Field Study #3

Martha McKayNovember 2010

What I know:

• Increased focus on oral proficiency is the most recent movement in the area of foreign language education.

• Students want to become more proficient in oral language.

So what is stopping them?

• Speaking a FL in class makes students anxious! They know their oral communication needs to improve, but they are shy and reticent.

Motivation is the key…

• A successful language learner is a motivated learner.

• Research tells me that students experience a decrease in anxiety when teachers use a more personalized approach.

• So how do I help all my students become more successful?

My wonderings…

• How can I ease student anxiety?• How can I motivate my students?

• How will technology help me do this?

My Question

How will my use of a variety of technologies help me create a motivating environment

in my language classroom?

Will You

TypeWith.me? notes in spanish podcasts

Trapped Chile Miners Found Alive After 17 Days

Step 1: Classroom set-up

• Now I’m ready to go…

Document Camera

• Oral presentations• Show & Tell• Authentic materials• Capturing/recording student presentations• Capturing notes and posting on blog• Immediate feedback for writing lessons

I continue to love my blog…

• posting notes, assignments, news, links to songs and videos

• great organizational tool for me

• http://vichighespanol11.blogspot.com/• http://vichighespanolbeg11.blogspot.com/

Wallwisher

podcasts

• fill-in-the blank podcast exercise

• next: have the students make up their own fill-in-the blank exercise

Evidence / data

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Evidence / data

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Evidence / data

• Students’ work• Slideshow presentations (add links here)• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zTBAU

kdZlA• http://voicethread.com/share/1456972/• http://voicethread.com/share/1455945/

Survey results

• When asked what helped them learn the most, all students without fail mentioned working in partners.

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• No more motivation tickets!

• Photo here of my students who are going to Spain with me during March Break

• (photo not displayed for privacy reasons)

• Photo here of the fiesta I hosted with our school’s Spanish-speaking International students and my Spanish 11 class.

• (photo not displayed for privacy reasons)

Research

• “Studies exploring the comparative effectiveness of classroom instruction compared to computer-based equivalents seem besides the point in an environment in which it is hardly possible not to use technology.”

Research• computer-mediated communication provides feedback and students

like feedback• (my students were disappointed they didn’t always hear back from

their partners. that’s why typewithme was good)• moving from an instructor dominated class to more student-centered

lowers anxiety (oral presentations to groups instead of in front of the class)

• technology promotes learning motivation• students report that the friendly, supportive and personal attention of

the teacher was critical in providing an atmosphere conducive to learning

• “use the Internet not so much to teach the same thing in a different way, but rather to help students enter into a new realm of collaborative enquiry and construction of knowledge”

• re new literacies: language teachers should connect their in-course tasks with the experiences of students in their (real) on-line lives.

• The impact of the teacher on classroom environment is huge.

• My motivation to try new things has in turn motivated my students

• It is actually not about the technology…