ex- perience and observation working with all students makes it quite easy for me to describe your present and future students. Many characteristics I have named are shared with your present and past students. However, with the new students the problems are present to a greater degree and may substantially interfere with work at school. Further, the student’s degree of sen- sitivity and reliance on the teacher is much more striking.

Once we understand our new students, we must use this information to set realistic goals. We must use new motivators. High grades, class standing, college en- trancej exercising the mind, mean nothing to students who have a minimal class standing, just pass in school, and rarely plan to go on to college. Immediate and practical considerations are the strong motivators. We must show them how the knowledge of another language will help them in the job of their choice. We must point out how a particular class lesson will be of use to them. I ask my students what they think they might want to be when they finish school. We then discuss how they might use the language being studied in that chosen field. We also discuss how they might use some specific bits of information we learn, such as health, telling time, giving and receiving informa- tion about location. The time spent on our discussions is more than compensated by class performance and lack of behavioral problems.

Making certain that students achieve some kind of immediate success is another effective motivator.

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When students can express a thought or desire in the target language and have another student understand and respond without the interception of English, the students experience a tremendous sense of satisfaction with the class and with themselves. They are so used to failure in school that even a mild form of success means a great deal. With this success comes teacher recognition, something which they are not accustomed to receiving in most classes. Understanding a reading selection in a foreign language means a great deal to students who usually d o poorly in English reading. And reading in a foreign language can be accomplished with teacher guidance - encouraging students to look at the pictures and at the title, to try and find the cognates in order to predetermine what the selection might be about; helping them determine which words are crucial and which are not essential for the mean- ing. Without teacher guidance, the initial response among students with a low frustration level would be “I can’t do it, it’s too hard” or “I have to look up every word and it’s too boring:’ With teacher guidance, the sense of satisfaction is often so great that I have dif- ficulty ending the class on time.

A knowledge of possible student problems helps us plan for successful lessons. By guiding, rather than ex- pecting certain knowledge, behavior and skills, we can accomplish our goals. I’d like to share some classroom management techniques that work for me.

I have mentioned that many new students can- not organize materials. We should not assume they have no desire to organize; often they are just unable. Since at times it is important to have notes or vocabulary or exercises in order to study, students will require assistance. In my classes, all finished work is kept in folders which are organized, in class, into thematic units. The folders are kept in class. If students take something home, they must bring it back and replace it in the folder. Sometimes they copy the notes they wish to take home to avoid losing the only copy (meaningful copying also reinforces learning). This way all students have what they need when they need it. It gives them a sense of comfort rather than of ten- sion or frustration. It starts the classes off on a positive note.

2. Whenever possible, I have two sets of a textbook. One stays in class and the other goes home. That way, the text is at home for the homework and the text is in school for the school work. We start with a positive (I have my textbook), not with a negative (I didn’t or don’t have my textbook). There is an additional ra- tionale for this: Since it is not considered “cool” to carry books, many students d o not d o homework for fear of being teased. With texts already at home, no one knows who is and who isn’t doing the work.

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3. When writing something important on the blackboard which must be copied, I give carbon paper to volunteer students. The extra copy is given to me and I give the legible ones to students who wish them. This way, all students have the notes they need. It is in- teresting to note that the students themselves know when they need these and feel grateful and comfort- able asking for the carbon copy. We teachers often assume, falsely, that all students can copy correctly. Many of our new students cannot. This inability, how- ever, does not mean that they cannot learn another language. 4. When teaching anything new, I review all that

students need to know up to that point. I don’t assume they know it. For example, if we are learning to tell time in a foreign language, we review telling time in English. Many students have difficulty with this and also tell time differently from the way I do. (Most youngsters use digital clocks.) We also review all the numbers necessary for telling time in the target language. If a grammar lesson is the focus, we review the build-up lessons needed to get to the beginning point. Teachers cannot assume students have internalized the knowledge needed to function with the new grammar point. The time spent in review is more than made up by the speed and success with which the students can use the new grammar element.

5 . Most studying is done in class under my super- vision where students’ different study techniques are shared with the class. I cannot assume that my students know how to study. For a teacher to say, “Go home and study” to students who d o not know how to study is asking for failure Students cannot go home and do what they do not know how to do. By the time we have these students in a foreign language class, they may have given up on studying; for them, a study homework assignment means “no homework!’ The time spent studying in class pays off with the success rate of test performance.

6. Since students’ attention spans are often short, I try to vary activities, materials, and groupings within a class period. I use games, songs, hands-on activities, body movements and arts projects along with my text materials. I try to avoid blackboard clutter which can be distracting to students who have difficulty focus- ing. I underline, circle, outline and use colored chalk to emphasize parts of words or phrases. I use peer teachers to help explain again when I d o not succeed.

Most important, I strive to maintain an upbeat, positive atmosphere in the class which tells the students, ‘‘I care and if you TRY, this is one place in which you will succeed!’ Creating this climate is easy for me, because I truly believe all students have the need and the ability to learn a second language.