Even if you do not teach IB Spanish B – you’re going to want to check out these takeaways. Teaching IB Spanish has taught me SO much in the last ten years and surprisingly it has been way more about my teaching than about the IB Spanish curriculum.
1-Shifting the perspective
We tend to live in our own little bubbles. Many times, this is no fault of our own but we rely heavily on our own experiences and this seeps into our teaching.
The IB Spanish curriculum and exam encourage students to develop a global perspective and international mindset.
What does this mean for us as teachers? Shifting the perspective in our classrooms.
For example, when teaching the topic of immigration, our students will immediately default to what they know and what they have experienced regarding immigration in our own country. Their beliefs, thoughts, and opinions will definitely reflect their personal experiences (which can at times be a little hairy to navigate).
Unfortunately, many culture based projects or movies show a limited lens of what that culture is really like. Think about it: could you really capture the American culture in a few 40 minute class periods? Additionally, what is American culture? It will be different for each of us.
Many of your students will come from similar backgrounds so it may be a challenge to even get them to recognize differences in American culture. A great way to do this is by using a family member or friend who lives in a different region or has a totally different lifestyle.
Once students recognize that culture takes on many forms within one society, they will be able to comprehend and overcome cultural stereotypes in other cultures.
2-Perfect Spanish is NOT the goal
When I first started teaching IB Spanish I was SO worried about the grammar mistakes. I used to hyperfocus on ser vs estar mistakes or verbs that were conjugated incorrectly.
Once I stopped focusing on the grammar and started focusing on the communication, my students produced even BETTER Spanish.
Highlighting mistakes and conjugating verbs does NOT give students confidence. And besides, where did this expectation of perfection come from?
ME. It came from me. For some reason, I had this expectation that since I was teaching the upper level classes, my students would one day hit near perfect Spanish.
(Facesmack)- who even speaks perfect Spanish? Certainly not me, who has dedicated her life to studying and promoting the language. Why should I expect my students to produce perfect language? The answer is- I shouldn’t.
Once I let the idea of perfection go, I was able to focus on helping my students get their point across. I brainstormed key words and phrases that they would need to know. I exposed them to these over and over again. We used them, we applied them, they learned them.
I was not the only one who had to let go of the perfection mindset. Most students in my IB Spanish class are high achievers. They struggle to accept that they will not always produce “perfect” work.
So- how do you combat this? Give LOTS of support. When your students can see and feel support, they will rise to the occasion. It also lowers their affective filter and allows them to make mistakes without fear.
You can read more about how I support my students here.
3- You don’t have to do it all
I remember leaving the IB Spanish training and feeling SO overwhelmed. How was I going to cover ALL this curriculum, teach all of the grammar, read novels, and culture in such a short time?
I wasn’t.
I wish I would have known that my first year. It can be so overwhelming when you start teaching any class that has a curriculum or a plan. You feel immense pressure to get everything done.
No two years are alike so how can we replicate what we do each year? Every school has a different demographic, technology situation, community support, etc. – how can we be expected to all do exactly the same thing?
We can’t.
Take one last look at that long list of topics. Now, pick 7 or 8 that you want to go really deep with. That is what you will get done.
There is a lot of overlap between topics. Many of the themes connect organically. You can teach certain topics or ideas without formally covering them. This is actually more beneficial to your students.
The bottom line: your students will do better if you spend more time on topics than if you are rushing to the next one. The IB curriculum is not about quantity but about quality. Your goal should be to give your students the best possible experience with each topic. Really lean in and allow for their interest to drive your curriculum.
If you’d like to see some of my IB Units, click here!
Don’t let the stress of teaching every single topic overwhelm you. It’s impossible to teach every single topic well. Once you have accepted that, you can focus on teaching the 7 themes you have chosen and teaching them WELL.
You will always feel like you are not covering something. We have to trust that at the end of our classes we have prepared our students the best we possibly could have. By giving them a strong foundation, exposing them to as much authentic content as possible, and by supporting them we are preparing them to challenge the unknown.
If you students feel confident as learners in your classroom, they will feel confident to take on the test, even when they don’t feel like they know all of the answers.
