Native language journaling in the foreign language classroom

Making Metacognition HabitErin Huebener, Spokane Community College

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If we strive for authentic, immersive language environments… why did I decide to make one of the most frequent and time consuming assignments in my Honors Spanish class in English?

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The Question: If understanding Applied Linguistics makes us better language teachers, wouldn’t a basic understanding make our students better language learners?

The Idea: Turn metacognition into habit

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The Goal: Actively monitor and engage

in one’s own learning process

The Assignment: A weekly, three-part guided

journalThe Journal:Part 1 - Online Study LogPart 2 - Native Speaker

ContactPart 3 - Four Metacognition

Questions

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Preparing the Students: Day OneApplied Linguistics Unit

• Input, Output, and Attitude• Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening strategies• Study skills and experimentation• Characteristics of successful language learners

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Preparing the Students: Day TwoMetacognition Unit

• Video: “Brief Intro to Metacognition” • Dr. Josh Walker (University of Texas at Austin) YouTube

• Article: “The Role of Metacognition in Second Language Teaching and Learning” • Neil J. Anderson (BYU) Center for Applied Linguistics

• Discussion: • Study strategies• What works (or doesn’t work) for you and why?• Four questions from Anderson’s article to be used as the journal guide

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Turning you should use metacognition intoyou will use metacognition

Integrate it with course assignmentsMake it frequentMake it high value (these journals were worth 15% of their final grade)

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Part 1: Online Study Log

Students were given the weekly assignment of spending one hour exploring and utilizing online resources.

The assignment:• Keep an accurate log detailing which resources were used, for how

long, and what concepts were practiced.

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Student Sample 1:

10 Minutes: Gender worksheet that I wrote the answers to in my notebook after reviewing the rules about gender agreement. http://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish/spanish_quiz_noun_gender_number

40 Minutes: I downloaded the app mindsnacks Spanish on my iPod touch and found many vocabulary games to play including ones that went over class vocab and gender agreements. http://igamemom.com/2012/05/18/fun-spanish-learning-app-mindsnacks-spanish/

10 Minutes: Played this vocab game that taught me a lot of food words. http://www.learningspanish-spain.com/spanish-vocabulary-games.aspx

Student Sample 2:

I went to Hulu Latino and watched the first episode of East Los High, thinking it would be in Spanish; I don’t think I’ll use that for learning, though, since there was hardly any Spanish in it. The full episode took almost an hour, but I went on to do more work since it seemed more recreational than anything.

I started the interactive BBC tool, Mi Vida Loca, and spent 40 minutes on it. So far, it’s been engaging and helpful, and I’ve learned several new vocabulary words and phrases. It’s very helpful to have most of the speaking in Spanish, but English subtitles if I need them. The interactive element is fantastic, too, and goes at just the right pace for me.

Part 2: Native Speaker Contact

Each week, students were required to correspond with two native speakers via the language learning social network of their choice

(Busuu, WeSpeke, Happy Talk, etc.).

All started with written correspondence. As they were more comfortable, they moved on to audio and/or video chats.

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The assignment:Reflect on the following questions:• Who did you speak with and where are they from?• What did you talk about?• Did you learn any new words or phrases?• Did you learn anything cultural?• Did you share anything about your own language and culture?

Native Speaker Contact, continued

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Student Sample 1:This week I had the pleasure of talking to a few native speakers on Wespeke! Alejandro is from Montevideo, Uruguay. He was asking me questions about my work and where I live. He thought I lived in Palm Beach, Florida and I had to explain to him that I live in Washington. He would make sure that I understand what I am asking him. If I didn't he said other phrases in Spanish that I would understand. He asked me “Qué trabajo realizas?” I sort of understood what he was asking but then he sent me “Qué haces? Vendes?” Then I understood he was asking what I do at my job. It was really cool that Alejandro was interested in making sure I was understanding!

I have not had another chance to speak with Ignacio, but I am sure he will reply soon. Another friend Andrés is learning English and he was telling me about the slang his teachers get angry at. I told him the words he was using were offensive and bad here in America. I got a little laugh out of that.

Student Sample 2:

I continued my conversation with Lili this week and she told me she is studying business administration at a university in Guatemala. We had our entire conversation in Spanish because she knows such little English as of right now, but I have offered her help with any phrases she wants to learn. I also met Joel from the Dominican Republic who is fairly good with English. He said it has been difficult to learn, but he is determined to do it no matter what. I asked him what he does for fun and he said he likes to go out to eat and visit places near his town. He said he has never left the Dominican Republic but would like to visit America one day. We talked in mostly Spanish for about fifteen minutes about the things we like to do in our countries and the places we would like to visit. I look forward to speaking to both of them more and learning about their cultures.

Part 3: Metacognition Reflection

The assignment:Answer these four questions (from Anderson’s article):

1. What am I trying to accomplish?2. What strategies am I using?3. How well am I using the strategies?

• What’s working? What’s not? How could I adapt these strategies to make them more effective for me?

4. What else could I do?• What time of day am I studying? Do I notice a difference if I

study at different times or in different environments? What can I do to help me focus better? Am I taking breaks?

• Reflect: If you think it’s relevant, I think it’s relevant.

1.What am I trying to accomplish?

I want to understand questions by looking at the context and grammar associations without having to ask them or look at notes.

2. What strategies am I using?

I am talking to people who know the language and quizzing myself. They are really helping me keep the vocabulary at the tip of my fingers.

3. How well am I using the strategies?

I am using then pretty well, I have gotten better at using them than I was last week. The quizzes and speaking to these native speakers is really helping me!

4. What else could I do?

If I keep talking with these natives and continue doing my homework in quiet places, then I feel my Spanish will get a lot better, quicker and smoother.

Student Sample 1:

1.What am I trying to accomplish?

This week I have been working on becoming more knowledgeable about common verbs and interrogative words.

2.What strategies am I using?

Whenever my professor says an interrogative word or verb I write it down and write the meaning next to it. By learning these core words piece by piece I will be able to pick up more when someone is speaking.

3.How well am I using the strategies?

I am able to pick up a lot more of the questions and instructions in class, so I can tell that this is helping a lot.

4.What else could I do?It’s all about repetition, so I need to make sure I am really drilling these important words into my vocab.

Student Sample 2:

Teacher Feedback

Teacher Feedback Sample:

It sounds like you met a couple of nice people this week :) Isn't it funny... how we are all so critical of ourselves? People always say things like, "I'm bad at Spanish," or "I'm bad at English," and such is rarely the case. It's just us getting in the way of our own potential! I hope you will give speaking a try with Juan. It's one of those things that you can only master by doing it. I'm glad you are having spontaneous Spanish moments!

• Without sincere feedback, motivation dwindles. • Some students need to be pushed to challenge themselves.

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How did it go?As expected, some students saw it as a chore.

However, student evaluations revealed that most saw it as worthwhile, and felt that it held them accountable and helped them learn better.

One student said she felt the journals gave her the “Honors Experience.”

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Recommendations:The benefits of metacognition aren’t limited to foreign language - consider how it may be applied in your area!

To effectively integrate it into a course, it must be high value.

Create a sample journal to be used as a guide.

Take a dose of our own medicine: keep reflecting upon and adapting this assignment to make it better and better!

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