Bilingual teaching license!

[Griselda]

I just got my standardized test results in the mail, and I have finally qualified for a bilingual (Spanish/English) teaching license.

This is something I've been working on for years now. I didn't study Spanish in school at all, but since going into teaching I've seen the large number of Spanish speaking students in our schools, and have had a chance to learn a lot about bilingual education, which I strongly support. It's hard to find a job at a bilingual school if you're not bilingual, though, so I set about trying to change that, although common wisdom seems to be that you can't learn a new language as an adult.

I've been lucky enough to combine classes with the Spanish that I use in the classroom and the community, which I think has helped me to learn a fairly balanced form of the language.

In any case, there are two stnadardized tests that you have to pass in Oregon in order to get a bilingual license. The first one was a test of written and oral Spanish comprehension, and I passed that one on my first try, a year and a half ago. The second test is a monster. You have to respond to a bunch of different prompts in 90 second chunks, speaking through a microphone to a computer. Not only do you have to be coherent and answer the question fully in that time, but you have to show all the fancy verb tenses and idiomatic expressions you can use, while making it sound natural. It's about as far removed from how any sane person would actually talk as you can get.

The first time I took that one, I hadn't used much Spanish at all in 6 months. I took the test, then got a call a week later that the computer had not recorded my answers, and could I please come back and re-record them. I did, but the second time I was alone in the room with the proctor (usually you are with a group of test takers), and I didn't pass.

This year, I decided to try again. I've been using more Spanish at work, plus I took 3rd year Spanish all summer from a tough instructor. I signed up for a test date that was less than a week after my last class. I went in, too the test, and...




about 3 weeks later I got a call that the computer had not recorded my answers. They didn't have any record of that having happened to me before , but they did refund my test fee and allowed me to re-test for free on the next regular testing date.

Unfortunately, the next date was the weekend after school started this year. As a teacher, I was really worried about that date, as I usually work straight through that weekend, and I knew for sure that I wouldn't be able to study that week. But, getting a bilingual license has been a goal of mine, so I went ahead and agreed to test, and I passed! I passed rather handily this time, actually.

I probably shouldn't relax until I actually have my new license in hand, but it is nice to know that I passed the test.

[Kylearan]

Hi Gris,

congrats on the license! I guess it takes quite an effort and a lot of perseverance to really learn a new language while working full-time at the same time, so I'm impressed.

That second test sounds really stupid - not only because the computer failed to record both times, but also that it's done with a mike and a computer and not a human. This is really silly, and sounds as far away from reality as it can get, except if they think you only wanted to become a bilingual teacher so that you can record and sell "Learning Spanish in 80 Minutes" educational CDs...


I guess the hardest part of learning Spanish lies ahead of you now: Keeping in practice and not forgetting the language again. Are you trying to find a new job now, at a bilingual school?

¿Cuál es su plan?

-Kylearan

[KingOfPain]

Enhorabuena, bien merecido!

Orgulloso de ti

Ahora es el tiempo para descansar y jugar Hellgate

Rey Del Dolor

[Griselda]

Thanks. It's not lost on me that you guys are both more bilingual than I will ever be, but we Americans have a hard time with these things.

In any case, I'm currently working in a bilingual school, but it doesn't have an immersion program and I'm generally needing to switch back and forth from English to Spanish. It's not really good practice do to so, but it's the best I can do in the current program. Plus we have a Russian speaker this year, so I'm trying to avoid confusing her as much as possible.

There are two bilingual immersion schools in my hometown, though (my daughter attends one), so hopefully this will give me the ability to work closer to home in upcoming years.

[ShadowHM]

There are two bilingual immersion schools in my hometown, though (my daughter attends one), so hopefully this will give me the ability to work closer to home in upcoming years.

May it be so I keep having to remind some parents at our school that most teachers are parents too.

[Atlas]

Congratulations Spanish is a fun language. After studying many languages I am pretty sure that while Spanish is easy to grasp the basics of, it is VERY hard to master since it has like 14 verb tenses. Just thinking of how to use "haber" gives me a headache

Plus we have a Russian speaker this year, so I'm trying to avoid confusing her as much as possible.

If you need any help with Russian let me know, though I guess all I could help with would be text since I can't talk to your student.

[Griselda]

Thanks. Her English is actually quite good, although her mom tells me that she didn't start speaking until last year. She can already read and write in Russian, too, which makes learning how to do all of that in English that much easier. Speaking Spanish to her, however, would not be so helpful.

I would like to find a few Russian books to have in the classroom, though. I'll have to look around for those.