teacher mrw

educator. writer. social activist. blogging and linking knowledge.

Archive for the tag “Spanish language”

19 Feb 2012

It Depends On How One Views the Situation

Tablas de Lotería (Lotería boards).

Image via Wikipedia

or…a teachable (anti-racist) moment for teachers.

I’ve recently become a fan of a teacher blog, whose target audience is language teachers.  I enjoy most of their posts and ideas.  But, the one promoting a Mexican Lotería app isn’t one of my favorites.  The reason?  Some of the game board images are stereotypical, even downright racist.

My point? Some think along those lines, those like me, and others, well…do not think along those lines.

My second point: If a teacher is going to use the traditional Mexican Lotería game, laden with its stereotypical and even downright racist images, then a teacher should be well-equipped to use it as an opportunity to teach students that stereotypes and racism exist in every culture, even in Mexico.  After all, Mexico produced this as well.

If I were teaching Spanish 4 or 5, I might use the app.  And, I am well-equipped.

Now, before anyone gets all agitated, and accuses me of having called the bloggers of the blog in question racist: STOP.  Given my orientation, such things are more obvious to me.  Perhaps by my having pointed out the issues with said Mexican Lotería game, there will be greater awareness for the bloggers in question.

That is all.  You may proceed.

Posted in Eracism, The Five Cs: Foreign Language Teaching and Learning and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment
29 Jan 2012

A Cultural Visitor

My school has a cultural exchange with Venezuela.  So, every year in early January, a small group of students and a teacher from our partner school in Caracas visits our school for about a month.  The students are usually in grades six and/or seven, and have been learning English from a very young age. They attend classes from 8am-3pm, and go on cultural excursions on the weekends.

I invited the teacher to visit with my seventh grade Spanish Onesies.  But, instead of the usual, one-way dialogue between presenter and students, or, even the use of the standard, “students create questions in Spanish” and presenter answers them, I made the experience more interactive for both my students and the presenter.

1.  Students spent some time in the Tech Lab conducting research on Venezuela.  Thirteen students were divided into groups of two or three, and assigned a topic.  The topics included: history, currency and economics, government and politics, geography, food, and tourist attractions.  Two additional students devised questions for the presenter.

2.  On Presentation Day, the students delivered their findings, to the delight of the visiting teacher.  She then spoke with the students, in Spanish, using lots of comprehensible input.  She gave them something of a history lesson about Venezuela.  Several of my students translated nearly every word, with their confidence increasing with the confirmation of every correct response.

3.  The questioners used Google Translator to translate their questions from English to Spanish, which was fun for them and for me.  But, mind you: It did not occur to me to instruct them to use Google Translator.  Actually, one of the students assigned to ask questions took the initiative to do so.  It was great to see the students to see not only such active engagement, but also the direct use of technology – on their own initiative.

Why the above lesson worked:

1.  As I mentioned from the outset, the lesson did not constitute the traditional one-way dynamic.

2.  High level of engagement

3.  Us of technology in a meaningful way, i.e. to facilitate communication in the target language.

A great way to end a unit. :)

Posted in The Five Cs: Foreign Language Teaching and Learning and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment
09 Apr 2011
2 Comments

Things Are Looking Up…

With my Spanish 4 class, that is. It’s been a formidable challenge for me to teach them this year. Albeit a Spanish 4 class, there are about three different levels of students, from low/mid-Spanish 2, to bona fide Spanish 4, in terms of skill level. There are also mixed levels of motivation, drive, intellectual curiosity and spark as well.

Now that the Film Project has concluded, which, by the way, dominates the Winter Trimester, and, occupies the first two weeks of April, which is the Spring Trimester, I can move on to what I call, real learning. While the Film Project encompasses all of the things my place of employ values, such as collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity, I am not wholly convinced it fosters significant, lasting and enduring language acquisition and language learning. It also results in some fairly significant grade inflation, due to the fact that three of the five Film Project grades are group grades.  Therefore if a student works with a strong group, but, said student isn’t particularly strong, his Winter Trimester grade gets a big boost. But, I will leave it there.  :)

Anyway, the Spanish 4s have been reviewing the future tense, and have engaged in lots of activities which build and reinforce their productive and receptive language skills.  I’ve gotten some good activity ideas from here, here, and here. Next week, I plan to have the students complete a Voice Thread project, which will conclude the lesson on the future tense.

