Internet Research for TechQuest

Even though there are a lot of great resources online for reinforcing the Spanish language, after doing research there are not a lot of great resources of attempted projects that involve a catch up program similar to what I have proposed. There are, however, several resources that will guide me in a quest to create a great online program.

First and foremost, the most accurate research that I have found was when I attended the MIWLA (Michigan World Language Association) Annual Conference. Through this conference, I was able to network with a variety of different educators and consultants that have allowed us to take our program to the next level. This is important as I have used email on countless occasions to ask questions and receive responses, but no one had a really great idea for how to implement this sort of project into my curriculum.

After searching Google as a ‘first resort’ I couldn’t find anything that pertains to my project. I searched keywords such as “Elementary World Language Program”, and then switched “World Language” with “Foreign Language”. I got a broad amount of search results, and then added words to define more in-depth what I was searching such as “AND entry points” or “AND catch up”. I didn’t find any inquiries into what I was looking for, so I decided to consult Ñandutí, a specialized site for K-8 World Language teachers, but still came up empty handed.

So, I took it to the next level and posted on Ñandu, an email listserv for K-8 World Language Educators. The message I posted is:

“Hi All:

We started a K-8 Spanish program last year with my level (grades 3 - 5) meeting 2x a week for 45 minutes each time. However, I'm having an issue with catching up students who transfer in during the middle of the trimester or unit. Many of these students have never had Spanish before, so I am going to create an independent website where they can go to practice colors, numbers, the alphabet, and greetings during instructional time so they do not feel left behind.

Does anyone have any examples of websites or program you use to give students the opportunity to 'catch up'? I think this is an important part of my classroom and don't want these students to be left out in the cold.

Thank you! Kerry”

I feel that a lot of the time the best resource I have are other Elementary WL teachers. It’s typically by word of mouth that we find out about new and creative ideas and programs available, so I figured that this wouldn’t be any different. I am still waiting on a response, but will certainly post any responses I receive from this inquiry.

Next, I decided to inquire in a more specialized area and used MSU’s E-Resources as my guide. I decided to use JSTOR to search first, “Elementary Foreign Language” and again came up with a broad basis. But then, I narrowed down my search to, “Elementary Language Program Structure” and came up with an interesting article that brings new light to my project, titled, “Flame-Foreign Language Alternative Mastery Example: Another Approach to FLES Models Currently in Use”. Shockingly, I realized that this article comes from a journal, “Hispania” that I receive in the mail and don’t have time to read (usually). I realized that this article may help me in determining whether or not I could supplement new language instruction outside the classroom and during instructional time, something I didn’t really think about before now. It brought about a completely different light to my situation.

I also discovered another article that leads me to believe that my project needs to be very interactive in nature, as it described, “The Role of an Interactive Book Reading Program in the Development of Second Language Pragmatic Competence”. It was interesting to read the findings of this article with an interactive component to the Second Language Acquisition in a literacy context. This article was taken from the Modern Language Journal, so I then journeyed to the journal to see what else it offered. It led me to the article, "The Contribution of Collaborative and Individual Tasks to the Acquisition of L2 Vocabulary” which has been very helpful in my quest to formulate vocabulary awareness and acquisition during this project. When thinking about it, the project consists of a lot of vocabulary, which this article will help me with how I introduce and reinforce it.

 

I was very frustrated with the lack of resources in general that were available to me through different search engines, the most prominent being JSTOR and the MSU E-Resources. Next time, I believe that I will not even bother with Google, as a project of this magnitude has very little resources to be found in the Elementary WL classroom.