The following is una problema malvada (a wicked problem) in Spanish classrooms. That problem is getting students to communicate authentically and with confidence! I have provide technology strategies, logistics of a solution, research, a plan, and indication as to why this will be a successful project.
Educational
Need
The educational need is students do not feel
confident communicating in a second language, for my classroom the language is Spanish.
Communication can include speaking, reading, writing, and listening. The problem arises because students generally
hear one speaker (their teacher) and it is difficult to truly immerse a student
in a second language. It’s easy to teach
students phrases and rote questions and answers, but how do we get them to
communicate as if they were really in a foreign country? This becomes very challenging to do in a World
Language classroom with limited time and few methods of authentic
immersion.
My Technology-Integration
Strategy
The effective integration of assistive technologies
and Web 2.0 tools will help students have more real life experiences talking to
native speakers. Various authentic
experiences will strongly encourage students to feel more comfortable and
confident communicating in Spanish.
One tool that can help solve this wicked problem
is an authentic pen-pal emailing website.
Students are able to write and receive e-mails from native speakers. This will help them become more confident
because they will be using their Spanish authentically. They will be receiving letters from students
in a Spanish speaking country and will hopefully continue communicating with
them after the course is over. In the
future, if a student is in a Spanish speaking country, they will be more apt to
communicate through writing because it is something they will have done before
with a native speaker.
Many pen-pal emailing websites (the one I will be
using is provided with the students’ online textbook, so it is safe and
recommended) can lead to other things such as communicating verbally. Normally, speaking and listening are two
aspects of a language that my students struggle with the most. Two great tools that can be used to increase
students’ speaking and listening skills are Skype and Voicethread. After developing relationships through
emailing, it will be fantastic to Skype to have students practice speaking and
listening with their pen-pals. It will
be authentic, they will be speaking and listening to a native speaker, and they
will have a preexisting relationship with the pen-pal. This will be a unique opportunity for
students to use their interpersonal communication skills with confidence and
with technology. The technology aspect
provides students a one-on-one experience using their knowledge to communicate
with a native speaker. That is as real
as it gets, unless I can take my whole class on a trip to Mexico or Spain. (I
wish!)
Voicethread will be the second means to getting
students to feel more confident using their speaking skills. Voicethread will be working on their
presentational communication skills. Students
will be able to record their voices and be able to hear how they sound in
Spanish. They often don’t hear
themselves speaking, making it difficult to improve their pronunciation. I will be able to work with students one on
one and help them with their pronunciation and fluency. Also, they will be able to share their
projects with their online pen-pals.
They will hopefully gain confidence while practicing their Spanish and
will be able to use their voicethread projects as they advance further in their
Spanish careers to see the improvement of their speaking.
Logistics
of a Solution
First, I will make lesson plans that include the
TPACK framework, so I can integrate technology to fit well with the content and
pedagogy. The technology for writing skills
will be the online interaction with pen-pals.
The technology for interpersonal and presentational speaking and writing
skills will be using Skype and Voicethread.
Next, I will need to schedule laptops that have Internet access and
cameras. I will need to check out
headsets from the Media Center. Then I will contact our technology integration
specialist to download Skype and Voicethread to prepare the laptops with those
programs. I would like to send a letter
home to parents letting them the benefits of online pen-pals, Skype, and
Voicethread. Finally, after the lessons are completed in class, I will assign
homework where students try to use the tools outside of the classroom. (If students do not have Internet access at
home, computers are available for use in the Media Center.)
Research That Supports My Strategies
Research shows that when students use technology
effectively in the classroom: 1. Are able to access more linguistic and
cultural materials. 2. Can improve communication both written and orally or
both at the same time. 3. Can receive authentic feedback from native speakers.
Research from the TPACK framework shows the
importance and effectiveness of integrating technology, pedagogy, and content
knowledge together. The assistive
technologies and Web 2.0 tools that I have chosen will integrate the TPACK
framework, so students are not only integrating technology into the lesson, but
positive pedagogy and content. This will
allow students to gain confidence through real life experience that in turn
will help improve their confidence communicatively with native speakers.
My Plan
After researching information, I discovered three
tools that best fit the solution of
increasing students’ confidence of learning a second language. Online pen-pals, Skype, and Voicethread are
all beneficial programs to increase students’ communicative skills in Spanish. The
first step will be getting students access to computers with Internet and
correct programs such as Skype and Voicethread.
My school has laptops, computer labs, and headsets available during the
day. The Media Center is open before and
after school and during lunch with computers that have Internet access for
students that want to use these programs outside of the classroom. (Students may also visit local libraries with
similar tools if necessary.)
The next step will be teaching students how to
use these tools effectively to gain more confidence with communication. I will give students writing prompts to use
while writing to their pen-pals because Spanish 1 students have limited
vocabulary. After providing them with
several writing prompts overtime, I will let the conversations with native
speakers just take place because I want this to be an authentic experience for
my students. When they are finished with
Spanish 1, I hope they will continue communication over the summer and will try
to keep their same pen-pal as they move on to Spanish 2.
Skype and Voicethread will be used for speaking
and listening skills. I will share my
main goal with students: The goal is to
communicate with native speakers authentically, not to finish the assignment!
Before Skyping with pen-pals, I will have students write out questions
to ask and possible responses. I want
them to be prepared, but will let them know that realistically their pen-pal
may ask question they don’t know answers to! (Therefore, I will provided them
with the answer, “Yo no sé”.)
Voicethread will be used more for practicing presentational skills. I will have students speak about themselves,
describe others, and read Spanish paragraphs.
This will allow the students and myself to hear their pronunciation and
practice their fluency.
The last step will be preparing students to use resources
on their own to communicate in Spanish and use technology outside of the school
environment. I hope for students to gain
enough confidence with their communication skills, that they will stay in
contact with their pen-pal through emailing and skyping.
Indication
of a Successful Project
This plan will be successful because I have a
proper and well thought out plan in place.
My school has the technology to support my plan. I have the knowledge as a teacher to
implement lesson plans that follow the TPACK framework and the motivation to
use technology in my class. I believe
using Web 2.0 tools and assistive technologies such as online pen-pals, Skype,
and Voicethread are all authentic and fun uses of the Spanish language for
students. These real life examples and
relationships will encourage them to communicate more with native speakers and
feel more comfortable using the language.
Once they are feeling confident using the language, I believe that they
will be motivated to try communicating and practicing Spanish inside and
outside of the classroom.
Resources
and Citations
Punya, Mishra and Matthew J. Koehler. “Introducing
Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge.” (2008): 2-14.
Zhao, Yong. “Recent Developments in Technology
and Language Learning: A Literature Review and Meta-analysis.” CALICO
Journal. 21 (2003): 7-23.
