Department of English

Life in a Second Language Simulation

Debriefing

Thank you for agreeing to be a Life-in-a-Second-Language debrief facilitator! Your role is essential to the success of the L-S-L simulation.

GETTING STARTED

The number one rule of being a debrief facilitator is that it requires you to put on your . . . . . Thinking C-A-P! The letters C-A-P stand for the three intended learning outcomes of the L-S-L simulation: Cognitive, Affective, and Pedagogical.

The Cognitive goal relates to thinking. We want participants to think about the barriers language minority students and families face.
The Affective goal relates to feeling. We want participants to feel what it is like to face those barriers.
The Pedagogical goal relates to teaching. We want participants to teach in a way that reflects this new thinking and feeling.

We have structured the L-S-L debrief into a beginning Overview phase, a middle Insights 1 and Insights 2 phase, and a final Wrap-Up phase to target these C-A-P learning outcomes. Here’s what they involve:

THE BIG PICTURE

PHASE	PURPOSE	LEAD QUESTIONS	TIME (in mins)	SUPPORTS
Overview	To orient the participants to the format and rules of the debrief	None	5	Chart Paper Markers Timer Scribe
Wind-Up	To get participants reflecting on and sharing their experiences	* Compare your family situation with that of other members in your group. Think about the expectations you identified before the simulation. What was different than/same as what you expected? Describe a challenging event or interaction you experienced. Describe the emotions you experienced related to that event or interaction. Describe an event or interaction in which you experienced success. Describe the emotions you experienced related to that event or interaction. What did these experiences and others teach you about the realities of living life in a second language? *What did you learn about yourself?	10	*Timer
Insights 1	To generate information related to participants’ Cognitive and Affective learning	Cognitive: What kinds of barriers to access did you experience? Affective: What kinds of emotions did you experience? What supports for these barriers and emotions did you experience? How?	15	Chart Paper Markers Timer Scribe
Insights 2		Pedagogical: Which of these supports can you provide in your teaching? How? What other supports can you provide? Why are those needed?	5	Chart Paper Markers Timer Scribe
Wind-Down	To convert the Insights information into plans for action	What are the implications of the L-S-L simulation for understanding our work with students? What can we do to meet the needs of language minority students and families?	10

PHASE-BY-PHASE ACTIVITY DETAILS

Overview Phase

[Set timer for 5 minutes.]
Welcome to the L-S-L debrief.
The purpose of the debrief is to have a discussion centered about your experiences in the simulation.
My name is _____. My job is to move us through the discussion elements. My assistant’s name is _____. Her/his job is to record the discussion [point to chart paper] and monitor our time. Your job is to contribute to the discussion.
We only have 45 minutes so we are going to use these egg timers [hold up an egg timer] to keep a close eye on the time. There are 5 phases to this debrief. They are the Overview (that’s this phase), Wind-up, Insights 1, Insights 2, and Wind-down phases. We need to get though all 5 of these phases for a full discussion.
Because of time constraints, please be concise in your contributions. We want to hear from as many participants as possible. Please continue to share with each other throughout the institute your experiences in the simulation. However, PLEASE DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE SIMULATION WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE NOT YET EXPERIENCED IT. Let them come at it with fresh eyes.
This was only a simulation. We understand that it can in no way accurately represent the real-world experiences of language minority students and families so let’s not fall into the temptation of assessing the “reality” of the simulation experience (although that might be an interesting thing to do).
Let’s get started.

Wind-up phase

[Set timer for 10 minutes.]
In the wind-up phase, we want you to meet with members of a family other than your own. Please put yourselves into groups with folks who were not in your simulation family.
[Project PP slide with reflection questions]
Please discuss these questions in your groups. They are:
* Compare your family situation with that of other members in your group.
*Think about the expectations you identified before the simulation. What was different than/same as what you expected?
*Describe a challenging event or interaction you experienced.
*Describe the emotions you experienced related to that event or interaction.
*Describe an event or interaction in which you experienced success.
*Describe the emotions you experienced related to that event or interaction.
*What did these experiences and others teach you about the realities of living life in a second language?
*What did you learn about yourself?

