NTPRS

It's been so long! The last time I was at NTPRS (the national TPRS convention) was in 2006.  I wasn't able to go until this year, when my school graciously agreed to pay my way.  When I first came, I was kind of in a culture shock. So much had changed, and here I was, not knowing what that meant for me.

It is now Tuesday, and the week so far has  been a pleasant surprise.  I'm discovering that my own path with TPRS has pretty much changed in tandem with the group as a whole.  The things that are different--most significantly staying with the 7 most commonly used verbs until they're mastered--make good sense to me.  I am getting more and more motivated every day.  I am thrilled to be among friends.                                

You may wonder how I consider myself among friends if I came by myself.  Nobody else from my school was able to make it.  But I stand by what I say.  We all know and love each other for a variety of different reasons.  Here are just a few:

• We all love teaching language
• We all know that TPRS works better than anything else we've tried
• We realize that like any other good method, TPRS "breathes".  It doesn't stay stagnant. It is aware of the needs of our students, and it changes as we discover better and more logical ways to meet those students' needs.
• Many, if not most of us know each other by name, if not by sight.  We know each other through the Morelist, though the blogs, through the websites, or through Facebook. 
• Many of us (not all, though) are united in a struggle to bring the best teaching we can, even though there are others in our lives who would rather we didn't.  And even though some of us, like me, are no longer in that situation, we can certainly relate, either through earlier experiences or through listening empathetically to their stories.

I am extremely fortunate.  I know that I am. I had the full support of my administration when I started teaching using LICT and LICTM, and that lasted for about four years.  I don't think I could have stuck it out if my administration hadn't approved.  By the time the administration changed, I was thoroughly convinced that TPRS was the way to go--so much so that I fought for the right to teach it.  I won that fight, though I later lost the war at my school and knew that I had to leave a bad situation. When I moved, I moved to a TPRS department.  I realize my good fortune in that.

I think that there is something else, something more important than anything I've mentioned before.  There is an attitude of love and respect for each other.  You can see it in the coaching classes, where the coaches remind us that we aren't here to criticize the person, just give help in their coaching style. You can see it in people in charge who constantly seek to make sure that the rest of us are doing well. I was grateful for that, especially on the first day of the convention, when my exhaustion and insecurity got the better of me, leaving me depressed. 

Some faces have gone, some faces have changed, but the mission stays the same; bring TPRS teachers the best and most comprehensive conference possible so that they can go home and share the wealth with the most important audience there is: our students.

Now that I've said all that, I am going to leave you with a story.  This is a true story; it happened to me in the conference in Vermont.

There was a girl named Meg.  She was at a TPRS conference in Burlingon, Vermont.  She was so excited to be there that she decided to try everything.  The first day of the conference, she was in a class that was learning German.  The teacher, Laurie Baird asked for volunteers to help demonstrate TPR.  Meg raised her hand and was chosen. She was so excited! She jumped out of her chair and ran down the aisle.

Meg had a problem.  She did not see the computer cord that was on the floor.  As she ran down the aisle, her foot caught on the cord and Meg fell flat on her face! Oh no, oh no!  She thought that she heard something snap, but decided that somebody broke a pencil.  She got up and sat in one of the chairs in front.

Later that night, Meg's big toe started throbbing.  She took some aspirin, but it still hurt.  She told her friend Lupe, and Lupe decided that the best thing to do was go for a walk. So Meg and Lupe went for a long walk.  Meg's toe didn't feel better, but she did get to try sweet potato fries for the very first time.  The next day was the immersion dinner. Meg decided to go to the German dinner, and she got to see the surviving Trapp Family Singers at their restaurant in Stowe, Vermont.  But Meg was too shy to ask for an autograph.

Meg had a great week, even though her big toe hurt all the time.  After she came home, she went to a doctor and--how terrible--Meg had broken her toe when she fell!  Even though she had a broken toe, Meg was still happy that she went.  She broke her toe, yes, but she also got to see the Trapp Family Lodge! She felt that the conference was truly wunderbar!

