Thanks to the Tiger PRIDE Faculty Grants Program, I attended the Blaine Ray Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling workshop in Chicago this June. This was a 3-day hands-on conference where we learned and practiced strategies to teach language through reading and storytelling.
TPRS teaches second-language acquisition through immersion and interactive "storytelling" which is similar to the way everyone learns their native language. We were first given some background information on TPRS and then we were taught a lesson in French using TPRS methods. After a 40-minute lesson, we were all able to answer simple yes/no questions, as well as form basic sentences (in French!) using the structures that were the focus of the lesson.
Over the course of the 3 days, each person at the workshop taught a sample lesson in their target language. We learned French, German, Spanish, Russian, and Tlingit (a native Alaskan language). This teaching method made the languages comprehensible for students of all ages and abilities. While we weren't experts on each, we could all remember a few words and phrases after just one lesson in each language.
This conference has made me very excited about the possibilities to vary my instructional methods in my second year at Darlington. I try to make my classes about experiential learning and TPRS is just that. Instead of learning WHY you conjugate a verb a certain way or pronounce a letter a certain way, you just DO it by using it in context. I think that this is a fun way to mix-up the lessons I already have established from last year as well as to review vocabulary at different times throughout a unit or the year.
This was such a positive experience for me because last year I struggled with explaining grammatical concepts to kids who kept asking, "Why? Why? Why?" TPRS teaches second languages the way that native languages are taught; by doing instead of questioning. By modeling correct grammar and pronunciation, the students pick the language up easier and retain that information without having to ask "Why are we doing this?" I am always looking for ways to make class more engaging and to increase participation by all students, even those who may not be comfortable with taking risks and trying new things. TPRS makes learning a group experience where everyone works together to form a fun, creative, and grammatically sound story.
