Throughout the last two weeks, we have been focusing on
grammar instruction in the foreign language classroom, and the different
techniques used to teach grammar. Two methods have been presented to us both
involve the art of story-telling: the PACE model (Presentation, Attention,
Co-Construction, Extension Activities) and TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through
Reading and Storytelling). The PACE model involves a great amount of higher
level thinking on the student’s part. The instructor begins the lesson with a
story, which contains the desired grammar structure. After the story has been
presented, the students are asked for their observations about the language,
and together with the instructor, they create and define their own rule for
that grammatical structure. TPRS on the other hand does not require as much
thinking from the students, as there is a lot of translation done for the
students, and the grammar rules are often introduced in English (or native
tongue). Within my own placement, my CT takes a different approach to teaching
grammar. He does this in a very direct way. At the start of each chapter,
packets are handed out to all of our students. In these packets are specific
instructions in English how each grammar rules works, and this is often done in
mostly English. When the rule has been explained to everyone, this is usually
followed up by some drill exercises for students to complete for practice. This
is very similar to my own experiences when learning grammar in high school, as
all rules were often lectured to us, and we then were told to complete
exercises in the book for more practice.
After having time to consider these different methods of
teaching grammar, the one I could see myself using most in my classroom would
be the PACE method. To me, this is the most engaging way to have students learn
grammar, instead of only lecturing. In addition, I find that students will
retain the information much more when they have the chance to construct their
own rule. Furthermore, this would be a good place to introduce a bit of culture
into the classroom, as the story chosen could come from a country which speaks
the target language. Overall, while time-consuming, I find the PACE method the
best way to instruct students on grammar.
Hallo Micheal,
AntwortenLöschenI agree with you about future grammar instruction methods, I too will use the PACE method because it allows students to build their own understanding of the grammatical structures instead of just being given the rules. You talked about how your CT gives more of an explicit grammar instruction, and even in the native language. How have your students been doing on their assessments? Do you think that form of explicit grammar instruction is working for them? You also talked about how you were taught grammar structures explicitly in high school as well, did you ever have a college professor use PACE method? Professor Fidalgo-Eick showed use great examples of some PACE lesson plans which were really engaging and inquiry based. I also agree with you that by using a PACE approach, it is easy to plug in a culture aspect of your instruction as well, which can be very rich and beneficial for your students understanding of the target language culture. As for the time consuming aspect of creating PACE lesson plans for grammar, I agree that it will takes us longer to create them, because we will have to dig for those good authentic texts, but I think every one we create just gets added into our toolbox of good,engaging, and inquiry based tools we can use in our classroom. It is definitely worth it!
-Alicia
Mike,
AntwortenLöschenI also think that the PACE method of grammar instruction is far better than the TPRS method because it helps students build their own understanding with teacher help, and it hits at many different learner modalities such as oral comprehension, written comprehension, and interpersonal speaking. However, you are very right in saying that PACE may be very time consuming. In recent weeks, I implemented a PACE lesson in my class over the verbs ser and estar, which mean "to be." It was very hard to find an authentic text, so I created my own. It was nice to be able to create my own story that might help get students more engaged in the material, but it wasn't very authentic. I think that, although it is very difficult, implementing authentic texts is very crucial in getting students interacting with the culture of the target language.
As far as how your CT does grammar, I have also had a similar experience in high school. Grammar was often taught in English during lower-level Spanish classes, and it was not until I hit Spanish 4 and 5 in high school that I was actually taught grammar in the target language. Because grammar is such a crucial part of understanding the language, I think it can be hard to teach it in the target language; students do not understand the grammatical rules as clearly. Furthermore, I think that accompanying grammar packets are a great idea because it gives students a good reference to look back on, and it's something physical that they can clearly see and understand. Overall, I think that you are on the right track with teaching grammar, and I would like to see one of your PACE lessons be put to use in the classroom.