NTPRS--Events

This is the first in a series of blogs about the wonderful experience known as NTPRS. It might be especially beneficial to those of you who are like me--I don't often get to go. The last time I went was in 2006, and MAN have things changed!

The first thing I'm going to talk about is the improved way in which we can get present and past in at the same time. It was presented by Blaine and Von Ray, and it's called "Events." Events can take place in the past, present or future, and they give you the opportunity to show the students rather than tell the students. Events are not to bring in new words; they give you a chance to get more reps on the words they already know. Anything new will be written on the board. I teach Spanish 1 and 2, so I will show you how I intend to use this with students in Spanish 2.

The idea of events is quite simple.  Let's say you start with a simple premise. There is a girl named Hailey. She used to live in Goose Gulch, Kentucky, but now she lives in Miami, Florida. An event will take us back to the past and let us understand why she moved.  So you could say, "Hailey, where do you live now?" She will answer, "In Miami, Florida." "Hailey, where did you used to live?" "I used to live in Goose Gulch, Kentucky."

"Class, why doesn't Hailey live in Goose Gulch Kentucky now?" You can get as many answers as you'd like. If you like one of the student answers, you can go with that. If you don't like the answer, you can go with one of your own. Let's say that a student said that there was a monster in Goose Gulch. I would say, "Almost.  Class, there was a giant goose in Goose Gulch!"

The difference between a normal story and acting out an event is that now you go back into the story and dramatize. You can bring up more students--townspeople, friends, relatives, and the giant goose--or maybe 2 or 3 giant geese. You can have the students talk to each other about the giant goose--where does it come from, what is its name, how big is it, etc. Of course, you bring in the info either by questioning or by introducing more info, then you feed it to the students.  Finally, Hailey and her family decide that they can't stay. They are going to leave.  Where do they decide to go? You can get as many answers as you like, but the final answer has to be Miami, since you've already introduced it. Your point in deciding is to explain why Miami instead of Lexington or Tucson or Bakersfield (It's obvious--the geese don't like Miami--it's too hot!).

Events, to me, do many things.  They give a story more interest, they give you lots of opportunity to use your students as actors, and they allow you a chance to use the present tense, to name just a few.  I'm planning to try this right away in my Spanish 2. In my Spanish 1, I might wait a few days, but I'll definitely use it in the first week.

Thanks, Blaine and Von, for your great workshop!

Next--reading with Carol Gaab.

Sample of new 1st year book

Hi everyone! Again, it's been a long while since I've written. Sorry about that! But I have been busy! I'm writing a new PowerPoint (finally) for El viaje perdido, and I am almost finished with my level one SSR book.  Here's a sample of the latter.  I want to give a shout out to my artist, Sarah Kelly.  She's really good!

Hay un chico que quiere pasar la noche en una casa espantada.  Él va a la casa y se sienta en una silla.  No hay nadie.

There is a boy that wants to spend the night in a haunted house. He goes to the house and sits in a chair. Nobody is there.

El chico está sentado por quince minutos, y de repente un gato grande viene.  El gato es tan grande como un perro.  Él se sienta con el chico.  Tiene ojos grandotes y verdes.  No le dice nada.

The boy is sitting for 15 minutes, and suddenly a big cat comes in. The cat is as big as a dog. He sits with the boy. He has big green eyes. He doesn't say anything to him.

El chico y el gato están sentados por quince minutos.  Luego, alguien toca la puerta.  La puerta esta cerrada, así que el gato se levanta, va a la puerta y la abre con su cola.  Entra otro gato, aún más grande que el grande con los ojos verdes.  El gato es tan grande como un caballo.  Tiene ojos azules.  El chico mira la puerta, pero está cerrada de nuevo.

