[nobe-l] Teaching College Spanish

[Elizabeth Anderson]

And don't let anyone tell you that you can't use the TPR method of teaching
Spanish, because you sure can...TPR is total physical response..
If you have any questions on that, I can help you. I am not a teacher, just
graduated with my Bachelor's.

-----Original Message-----
From: nobe-l [mailto:nobe-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ashley Bramlett
Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 10:47 AM
To: National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nobe-l] Teaching College Spanish

Robert,
That is great you got into grad school and have the challenge of teaching a
subject you've studied a long time.
Because you are teaching college, classroom management should be easier. By
college, they should know how to act and if they don't and continue acting
out, you can ask them to leave the class.

BTW, I'm not a teacher, but thought about going into teaching blind or other
special ed kids someday; so I'm on this list. You may know me from the nabs
list; now I have a general BA degree in liberal studies and a certificate in
writing that I just finished.

I can speak to what I saw work in college as well as reiterate other tips. 
This subject has been discussed lots in the past so you may want to check
the archives too.
Classroom management is a lot about establishing an open collaborative
environment where people share ideas and you show respect and interest to
your students. First, set expectations down the first day. State them in
your syllabus. I'm sure you've seen rules from other professors; model that
wording. Announce the rules and attendance policy the first day. For
instance, my business professor said something like "I expect you all to
come to class every day; we will cover material not in the textbook that you
need for exams. If you cannot come to class every day, then take the class
online."
Then  she said, "I'd like to ask that all cell phones be turned off and if
you come in late, please walk that way, not across the room by my overhead."

I assume
Second, establish rapport with students. Getting to know names will be 
important to you. Besides, students prefer that over teachers meerly 
pointing to them.
You probably should do a ice breaker activity the first day so students get 
to know each other and you. After all, I suppose in a spanish class, you 
will do group activities a lot to practice conversation skills. I know when 
I took spanish in high school
that we did a lot of conversation practice with a partner.

Specific to being blind, here is what I've heard from teachers.
1. While they are doing activities, walk around the room to listen to 
groups. You can see who is on task this way. You can also interject ideas 
for groups having problems or questions.

2. You'll need a way to get the class's attention. Someone else can comment 
on that better. But what might work is a hand signal you use.
3. You cannot call on people by them raising hands. So establish another way

to do this the first day. They could simply call out their names to talk is 
one idea.
4. A challenge will be monitoring tests so people don't cheat. Its difficult

to do this as this is a silent behavior.
But if I were a teacher, I'd give two versions of the test. I mean the same 
questions but in a different order. I'd also listen for clues such as people

getting out a phone or tablet.

I hope this helps some. You might see if you have specific questions and I'm

sure there will be some answers. I believe we have one foreign language 
teacher on list.

Good luck.
Ashley
-----Original Message----- 
From: Robert Spangler
Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 10:06 AM
To: nobe-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nobe-l] Teaching College Spanish

Hello everyone,

I will be starting to work on my Spanish Masters degree in the fall.  In
January, I will start my teaching assistantship.  I will be teaching one
class.  Although I have given it some thought, I am not very familiar
with how someone who is blind manages a classroom.  So, I am looking for
any tips or suggestions that anyone may be able to provide.

-- 
Thanks,
Robert Spangler, B.A. in Urban Studies and Spanish
spangler.robert at gmail.com


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