Project 1 (2014) – Dolores Turró

Project 1 (2014) – Dolores Turró Project 1 Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, Institute of Teaching and Learning, University of Sydney. Year: 2014. Part A: Understanding student learning EDPR5001 — University Teaching and Learning There is an increasing trend in Australian universities for students to learn foreign languages, which speaks favourably of how part of the young Australian population see themselves as part of a wider world. However, there are students who believe that second language fluency can be attained with very little effort (Horowitz, 1988) and expect to sail through their studies with little or no effort. They expect foreign language teachers / tutors / facilitators to be 'entertainers' who will infuse them with the knowledge they need to pass the subject without having to do any thinking on their own. In any case, most foreign language students at the University of Sydney seem to regard their foreign language studies as a medium- to long-term endeavour that is intrinsically linked to their personal projects and to the way they see the world. For this study, I have interviewed three First Year students and also conducted an online survey that was responded by seven students of the same cohort, which consists of a total of 19 students. All three interviewees are currently enrolled and attending SPAN1621, a beginners' Spanish course as defined by the Council Of Europe's Common European Framework Of Reference For Languages. Eighty percent attendance to tutorials is compulsory, and less that 50% attendance is marked as Absent Fail. No previous knowledge of the language is required in SPAN 1621, which as per COE uses descriptors covers the requirements for levels A1 and A2 (Common European Framework Of Reference For Languages, p. 233). Teaching is conducted along the lines of what is known as the communicative approach as widely defined by Brumfit (1979). The aim of the course is to develop all four language skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing, as well as cultural awareness. Specifically in this UoS, students will learn: • To communicate successfully in simple everyday situations in Spanish, both orally and in writing. • To have a basic understanding of the history, society and culture of countries in the Hispanic world. By the end of the course, students should be able to demonstrate that they • Have acquired language skills that will enable them to communicate, both orally and in writing, in Spanish in simple everyday situations. • Have some knowledge of the history, society and culture of countries in the Hispanic world. There are several components to the assessment for this course: Assesssment 4-in class evaluations Weeks 3, 5, 7 and 9 (only best 3 counted equivalent to 1200 words) Aural Examination in Week 11 (equivalent to 400 words) Oral Examination in Week 12 (equivalent to 400 words) End of semester test (2 hours) in Week 13 Class participation and completion of on-line assignments

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Students' approaches to learning. Two of the interviewees expressed their wish to participate in the study voluntarily. I invited the third one, who appeared to be a less keen participator in class. All three interviewees are part of a cohort that would like to travel to a Spanish-speaking country in the near future. They are very interested in having a direct experience of everyday life in a Spanish-speaking culture. Student 1 has expressed her reasons as follows: I guess, to increase my accessibility to jobs, and to countries. To travel with an extra language, especially one that's spoken so widely by so many people, opens up a lot of doors. I'm less restricted in what I want to do. And if I go overseas […], I can fit in more easily by understanding the language and the culture. Student 2 is a keen learner of foreign languages (French and Spanish) and has also studied Latin. During the interview, he said: I found it very satisfying to be able to understand what was going on in […] the French film, I found it very satisfying to understand what was being said and to follow the plot. Student 3 lived in Japan: [It was] my after high school kind of overseas trip, and I stayed with my friend's grandmother who spoke no

