Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-24-2009, 08:44 PM
 
48 posts, read 182,952 times
Reputation: 21

Advertisements

I just wanted to say that I really enjoy this forum and it has given me a TON of great information about austin.

I am 26 years old male, just got a BILINGUAL 5th grade position from an Austin Elementary school. Thats the good news.


The bad news is my Spanish is not the greatest at all, I even told the interviewer Vice Principal that I have really never used a ton of spanish during teaching, mind you I passed the Illinois spanish language test barely. I have been studying spanish daily, like for 5 hours a day all summer to beef up my skills.

My question is:

In your experience teaching or being around a 5th grade bilingual classes how much Spanish has been used during instruction? Am I in trouble?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-24-2009, 08:45 PM
 
48 posts, read 182,952 times
Reputation: 21
Just to follow up when I told the VP that I never used a ton of Spanish she said that was fine. Still worried that I am going to go in and the children know no English.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-24-2009, 08:48 PM
JS1
 
1,896 posts, read 6,769,827 times
Reputation: 1622
Isn't the point of the program for teachers to help children learn English, not the other way around?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-24-2009, 08:50 PM
 
48 posts, read 182,952 times
Reputation: 21
Agreed, but I am afraid I am going into a class with children who know absolutely no English and I am going to have parents upset and say, "Well they are in Bilingual you should be teaching in almost all Spanish"

On the other hand they are in 5th grade and 11 years old, if they don't know English now?

Thanks for the comment though.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-24-2009, 09:08 PM
 
8,231 posts, read 17,323,982 times
Reputation: 3696
Have you taken the certification test?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-24-2009, 09:14 PM
 
48 posts, read 182,952 times
Reputation: 21
I am an out of state teacher I have taken and passed the PPR and Generalist 4-8. I have one year to take the BLPTL and Bilingual 4-8. The language test in Texas is harder than the one in Illinois, but similiar and I should pass and I know some spanish. However, I just want to know how much Spanish is used in 5th grade Bilingual classes. Of course this is relative to the class I get and their is no turning back (I can't just quit), but maybe an upper level bilingual/friend of one can fill me in.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-24-2009, 09:14 PM
 
2,179 posts, read 4,990,287 times
Reputation: 996
do the best you can. it also sounds like principal is fine with what you told her.
honestly i am a teacher and have worked in gen ed classes where we got kids straight from mexico who didnt speak any english. whether you are in a bilingual class or not, you will always get kids not knowing english.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-24-2009, 09:17 PM
 
48 posts, read 182,952 times
Reputation: 21
I will do the best I can but I just don't wanna short changed the kids I will be teaching, with the hiring freeze/ unemployment rate I just took the first job offered, even though I am more of an ESL teacher, stinks.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-24-2009, 09:36 PM
 
8,231 posts, read 17,323,982 times
Reputation: 3696
Quote:
Originally Posted by nmartinez12443 View Post
I am an out of state teacher I have taken and passed the PPR and Generalist 4-8. I have one year to take the BLPTL and Bilingual 4-8. The language test in Texas is harder than the one in Illinois, but similiar and I should pass and I know some spanish. However, I just want to know how much Spanish is used in 5th grade Bilingual classes. Of course this is relative to the class I get and their is no turning back (I can't just quit), but maybe an upper level bilingual/friend of one can fill me in.
You are correct, the BLPTL and the Bilingual tests are pretty hard. You should visit the ETS website and check out the practice tests. Once you're in the classroom, you have a year to pass the test, so I would start practicing right away. It's hard to say how much Spanish is used, it depends on the class. I would try my hardest to practice my Spanish at this point. Can you take a couple of weeks in a Spanish speaking country?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-24-2009, 09:47 PM
 
48 posts, read 182,952 times
Reputation: 21
Actually I will take the test in October and I will go to Spain to visit my grandparents during Christmas break. I have two chances to pass and yes I am practicing daily. A good site for people working on spanish is
YouTube - 01011 Spanish lesson - Me gusta (part 2)

Start on lesson 1 and work your way up its been real helpful. Yo practico Espanol todos los dias. I am not worried so much about the test but whether or not these 5th graders are going to be at a disadvantage. Thanks for the replies though.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:43 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top