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Integrating Skills: Authentic Teaching Best Prepares Students for an Authentic Assessment
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by Brant Hadzima
Newfound Regional High School
Bristol, New Hampshire
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| | Worries About the Changes to the 2007 Exam
As a veteran AP Spanish teacher, I was initially concerned that any changes made to the format of the AP Spanish Language Exam might disrupt the delicate balance between instruction and the subsequent assessment of students' competence in Spanish. I was hesitant to accept that a change to the exam format was necessary, since the existing format seemed to serve as a very good indicator of proficiency. Consequently, I was apprehensive about changing my teaching style and adapting the curriculum to prepare students for a different assessment -- the 2007 AP Spanish Language Exam.
As I have become more familiar with the changes to the examination, however, I have realized that these changes do not come at the expense of the exam's integrity and that they do not compromise the spirit and intent of the curriculum. In reality, the greatest salient change is that the assessment itself is more authentic in its approach. The content and the material remain constant; however, our "reaction" as AP Spanish instructors must be to become more authentic in our instructional methods.
New Exam's Framework: A Necessary Improvement
To be more authentic in our instructional methods, I feel that we must further embrace the philosophy that foreign languages are best learned in a dynamic, engaging, teacher-directed discussion group. At our high school, AP courses are taught in this environment to ensure active student participation, rather than in a lecture-style, grammar-based class, which does not afford enough opportunity for student participation. Teachers should see the examination not as a set of separate, disjointed skills and tasks in Spanish but rather as a global assessment of language proficiency. Instead of teaching to each individual skill required (listening, reading, writing, speaking), we should integrate all skills, every day, into every lesson.
It is important to understand that, while the overarching format of the AP Spanish Language Exam remains constant, the manner in which the material is assessed has become more authentic. For example, dialogues and narratives may include excerpts from interviews on the radio or television. Writing selections will require students to address writing prompts that are both formal and informal. Perhaps most notably, the speaking section will address both simulated, informal conversation and formal oral presentation skills. The new exam is designed so that students will have to draw on several skills to demonstrate proficiency in each section. Therefore, the philosophy of teaching students to master separate skills for distinct sections of the exam must be supplanted with the ideal of integrating all skills globally.
Implementing Skill Integration
The questions then arise: How do we, as AP Spanish teachers, teach integrated skills? What changes or adaptations must be made to our course to insure student success? I believe that the key lies in adapting our teaching methods and, as previously mentioned, in embracing the core belief that authentic teaching will better prepare students for an authentic assessment. This does not mean that we must rewrite the curriculum and purchase new textbooks. Rather, we must adapt our teaching style to be more student-centered in our approach. This is how I intend to prepare for the new examination:
1. Grammar instruction will be completed by the end of Spanish IV; the AP course reinforces and fine-tunes grammar that has been previously taught. Any AP Spanish "grammar" lessons will be succinct and highly focused teacher-directed lessons. Grammar homework will serve the purpose of reinforcing skills and identifying possible deficiencies, and it will allow for more class time to be dedicated to discussion. Upon a quick review of any grammar assignments, I will direct students who continue to struggle with certain rudimentary conjugations to go to conjuguemos.com (I am emailed results) or to see me individually for extra help and remediation.
2. I will strive to create a balance in the classroom by integrating all skills, every day. Our class will continue to be a roundtable-style, teacher-directed discussion group. The primary approach to grammar and vocabulary will continue to be through short stories, literature, and conversation, and I intend to also include current media such as television, music, and the Internet using our mobile laptop cart. Students will write formally and informally throughout the school year, and they will practice their formal speaking skills through oral presentations and skits.
3. I intend to provide continuous enrichment, both in and out of the classroom.
Activities for Students
Classroom enrichment will include:
- Hispanic guest speakers
- Student-directed current event projects
- Taped sessions of Spanish broadcast news segments (followed up with written or oral assessments)
- Field trips
- A student-directed "6 o'clock news broadcast" project that we will videotape and assess
I also intend to have students use our mobile laptop cart to access Spanish resources and Web sites. I hope they will not only interact in Spanish via the Web but also develop an interest that may continue outside of the classroom.
Going Beyond Class Time
In addition to the classroom enrichment, I intend to offer several extracurricular opportunities for students. For example:
- I will open our "breakfast cafe" from 7:15 to 7:50 a.m. in my classroom, where students can speak informally in Spanish before school. (I find that if we provide some hot chocolate and muffins, and a casual Spanish-only atmosphere, students will make the effort to come.) Some days we will watch Despierta América; other days we will have a casual conversation with Spanish music in the background.
- I will also encourage students to subscribe to Spanish magazines at home, such as People en Español, just to pick up from time to time. This might be offered as a part of a magazine fund-raising project for the AP Spanish classroom.
- Extra credit will be given to AP students who peer-tutor students in lower-level Spanish classes at the after-school Homework Club.
- I also intend to establish a "reading club," in which students sign off on reading in Spanish. Rewards might include anything from a gift certificate to Borders or a local Mexican restaurant to "choosing a favorite class" (students choose their favorite class activity for a day).
Preparation for Real-Life Spanish
In summary, it is crucial to understand that the goal of the new AP Spanish Language Exam is to ensure the alignment between current best instructional practices and assessing students' skills in Spanish. To best prepare students for this new examination, teachers should modify and supplement their current curriculum for the AP Spanish Language course so that it is more authentic in nature. A typical class period should require that students hone all skills in Spanish -- writing, reading, speaking, and listening -- and this is best done in a roundtable, group discussion format. The intent of the new examination is to authentically assess students¿ abilities to engage in real-life language-use situations. Therefore, as AP teachers, it is our responsibility to model this by teaching authentically, without abandoning the precepts of grammar and the fundamentals of the language. By integrating skills and through authentic instruction, we will prepare students not only for the examination but also for the practical use of the language in our current, diverse society.
Brant Hadzima is a Spanish teacher and the Foreign Language Department chairperson at Newfound Regional High School in Bristol, New Hampshire, where he has been teaching AP Spanish since 1997. Prior to teaching, Brant worked as a director of development and also as a translator and interpreter. In addition, Brant has worked and lived in Japan through the Japan Exchange Teacher Program, and he has participated in several other study abroad programs to Mexico and Central America. He currently serves as a Table Leader for the Speaking portion of the AP Spanish Language Exam and he has been working as a Reader for AP Spanish since 2002.
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