Second Language instruction issues

During our first session this morning, a grammatical question came up in response to an answer in one of the exercises. In that particular class, our instructor speaks no English. She tried several times to explain using examples in Spanish. Sometimes, however, it seemed the more she explained, the more confused we became. We all concluded that it might be best if we questioned one of the English speaking instructors.

This situation made me think about my own instruction in grammatical concepts. Typically I switch to first language to explain grammar. I try to incorporate as much language transfer as the concept will allow. This luxury of speaking the same first language as my students enables me to really ascertain comprehension. It would be interesting to assess how much is actually understood when the concepts are explained in target language only.

And now on to a cultural topic! Every morning on the bus ride to school, an elderly gentleman gets on the bus at the same stop. He carries the same blue bag and sits in the same seat. Of course, I too, sit in the same seat every day, and this morning he greeted me with "Buen día." I guess I'm becoming part of the routine. Dr. Lesman said today that in a few days things would begin to become routine for us. I think some of the girls might be experiencing some homesickness. She said we would begin to find comfort in the routine. And I think it was rather special that the man this morning was part of my routine.

Tonight, we are attending an English course at the university. The class is from 10:00 until 11:30pm. It's a rather late hour. Eliana, our student liaison from UCEL, is the instructor. She said that most of the students in the class work full-time jobs, and that late session is the only one they can schedule. It should be very interesting. I’ll write more on that later.

Hasta pronto!