FIPP ACTIVITY REPORT #2
Name: Marilyn Briggs
Date: 10/6//2010
Department: Humanities, ESL
FIPP Partner: Pieter Jan Van Niel, Ph.D
Activity/Strategy: Personal Affirmations
Category: Classroom Activity
Briefly describe the activity/strategy, providing enough detail so that a colleague
can replicate the activity/strategy.
1. Introduction: I chose to do this strategy in order to create a sense of
empowerment in the students, and to encourage them in identifying reasons for,
and benefits of, learning English so that ultimately they would experience greater
success in the beginning ESL class. This is the 5th term I have taught this class at
an off-campus location and historically, student retention has been problematic
due to transportation and work issues, low self-esteem and educational levels,
and very limited or non-existent English language abilities.
2. Set-up & Supplies: Students were placed in pairs consisting of one student with
minimal English abilities with another student with higher English oral skills who
could serve as a resource or translator as necessary. I also ensured that all
students had paper and pencil, and that every pairing of students had at least one
bilingual dictionary between them.
3. Directions: I gave verbal directions to the students to think of 5-7 positive
personal qualities, abilities, or personality characteristics that they each currently
possessed or liked about themselves, and which they would like to develop
further. I stressed that they were to think of only positive aspects, and not to
focus on any negative traits. As an example, I wrote the following statements on
the board: "l am a good teacher, and I want more of it, “and “I am creative and
artistic, and I want more of it." I then translated the sentences into Spanish, with
the help of some students, and again stressed to think only of positive qualities
and abilities. I deliberately chose the wording “and I want more of it” in the
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sample statements to encourage the students to think creatively and positively
about themselves. Additionally, I instructed the class to copy the sample
sentences, and to think of nouns or adjectives to substitute for the words which I
had underlined as shown above, and to consult their dictionaries or partners as
needed. And finally, I told the class that if they wished, they could first write the
sentences in Spanish, and then translate them into English since I wanted the
students to focus on their self-expression rather than getting frustrated or stymied
by lack of English vocabulary skills or writing skills.
What worked well? At first the students sat without writing anything, and then once
they did, the activity went quickly off track. As I circulated among the students, I
discovered that many of them were writing about their future goals and dreams. I called
the class back together, repeating the instructions and again going over the examples
on the board. After reiterating the instructions, a few students starting writing
statements, consisting mostly of “I am a good driver” or “I am a good worker”, while
most of the others continued very intently writing in Spanish about their future dreams
and goals. I realized that taking the time to express their dreams and goals was of
greater emotional importance to the students at that moment than writing affirmations,
so I allowed them to continue doing so for the reminder of the class. I then assigned as
homework for the weekend to finish writing about their future, in addition to writing the 57 statements following the model I had given at the beginning of the lesson.
The following week only 3 out of 13 students had written the personal affirmation
statements. Additionally, three students were in attendance who hadn’t been present
the previous week when I presented the material. As a consequence, after doing some
work in the textbook, I once again wrote the sample sentences on the board and gave
the same instructions as before, but this time students worked by themselves.
Starting with the three students who had done the writing homework, individual students
came up to my desk where I helped them correct their work or clarify their thoughts. I
also gave a mini lesson and model on adjective/noun placement in English as opposed
to noun/adjective in Spanish, in addition to adjectives always being singular in English. I
again encouraged students to think of abilities or personality traits that they liked about
themselves rather than physical skills such as being a good driver. After students had
spent about an hour writing, I then handed out 5” by 7” index cards, and had students
write 3-5 personal affirmations on the cards. Finally, as a conclusion to the evening,
students then walked around to all classmates and read in English their personal
affirmations, which they seemed to really enjoy doing.
What would you change? For a start, I would probably change my examples, and
instead use some from the students, such as “I am a loving mother” or “I am a
compassionate and caring friend’. I would also make sure to do this activity only after I
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had completely concluded the class constitution activity, which took three sessions to
finalize. This activity was done on the same evening when students signed the
constitution, but had not yet received their individual copies, or read it aloud as a class
and to each other. Consequently, there was not yet the complete buy-in and
commitment on the part of the students to do the homework in support of their learning.
Would you use the activity/strategy again? Why or why not? I would like to use
the activity again, but with the change in timing as mentioned above. Additionally, I
would probably schedule the lesson for about 3 weeks later, after students had
concluded the chapters on nouns and adjectives. Thinking of nouns and adjectives
wasn’t the problem for the students as much as it was thinking of positive personal
abilities or personality characteristics. Upon reflection, I realized that this activity asked
students to think about themselves in a way that probably they had never done before,
constituting a real struggle for them initially, and which was illustrative for me of cultural
differences. Furthermore, another downside was that I basically lost an entire class
session because I had to scrap my planned lesson on the second day, in addition to the
process taking much longer than I anticipated on the first day. I don’t regret having
done the activity, however, as the initial 30-45 minutes that students spent writing about
their future dreams and goals, and the hour plus spent the following session writing
about affirmations was time very well spent and quite beneficial for the students in many
different ways.
Please describe any student learning and/or changes that you observed after the
implementation of the activity/strategy. Even though the students initially started
erroneously writing about their future dreams and goals, I could see the value in it for
them as it served to crystallize and validate the importance of continuing with their
English studies. Additionally, by having students individually come up to my desk with
their statements, I was able to give targeted instruction to the students by addressing
their individual grammar needs and challenging each to think more expansively. And
finally, the concluding activity on the second night of reading their affirmations to each
other was definitely enjoyed by all students. I saw them smiling, laughing in
camaraderie, asking questions about the statements, and even puffing out their chests
in pride and ownership in some instances, all of which definitely served to help build a
greater sense of community in the classroom.
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