Teaching starts now! (And some free templates for classroom.)

After the mind is prepared, the actual work starts.

Immersion teachers have so much to do it’s not funny. However, don’t expect to teach alone. Here are some suggestions on how to start teaching.

Talk to your teaching partner and grade team, which means every teacher in your grade, and have the whole year curriculum mapped out. Don’t worry about the detailed lesson plans yet, just the big picture.  Map out the year’s plan for every subject.  Here is the simple template to spread the subjects throughout the year. Think about the holidays and the different months while planning.

At the beginning of the school, the pace of teaching should be slow. Procedures are really important. Set the rules while teaching subjects slowly. Often, it appears the children don’t understand the subject, but actually, it is because they don’t understand the language well yet.

If the plan isn’t complete at the beginning of the year, it can always be done later. Then it can be recycled for the next year, with your changes that can improve the next year’s plan.

After the year map is complete, think about the monthly plan.  Then a weekly plan should follow, and finally, a daily schedule. There are several reasons for planning curriculum this way. First, we should have an end goal in mind. Backward design is the key.  When we see the goal or destination, we can adjust our steps and walk toward the goal. Second, simplify the whole year and make it more manageable.  We want to see the whole year curriculum as a big beautiful cookie: it’s better to cut it into bite sizes so we don’t choke and we can enjoy the cookie elegantly.

Immersion teachers know how short instruction time is everyday. No matter how short the time is, all the required subjects need to be taught. The best way to teach them all is to have a good plan and well thought out steps. Integrate subjects together. When you have the whole year’s map done, you can see what language to use for each lesson to better prepare the students and integrate subjects while teaching. Math lessons need Chinese language for support. Chinese language can be combined with math concepts. Science lessons also need Chinese language support.  

We can’t expect students to understand the new language and the new concepts simultaneously. Gradually introduce the language and teach the meanings before asking students to master the learning.  

Everything needs to have a meaning so the students can remember and maintain the language.

I am sharing some templates here and hope they can be of some help in your teaching. 

The first and second ones are for the year map. You can easily make one for science or change the name.  Third one is what I used for first grade table top. It comes in handy when I ask students to do math on their own. The money reward sheet is for good behavior. Mark one cent for good behavior and the children get to practice money concept at the same time.  The last two are daily schedule I made. Very top part is for time then below it is for the daily teaching subjects. Under each day, I can quickly list objectives or important events on that day to remind myself. 

Hope these help some new teachers out there.

At the beginning!

On Immersion Teaching Goals

By Marty Chen

After teaching for several years now and talking with many experienced teachers and administrators, I have developed a list of goals that I believe can help teachers to a better start in the immersion classroom.  There are more goals than this list contains, however I think we should keep it simple to start with. Being overwhelmed is not a healthy and productive state.  

See it as an all-you-can-eat buffet: the purpose is to satisfy your hunger and fill your stomach. Everything might look yummy and tempting at first glance, but we should only put what we can eat on our plate. We should have a variety of food that can nourish our bodies.  We arrange our choices nicely on our plates so we can observe, eat, and enjoy every bite. We can then go back for more after we finish the first plate.  On the second trip, we might try something new, or we might stick with what we like as long as it works for us.

The Chinese often say:水能载舟亦能覆舟: the tide can bear the boats but can also swallow them. Too many rules, principles, or goals might be as bad as none at all.  But consider these important ones:

1.    Believe.  

Belief is what you tell yourself.  You believe you can or cannot achieve something.  If your belief is positive then you will swim above the water; if your belief is negative then you might drown.  As a teacher, you need to believe that you can teach and that students can learn.  When a teacher shows doubt, students can sense it. Believe in yourself and stay confident. One important belief is to believe in teaching 100% in the target language.

2.    Stay 100 % in the target language in the classroom.

This is the only way to do it. Students will try to figure out the message. English is their safety net. The students won’t take risks during learning if they can fall back on English. Let them survive in the target language.  Help them foster survival skills, and stick with teaching 100% in the target language.

3.    Be a role model. 

What happens when students see and hear you speaking English? If you do, make sure it’s not in the classroom.  During my fist year, students thought I didn’t speak English. I later realized it was not entirely necessary, as long as I only spoke Chinese in the classroom. I believe in demonstrating positive behaviors. If I only speak one language, what reason do I have to ask my students to become bilingual? I want the students to know that I speak their language well and can teach and live in a foreign country. I wish to inspire them rather than fooling them.

