How
Much
Is that
Doggie
in the Classroom?

As public schools search for ways to satisfy the No Child Left Behind mandate of having every student become a proficient reader by year 2014, administrators and curriculum specialists look to an array of effective strategies to help students improve their reading skills.

Reading First, a federally funded reading initiative, is one example of a prescribed approach for teaching reading skills at the elementary level. Whole language instruction, the close examination of literary works, the LitTunes methodology, and guided reading are other methods employed in the school arena.

And then there's the puppy dog.

Yes, our canine friends have jumped into Literacy Park, eager in their special, tail wagging way to help students improve their reading skills.

I discovered this delightful new methodology in a news report about a middle school in Georgia, where a most unusual reading companion was invited into to the classroom: a four-year-old black Labrador retriever named Amelia. She is part of Canine Assistants, a non-profit group that trains dogs to work with people who have special needs.

Amelia began her training to work with humans when she was 17 days old. Part of that training requires her to sit quietly and be docile — listening skills par excellence.

Eureka!

In one of those inspirational eureka moments, a curriculum specialist reasoned that Amelia's receptive nature could fit nicely into an innovative classroom reading strategy, one designed to overcome the fears of less skilled or excessively self-conscious readers, who are intimidated by the prospect of reading aloud to their peers.

Here's how it works. For 45 minutes, students from the sixth-grade class at Baker Middle School in Alpharetta, Georgia, read passages from their favorite books to an admiring Amelia. The readers, books in hand, sit in a small group around the pup, taking turns reading aloud. Student readers observe that Amelia doesn't laugh at them when they mispronounce a word — and something about the doggie's presence makes peer pressure simply melt away. Amelia listens attentively to each reader and appears to appreciate every word, every phrase. Her reward is lots of attention and petting.

The teachers note that students in Amelia's circle enjoy reading aloud more than ever before. They also pay polite attention to their classmates while they are reading to Amelia. Reading rates and fluency are improving, teachers say. One pointed out that every one of her students advanced at least one reading level from fall to spring.

Let's Lower the Filter.

I'm sold on the idea. Therefore — bark! bark! — I propose introducing a perro, a chien, a Hund, into foreign language (FL) classes.

Most FL teachers will tell you how hard it is to get students to speak in a second language. A student's "affective filter," a theoretical concept which identifies and tracks levels of anxiety in the classroom, all too often rises to uncomfortable levels when the student is asked to speak aloud in the target language. A high filter translates into heightened anxiety and reluctance to participate.

A canine companion in the FL classroom would decrease the affective filter by inspiring students to take more pleasure in reading aloud in another language. Student readers would gain confidence in their reading skills. They would also learn to be attentive listeners, allowing them to hear their peers pronounce words with proper stress and intonation. With pup power at work in the classroom, the goal of enhancing reading fluency would be, well.... a walk in the park.

To read Amelia's story,
click on the pup:

Freddie A. Bowles
Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction
University of Arkansas
fbowles@uark.edu

Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Examining
the Language
of Language
Education.

The language of education is full of jargon, acronyms, theoretical contructs, and persons of note. Knowing the language and the players is necessary to navigating the territory. Can you decipher such acronyms as EFL, SLA, and LEP, to name three out of hundreds? Could you clarify what "I + 1" refers to? How about "pedagogical content knowledge" or "backwards design?"

The Special Methods Glossary will answer these questions as the first step to building a collection of terms, definitions, and comments for students and teachers of languages. As always with education, the Glossary is a work in progress. Your contributions are welcome here. Contribute, collaborate, and communicate.

If you've puzzled about an unknown acronym or some odd-sounding jangle of jargon lurking in one of your texts, why not capture it and send a query through cyber space to web mistress Bowles at tulipan@corndancer.com. Please include the context in your message. The Planet Gnosis team will search for an answer and share what we find.

EFL = English as a Foreign Language
LEP = Limited English Proficient
SLA = Second Language Acquisition

American Association of Teachers
in French

(AATF); the American Association of Teachers in French is the largest national association of French teachers in the world, whose goal is to represent and share the French language, culture, and civilization. AATF hosts annual conventions and provides a variety of resources for its members.

— RB July 7, 2008

American Association of Teachers
of Spanish and Portuguese

(AATSP); The American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese is a great organization to expand your education horizons, network with colleagues, and stay on top of issues. The cost of a student membership is $25 and includes membership in your local charter. You will receive three publications: Hispania, Enlace, and the Portuguese Newsletter.

— MSA July 8, 2008

American Council on Teaching of Foreign Language

(ACTFL); The American Council on Teaching of Foreign Language is a great organization to help you succeed in your career. This organization is dedicated to the improvement and expansion of Foreign Language in your community. The cost of a student membership is $25, which includes a copy of the Language Educator, a practical guide to classroom tools.

— MSA July 8, 2008

Arkansas Foreign Language Teachers Association

(AFLTA); The Arkansas Foreign Language Teachers Association serves to promote the general interest of the teaching of foreign languages and cultures, provide professional development, and make available resources for teachers of foreign languages in the state of Arkansas.

— PP July 8, 2008

Backwards Design

the concept (created by Wiggins and McTighe) that planning a syllabus begins by deciding on the goals and outcomes of the course first; then working "backward" to plan assessments secondly and instructional activities and procedures lastly.

— FAB July 1, 2008

Center for Applied Linguistics

(CAL); a private, non-profit organization of scholars and educators who use the findings of linguistics and related sciences to identify and address language-related problems and issues. The organization conducts research, teacher education, analysis and dissemination of information, design of instructional materials, conference planning, program evaluation, and policy analysis.

— RB July 7, 2008

Foreign Language Teaching Forum

(FLTEACH); an online resource for foreign language teachers. It provides interactive discussions on foreign language, teaching methods, training opportunities and curriculum information. FLTEACH is open to all levels of educational professionals.

— RB July 7, 2008

I + 1

input + one; one of Krashen's principles of second language acquisition. Language input should be one level beyond what a student knows so that they are challenged to move beyond what they know and to negotiate meaning in the target language.

— FAB July 1, 2008

National Association for Bilingual Education

(NABE); The National Association for Bilingual Education is the only national professional organization devoted to representing Bilingual Learners and Bilingual Education professionals through more than 20,000 members, including "teachers, parents, paraprofesionals, administrators, professors, advocates, researchers, and policy makers."

— PP July 8, 2008

Pedagogical Content Knowledge

(PCK); knowing how to teach your subject matter for student understanding. (PCK); knowing how to teach your subject matter for student understanding.

— FAB July 1, 2008

Southern Conference on Language Teaching

(SCOLT); is a regional conference that provides research, materials and information on the study of modern and classical languages, litteratures and cultures. SCOLT offers networking and professional development opportunities to members committed to the enhancement of foreign language education.

— RB July 7, 2008

C O N T R I B U T O R S

RB — Rebekah Burns, M.A.T. class of 2007-2008
PP — Pamela Pesnell, M.A.T. class of 2007-2008
MSA — Monica Akers, M.A.T. class of 2007-2008
FAB — Freddie A. Bowles

Freddie A. Bowles
Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction
University of Arkansas
fbowles@uark.edu

Meanings keep changing day by day. Even when we ourselves
use a word a second time, it's not exactly the same as the time before.
      — Allen Walker Read, 1989