The boy and the cat are sitting for 15 minutes. Then, someone knocks on the door. The door is closed, so the cat gets up, goes to the door, and opens it with his tail. Another cat enters, even bigger than the green-eyed cat. The cat is as big as a horse. He has green eyes. The boy looks at the door, but it is closed again.

De repente, el gato grande le habla al otro gato. --¿Cuándo vamos a comer?--  El otro gato le responde—Martin no está.  Comemos cuando esté.—

Suddenly, the big cat talks to the other cat. "When will we eat?" The other cat responds to him, "Martin isn't here. We'll eat when he's here."

Los dos gatos se sientan con el chico.  No dicen nada, sólo lo miran con los ojos grandes. 

Luego, un grito: ¡Aquí estoy!  El gato corre a la puerta cerrada y la abre.  Un gato enorme entra. 

Es tan grande como un elefante y tiene ojos negros.  Se sienta con sus amigos y con el chico. 

         The two cats sit with the boy. They don't say anything, only look at him with their big eyes. The, a shout:  "Here I am!"  The cat runs to the closed door and opens it. An enormous cat enters. He is as big as an elephant and has black eyes. He sits with his friends and the boy.

Nadie le dice nada por unos minutos.  Luego el gato nuevo le dice--¿Cuándo comemos?  ¡Tengo hambre!--  Todos los gatos miran al chico.  –Martin no está.—

         Nobody says anything for a few minutes. then the new cat says, "When do we eat? I'm hungry!"  All the cats look at the boy. "Martin isn't here."

De repente, el chico se levanta y corre a la puerta.  La abre y les dice a los gatos –Lo siento.  No puedo esperar más.  ¡Adiós!—

El chico nunca regresa a una casa espantada.

        Suddenly, the boy gets up and runs to the door. He opens it and says to the cats, "Sorry, I can't wait any more. Goodbye!"  The boy never returns to the haunted house.

Hi everyone! Sorry to be so very late getting back to posting.  I will be making up for it in the near future.  I hope you know that I've published an SSR book for Spanish 2/3--El cochino blanco--and I will be making a teachers' guide for those who'd like to use it for instruction (Spanish 2).  I will be doing the same over the summer for Spanish 1.  

.

This story is for first year.  It is from Chapter 5, lict.  The vocab is lee, revista, periódico, and libro.  

Boy Reading by Karen (flikr)

Carlos no quería leer.  No le gustaban ni los libros ni los periódicos ni las revistas. Le gustaba jugar el fútbol, pero no le gustaba leer del fútbol.

Carlos didn't want to read.  He didn't like books or newspapers or magazines.  He liked to play soccer, but he didn't like to read about soccer.

       Un día, el papá de Carlos, desesperado, le dijo –Carlos, lee un libro.  Te pago diez dólares si lees un libro.  Te compro el libro, también.--  ¡Diez dólares para leer un libro!  ¿Era un error?  No, el papá tenía el dinero en una mano y las llaves en la otra.  Los dos fueron a la librería Barnes y Noble y compró un libro sobre (about) fútbol.  Era un libro que tenía muchas pistas (clues) sobre cómo jugar bien el fútbol.

         

             One day Carlos' dad, desperate, told him, "Carlos, read a book.  I'll pay you ten dollars if you read a book.  I'll buy you the book, too."  Ten dollars to read a book!  Was it a mistake?  No, the dad had the money in one hand and the keys in the other.  They went to Barnes and Noble and bought a book about soccer.  It was a book that had a lot of clues about how to play soccer well.

       Carlos leyó el libró y recibió el dinero de su papá.  Entonces fue a la tienda y buscó una revista sobre el fútbol.  El papá no la compró—Carlos la compró con el dinero que recibió de su papá.  La revista—El mundo de fútbol—era muy famosa y tenía muchos artículos interesantes.  Un artículo era de un equipo que se llamaba “Manchester United”.

    

          Carlos read the book and received his dad's money.  Then he went to the store and looked for a magazine about soccer.  His dad didn't buy it--Carlos bought it with the money he received from his dad.  The magazine--Soccer World--was very famous and had many interesting articles.  One article was about a team called "Manchester United."