4.    Integrated teaching.

Time is limited, so do things efficiently. Make subjects connect with each other. Recycle the language throughout the day.  Show students that the vocabulary they are learning is not lifeless. Use vocabulary in meaningful sentences, and use vocabulary in real situations.  Act it out, make it fun, make the words part of their lives.  Generate interest in vocabulary so they use the words in different subjects and different situations.

5.    Caregiver speech.

Students only can hear the target language from you and in your classroom.  Provide as much context as you can. Weather changes? Talk about it every day. Clothing items are different, mention and point them out everyday.  Think out loud and invite students to do the same. Describe things in detail and invite students to say it. Describe events in sequences and invite students to say it too. Offer warm and comforting words when they are hurt or sad.  Offer funny comments and laugh with them.  Students have strong memories of emotion.  Let students know you care and let them hear your caring voice all the time.

6.    Comprehensible input.

Don’t assume. Use gestures, pictures, realias, TPR, multimedia and props to teach the message. Check their understanding and listen for responses in the target language. When I show you an eggplant picture and I say “murasaki”, what did I just teach? Purple or eggplant in Japanese? When I have many different purple objects and I say “murasaki”, can you make the connection that I am teaching the color purple?

7.    Backward design.

Have the end goals in mind. Think about the purpose of each lesson first. Don’t teach because it’s cute or it’s fun for you. Think about what you want your students to hear, say, read, and write.  Think about how can you evaluate the learning outcomes!

8.    Communication. 

Don’t assume! Talk to your partner teacher.  Talk to other teachers.  Talk to your principal.  Talk to your staff.  And talk to the parents.

Does this seem like a lot to keep in mind? Integrate these goals, just like you teach.  Together, all of these goals can be combined into a single act: effective teaching. 

Remember your main purpose:

·      Teach contents to your students

·      Students’ language production in target language

·      Inspire your students to love learning

Teaching is rewarding. Enjoy every moment!

The First day of school -in an Immersion Classroom Management 2

My colleagues and I often say "we will try this next year!" Time really flies when you are in class. To avoid saying too much "we will do this next year", we can only plan and plan.

In the previous post, I mentioned about numbering everything. This can really save your breath. I even number all the papers that need to go home with the students. The reason? If you have taught younger grades you remember how easily papers disappear in thin air after you hand the papers to their tiny hands.  Another thing is if you pick up a note, a homework, or something you handed out earlier and ask to whom it belongs, the chances of someone saying they are the owner are thin. I numbered everything even in English classroom. No need to argue when I show the number to the student. Sometimes funny thing happens, the student might say they already have the papers in their backpack. Ask them to bring it out and you can see who took the wrong ones and who doesn't care about cleaning their mailboxes. A numbered work/document really saves your breath, just saying.

There will be materials you want the students to take home and some materials to stay in classroom.  Since many Immersion teachers have 2 classes share the same room, how to organize these materials deserve some thinking too. In my school, one class uses the desk to store materials and another class uses seat pockets. We bought some seat pockets from Really Good Stuff.  They are holding up quiet well. My partner teacher and I took them home and threw them in washer at the end of school year and they are ready for next year.

First few days or weeks are really for building relationship and routine (or procedures).  Students need to learn : how to walk in quietly, how to hang backpacks, how to choose lunch, how to sit down quietly, how to stand up, how to come to the front, how to line up, how to get out supplies, how to listen, how to react, how to walk in the hallway, how to help teachers, how to listen, and how to learn.  Students need to hear these things million times and practice million times. (Maybe not million times, but you get the ideas.)

Keep the language acquisition order in mind, listening, talking, reading, and writing. So, there is no need to give tons of reading and writing work at the beginning. Students need to hear and get used to the second language until they are comfortable with it.

The first day of school-in an Immersion Classroom Management 1

The first day of school-in an Immersion Classroom

Management 1

First day is a big deal！First day is always a long and a physically  emotionally draining day .

Students are afraid of the unknown. Teachers are nervous and worried about all the things that might go wrong. However, no matter how nervous and how scared a teacher is, do not show it. A prepared teacher can turn any opportunity into a teaching moment.

Even a well-prepared teacher is not fear free. Can you imagine how scared one must be if they are not prepared?

