--- Forwarded Message from "Robert G. Brito" <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
>From: "Robert G. Brito" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: "Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum
" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: RE: #7475 Second-year Spanish
>Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2004 15:59:34 -0400

Hello Ann,
        First of all, you must find out why your students, at your school, are not
interested in Spanish, which goes against all of the recent trend surveys.
A perfunctory reading of current enrollment data shows that there are about
5 Spanish-lang. students per other languages, French being the second
closest at 4 to 1. So, you need to do a little needs assessment.
        Secondly, you need to take a look at what sort of curriculum, methodology,
and materials are being utilized in Spanish One. And ask some real hard
questions: how's the course sequence articulation being carried out.
Apparently, something is amiss... I have some ideas, but you need to assess
your own situation.
        Thirdly, why are you looking into an electronic answer to the problem of
foreign language underenrollment in Spanish classes? A foreign language lab
often times conspires rather than inspires in the pursuit of a foreign
language, or as Krashen would put it, L2 acquisition.
        Finally, have you considered introducing--I have no idea what sort of
curriculum you have at your school--real-world, real-work Spanish? In other
words, people seek what they can use. If university students cannot gauge
possitively the spending of umpteen hours of mindnumbing foreign language
study, they will seek greener pastures like, in WA, environmental studies,
ecology, the sort of growing the best coffee bean. Many, many years ago I
experienced a similar underenrollment reality check at a great big ten
university I was attending for my PhD: From Spanish One to Spanish Two the
attrition rate was greater than being attacked by the plague in the Middle
Ages. Students chose other languages that offered more zing and some
razmahtass... Well, Spanish one had a great lab, scripts, and something
called psychometrics, which by the term itself you can gauge how these
college students felt about Spanish... I dropped out to my chagrin, because
I was powerless.
        I am only a high school instructor, teaching Content (Task) Based Spanish
for Specific Purpose classes: Medical Spanish, Computer Spanish, Automotive
Spanish, Culinary Arts Spanish, Pharmacy Spanish, Business Spanish... How
can poor little ol'me do ALL that? The students do all the work, and I
guide them... The approach is heuristic, lots of sweat, pain, and
satisfaction. My classes are noisy. No one can take a snooze. Mind you,
these are teenagers undergoing a rigorous academic program, and preparing
themselves for two years of gruesome technical instruction leading to
certificates, etc. (We have something called Workforce Development
program.) By the way, my school, McFatter Technical High School was chosen
as Florida's model high school by the State Chief Education Officer, one of
thirty in the United States. By the way, my classes take place in a foreign
language lab full of PCs connected to the Internet, and running Windows
2000 software. I could give you more information on this in another email.
We do not have a Tandberg, a Sony, or any other type of high end lab. Let
your student support your media, and not the other way around...
        I hope my comments can be of some use...

Robert G. Brito
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> [Original Message]
> From: LLTI-Editor <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 4/5/2004 10:36:25 AM
> Subject: #7475 Second-year Spanish
>
> --- Forwarded Message from "Ann Therkelsen" <[log in to unmask]> ---
>
> >Subject: Second-year Spanish
> >Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2004 11:53:13 -0800
> >Thread-Topic: Second-year Spanish
> >Thread-Index: AcQY7LQruoZbrfxVSymt2Vd7HwL00A==
> >From: "Ann Therkelsen" <[log in to unmask]>
> >To: <[log in to unmask]>
>
> Dear colleagues,
>
> What wisdom can you impart regarding ways to offer second-year Spanish
(or any
> other under-enrolled language course) in which low enrollments make it
> impossible to offer them as a regular class?  Presumably a well-equipped
> language lab, which we hope to acquire shortly, can support that, if not
as an
> online or independent study course, perhaps in some sort of hybrid
class/lab
> arrangement or...what?  How can our lab help us make the courses
available,
> pedagogically effective and cost effective?  Not a new question...If
anyone has
> been satisfied with student outcomes in online language courses or a lab
> equivalent, I'd love to know about that, as well as any other creative
solutions
> to the problem of under-enrolled classes that seem to work.  Also, does
anyone
> know of a second-year Spanish text that is well supported by digital
media,
> comparable to, say, ?Sabias Que?
>
>
>
> I will much appreciate any experience or information you're willing to
share.
>
>
>
> Ann Therkelsen
>
> Whatcom Community College
>
> Bellingham, WA