“EdTech”is a column of Language Teaching Lab where we highlight the use of educational technology in the world language class
What is VideoAsk?
VideoAsk allows you to build stronger relationships with students by getting a personal almost face-to-face response from them. A wonderful way of capturing all your students’ thoughts and ideas at once, in video! Start video asking with your students right away.
Why is it essential for language teaching and learning?
The VideoAsk widget lets you get a personal almost face-to-face response from students on day one and keep on building it. With VideoAsk you welcome students every day, every week, or every semester. It allows you to start an authentic dialogue with each student and add a more personal touch to any assignment. It engages your students with its welcoming and easy to use interface. Students get to know YOU better as well.
Best of all, students do not need an account to answer your questions or give you feedback. In one click, they respond to your video and you get their answers by video, audio, or in writing. You decide. As an added value, you can organize the answers in different folders, name the folder and the video response and much more.
‘Why do we teach…?‘ is a column of Language Teaching Lab. It might help us think deeper on why we teach a certain topic. In addition, it might show a new perspective on how to teach it.
Learning about ‘cognates’ and ‘circumlocution’ helped students feel successful during an assessment. When my students finish their assessments most of the time I ask for feedback. I want to know what my students are thinking and feeling. After the last presentational writing, I asked my students what helped them while they were writing.
In a group of ten students, two said that they thought of cognates to help them write or figure out words to use in their writing. A third student told me that he thought of the game we play where “you say words about something without mentioning the word”. He said that it helped him come up with words to use in his writing.
Why I teach the word ‘cognate’ the first day of class
Many years ago, as summer reading, my students read Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa. As far as I remember, very early in the novel, we learn about the power of ‘cognates.’ That was one of the first words the Spanish teacher taught her class. I teach my students the word ‘cognate’ the very first day we meet as a class.
Learning about cognates makes a huge difference in the quantity of vocabulary a novice proficiency level language student might acquire. I invite students to act like detectives, trying to find clues in words by comparing them to their native language.
How I use ‘cognates‘
Once students feel comfortable being language ‘detectives,’ I purposefully ask them to find cognates in interpretive reading taks and listen for cognates in interpretive listening tasks first of all.
Students immediately realize that by looking for cognates, they already understand many words in the text or audio, even before starting to analyze it.
While having class discussions or group conversations they tend to ask ‘how do you say…?’ I immediately tell them that the word is a cognate and ask them if they can figure out what it can be, which they do 90% of the time. Some of my students even create their own list of cognates and refer to it during practice assessments or assignments.
Where I find resources
Co-creating a list of cognates or presenting students with lists of cognates are ways of increasing the variety of vocabulary they can use. My go to lists are Colorin Colorado and Mondly.
Why I teach ‘circumlocution‘
Teaching circumlocution increases communication in world language classes. I learned about circumlocution during an OWL (Organic World Language) professional development training many years ago. According to dictionary.com, circumlocution is “a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; the use of more words than necessary to express an idea.” In general, we are taught to use the best words to express our thoughts so it seems that circumlocution is contradictory. When it comes to languages, it is not.
Why do I think that teaching ‘circumlocution’ is one of the best gifts I can give my students? Simply put, it helps students stay in the language using words that they know and figuring out how to express their thoughts with the content they own.
How I teach ‘circumlocution‘
Circumlocution expands students’ vocabulary and at the same time, It helps learners categorize. Categories help students be able to express themselves in the language they are learning by making associations among words that share the same or similar carachteristics. Learning circumlocution is a game changer!
I usually use games to help students use circumlocution, like the one my student mentioned after the assesment. I call that ‘Adivina’ which basically means ‘guess.’ It is a low prep game where you show a picture to students. One of them describes one of the objects in the picture and the others (usually in groups) have to guess what it refers to. The one who guesses chooses the next word. A similar game is the famous ‘20 questions’ in which students have 20 questions to find out the chosen word. Both games are favorites in my classes.
What are some structures to use
A simple search in Quizlet or Kahoot will give you ready-to-use activities to practice circumlocution. If you search Teachers Pay Teachers or Pinterest you will also find lots of useful resources.
‘Cognates’ and ‘circumlocution‘
My premise is that I teach a language with the purpose of having my students think and communicate (locally or globally) what they want to say and how, in another language. When I provide tools like cognates and circumlocution, students take ownership of their learning and feel successful in class. I want students to stay in the language and also to take risks, so cognates and circumlocution give students superpowers.