Take a look at the classroom before the school starts. Picture how the students come in, work, learn, study, and interact with each other in this classroom. Have you thought about the furniture arrangement? Have you thought about the flow when students need to move around in the classroom? Desks, chairs, mailboxes, cubbies (or lockers), instruction areas, and hooks for coats and backpacks. There are more. Walk into your classroom pretend you were your student, where to hand backpack and coat. How do you find your desk? Is there a name-tag on the desk? Or nametags will come later based on personal preference?

Students’ first day is the product of teachers’ many sleepless nights, hardworking days and preparations. I had no ideas how to start the first day. The trainings I attended were all about no English and content based curriculum. I wish to share my trials and errors experience here so new teachers can avoid the same mistakes. When you put yourself in your students’ shoes you may discover many useful tricks. Since our students are all different and unique hence the methods should be vary.

Students put their backpacks away, find their desks, and get their pencil boxes out. Students can do these as long as they have attended kindergarten. However, think about how can students find their desks and know where to put their backpacks? This is what I have learned from my mistakes. I assumed the order would fall naturally but no, plans and arrangement need to be there.

Where do backpacks go? My first year teaching Chinese Immersion had a very interesting experience. Hooks for backpack weren’t ready in my classroom. I had to lead the students to walk by other classrooms to the hooks located in the hallway by the office, and I could only speak Chinese to these American kids. It was unforgettable.

 Locker or hooks with labels or without labels? If the decision is not to label the hooks/lockers, how do you let students understand your intention? Will it interfere with the students who try to choose lunch or start morning self-start?

Are there nametags on students’ desks so they can find their desks easily? Nametag is a great tool. Have you thought more about it? I am planning to cover all about this topic later.

Many schools want students to choose lunch first thing in the morning. How do you make this chore easy to understand and don’t take up too much time? I use food’s photos to let them pick. First day, I will pick up their numbers and ask them one by one about their lunch choices. Then put the numbered magnet to the correct lunch choice. This routine will take weeks of practice to let the students get used to it.

I love using numbers. Numbers on magnets, numbers on mailboxes, and numbers on pops. It takes time to have everyone remember their own numbers but once it’s memorized, they won’t forget. Also, you don’t need to make new sets of names every year.

We don’t have a lot of time to teach in half day so I am always trying to find easier ways to do things to save time and save trouble.

Questions and answers from a soon to be hired teacher

I must say that I may not have answers for every question. I believe I am still learning everyday.

Every school district is different and every school has its own culture and ways of doing things. It's wise to ask the school and district before new teachers make any decisions. Search their website, find out what resources you can get. 

Few questions asked by a future immersion classroom teacher:

1. 在immersion教育中，您常用的軟件是那一些？如你的blog，lingt language，還有那一些我們可以開始研發的呢？我的blog是学区提供的。所以你必须先看学区有没有提供，先不要浪费你的精力和金钱。Lingt language是我自掏腰包的软体，可是你可以问问学校有没有经费，如果有，也可以帮你负担这个部分。 我另外使用了Voki, Arch Chinese. 好用，有用的，几个就行，否则你太累，容易厌倦的。

This future teacher wants to know what kind of software I use in my classroom and what else will I suggest. I use lingt, Archchinese, and Voki to assist parents to help their kids. I suggest that she check with school district first before she spends her own money or invest too much personal time on unnecessary things.

2. 請問一下猶他州的教材是不是跟著common core的路線呢？是的，犹他是跟着common core 走。你到学区应征工作可以先问，先了解，也好让他们知道你是设想周全的。
Is Utah following Common Core. Yes.

3. 您覺得第一年的老師來說，最重要的是什麼？我个人觉得最重要的是信念，相信自己和学生做得到。而且相信100%用中文教书是绝对可以做到的。我的学生是最好的证明。相信自己。一定要相信自己，可是也要相信自己需要他人的协助。
What is the most important thing to a first year teacher? I personally think "belief" is really important. A teacher needs to believe she/he and the students can reach the goal. Any Immersion teacher also needs to believe that teaching 100% in target language is doable. Many have tried and done it, no reason it won't work. Believe in oneself and ask for assistant when in need.

