Use of Target Language: Immersion Techniques
I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on my core beliefs as a language teacher. I’m back at grad school, extending my teaching certification to K-12. I’ve come to realize that I have the crucial responsibility of creating a mini-immersion setting in my classroom for the 50 minutes I see my students each day. Every minute must count. My students will never learn language by just studying grammar; they must acquire it in a natural, communicative way. Today, I’d like to share a short excerpt about my teaching philosophy from a paper I wrote this semester:
My most important task as a language teacher is to speak in the target language as much as possible. I’ve heard it said that learning a foreign language in English is comparable to learning how to swim without water. The motto in my French classes is, “Everyone into the pool!” I hold to Dr. Stephen Krashen’s theory of second language acquisition, in which learners must be surrounded by comprehensible input (i + 1). In other words, I need to put my swimmers in the shallow end of the pool, almost (but not quite) above their heads. I envision them paddling hard, but able to safely touch the bottom with a toe or two. James J. Asher’s Total Physical Response method helps me to teach beginners a few strokes. The target language is the exclusive vehicle for instruction as learners respond to oral commands. With enough pool time, beginners will soon be doing laps.
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Photo Credit: by Cezar Perelles at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/424289
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