Project 1 (2014) – Dolores Turró English, so I pretty much had to learn a bit of Japanese in order to actually communicate with her. This sort of focus suggests a deep approach to language learning (Ramsden, 2003, p. 47, Table 4.1). When they were asked how they go about their studies in general and their classroom assessments in particular, the students clearly favour the surface approach (Ramsden, 2003, p. 47, Table 4.1). Student 1 expresses how and why: If I repeat things over and over to myself, as well as reading them, I learn more efficiently, so that helps when I write out flashcards...repeating all the information out loud. Student 1 also reports what she considers a successful result of her rote repetition approach: I studied the entire alphabet in an hour and I still remember it through the use of the flashcards and repetition. I still remember the entire alphabet now. I did that for numbers, so I know a large amount of numbers in Spanish and I only studied them for about an hour using the cards. Student 2 agrees with Student 1 on the usefulness of rote learning. For languages, I did a lot of rote learning early on when I was learning them and I found ... yeah ... He also espouses repetition as a tool for achieving a ‘deeper’ understanding of the language he was studying, in this particular case Latin, which seems contradictory, but he explains why. [...] later on I felt like I had a good base knowledge of the language [through rote memorisation] and [of] the subject, and I found it easier to grasp concepts and structures. But I had to start with a lot of repetition, writing out [...] In reference to her Spanish studies, Student 3 says: At the moment I have been writing […] because just I think that knowing how to spell it, and I repeat the word after I write it, I find it easier, and then saying it out loud. […] But if I kind of have the headings, for example the list that you sent in the email of all the topics that we had [...] the child topics and all the contents, I read it out and did the translation and stuff. When Student 3 mentions 'headings', she refers to basic communicative functions in Spanish, such as greetings, introducing oneself, talking about one’s nationality, etc., rather than grammatical categories such as nouns, verbs or articles. She uses the surface approach (repeating), but she groups the new topics under ‘headings’ and uses translation as a means to further understanding. Student 3 uses a ‘mixed’ approach. Listening, repeating, writing: These are resources that the three students employ in their basic approach to learning—more in line with the surface approach. The role of the teacher is highlighted when it comes to engaging further in their learning process (Brookfield, 1995, p. 33). Student 1 says: […] I find I'm more interested and I want to learn more if the presenter is very engaging, if I follow every word, not [like my] maths professor who can put us all to sleep even if we suffer from insomnia in an hour. It's harder to be interested and engaged in the information that's being presented if the presenter […] is more introverted and less used to trying to engage people in conversation or trying to present information to them [...] I find I have more trouble listening and understanding. Student 2 says: On the first year, I wasn't particularly keen on a lot of people that were studying […], and that was probably hard for the teacher. And the second year I know the teacher was good. I had a good time there. Some of the cultural elements were good ... that we studied [...] However, Student 3 does not highlight the teacher's role at all. She says: I'd probably prefer to work on my own, and then just the occasional guidance […] Usually if I really don't get something, then I'd get the teacher, but generally I'll try to figure it out on my own anyway. I'll look for sample answers or whatever, I prefer to try and figure it out on my own. All the same, the holistic approach to learning appears to underpin these three students' learning experience. They are acutely aware of how their second language studies involve the acquisition of linguistic, communicative and social skills. In other words, they strive to integrate 'the whole and the parts' (Ramsden, 2003, p.43), which brings in the subject of conceptions of learning. Students’ conceptions of learning. Säljö (1979, as cited by Ramsden, 2003) describes five different understandings, or conceptions of learning among adults: 1. As quantitative increase of knowledge. 2. As memorising.

Project 1 (2014) – Dolores Turró As acquiring facts, skills and methods. As abstracting meaning, in other words, establishing relationships between the subject matter and the real world. As interpreting and understanding reality in a different way. Even though all three students use the surface approach to learn the basics, their ultimate goals show that their learning conceptions are aligned with #4 above. Student 1 refers to ‘accessibility to jobs and to countries’; Student 2 mentions linking ‘the language to something quite enjoyable’ as a film and understanding ‘what other people were saying, in different accents and different speeds’. The literature has drawn connections between learning approaches and conceptions (Marton & Säljö, 1997; Ramsden 2003). It has been argued that students adopting a surface approach are more likely to have conceptions 1-3. From this point of view, these three students would seem at odds with the approach they use in their foreign language studies, but their approach is only a means to an end. They are very aware that in order to achieve accessibility to jobs (Student 1) and an understanding of the language and the culture (Student 2), they need to achieve a series of basic objectives that involve memorisation and repetition. Student 3 discusses a trip to Japan, and highlights the value of being proficient in a foreign language to be able to communicate with the ‘locals’ (previous section). On her current Spanish studies, Student 3 observes: 3. 4. 5.

[Spanish is] a bit harder to speak because I haven't any family members who know any Spanish at all, and with Spanish it's a lot harder to practise with someone else. Her comments have a direct connection with conception #4. Studying a language with the ultimate purpose of achieving communication with native speakers—or other very advanced speakers—whether or not they happen to be in the same context where the language is spoken, or an enhanced understanding of cultural products—such as a movie with no English subtitles—are linked to conception #4. It is early days for these three students to espouse conception #5. It is not unseen in Honours or postgraduate study programs, though. Conclusion. These three students do not espouse the view that second or foreign language learning can be attained with very little effort (Horowitz, 1988), which is one of the most widespread marketing fallacies that aim at selling courses to an unsuspecting public ready to buy the idea that a teacher will 'fill' their minds while they passively sit in a classroom (#1 conception of learning), with no effort or input on the students’ part. In my university teaching experience, I have encountered the ‘passive’ type who believe that learning a foreign language means only accumulation of knowledge. However, such students do not thrive in a university environment. The Spanish Department's goal is to teach language and culture skills as an interpretive process aimed at understanding reality, and in view of that, the outlook for my three interviewees is promising. Word count: 1,957 (excluding references).

Project 1 (2014) – Dolores Turró REFERENCES Brookfield, Stephen D. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1995. Print. Brumfit, C. The Communicative Approach To Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979. Print. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, accessed April 11, 2014: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/ linguistic/source/framework_en.pdf. Web. Horwitz, Elaine K. The Beliefs about Language Learning of Beginning University Foreign Language Students, The Modern Language Journal, Volume 72, Issue 3, pages 283–294, Autumn 1988. PDF version. Marton, F. & Säljö, R. (1997) Approaches to learning. In F. Marton, D. Hounsell and N. Entwistle, The Experience of Learning. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. Ramsden, Paul. Learning To Teach In Higher Education, Second Edition, Abingdon, Oxon: RoutledgeFalmer, 2003. Print. Turró, Dolores. Student survey created on March 29. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SLJKM97. Web.