4. 作為一個新的老師，我有一些擔心classroom management的事情，雖然平時也用了很多方法來針對不同類型的學生。但是尤其是在language immersion program中，老師不能用英語，只能用中文。那一般要怎麼樣才能培養學生的routine和學習的system？您是否有好的一些文章可以介紹我們閱讀？如果您有時間的話，能否給我們介紹一下您的教學經驗呢？我正准备在msmartychen.com里解说一下我的方法。很多事情是没有一步登天的。每样事情都是有意义的故意安排。为什么做教案很重要，因为你在安排课程时，就可以想到该用什么样的文字和语言。就因为他们不了解，所以老师辛苦，可是也因为他们从零到有，让老师觉得一切值得。示范，示范，演练，演练，示范，示范，演练，演练。就是不断的循环，不断的加深印象。聪明的孩子了解了，马上要他们示范，说给其他小孩听。老师不能说英文，刚开始小孩没有被限制,所以可以利用他们当跳板，不过，在特定时间以后，小孩也不可以说英文了。在犹他州，一年级的小孩在一月中旬就不得再用英文。
The last question is the most common question-classroom management. Students can sense teachers' expectation and confidence level. A teacher walks into a classroom believing things will work out then most likely he/she will see a positive result. If one expects something negative then the result won't be surprising, it would be negative. To have a well behaved classroom is because you make them that way. You demonstrate desired behaviors and you let the students practice until they master the skills. How to start? Picture what kind of classroom you want then provide the skills to the students. Everything you say and demonstrate is planned and and meaningful. TPR, visual aides, body language, and facial expression can be so helpful. Allow students to help each other out. They can use English at the beginning when teachers can't.  First graders are expected to use Chinese only in class after January.

Helping parents

父母在家可以輔助英文，指正數學，加強科學，至於中文，如果他們本身不會中文，我們當然不鼓勵父母教中文。往往在教一個新字詞的時候，小孩馬上聽到所有的音，並且像鸚鵡似的吐出中文，可是家長的反應是“怎麼拼？” 大人多半聽不到細微的聲調，而且對於外語有先入為主的觀念。除非他們原本就會，不希望他們負起家教的責任。

曾與一個新老師在家長面前起了個小爭執，這位老師有個學生得缺課一星期，所以她決定要媽媽來幫小孩補習，方法就是她先幫媽媽惡補30分鐘好讓她幫女兒一星期，如果人的腦袋可以如此神奇運作，中文學校也就沒有存在的必要了。

跟新老師溝通無效，我直接問媽媽有信心教嗎？這媽媽苦笑搖頭，我後來請媽媽讓小孩好好玩，度假還被逼的緊緊的，怕這小孩將來是要討厭學習的，我建議她讓小孩寫日記，寫下想學的東西回來問老師中文是什麼，其他的就好好玩吧！

那家長如何幫小孩學習中文呢？不像台灣到處都有安親班，課輔班，所以要靠其他的方法來幫忙，如果台灣的家長不懂英文，不代表他們不能幫小孩學英文。
 
我做的訓練對此也有著墨，老師可以借助科技的輔助來幫助父母。我開了一個專給父母的部落格，裡面有語文，有數學，有遊戲，內容每週應著功課更新，也常放上學生的照片和學生學習的影片。

播放影片有個重大原則，那就是學生家長必須簽過同意書。而且為安全起見，不要註明地址學生姓名。

既然不能用英文在小孩面前溝通，我跟家長用電子郵件，用部落格，用簡訊來連絡。開學的第一週，在下課後，我安排三天六堂課輪流輔導家長如何使用我的格子，他們都比較寬心。

寬心不代表放心，要讓家長正面介入小孩的學習還是要緊，有個互動式的教學網站可以讓教語言的老師錄音，然後讓學生錄音確定他們會說這些課堂上教的字。我把這網站連結到格子上，所以家長可以方便的使用這些工具。

中文老師的工作很繁複，可是為了小孩的成長，值得。
 
中文班學生家長也有這些工具，可是她們的程度就是趕不上這些小小孩，媽媽們說“他們在生日宴會的時候，會突然開始說中文，然後開始笑。” 有個媽媽說“他老是問我ㄨㄚ   ㄗ 在哪裡？什麼是ㄨㄚ ㄗ？什麼是在哪裡？” （襪子）媽媽們總是笑著問這是什麼，那是什麼，語氣沒有不奈倒是有幾分驕傲。

