Interview with John Conner - Part 1

Learning Spanish from the Bottom Up, Starting with Grammar

Part One

Journalist Matt Villano speaks with John Conner about teaching, writing textbooks, and the mission of Breaking the Barrier, Inc.

Why did you go into teaching?

I just really liked the magic of being around kids.  Whatever the setting- the Spanish classroom, the tennis court, the chess club - I loved teaching.  It’s been 30 years since my first day.

It’s clear that you love being around kids.  But how do you evaluate your performance as a teacher?

It’s a requirement that students develop certain levels of proficiency in my classroom, and these elements are easily assessed: grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, reading and writing, listening comprehension.  But I always go back to this: Have I gotten my students interested in Spanish?  Do they want to learn more Spanish now or later in life?  Have I gotten them speaking?  During class, those students who make jokes or tease one another in Spanish are demonstrating their enthusiasm.  They’re taking the risk of speaking in front of their classmates and they’re having fun. When this happens, then I know I’ve done my job.  The only way to learn a language is to get out there and speak the best you can.

Any language teacher will tell you that finding a good textbook for the intermediate/advanced level is a challenge.  During my first 17 years of teaching, I probably used 12 different books at that level.  I wanted a book that used the same language I use with my own students in the classroom or in tutoring sessions. I began by writing a few chapters, and then an unexpected conversation with my friend and neighbor Cindy Beams led to the publication of the first edition in 1997.  My first book was the Advanced Spanish which I wrote in three installments, four chapters at a time.

You teach Spanish in a high school classroom.  Is BTB appropriate for people studying under different circumstances, such as homeschooling or independent adult learning?

Although I originally wrote BTB for my own students in grades 8-12, adults, college students, and non-traditional students, many of whom are homeschoolers, love it.  Again and again I hear how much they like the narrative style that grew out of individual tutoring sessions, the clear focus, and the overall organization.  Many of our adult students understand the benefits of grammar because they were steeped in it during their own schooling.  Baby boomers are currently the fastest-growing group of technology users, and many of them realize that there’s no quick fix when it comes to learning a new language, despite the claims made by assorted high-tech “skip the grammar” products.  In fact, many of our customers tell us that BTB couldn’t be a better complement to them!

Why did you decide to have your books focus on grammar?  Isn’t teaching grammar old-fashioned?

I’m making a value judgment that grammar is important for students to learn. No matter where they want to go with Spanish or French, they need grammar.  Is it old-fashioned for jazz musicians to understand music theory?  Is it old-fashioned for an innovative chef to understand basic cooking principles and techniques?  Many educators say, “I want the kids to have fun this year,” and they envision their students sitting in a circle, listening to Guantanamera, eating Doritos, and speaking in infinitives to each other.  “Comer,” one says, and his friend replies, “Sí.”  And that gives everyone a warm, fuzzy feeling about Spanish.  But I think this is a disservice to students, and yet, that’s how a lot of Spanish is taught.

How is Breaking the Barrier’s  approach different?

BTB is so clearly-focused and well-organized that studying is straightforward and easy….and therefore it’s fun.   It doesn’t matter who you are…. a high-school student in Florida, a homeschooler in Alaska, a college student in Iowa, an emergency room nurse in New York City, a retired teacher heading off to Central America to do volunteer work, or an avid traveler of any age…mastering structure and great vocabulary are simply what you need to know.  It’s truly the fastest path to fluency.

What are your guidelines for speaking Spanish in class?  To explain the grammar well, you must have to speak lots of English.

I believe that when you’re in the classroom, everything should be in Spanish. On the first day of class I tell my students that once they have set foot in my classroom, they have entered a portal to the Spanish-speaking world….everything in Spanish! This sets the tone.  My idea was to write books that explained the language so well that classes of all levels actually could be conducted in Spanish only. I use BTB as the foundation for all my courses, I choose appropriate supplements, and I have my students speak to each other only in Spanish.  Short of an immersion experience, if your goal is to get people to learn how to speak a language, I think you need that one book a student can put his or her hands around, take home, and say, “What is this all about?  What is an adverb?  What is the future?”  BTB is that book…the book that enables me to make my classroom an “English-free zone.”

