4. Teaching Spanish in the U.S.
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Maria M. Carreira
Abstract
Current approaches to foreign language teaching can be characterized as one-size-fits-all. This is true in the sense that within a given class or instructional level, uniform learning objectives, activities, pacing, and assessment tools are in place for all students. Such approach is not well suited to teaching Spanish to bilingual Latinos who present divergent academic and linguistic backgrounds. Needed for such students is a means to configure Spanish-language instruction along individual learner specifications. An overview of Latino demographics indicates that bilingual Latinos study Spanish in different instructional contexts, depending on where they go to school. Typically, those attending schools with a sizable Latino population study the language in specialized Spanish-for-native-speakers (SNS) classes. Others study in classes with non-native students. Regardless of the type of the class, when bilingual Latino students are enrolled in Spanish-language courses, learning inevitably takes place in the context of a mixed-ability language classroom. Demographic realities being what they are, such classrooms may be on the way to becoming the norm, rather than the exception in Spanish-language programs throughout the country. Predicated on the notion that teaching should be responsive to student differences and reach out to learners at their own level of readiness, Differentiated Teaching (Tomlinson 1999, 2003) is designed to deal with the very type of mixed-ability issues that arise when teaching Spanish to bilingual Latinos. Additionally, this approach represents an effective way to address issues of equity and access to learning – key considerations when dealing with Latino students. Following Tomlinson's work, this paper explores five instructional strategies that support instruction in mixed-ability classes, including: (1) stations; (2) centers; (3) agendas; (4) learning contracts; and (5) multiple-entry journals/reading logs. In addition, it presents samples of differentiated activities for use in mixed-ability Spanish classes.
Abstract
Current approaches to foreign language teaching can be characterized as one-size-fits-all. This is true in the sense that within a given class or instructional level, uniform learning objectives, activities, pacing, and assessment tools are in place for all students. Such approach is not well suited to teaching Spanish to bilingual Latinos who present divergent academic and linguistic backgrounds. Needed for such students is a means to configure Spanish-language instruction along individual learner specifications. An overview of Latino demographics indicates that bilingual Latinos study Spanish in different instructional contexts, depending on where they go to school. Typically, those attending schools with a sizable Latino population study the language in specialized Spanish-for-native-speakers (SNS) classes. Others study in classes with non-native students. Regardless of the type of the class, when bilingual Latino students are enrolled in Spanish-language courses, learning inevitably takes place in the context of a mixed-ability language classroom. Demographic realities being what they are, such classrooms may be on the way to becoming the norm, rather than the exception in Spanish-language programs throughout the country. Predicated on the notion that teaching should be responsive to student differences and reach out to learners at their own level of readiness, Differentiated Teaching (Tomlinson 1999, 2003) is designed to deal with the very type of mixed-ability issues that arise when teaching Spanish to bilingual Latinos. Additionally, this approach represents an effective way to address issues of equity and access to learning – key considerations when dealing with Latino students. Following Tomlinson's work, this paper explores five instructional strategies that support instruction in mixed-ability classes, including: (1) stations; (2) centers; (3) agendas; (4) learning contracts; and (5) multiple-entry journals/reading logs. In addition, it presents samples of differentiated activities for use in mixed-ability Spanish classes.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction ix
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Part I. Heritage Spanish in the United States
- 1. Subjects in early dual language development 3
- 2. Interpreting mood distinctions in Spanish as a heritage language 23
- 3. Anglicismos en el léxico disponible de los adolescentes hispanos de Chicago 41
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Part II. Education and policy issues
- 4. Teaching Spanish in the U.S. 61
- 5. The politics of English and Spanish aquí y allá 81
- 6. Language attitudes and the lexical de-Castilianization of Valencian 101
- 7. Are Galicians bound to diglossia? 119
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Part III. Pragmatics and contact
- 8. Addressing peers in a Spanish-English bilingual classroom 135
- 9. Style variation in Spanish as a heritage language 153
- 10. “Baby I'm Sorry, te juro, I'm Sorry” 173
- 11. Cross-linguistic influence of the Cuzco Quechua epistemic system on Andean Spanish 191
- 12. La negación en la frontera domínico-haitiana 211
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Part IV. Variation and contact
- 13. On the development of contact varieties 237
- 14. Linguistic and social predictors of copula use in Galician Spanish 253
- 15. Apuntes preliminares sobre el contacto lingüístico y dialectal en el uso pronominal del español en Nueva York 275
- 16. Is the past really the past in narrative discourse? 297
- 17. The impact of linguistic constraints on the expression of futurity in the Spanish of New York Colombians 311
- 18. Quantitative evidence for contact-induced accommodation 329
- 19. Está muy diferente a como era antes 345
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Part V. Bozal Spanish
- 20. Where and how does bozal Spanish survive? 359
- 21. The appearance and use of bozal language in Cuban and Brazilian neo-African literature 377
- Index 395
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction ix
-
Part I. Heritage Spanish in the United States
- 1. Subjects in early dual language development 3
- 2. Interpreting mood distinctions in Spanish as a heritage language 23
- 3. Anglicismos en el léxico disponible de los adolescentes hispanos de Chicago 41
-
Part II. Education and policy issues
- 4. Teaching Spanish in the U.S. 61
- 5. The politics of English and Spanish aquí y allá 81
- 6. Language attitudes and the lexical de-Castilianization of Valencian 101
- 7. Are Galicians bound to diglossia? 119
-
Part III. Pragmatics and contact
- 8. Addressing peers in a Spanish-English bilingual classroom 135
- 9. Style variation in Spanish as a heritage language 153
- 10. “Baby I'm Sorry, te juro, I'm Sorry” 173
- 11. Cross-linguistic influence of the Cuzco Quechua epistemic system on Andean Spanish 191
- 12. La negación en la frontera domínico-haitiana 211
-
Part IV. Variation and contact
- 13. On the development of contact varieties 237
- 14. Linguistic and social predictors of copula use in Galician Spanish 253
- 15. Apuntes preliminares sobre el contacto lingüístico y dialectal en el uso pronominal del español en Nueva York 275
- 16. Is the past really the past in narrative discourse? 297
- 17. The impact of linguistic constraints on the expression of futurity in the Spanish of New York Colombians 311
- 18. Quantitative evidence for contact-induced accommodation 329
- 19. Está muy diferente a como era antes 345
-
Part V. Bozal Spanish
- 20. Where and how does bozal Spanish survive? 359
- 21. The appearance and use of bozal language in Cuban and Brazilian neo-African literature 377
- Index 395
