During the 2013-2014 school year, as part of my Sabbatical work (see proposal), I did an in depth exploration of second language learning methodology called TPRS
(Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling or sometimes known as Total Physical Response Storytelling). I began my study and exploration by visiting several classrooms in the Bay Area of San Francisco, which is where TPRS was first developed. I discovered that there is a wide network of teachers in the Bay Area that teach with this storytelling methodology, and they meet often to support each other and develop skills and strategies. I was fortunate enough to be invited into several classrooms at all levels of Spanish instruction. I visited both public and private schools, rural and urban, and observed some excellent language instruction in classrooms where students were highly engaged and enjoying their language learning experiences as very enthusiastic learners. The teachers that I observed were all very willing to share their ideas and resources, and were also willing to allow me to video their instruction, which I have included here. I have also included a list of resources that I collected, which I intend to share with my colleagues including many TPRS readers, TPRS teaching instructional DVDs, a methodology book, and other instructional materials.
In January I did a five week Spanish immersion program at The Instituto Estelar Bilingue in Liberia, Costa Rica. While there, I studied Spanish four hours daily, participated in extracurricular activities, assisted local students in English conversation practice, and lived with a very lively local family so that I could immerse more fully into the culture and language. I chose Instituto Estelar Bilingue because the director the of the program is an expert in TPRS and has trained all of the teachers in this methodology. I was therefore able to experience TPRS as a student, and had it modeled very skillfully by several of my teachers there.
I also met with several local secondary teachers and visited classrooms so that I could make connections and share ideas for a classroom exchange program that I intend to
implement in the 2014 school year. I have included teacher contact information, names of their schools, and levels and subjects of instruction in a document in the "Classroom Exchange" tab. The enthusiasm that the teachers and their students shared for participating in this exchange was overwhelming. We hope to begin by exchanging letters and emails at the beginning of the year so that our students will have the opportunity to practice writing in the target language while having the opportunity to develop special friendships with peers from Costa Rica. This exposure to language and culture will serve to not only enrich their language learning experience but will also hopefully motivate
them in their studies.
In May, I attended an excellent three day TPRS workshop offered by Blaine Ray Workshops, inc. At this workshop acquired a collection of workshop materials that include step by step details on how to create stories in the classroom with lesson planning templates, lists of useful materials, grading suggestions, and other TPRS resources. I will include materials from this workshop in my sabbatical binder, which is available to view in the Ithaca Teacher's Association office.