Is Comprehensible Input Just a Bunch of Jargon?

In my last post here, http://goo.gl/QEYigC, I discussed how my teaching had changed by switching techniques to a method of "comprehensible input" (CI) with a system called "AIM."  Now let me make a little disclaimer.  In no way do I work for AIM and I receive no commission or payment from them.  I will not be afraid, however, to tout the value of their method because, quite frankly, it is amazing and is the best thing I have found since sliced bread.  Besides, how much do textbooks cost today?  Well, an AIM kit (50 hours of instruction) only costs about $600 USD.  There are other methods of CI out there.  If you're interested, check them all out and teach me about the others.  As a teacher, it is my job to constantly polish my craft.

Professor Emeritus and linguist Stephen Krashen outlines "Comprehensible Input" and has demonstrated that only meaningful interactions with learners in the target language produce fluency.  In other words, merely speaking in the target language TO students is about as effective as speaking to an empty classroom.  Students must understand, to some degree, what is happening in the classroom.  More details can be found here:  http://goo.gl/rFlOKb.  AIM is not the only method of CI; it simply represents what has best worked for me in my classroom.

For example, if I assign a gesture to every single word, verb, tense, etc., in my French 1 class, that gesture will be repeated each time.  In fact, students are doing most of the work by speaking while I gesture.  This is not how the class works exclusively.  Our goal is to get them fluent enough to use only French in the classroom and to prepare them for authentic resources (print, audio, visual, all media).  Here is an example of how gesturing in TL (teacher-led) works.  The following example is using English to demonstrate to a wider audience:  https://goo.gl/9Orf8t.  It is important to mention that the difference between TPR/TPRS and AIM is that AIM has a gesture for every word.

Obviously in a French 1 class, we are going to use what is called "Pared-Down Language," or PDL.  PDL allows the teacher to remain in the target language the recommended 90% plus (recommended by ACTFL).  New words, grammar concepts, etc., are introduced gradually and their meaning is quickly explained and practiced right away.  In other words, we remain in a wholly immersive environment and students realize that no only does English (or whatever the predominant L1 is) not have a place in the classroom, but is also unnecessary.

How do I give homework and teach grammar and vocabulary?  It is quite easy, actually.  Each verb for each person is encoded with a slightly different gesture (that makes its meaning obvious).  Furthermore, I use Google Classroom to add CRAM games (CRAM can be found here if you are unfamiliar with it:  http://goo.gl/5LLUTm).  CRAM is great for having students practice vocabulary.  If you use the proper settings, the system will even pronounce the expressions correctly in the target language.

What happens if I am in grammar territory that makes me feel that I absolutely must use English for explanation?  Well, at that point, I most often create a "PowToon" (located here:  https://goo.gl/sSqPdZ) and place it on their Google Classroom site.

I hope this is helpful to others.  Please feel free to leave comments below.  I welcome your insights for what has worked and has not worked.  Remember, we are in this boat together!

If you prefer discussions on Facebook, here is a group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1315711875108905/

My Truth: "Full Immersion" is Key

I am not happy to simply teach.  I have to know without a shadow of doubt that the students are progressing quickly in the language and are gaining fluency.  This may also sound vain, but I want my students' progress to eclipse that of their peers at any other school.  It is what keeps me motivated to work hard, to enjoy my job, and to know in my heart that I am doing absolutely everything in my power.  And since I am a true advocate for the development of my language in the U.S., the French language plays second-fiddle to nothing.  If French is pushed completely out of the curriculum in the U.S., I had better be very old and gray -- or very dead.  To me, the language is vital, critical, and should be required for all Americans considered "educated".  If the State of Louisiana is to be considered "bilingual," then that is enough reason for me.  Spanish, you say?  Yes, also Spanish.  In other words, bi-literacy is simply not enough anymore; our students also need French.

Oh, I had certainly been told repeatedly that I, as a teacher, was never allowed to speak English in the classroom.  I was in graduate school at the time and had already spent time in France as an exchange student, and then again as a university professeur-en-échange.  I was perfectly comfortable speaking only in French.  What we didn't know very well twenty years ago was that CI, or "Comprehensible Input" was not just a recommendation.  It would become central to everything that works or "clicks" in a world language classroom.  Remember, my blog, my truth.  Your mileage may vary.

I had tried everything from teaching all in French in a traditional, expository way, to TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling).  I did have more success with TPRS than with any method prior to that.  What I hadn't yet completely understood, however, was that when we stay "in-bounds," and use language that is understood immediately by students, magic begins to occur.  You may well be sensing that I have moved away from TPRS even though it seemed to contain the very nugget of truth that I needed for the most effective L2 acquisition class.  But using Blaine Ray's TPRS method wore me completely out and took everything out of me.  I had never been more exhausted and the interrogation-type questioning patterns eventually bored my students.  Please understand that I have the utmost respect for TPRS and for Blaine Ray.  Without having used that method, I would never have discovered my classroom "truth" for today.

Things are "clicking" for me now in the classroom; it's electric.  For the first time in my career, I can speak to my students 100% in French and know in my heart that they understand every single word and every idiomatic expression.  In fact, my colleague who teaches Spanish told me that in his 20 years of teaching at The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts (ASMSA), he had never heard students speaking French independently of the classroom until this past year.  I just finished my second year at ASMSA.  I apologize if I sound as if I am selling something.  If I were, I would have already tried a "click-bait" tactic.

What changed for me?  What happened?  Well, over a year ago, at our state convention for world language teachers, I attended the "French Immersion" workshop led by a teacher from Missouri at Pipkin Middle School whose name is Kristopher Morehead.  He was showing student sample work and what he does in the classroom.  He had videos of him teaching and various hard data that made an impression on me.  What drew me in, however, was his passion and conviction that what he was doing was a secret ingredient.  And when I saw the video of him teaching, I knew that he was right.  I said to myself, "I have got to have what he has.  That is the kind of teacher I want to be".  When he showed us the videos of him leading his class, it was the point-of-no-return for me.  He explained that he uses a method called the "Accelerative Integrated Method" or "AIM".  I started doing research.  I started digging.  I was sold.

Is it as good as it sounds?  For me, it has been.  It is the elixir I was looking for.  Okay, what is the catch?  Well, the catch is that as a teacher, you have to put some time in outside of the classroom learning the gestures for all the vocabulary.  I did spend last summer learning all those for the first kit.  One other inconvenience is that the kit is geared a tad bit more for learners younger than mine.  If I had been a new teacher, I am not sure I would have been able to bridge the method with my current learners.  As a veteran teacher, I was more than willing to do this.  The technique truly is that good.

What about this method?  Well, it's 100% French.  No negotiations.  You follow the script.  You respect absolutely full and total immersion with the knowledge that your students understand you every step of the way.  But this post has gone long enough.  I will tell you more about AIM and provide some sample student work in my next post.  Some teachers may have completely different ideas about what works, and that's great.  Remember that the title of this piece begins with "my truth".  Yours may be different.  Thank you for reading.