What is the Spanish “Barrier?”

Many people have a psychological barrier to speaking a new language, and these students need help.  Realizing that you can do something new…and being willing to step out of your comfort zone to try it… I think that’s often the biggest hurdle.  In response, I designed my books and CDs to build self-confidence in small steps all along the way.

For example, by working with the audio CDs, students can practice - in private and on their own terms - listening to native speakers, imitating their pronunciation, and answering their questions.  Whenever a student takes the plunge of speaking out loud to another person, she has already had private practice time with the CDs.  Similarly, every chapter of the text ends with a self-test that is similar to the official chapter test.  I encourage my own students to take the self-test two days before the chapter test.  This practice gives them the chance to become familiar with the testing format, and to identify and focus on the material they have yet to master. I’m always looking for ways to set my students up for success.  My step-by-step approach gives students more control that, in turn, builds their confidence. Students can now walk into an oral or a written test with a better attitude; they know they can break those little, manageable barriers all along the way.

You mention that students in the language classroom are vulnerable.  Does the tone of BTB address their uneasiness?

My first book grew out of tutoring.  If you recorded these sessions, the conversational words you find in BTB are what you’d hear us saying.  This approach seems pretty rare.  Teachers tend to be formal and uptight about grammar.  I approach it differently.

How do you make the connection between the grammar in your books and the other materials you use in your curriculum?

As I said before, BTB is the foundation for all my courses.  There’s no question that you can understand literature (or film, radio, television, etc.) better if you have a good grammar base.  Sure, Breaking the Barrier is important, but developing the tools to read literature is the real reward of grammar study.  It’s an invaluable window into Spanish-speaking culture, and it’s important students read.  I know BTB equips students to feel comfortable tackling literature at the appropriate level. Listening to music is another way to demonstrate good grammar and pronunciation in action.  I’ll have students listen to pop singers whose lyrics are full of great constructions.  We’ll have fun in class first identifying all the commands or future tenses or adjectives, and then we’ll discuss why they have been used.  Students come to realize that grammar isn’t a bunch of dry diagrams designed to confuse them.  Rather it’s the essential structure that makes all those words hang together in coherent form.

Does BTB enable you to use literature that you wouldn’t normally introduce at a certain level?

No question.  I feel I can legitimately use more challenging literature. In Spanish 3 we’re not reading all of Don Quijote, but we’re definitely taking a leap of faith in tackling even some of it.  Now I teach 3 times as much literature as before.  We’re reading 25 short stories, a play, and some poetry this year in Advanced Spanish.  I would never have attempted this earlier in my career, without the grammar and vocabulary help from BTB.

So BTB  frees you up to be more creative?

Definitely.  None of the supplemental materials I use – films, music videos, u-tube clips, telenovelas – would be as effective without the firm foundation BTB provides.

There are so many Spanish and French resources available today on the Internet, do you worry that BTB will become obsolete?

Just the opposite! I think that the multitude of resources on the Internet makes BTB more relevant than ever.   Before the digital era, I felt I could successfully expose my students to the wonders of the printed page, to the great literary traditions of the Spanish-speaking world because BTB had given them the tools they needed to tackle literature. Today I can confidently expose my students to a whole new array of resources: Spanish-language Wikipedia entries, on-line dictionaries, u-tube clips…( I just discovered a conversation between Gabriel-Garcia Marquez and Shakira on u-tube!)…..news broadcasts, sports commentary, podcasts from throughout the Spanish-speaking world. These resources are simply wonderful.  Today’s students have more flexibility than ever to successfully springboard into all kinds of media because of the foundation BTB has given them.

If you were describing BTB to a friend, what would you say?

BTB is focused and it’s clear.  It walks you through the fundamentals of Spanish and French in a voice that is personal, encouraging and humorous.  BTB doesn’t try to be all things to all people.  It uses grammar and vocabulary to build your knowledge of the language.  We’re living in a world where it’s necessary to open doors to different cultures.  My professional life is about promoting interest and understanding of the Spanish-speaking and Francophone worlds.  That’s the mission of Breaking the Barrier.

Part Two of this interview will appear in the

Breaking the Barrier Quarterly, Winter Edition, 2007