Job hunting

五月到了。大學生要畢業了，找工作的時間就是現在。從處理應徵信函和對象的過程中，發現到許多不同甚至有趣的心態。

要做沈浸式中文(Immersion Program)教 學是另一門學問，不是如許多人的想像，只要會說中文就可以當中文老師，絕對不是如此簡單，換個角度思考，可以隨便找個會說英文的人來教英文嗎？我曾經在台灣跟個紐西蘭人學會話，這個人滿嘴粗口，張口就是不雅文字，而且我們上課都要在戶外，後來側面瞭解，這位先生是沒有大學文憑的建築工人，如果他繼續當他的 建築工人，我會很尊崇他的專業，可是被台灣人利用他的樣子來賺錢就讓我鄙視了。上過學都知道，遇到一個不懂啟發，不懂教法，不懂學生心態，不懂課堂管理，不懂引發學生興趣的老師，學習過程是枯燥煩悶又沒有效果的。

接到一通電話，說的字正腔圓的標準普通話，自我介紹後，表明要找老師的工作。一問，完全沒有教育本科的學習經驗，問說有沒有接觸過沈浸式教學，他告訴我有，在美國的大學裡教過，教過一堂經濟。講到這裡，我就瞭解了。這又是一個以為只要會說中文就可以當中文老師的案例。

再說明一次，沈浸式教學是指用百分之百的目標語言來教學科。例如一年級的學生在法文的沈浸式課堂裡就會用法文來學數學，科學和法文，老師全程只能用法文上課 和講解。西班牙文，俄文，德文或中文都是此法上學，這就是沈浸式教學。在美國大學教經濟和沈浸式課堂這兩項教學的經驗相差太遠了。

這讓我想到打電話的人的心態，他對這個項目一點都不了解，可是不做功課也不做準備，期待一個工作從天而降的態度令人好奇。

另外也有些人說快拿到教育碩士，有教書經驗，他們可以到哪個學校上班？！履歷表呢？面談？在美身份？這些都不必看，就因為是說中文的人，所以我們必須雙手奉上工作？

另一個主管和我溝通時也一肚子無奈，有個應屆畢業生拿到文憑，拿到證書，拿到一年工作許可，可是附近尚無老師的缺，而這老師除了實習也沒有真正的課堂經驗，所以這主管建議先做一個暑假的教學，爭取經驗，可是這老師說“我只想要全職，我不需要經驗。”

我發現“entitlement ” (擁有權)這個字在這個時代有新詮釋，而且被執行的很透徹，大家把自覺該有的事物要的非常理直氣壯，規矩在自己身上有想當然爾的變通。

另有一些應徵者要學區幫忙負擔律師費用換簽證，解釋過學區沒有餘錢來幫忙這種個案，只能出示工作證明，一位大姐覺得學區要用她就必須付這筆錢，還扯上不公 平，聽說有人可以，這種話就把自己的前途當場斬斷了，第一，你有證據嗎？道聽途說的東西拿來佐證，立場不穩。第二，當面指責將來的老闆辦事不公平，人家老遠就聞到麻煩的味道，敢用你嗎？還不怕你將來惹事？

好的經驗也是有的，一個有興趣的畢業生就很積極，他去找了相關資料，因為沒有教育的背景，所以他找了州政府的教育機構，查到自己需要做何準備。沒有教育背景想教書的人必須先審核學分，然後準備齊全必要的文件好開始拿教育學分，這學分會在2 年完成，證書侷限於外文沈浸式課堂的教書，不可以教普通小學。如果要教的語言是應徵者的第 2 語言，必須先通過這語言的考試。這位應徵者主動去考試，把成績直接加在履歷表裡。

另 一個學校有一個令人啼笑皆非的面談故事，這應徵者竟然公然挑戰州的制度，認為百分之百用目標語言上課是不可能的。這也是事先沒有做好功課的例子，成功的例子處處都有，這制度行之有年，就因為個人不相信，這樣大膽做無謂的革命？或許這人會教書，可是明顯的不是在沈浸式教學課堂。而且這樣有‘主見’ 的人不少，在沈浸式環境，這類人不會被錄用，而且很可能永不錄用，除非心態可以調度過來。

不管找任何工作，準備和學習都是非常必要的。如果要教書，有興趣， 有準備，有信心，有專業背景（可以邊做邊進修）就可以做這份工作，不過還要加上愛心和耐心，態度正確並肯時時學習。