[ola] Re: OWL support articles

  • From: Call Daniel <dcall@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 21:40:54 +0000

Colin,
Here’s a blog by an adult language learner that occasionally posts 
user-friendly digested versions of theory.  You may have to comb a little, but 
there’s some good stuff here.
http://www.languagesurfer.com/


From: ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of 
Harris Levinson
Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2014 1:27 PM
To: ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ola] Re: OWL support articles

Colin:
I'd also say that the longer I teach and the more pedagogical approaches I 
experiment with and/or commit to, the more I recognize that there is not ONE 
approach that is best for all learners. I have made my peace with this, 
although it took some years to let go of the mission I had set for myself while 
in my ed program at UW, i.e., to reach and teach well every single student.

Atwell's Writing in the Middle introduced many Language Arts teachers to the 
reading and writing workshop approach and school districts and English teachers 
throughout the States adopted it. I loved it for its use of mini-lessons and 
fostering one-to-one relationships with students about their writing and the 
books they were reading. Yet, some students did not respond with the enthusiasm 
of their classmates; they preferred a class where everyone was writing on a 
similar topic and reading the same literature.

A number of us have experienced this same phenomenon with OLA and OWL. It helps 
us accomplish the goals we have for getting our students to feel comfortable 
taking risks in speaking the language. Many students feel empowered to use the 
language outside the classroom context and want to interact with 
Spanish-speaking people around the world. We have evidence of this and we share 
it joyfully....and still it is not the right fit for all our students. Some 
don't want to push or aren't yet comfortable taking risks or just really prefer 
sitting down doing activities from a text--it's what they know and it allows 
them to disappear.

To counter this, I believe one has to emphasize building community. That is one 
of Darcy's central tenets and I don't think we can overestimate its use when we 
encounter resistance. When we have buy-in from students because they feel they 
are part of an exciting organism that recognizes and values their humanity, one 
that lives and breathes in the target language (my own classroom is NOT always 
that way), then we find less resistance. And even still, with your best and 
most sincere efforts, there will be those who choose not to join us, who say 
nay, but they will not be the majority and they may even one day come to see 
that life is simply not as fun nor as gratifying without movement, community, 
and OWL.
Harris

2014-11-12 11:47 GMT-08:00 Eliza Pfeifer 
<epfeifer@xxxxxxxxxx<mailto:epfeifer@xxxxxxxxxx>>:
Colin, I am not sure that I have any kid friendly articles, but know that you 
are not alone with push back.   My first year I suffered from some.  Most of 
the push back came as students realized that they had errors in their Spanish 
but didn´t know who to fix them.  They wanted grammar rules for clarity.

How do you see the push back?  (If and when you get a chance!)

On Wed, Nov 12, 2014 at 9:02 AM, Colin Oriard 
<coriard@xxxxxxx<mailto:coriard@xxxxxxx>> wrote:

​Tess, most of my students are freshmen and sophomores



Colin Oriard
Profesor de español 1/2 & 3/4
Grant High School
Room 112
Phone extension - 75612
________________________________
From: ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
<ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> on behalf of Tess 
Siemer <tess.siemer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:tess.siemer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2014 7:59 AM
To: ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [ola] Re: OWL support articles


What grade level Colin? I have several that I can share but they might not 
resonate with freshman or sophomores so much...
On Nov 12, 2014 6:48 AM, "Colin Oriard" 
<coriard@xxxxxxx<mailto:coriard@xxxxxxx>> wrote:
OWLers,
I wrote yesterday, but it was rushed so I'd like to follow up....
I'm still running into lots of student push-back and English use so in an 
effort to help that, I'm putting a few new changes in place. To support one of 
these, I was wondering if anybody had good foreign language immersion and/or 
language acquisition articles that our students would be able to follow 
(kid-friendly language)?​

Any resources people have would be much appreciated!



Colin Oriard
Profesor de español 1/2 & 3/4
Grant High School
Room 112
Phone extension - 75612



--

Eliza Pfeifer

Spanish Instructor  | St. Mary’s Academy

_________________________________

4545 S. University Blvd., Englewood, CO 80113

303.762.8300 x 393<tel:303.762.8300%20x%20393> | fax: 
303.783.6201<tel:303.783.6201> | epfeifer@xxxxxxxxxx<mailto:jwimbish@xxxxxxxxxx>

[https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/V-DPcKI82YFYE63jZZfZyK7xBdPJIZ8ZpbUfvj6_CQvSJYr3GWAuGsgHcKxTOQBkcEFaV47Bfj1Ypz3oSRj0tr5e4Uhb52LPl8sjSNDUC6Df02aB_rm3K20JxxUDMm1HKdnGtgAtZzE]












--
Harris Levinson
Teacher, Adviser
Vashon Island High School

Tel:  206.463.9171 x141

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