Also, starting next week, I plan to raise the personal accountability stakes. Students will be responsible for building their own language acquisition and language learning outside of the classroom, and, will complete a self-assessment every ten days based on their performance, effort and attitude in the classroom.

Posted in The Five Cs: Foreign Language Teaching and Learning and tagged , , ,
05 Feb 2011
2 Comments

Tic-Tac Technology

I like technology.  Even more, I like finding viable ways to use technology to promote teaching and learning.

One of my favorite online sites for assessing listening and speaking proficiency is Lingt Language.  An authoring website for language teachers, I can create a variety of activities using a variety of multimedia.  While it’s very easy for teachers to use, it takes a bit of explanation and instruction for students.  But, once they become acquainted with the format, I think that most like it.  Once students have completed an activity, I can provide them with immediate feedback, either via an email or an audio reply.

I am also becoming a fan of Zambobazo.  Especially for my Spanish 4s. Students get reading, writing and listening practice via exposure to authentic pop culture in the target language.   I have used two activities thus far, and the students have responded and performed favorably.

I think that initially the aforementioned activities have presented the proverbial learning curve for my students; many have not had to demonstrate what they know and are able to do with the target language in the ways described above.  That said, I have observed real growth and progress in their skill development, and will continue using Lingt Language and Zambobazo, and any others that I may find.

Posted in The Five Cs: Foreign Language Teaching and Learning and tagged , , , , , ,
06 Jan 2011

A Great Resource

Iloveeducpoprond

Image via Wikipedia

The first time I visited this blog, I admit I thought it was rather strange.  Not one who is inclined to infuse pop culture into her curriculum, I wasn’t quite sure how to negotiate the blog in question.  However, when a colleague tweeted that she had used an activity from the blog in question with her students, and reported on their positive level of engagement with same, I decided that I needed to investigate further.

To my pleasant surprise, I discovered several activities that I am planning to use with my Spanish 4s.  Being heavily into pop culture, the topics are relatable, and, will help to further their reading, writing and speaking skills.

I thank my colleague for presenting an opportunity to re-connect to  a wonderful resource that, on the basis of my own biases, I had rejected initially.

To conclude, here is a related article which may be of interest.  :)

Posted in The Five Cs: Foreign Language Teaching and Learning and tagged , | Leave a Comment
01 Jan 2011
3 Comments

Where in the World…?

The Macchu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage Sit...

Image via Wikipedia

The Daily Post topic for today is:  List three countries you’d like to visit, and why you want to go.

In keeping with one of the focal points of my blog, which is teaching Spanish, the countries I would like to visit are places where Spanish is spoken.  So, here they are:

1.  Spain. I am probably the only Spanish teacher who has not been to Spain.  LOL!  But, seriously, I desire to go because it is the home of the Spanish language.  I am also fascinated by the country’s history and architecture.

2.  Acapulco.  Ok. So, it’s not technically a country. That said, I was told that it is precious here, in the words of an Argentinian woman I met in 2001 who visited here with her family.  It is my idea of a week-long get-a-way where I do nothing but lie on the beach in a lounge chair.

3.  Peru.  I would very much like to visit Machu Picchu.  Pre-Colombian history and culture has been a long-standing interest of mine.

Which three countries would you like to visit, and why?

Related Articles
Posted in This, That and a Third and tagged , , , , , , , ,
12 Nov 2010
2 Comments

A Lesson That Went Better Than I Expected

Salvador Dali with ocelot and cane.

Image via Wikipedia

I presented an arts-based lesson today on Salvador Dalí.  I chose two Dalí paintings – this and this. I also used this resource in order to explain surrealism.  There is so much going on in Dalí’s paintings, and so many different perspectives presented, that the students were engaged and interested.

I like art.  I like viewing art, discussing art, and deconstructing art. However, I have been reticent about using art in lessons.  Now that I’ve dipped my proverbial big toe into the pond, I am more inclined to do another art lesson in the future.

Posted in The Five Cs: Foreign Language Teaching and Learning and tagged , , ,

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