Insights 1Phase

[Set timer for 10 minutes.]
[Write “Barriers in Access” across the top of a blank sheet of chart paper that is posted on the wall. Write “Emotions” across the top of a separate blank sheet of paper and post that next to the first.]
Let’s start the first Insights phase of our discussion by making a list of what you learned about barriers and emotions. What kinds of barriers in access did you experience? What kind of emotions did you experience as a result of those barriers? [Write brief summaries of answers on the chart paper, moving quickly from one participant to the next. Use more chart paper as needed until time is up.]
[Set timer for 5 minutes.]
[Write “Supports” across the top of a blank sheet of chart paper that is posted on the wall next to the “Barriers” and “Emotions” papers.]
Looking across our “Barriers” and “Emotions” answers, what supports for these did you experience? Did someone or something help you out? How? [Write brief summaries of answers on the chart paper moving quickly from one participant to the next. Use more chart paper as needed until time is up.]

Insights 2 Phase

[Set timer for 5 minutes.]
[Write “School/Classroom Supports” across the top of a blank sheet of chart paper that is already posted on the wall.]
Now in the second Insights phase we’re going to talk about what these supports might mean for your teaching or other work in schools. Which of these supports [refer to the previous “Supports” paper] can you provide in your teaching? How? [Write brief summaries of answers on the chart paper moving quickly from one participant to the next. Use more chart paper as needed until time is up.]

Wind-Down Phase

[Set timer for 10 minutes.]
In this last Wind-Down phase, we want to reflect on the knowledge we’ve generated here [refer to “Barriers,” “Emotions,” “Supports,” and “School/Classroom Supports” papers.
What are the implications of this knowledge and the L-S-L simulation in general for understanding our work with students?
What more did we learn about meeting the needs of language minority students and families?
Well, thank you for participating in the simulation and debrief and have a great Our Kids Institute.
There are two important things we want you to remember: 1) Keep making connections to the L-S-L simulation and this debriefing as you go through the institute’s week-long activities. When you learn new strategies, for example, think about the kind of supports they provide in terms of barriers and emotions.; 2) Don’t spoil the L-S-L “surprise” for others! Shhh.
Thanks again. Goodbye.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR!

Lengthy narratives describing an experience in the simulation (“Let me tell you. When I was my character and I had to go do X, this is what happened to me. First I, then I, later I . . . etc.”)

STRATEGY: Tap your wrist or watch to remind them of the time constraints and say “in the interest of time we have to move on. Can you make your point with a short statement?”

Assessments of how “realistic” the simulation was (“I don’t think it would really be that hard/easy.”)

STRATEGY: “The simulation was an interesting experience, wasn’t it? Be sure to talk more about it with your colleagues later.”

Personal stories about a participant’s own experiences with language-related barriers and emotions (“When I came to this country I . . . ”)

STRATEGY: “I’m sure we’d all learn a lot from your experience. Unfortunately, we’ve got to adhere to the debrief structure. Does what you’re saying relate to the simulation in some way?”

Attempts to minimize the significance of barriers and emotions for language minority communities (“I think everybody goes through this when they’re in a new place.”)

STRATEGY: That’s an interesting observation. Let’s stay focused on language minority students and families since that’s what OUR KIDS is all about.”

Attempts to make it all about effort (“What I learned is if you just keep at it and never give up, you’ll eventually get what you need.”)

STRATEGY: “Perseverance sure is important, but we’re here to think about what we can do as teachers to help.”

Assertions of “English-Only” thinking (“If we just expected everyone to learn English instead of trying to accommodate them, wouldn’t it make everything easier?’)

STRATEGY: “Yes, issues related to language minority communities are at the center of current political debates. Let’s all be sure to follow those debates so we understand the different points of view.”)

Questions? Katherine Richardson Bruna: (515) 294-4144 / krbruna@iastate.edu.