      

Un día, Carlos caminaba por la calle cuando vio un periódico.  No había todo, solo parte de la sección de deportes.  ¡Había un artículo de Manchester United!  Carlos fue a la tienda y compró un periódico.  Leyó la sección de deportes y le gustó mucho.  Ahora Carlos lee muchos libros de fútbol, y tiene una suscripción para “El mundo de fútbol”.  Está muy contento.

        One day, Carlos was walking down the street when he saw a newspaper.  There wasn't all of it, only part of the sports section.  There was an article about Manchester United!  Carlos went to the store and bought a newspaper.  He read the sports section and liked it a lot.  Now Carlos reads a lot of books about soccer, and he has a subscription to "Soccer World."  He is very happy.

El cuento de John (logro la meta, ni siquiera) (2nd year)

John quería hacerse famoso.  Ser famoso era su meta en la vida.  Pero ¿cómo podía lograr la meta?  No tenía destrezas (skills) impresionantes.  No tenía mucho talento.  ¿Cómo podía lograr la meta?

           

     John wanted to become famous.  Being famous was his goal in life.  But how could he achieve his goal?  He didn't have impressive skills. He didn't have much talent.  How could he achieve his goal?

             John decidió que podía hacerse famoso por cruzar el océano en una canoa.  Compró una canoa en Big Five y fue a San Diego.  Empezó a cruzar el Océano Pacífico, pero había un problema.  No tenía mucha fuerza en los brazos.  Tenía que abandonar su plan.  ¡Ni siquiera navegó a Hawaii!

     John decided that he could become famous by crossing the ocean in a canoe.  He bought a canoe in Big Five and went to San Diego.  He began to cross the Pacific Ocean, but there was a problem.  He didn't have much strength in his arms.  He had to abandon his plan.  He didn't even sail to Hawaii!

     Entonces John decidió que podía ser famoso por comer salchichas.  Su meta era comer 64 salchichas en un minuto.  Empezó a comer salchichas, pero sólo comió trece antes de vomitar.  No logró la meta.

     Then John decided that he could become famous by eating hot dogs.  His goal was to eat 64 hot dogs in a minute.  He began to eat hot dogs, but he only ate 13 before throwing up.  He didn't achieve his goal.

            John empezó a pensar de nuevo.  Entonces decidió.  Iba a pelear con un león--¡por eso podría ser famoso!  El chico no podía practicar con un león, así que practicó con un gato grande.  Practicó con el gato siete veces, y cada vez, John ganó.  Creyo que sí pudiera luchar contra un león sin problema.

     

     John began to think again.  Then he decided.  He was going to fight with a lion--that way he could be famous!  The boy couldn't practice with a lion, so he practiced with a big cat.  He practiced with the cat seven times, and every time, John won.  He believed that he could fight a lion without a problem.

            John sí logró su meta, pero no la logró cómo quería lograrla.  John es muy famoso porque él entró en la jaula de un león, amenazó al león, y el león lo comió en menos de cinco minutos—un nuevo récord.

       John did achieve his goal, but he didn't achieve it as he wanted to achieve it.  John is very famous because he entered a lion's cage, threatened the lion, and the lion ate him in less than five minutes--a new record.

Spanish 2: The True Story of Hector Berlioz and Harriet Smithson: le ruega, le niega, lo empuja

                                              

La historia de Hector Berlioz y Harriet Smithson

Hector Berlioz era un compositor francés.  Era muy impetuoso.  Un día, fue a una obra de teatro que se llamaba Romeo y Julieta.  La actriz Harriet Smithson tenía el papel de Julieta, y Berlioz inmediatamente se enamoró totalmente de ella. 

