I tried out a new testing method at the Telesecundaria this week and am thrilled with the results. After last semester’s many unsuccessful attempts to stop an epidemic of cheating in my classes, I decided to renounce written tests altogether and give individual oral exams. The test consisted of 18-30 questions, depending on the class level. Each student entered the class alone for 5 to 10 minutes, and I asked him or her questions in English. I graded each student on his or her understanding of the question, the accuracy of the response and pronunciation. Their performance far surpassed my expectations.
The slow academic progress at the Telesecundaria has often caused me to doubt my competence as a teacher, even when I acknowledge the countless obstacles beyond my control. But now I feel quite proud, as the success of a considerable number of students on the spoken exam is indisputable proof of their great progress! I was especially pleased with my first-year students, who hadn’t studied English before my class. There they were, after just a few short months of a foreign language class lacking even a textbook, having a conversation with me in English about themselves, the animals of Ziquítaro, school and personal objects, who the objects belonged to and where they were located!
I had been debating the right way to give awards to the students for outstanding performance, as there are a handful of them who always get the best grades and I thought that by giving out the traditional first, second and third place I might not acknowledge the students who made great improvements but didn’t get the very best grades. Instead I decided to grant all students who scored 80% and above with “English Champ Awards,” an idea borrowed from my third-grade teacher Mrs. Shupe, who named top test scorers “Math Champs.” Each student who earned this honor (more than a third, in my first-year class) received a certificate and candy. The “English Champ” I am most proud of is a girl in the first year who barely passed last semester, but has worked conscientiously since we started again and earned one of the best grades on the oral exam.
I have noticed that the students are more confident since I have placed more emphasis on speaking abilities. Now that their English capability is far more than just a memorized list of basic words, they are much more eager to talk and less concerned with making mistakes. Their eagerness means that they get excited to pay attention to the lesson and have fewer problems with discipline. And, I often catch them saying English phrases to each other during recess, which (hopelessly cliche as it may sound) is music to a teacher's ears.
The slow academic progress at the Telesecundaria has often caused me to doubt my competence as a teacher, even when I acknowledge the countless obstacles beyond my control. But now I feel quite proud, as the success of a considerable number of students on the spoken exam is indisputable proof of their great progress! I was especially pleased with my first-year students, who hadn’t studied English before my class. There they were, after just a few short months of a foreign language class lacking even a textbook, having a conversation with me in English about themselves, the animals of Ziquítaro, school and personal objects, who the objects belonged to and where they were located!
I had been debating the right way to give awards to the students for outstanding performance, as there are a handful of them who always get the best grades and I thought that by giving out the traditional first, second and third place I might not acknowledge the students who made great improvements but didn’t get the very best grades. Instead I decided to grant all students who scored 80% and above with “English Champ Awards,” an idea borrowed from my third-grade teacher Mrs. Shupe, who named top test scorers “Math Champs.” Each student who earned this honor (more than a third, in my first-year class) received a certificate and candy. The “English Champ” I am most proud of is a girl in the first year who barely passed last semester, but has worked conscientiously since we started again and earned one of the best grades on the oral exam.
I have noticed that the students are more confident since I have placed more emphasis on speaking abilities. Now that their English capability is far more than just a memorized list of basic words, they are much more eager to talk and less concerned with making mistakes. Their eagerness means that they get excited to pay attention to the lesson and have fewer problems with discipline. And, I often catch them saying English phrases to each other during recess, which (hopelessly cliche as it may sound) is music to a teacher's ears.
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