Project-based learning inspires me in so many ways. I love that kids get to dig deep into authentic topics and really work their brains as they explore and challenge themselves. But I've struggled along the way with one thing: PBL and second language instruction. I'm bilingual and I always expected I would be a French immersion teacher. What I had a hard to envisioning is how such a heavy-language process (PBL) could be executed in a setting where students don't have the vocabulary or capacity to express high order thinking. Project-based learning is at its best when students are really stretching themselves and this is difficult to do in a second language. I remember doing a student exchange to France when I was in grade 12. In Canada, I considered myself fully bilingual. I had never had trouble speaking or understanding French. I had excelled in French class. I was ready to engage in an authentic setting. But when I landed in my small southern French town, I realized how limited my language really was. Teachers were asking interesting questions but I didn't have the ability to express the fullness of the ideas I was forming in English in my mind. So I shut down. So if I, who had very competent language instruction and engagement for 10 years felt such dejection, how much more would young children just beginning experience those negative emotions? For a few years now I've examined, researched, challenged ands struggled with this problem. (Of course, as a PB learner I've never been put of by a problem that needs solving). And for the first time I have come to a view of French language instruction that fits perfectly with the PBL ideals. The world reality is that we live in a global community. Learning to communicate with other languages is going to be imperative in the future. In this way, I feel the drive of my French classroom needs to be communication. Research shows that children who learn a second language when they are young actually train their brains in the skill of language acquisition, which means that learning a third, fourth, etc. language becomes much easier in the future. While parents and students (and teachers and administrators) may feel that learning French is not applicable to their education, the truth is learning to communicate with people who speak other languages is critical. This means a shift in my goals in the classroom. Here are some of my initial ideas of what this might look like: 1. Letting go of perfect grammar. "Park...me, you, us go...tomorrow?" Did you understand what I was trying to say? Of course you did. As I have travelled around the world I have discovered that people are very kind when trying to communicate with someone who doesn't speak their language. No one ever looked at me with contempt at my poorly constructed phrases. In fact, I witnessed empathy and encouragement and appreciation that I was really trying in an unfamiliar language. 2. 20% time for any language acquisition. With Mandarin, Spanish and Hindi being the most used languages in the world, I can see the reluctance to learn French. While it is culturally important, it is globally a little irrelevant. But if my focus is shifting from "learning French" to "learning to communicate with other languages" then French simply becomes one vehicle. Many children will start to show interest in learning languages other than French, because of personal experiences or relationships. I can see using the "20% time" (Google) model to encourage students to use what they are learning about learning a second language in class (through French) to learning a new language of interest. There are many online courses to learn a plethora of languages and teacher encouragement may be all that is needed. 3. Authentic opportunities to speak the language. Students rarely have the opportunity to see the real need to communicate in other languages, especially given the current ubiquitousness of English in our world. Again, though travel, I have seen that in most capital cities in the world English gets me by. However, once you head out of the main cities, I have been surprised that that English disappears. When people speaking different languages need to talk to each other, two things need to happen. The listener needs to work hard to interpret what is being said, and the speaker needs to work hard to use words that express a specific idea. Neither person needs to be perfect. But even if I'm speaking in my first language, I need to adjust how I speak, the words I use, and the way I structure my sentences if the person opposite me doesn't speak English. Authentic opportunities to speak with someone in another language will increase students' understandings on how communication changes both as the listener and speaker in first language or other languages. 4. Project-based learning. Okay, you know I had to slide this one in. There are lots of challenges around communication in other languages. The ease of travel is shrinking our world and odds are our kids will have an encounter with someone who is having to learn a second language for some reason. There are a thousand inherent challenges with communicating in a second language - let your students explore and work to provide solutions! Opportunities for high quality inquiry and projects for real world problems abound in second language instruction. 5. Use the cultural lens. Learning about how and why we communicate in different languages does not restrict the teacher or students to speaking/listening skills. Empathy and understanding of culture, countries, and history of languages will do wonders for engagement in French classes. This exploration can be done in English without fear that you have abandoned your focus. When students see the value of the language they are learning they will engage more deeply in the language part. Terri-Ann Gawthroupe FSL French Teacher Education UGDSB
1 Comment
Kristine Sohnrey
2/22/2024 07:51:25 am
Thank you. You have helped me understand how I might improve my own language acquisition and tutor ESL more effectively. How would you deal with a situation where a good student has suddenly shut down?
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