Course 402: Session One Post

I believe my outside-school experiences have both expanded and deepened my subject area content knowledge. In teaching a foreign (world) language, one must immerse themselves in the language as much, and as often as possible. I am fortunate enough to be a member of a Spanish-speaking family so opportunities are abundant. Partaking in full immersion opportunities forces you engage in the language in ways beyond basic conversation (which is at the heart of what I teach in Levels 1 and 2). It also boosts your confidence and challenges you. There is one experience that holds this especially true for me. Having grown up a Spanish speaker definitely does not mean that I was always confident in speaking to other native speakers. When I was in high school and even through part of college, people that actually grew up in a Spanish speaking country always intimidated me. I was always so nervous that I would not understand them, or that I would say the wrong thing that I would just not speak Spanish to them. However the summer after my second year at UC Davis, I lived in Granada, Nicaragua for three months and volunteered at an elementary school. I feel that this experience enriched my command of the language, widened my understanding and appreciation of culture, and boosted my confidence. Once I came back, I had no more hesitation in speaking to other native speakers, even those from other countries. I try to create a full immersion enviornment in my classroom because of this.

      Escuela Angela Morales Granada Nicaragua

When I first read Ball's article I disagreed with many aspects of it. After the discussion, my perception was broadened, deepened, and my disagreements were to a lesser extent. My first impression was that the article was basically bashing teachers. Ball's claims that teachers are inadequately prepared to teach really offended me. During the discussion, I realized that Ball did not say this with malice, but instead was just pointing out an issue that she finds problematic. I, however, find it problematic that Ball really does not offer any suggestions or solutions to this problem. In general, the class discussion was interesting and did enrich my understanding of the article and its arguments.


I have zeroed in on a question for my capstone project. My questions is, "What culturally relevant experiences are available to students studying Spanish in the Bay Area?" I am very satisfied and completely excited over my question. I want to include museums, cultural centers, festivals, dance classes, films and many more experiences to create my capstone project. I am interested in looking at the positive and negative effects of experiential learning, and the (growing) presence of Latinos in the Bay Area over time. I feel that the Bay Area is such a rich source of Latino culture, and I want to take advantage of that. For research I am hoping to find articles written by Latinos and their experiences immigrating to the Bay Area or anything along those lines really. I also intend to visit the Presidio, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, different exhibits, La Peña Cultural Center, perhaps even some dance classes and do a tour of the murals in San Francisco. I am ready and excited to dive in. 


My Comments: 
Troy Bristol: fatheadtroysmc.blogspot.com
Julie Wegher: masterblogger.blogspot.com 
Alana Scott: mademoisellescott.blogspot.com

Reflection #1: Post 401

I believe course 401 set a great tone of what to expect and what is expected of us throughout the program as a whole. The MAIT program caught my attention for multiple reasons, the main one being its uniqueness. I am thrilled with the fact that we have the opportunity to create something that we can take and directly use in our classroom. I also feel a great need and desire to continue my education and continue to grow as an teacher. I believe educators should never stop learning and striving to improve their craft. Education can be as fruitful a profession as any, if not more. It is like the gift that keeps on giving- if you reflect and allow it to do so.

I feel that after my first year of teaching full time I can really recognize my strengths and areas of growth. I believe I can create lessons that play to many multiple intelligences. I believe it not only makes the material more accessible to students who learn in different ways, but also make the lessons more engaging for everyone. Also, through my clear expectations, closely followed routines, and caring nature; I was able to create a safe, welcoming, and fun classroom environment. Laughter, learning and engagement were present of a regular basis. I also feel stronger in teaching the many grammar topics that students face in Spanish 1 and 2. I am, however, on the hunt to find more new and exciting ways to teach grammar. This year I was also determined to make Spanish 1 feel comfortable with speaking aloud and writing. I believe that the safe classroom environment really helped students foster their confidence in speaking aloud and their overall skills, along with many opportunities to contribute and speak in class. I also believe I had success with writing. However, the same as grammar, I am excited to learn, create, and implement more devices for working on writing. Another area that I want to work more on is infusing culture into my lessons. Thus my capstone project, a focus on culturally relevant experiences available to students studying Spanish in the Bay Area.

I am excited to dive into the program and my capstone project more, collaborate with all those involved with the program, and of course, continue to grow.

5 Guiding Questions

1) What are the positive and negative impacts of Experiential Learning? 

2) What is the impact of kinesthetic and visual learning in a foreign language course?

3) How has the presence of Latinos/Hispanics in California helped shape education?

4) What methods of instruction best help students acquire and retain a foreign language?

5) Why should students be exposed to culture when learning a foreign language, and not just vocabulary and grammar?