Aunque no había conocido a la chica, él empezó a mandarla (to send her) carta tras carta, afirmando su amor y pidiendo la mano.  Aunque ella se sentía confundida y asustada, él persistió.  Rogaba y rogaba, pero ella siempre le negaba.  Había muchos problemas con la idea.  ¡Ni siquiera (they didn’t even) hablaban el mismo idioma!  Berlioz era francés y Smithson de Irlanda. 

Un día, Berlioz descubrió que ellos tenían una amiga en común.  Le dio unos boletos a su concierto nuevo, y ellas asistieron al concierto.  Era obvio que su sinfonía nueva, Sinfonia Fantastique, ¡era una sinfonía para ella! Cuando él le pidió la mano de nuevo, ella no le negó.  Ellos se casaron muy pronto. Ella ya no era muy famosa y tenía muchas deudas, y es posible que se casó para escapar su vida mala.

Aunque estaban casados, era una vida muy difícil y muy extraña.  Berlioz no podía hablar inglés y Smithson no podía hablar mucho francés.  Ella trató de empujarlo a aprender inglés, pero él no quería hacerlo.  Pero después de unos años, ellos tuvieron un  hijo que se llamaba Louis. 

Su vida matrimonial no duró mucho tiempo.  Después de un rato, Berlioz se enamoró de otra 

mujer—una mujer francesa.  Aunque no divorciaron, Smithson se mudó a otra casa.  Pero Berlioz todavía le dio dinero.  Después de la muerte de Smithson, Berlioz se casó con la mujer francesa, pero nunca olvidaba a Harriet Smithson.

Ch 5 LICT gasta el dinero, proxima, le queda

Después de las vacaciones, a Julie le quedaba solo un billete de cinco dólares.  Con parte del dinero, Julie compró un boleto de la lotería.  El próximo día, compró un periódico y empezó a leer.  Los números de la lotería eran 15, 32, 5, 26, y 9.  Miró a su boleto.  Sus números eran 15, 32, 7, 9, y 18.  Tenía tres de los números.  ¡Ganó la lotería!  No ganó todo el dinero, pero ganó algo.
After her vacation, Julie only had one $5 bill left.  With part of the money, Julie bought a lottery ticket.  The next day, she bought a newspaper and started to read.  The lottery numbers were 15, 32, 5, 26, and 9.  She looked at her ticket.  Her numbers were 15, 32, 7, 9 and 18.  She had three of the numbers.  She won the lottery!  She didn't win all the money, but she won something.

Julie fue a la oficina de la lotería y recogió su dinero.  ¡Ganó cien dólares!  Ella estaba muy feliz y muy emocionada.  Quería gastar el dinero.  Primero fue a la tienda Abercrombie y compró unos pantalones bonitos.  Después de pagar la cuenta (bill), le quedó treinta dólares. 

            Julie went to the lottery office and picked up her money.  She won $100!  She was very happy and very excited.  She wanted to spend the money.  First she went to Abercrombie and bought some pretty pants.  After paying the bill, she had thirty dollars left.

Julie gastaba su dinero, y estaba feliz.  La próxima tienda era Forever 21.  Compró una blusa.  Después de pagar la cuenta le quedó diez dólares.  Entonces Julie tenía hambre y decidió comer una hamburguesa con queso en Smashburger. 
             Julie was spending her money, and she was happy.  The next store was Forever 21.  She bought a blouse.  After paying the bill, she had $10 left.  Then Julie was hungry and decided to eat a cheeseburger at Smashburger.

En Smashburger, Julie pidió una hamburguesa con queso, papas fritas, y una soda.  La cuenta era $9.25.  ¡A ella le quedó solo setenta y cinco centavos!  No importa.  Tenía una blusa bonita, unos pantalones elegantes, y ahora no tenía hambre.  Julie regresó a casa muy contenta.
In Smashburger, Julie ordered a cheeseburger, french fries, and a soda.  The bill was $9.25.  She only had 75 cents left!  No matter.  She had a pretty blouse, some elegant pants, and now she wasn't hungry.  She went home very happy.