KYLENELSON

         Over the course of the past two semesters learning about International Baccalaureate teaching and learning, I struggled to see how inquiry could be incorporated in to lower level language classes while still using the target language for instruction.  This was difficult for me to imagine what it “looks like” since I have never taught nor been taught a language with this methodology.

         During one of my field observations in an MYP classroom, I was able to talk to the classroom teacher Louisa LaGrotto about how she incorporates inquiry in her lower level language classes. Ms. LaGrotto is a MYP Spanish teacher at Westlane Middle School and from prior experiences working with her in her classroom, I have seen how she excels at teaching oral language production to her beginning level students. When I observed her during my undergraduate classes at Butler, I was impressed by how much her students could use the target language.  I was surprised that she agreed with me in that it is difficult to keep students using the target language. She stated that students are now speaking more English and before because of the common language of IB and having to teach them how to think like IB learners. “Students need more support with terminology and expectations at the lower levels,” LaGrotto stated.

         I found the same experience at North Central High School in the classroom at Mrs. Tracy Rogers. While observing her Spanish 2 class, I noticed she uses a lot of English to promote inquiry though questioning on topics being covered. I asked Mrs. Rogers similar questions to Ms. LaGrotto, specifically if she feels students speak less Spanish in the classroom due to IB teaching. She stated that “when covering a topic, [students] actually think about it deeper in English than they would’ve before. From there they can start to make connections between languages.” Rogers also stated that students in the accelerated track begin to use the target language for inquiry in Spanish 3 and then in Spanish 4 on the regular track.

         I found this last observation to be very interesting. It’s surprising that students don’t use the target language for inquiry until levels 3 and 4. It makes me wonder why in a district where IB is implemented starting with a Primary Years Program that students aren’t supported and scaffold to think in terms on inquiry by the time they reach the final years of the Middle Years Program and Diploma Program.

         According to author Alison Yang from the Collaborative Language Blog in her post Can students inquire in a foreign language?, she reminds readers that when toddlers are acquiring language, they are constantly asking questions by using they limited range of vocabulary and grammar structures. They also use body language and gestures to facilitate communication. By using their limited process, they receive input and their language skills are also increasingly developed and become slightly more complex each time.

         Language learners can and do question in a similar process. Yang states, in her opinion, that if the learning environment and lessons are well structured, students at different language proficiency levels can be engaged in inquiry while acquiring a foreign language.  Below are some strategies Yang suggests teachers use to incorporate inquiry in the foreign language classroom:

 

1. Activate students’ prior knowledge.

2. Provide vocabulary and grammar guide for each unit so students know what they are expected to master.

3. Use graphic organizers to help visual thinking

4. Create a question wall to help model students how to question in the target language. 

5. Structured note taking - students are more likely to share their findings and thoughts when they’ve had a chance to think about it.

 

What my conversations and readings have all conceded is the need for support and scaffolding for student success. Much of it reminds me of the SIOP model for ELL students and had led to more questioning. While wondering about using content as the mode of language instruction, I had to think about how inquiry would look when teaching grammar. An article I came across titled Inquiry-Based Grammar Instruction by Laurie Gluck explains a methodology called X-Word grammar. 

         Gluck states “X-Word grammar is an inquiry-based approach to teaching grammar that provides the vocabulary and framework to integrate inquiry learning into grammar lessons.”  In short, this process prompts students to group words into familiar categories to discover how they are being used in sentences. Gluck states that “students’ questions about grammar are motivated by what students see in provided text and their efforts to create rules and order within the text. Students find answers to their questions by making generalizations from the text.”

         My findings have led to even more questions regarding inquiry in lower level language classrooms. I look forward to more observations and conversations with current IB practitioners and more research on the topic on inquiry in beginning level language courses.

As I move forward with this knowledge, I ask myself, how will this change the way I teach in my classroom and how my student learn? 

 

 

 

References

 

Gluck, Laurie. (2007) Inquiry-Based Grammar Instruction. The La Guardia Journal of Teaching and Learning, 43-47.

 

LaGrotto, Louisa. Personal Interview. 12 February 2016

 

Rogers, Tracy. Personal Interview. 24 March 2016

 

Yang, Alison. (2011, December 7). Can students inquire in a foreign language? Retrieved from https://inquiryblog.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/can-students-inquire-in-a-foreign-language/