Carol Gaab, Leslie Davison and Liz Hughes have so wisely spoken on the issue of what to have students acquire. I would like to post this here in order to keep it in focus at all times. Here is what I asked them, followed by their responses, shared with their permission:
Question: “Before I started learning TPRS, I was teaching all of the numbers, for example, with lots of chanting, swatting and math competitions such that K and 1 acquired #0-10, 2nd grade # 0-20, 3rd #0-31, etc., on upward to 5th grade. And they did indeed acquire and retain those numbers, plus all of the other words on the list, in isolation. But, my students did not learn how to talk as much as I would like. With TPRS, I have noticed that while my students are indeed learning to talk, they aren’t acquiring all of the numbers, colors, etc. that I used to have them master in isolation. With TPRS, I wonder if I should expect students to master them all, or not. What say you?”
Carol Gaab: “Let me start by saying that I personally don’t think colors and numbers are that important… They certainly are not on my top ten list. My top 10 list would look something like this:
1.) I need… whatever is pertinent to their everyday situation
2.) I have… (2 sisters, a red pencil, 3 dogs and a cat, paper, a yellow crayon, five dollars)
3.) I went to…
4.) I don’t know.
5.) I want (to)… a blue Matchbox car, a black cat, a red Blow-Pop/Starburst, Jolly Rancher, etc. (go, play, see, etc.)
6.) I am…/he is… tall, short, big, small, strong, smart
7.) I can/can’t… see, go, do, etc.
8.) I couldn’t…
9.) Please, thank you, excuse me
10.) Hi, good-bye, good morning,
My goal is to get my students “communicating” from the start. Kind of hard to communicate when all you know how to do is ID colors and count. I teach colors and numbers within the context of PQA and stories. My students master them just fine without kill and drill. I use number/color games, chants, etc. for “Brain Break” activities. They are never the heart of my lesson.
BUT… it depends what YOUR objective is. If your objective is for your students to be able to ID colors and count, then THAT’s what you teach. Colors and numbers are not part of my core objectives. They are something that I just implicitly teach while I EXplicitly teach key core phrases.”
Liz Hughes: “In my opinion, I think that it depends on your priorities. Do you want students to know their numbers when counting? or their colors by memorization?…I think that if you want them to master these things in this way, then maybe chanting or singing is the way. Elementary kids need a break from storytelling sometimes, anyway…just then remember to transfer that into stories so that students are able to use the numbers in context, without counting. I like to keep the posters up all over the room…days of the week, months of the year, colors, etc. These posters remind me to refer to them in details/context of stories. I also encourage kids to use words from the posters for details.
So, I guess what I am saying is that you can do whatever works for you, as long as it is communicative. I do a number game when I am tired: I call out a number (out of order) and the kids write it on a whiteboard. They LOVE it. Sometimes I will say “ochenta y siete llevando un sombrero” then they draw that. Or veintinueve comiendo dos hamburguesas…etc.
Did I answer your question a little?
This paragraph from Ben’s blog addresses this a bit, too:
‘Vibrant And Alive
by BEN SLAVIC on AUGUST 26, 2009
Dr. Krashen says that when there is a need to know something, the language learner will acquire it. We can’t just throw up stuff into our students’ brains, hoping some of it will stick. Most of it won’t. It must be comprehensible, and, for it to be comprehensible, it must hold meaning for the learner. The learner acquires the language by connecting it to prior knowledge. Language that is not understood (because there is no need to know it) is just nonsensical sound to the language learner.
I think that keeping numbers in stories and then asking “how many” or ” what color” Is the best for keeping it communicative and giving the kids a reason to know…unless we want our kids to be able to go to the target country and recite the numbers up to 100 or list the colors. It most likely won’t get them a cup of coffee.’”
Leslie Davison: “I agree with both Carol and Liz. Is that cheating?
I personally would really like to change the notion for parents, administration, and teachers that kids need colors, letters, numbers and body parts as their first intro to a second language. It takes a long time to gain fluency in the language and the sooner we start with more communicative language (Carol’s top 10) the better off we will be. Some elementary programs have so little time with kids, it’s even more important that we get to the communicative language right away. And realistically, maybe they don’t learn all the thematic vocabulary.
We have a newcomers group here at my school and the helper teacher started with colors and body parts. I don’t blame her because that is the typical thing to do but… the kids could learn every body part and still would have a difficult time functioning in a Spanish class. I have some kids right now that are at a pretty high level of proficiency and still struggle with numbers. Yesterday I had a girl forget morado. I’m just happy she could say, “No sé que color es morado” and “¿Puedo usar rosado porque es mi favorito?”
So… yes, they do end up mastering colors, numbers, food over time but if they don’t, I guess I wouldn’t be too sad if they have the language to communicate their message and help themselves when they don’t know a certain piece of clothing. It really just depends on how you are assessing your students and what you want them to be able to do with the language. Whatever that may be, spend your time there. That is why we decided on the “optional” list. We don’t assess on those specific words but use them in context all year. However, it might be interesting to assess them (for fun) and see how much the did acquire without specifically teaching them. I don’t know…you are doing the right thing by having these conversations with your colleagues. They are super important!”
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Thank you, Carol, Leslie and Liz (and Ben!) for so graciously sharing your insight on this matter. We will strive to keep all of this in mind as our group reworks our word/structure list next month.