Project 1 (2014) – Dolores Turró Part B: Reflecting On Teaching And Learning. EDPR5002 — Reflection and Practice in University Teaching and Learning. Introduction. Once upon a time there was a little girl who liked to 'play schools', teaching English as a Second Language to her dolls. A few years later, she substituted her siblings, cousins and friends for her dolls. Time passed, and shortly before she had to decide what she would study at university, she changed her mind and decided to become a trained ESL-English studies teacher instead of studying architecture. This is—in a nutshell—how my 'little girl' took over, and I made a lifechanging decision. When I migrated to Australia in 2003, I started working as a teacher of Spanish as a Second or Foreign language. I will discuss my teaching experience based upon Brookfield's four lenses (Brookfield, Chapter 2, 1995). My experiences as both a student and a teacher. From my childhood, one of the most lasting recollections was that of having been bored in some classes. Interesting and engaging teachers seemed to be few and far between, but they stood out as worthy role models. Later, while at secondary school and university, there was a shift in my appreciation of my teachers' work—a by-product of awareness and maturity. Two of them left a particularly lasting impression because a) they were democratic in the way they managed their class (Brookfield, 1995, p. 44) and highly encouraging. Nevertheless, my practicum brought in an element of extreme self-consciousness. All the same, with the passing of time and after changing careers (from ESL teaching to IT trainer/instructor at Apple, in Buenos Aires, Argentina), my subconscious fall-back position was deeply rooted in the fear of being a 'boring' teacher (Denicolo and Pope, 1990, as cited by Brookfield, 1995, p.31). In the 1990s, while working as a trainer, client satisfaction surveys were de rigueur and would bring in critical views that in general I would take personally. Because of my own life history, I could not take criticism lightly: my own teachers' negative feedback would come across as scathing. As I discovered my own voice (Brookfield, 1995, p. 45), I concluded that some of that criticism was indeed scathing sometimes, as well as personally charged, but most of the time it was well meant and objective. Discussions with colleagues and/or mentor. Unfortunately, the department where I work does not currently do peer observation or mentoring. In any case, in 2010 the then chair of the Spanish Department sat in one of my classes, and I was surprised at her feedback: I can see you have no problem telling the students what's wrong with them, but you don't give them any hope or encouragement. That was a true eye-opener and it changed the manner in which I marked my students' assignments and gave them feedback in class. Since then, I have striven to be more balanced and objective, in keeping with what Myles Horton and Paulo Freire pointed out (as cited by Brookfield, 1990). In 2012 at the end of the second semester at university, I was summoned by the Chair of the Department: she had received emails from students with several complaints, ranging from my lateness for a final exam to my alleged focus on discussing sex in class. The first issue was true and I admitted it straight away, with an explanation of why that had happened. Sex references were made in the context of translating certain expressions from English into Spanish and had not been made out-of-the blue. The voice of my experience was ambivalent in this case (Brookfield, 1995, p.45): on the one hand, I had answered legitimate students' questions, but on the other hand, I had to come to terms with the fact that in a multicultural classroom, where some students may be deeply religious, there would be better ways of addressing such questions, and I did say so in that conversation. I also invited the Chair of the Department to observe my classes at her earliest convenience. Interviewing students about their learning. This experience was highly enlightening in itself, and by reassuring the interviewees that there were no 'right' or 'wrong' answers, I was pleasantly surprised with how honest and spontaneous their replies were when they spoke about their teachers. Student 1 said: I find I'm more interested and I want to learn more if the presenter is very engaging. In my classes, I strive to be engaging. Student 2 stated: In the second year [...] the teacher was good. I had a good time there. Some of the cultural elements were good. One of the SPAN 1621 objectives is to go beyond linguistics and to introduce the class to Spanish-speaking cultural aspects. At the end of each month in the semester, I ask students to do a survey on their studies. In the current cohort, seven students out of 19 completed the latest survey, and one of them gave a very revealing answer on what he/she expects from the teacher: I wish Dolores would set us more weekly homework to complete that we could go through in class together. I'd also like to do listening comprehension more (Videos? Short YouTube clips/ songs?) and also to speak more if

Project 1 (2014) – Dolores Turró possible (role plays?). This is a very fair call and I am prepared to take these suggestions on board. Readings I engaged with in the past and present. I had to read a number of articles on higher education, class management and educational psychology when I did my degree—too long a list to stick to limited number of words. Currently I am reading Brookfield (1995) and Ramsden (2003), plus the class notes. Brookfield's four lenses add different dimensions to how I view my teaching. Ramsden's seminal book has given me a new perspective on how students learn. Rather than being critical of whether they use the surface or the deep approach, I will bring even more activities that empower and allow students to engage with their real-life experiences. Word count: 982 words (excluding references).

Project 1 (2014) – Dolores Turró REFERENCES Brookfield, Stephen D. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1995. Print. Ramsden, Paul. Learning To Teach In Higher Education, Second Edition, Abingdon, Oxon: RoutledgeFalmer, 2003. Print. Turró, Dolores. Student survey created on March 29. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SLJKM97. Web.