Resources mentioned
–Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa – As an Amazon Associate LTL earns from qualifying purchases
by Marcela Velikovsky, Gabriela Barbieri & Vicky Masson
Interdisciplinary Connections is a column of Language Teaching Lab to show specific examples of connections between world language teaching and other subjects at school
Back by popular demand! After publishing our blog “How do you celebrate El Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead?” in October, readers’ interest grew on having other lists of classroom tested resources. Marcela, Gaby, and I decided to start gathering what we use for Winter and December Holidays. Though not exhaustive, this list reflects some of our go-to resources. Enjoy!
‘What’s in a framework?’ is a column of Language Teaching Lab. A framework informs our teaching and it shows a unique philosophy. It gives us a shared language and purpose, and it lets us see teaching and learning from diverse perspectives
What is Powerful Learning?
Powerful Learning empowers all students to work towards a better world providing voice, agency, and time to reflect on their learning journey, all while using technology with a purpose.
As an #HP Teaching Fellow, I am part of the #ReinventTheClassroom program, which is a collaboration with HP, Microsoft, Intel, and Digital PromiseI, and I am a teacher ambassador and an advocate for Powerful Learning.
Essential Questions in Language Classes and Powerful Learning
Essential questions are key in all disciplines and help maintain the focus of what we do. Language essential questions might read:
-How might learning a language expand my worldview to understand and value perspectives, to connect and collaborate in multicultural environments, and to become a global citizen?
-How might learning information, concepts, and ideas in another language challenge and invite deeper thinking, and help develop an inquisitive mind, all while reflecting and taking action?
-How can I best use the language I am learning to express myself and gain understanding in authentic contexts, in person and online?
These essential questions align with the eight principles of Powerful Learning to engage students’ hearts and minds
Personal and Accessible
Authentic and Challenging
Collaborative and Connected
Inquisitive and Reflective
Personal and Accessible
In short, Personal indicates that every student has a unique learning profile. We should rethink learning styles, standards, and averages as Jessica Jackson Practitioner Partnerships Director at the Learning Variability Project explains. She describes the factors that influence learning and how to put into practice some strategies that work for student learning in the GWATFL TIPS Learner Variability video.
It is Accessible when educators remove barriers and provide structures and supports, such as those related to the pedagogy educators use, the use of technology, and the design of a learning environment conducive to learning. Digital Promise Research-Based Design Certified Products verify products that are Accessible. I have used many of them in my language class, such as ‘Actively Learn,’ ‘BrainPop,’ ‘Newsela,’ ‘Microsoft,’ and ‘Quizlet,’ and I would like to explore more.
How does this connect with something I already know?
Real World is a Digital Promise resource that guides you through the steps of the process of finding authenticity in your teaching. Give it a try!
The Challenging principlebrings in students’ strengths, setting high expectations, all while supporting students actively by making it a productive struggle.
I used the Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) framework as well as the app ‘Need a nudge?’ with my Spanish Club, a Spanish Chapter for the AATSP Sociedad Hispánica de Amistad. In the Engage phase, students worked on our Big Idea which was Connections, our Essential Question “How do we invite people from our community to speak Spanish with us?” and the Challenge, which was to design learning experiences to connect with Spanish-speakers in our community. Students went on to the Investigate phase and then the Act phase, all along reflecting and documenting their findings. Awesome learning happened!
Collaborative and Connected
It is Collaborative when students work together to solve problems, learn from and teach each other, collaborate and communicate to create.
This is one of my favorite Collaborative projects ever! The No.More.Plastic project involved more than 416 schools globally across 68 countries, covering six continents. During 3 weeks students focused on the problem, solutions, and how to take action. Students learned about the UN Sustainable Development Goals first. My students created a chant to raise awareness about the use of plastic. They presented their chant at the school cafeteria as they felt it was the place they needed to start reducing the use of plastic the most. It was a moving experience!
It is Connected whenstudents use technology purposefully, connect with their community and across the globe, and educators become co-creators in the process.
My students participated in a global and collaborative project, #SingleVoicesGlobalChoices, opened to Middle School and High School students. We are located near Washington, DC and the other class was located in Barcelona, Spain. Both classes worked on creating Blackout Poems to celebrate National Poetry Day. We used a variety of EdTech tools such as Newsela, OneNote, Flipgrid and Padlet. My students loved the project!
Inquisitive and Reflective
In the Inquisitive principle, inquiry is a vehicle for understanding and it can be empowering. Learners ask questions, seek answers, and seek new questions. Being inquisitive helps making connections.
In the Design it Yourself! Mini-Exhibit by the Cooper Hewitt museum students had to design their mini-exhibit using items found at home.
Students reflected on their work by answering questions such as,
–Has this project transformed the way you see the world?
–What did you learn about yourself?
In the Reflective principle, reflection supports deeper learning in context, it helps with the synthesis of new ideas and to better understand yourself and the world.
When assessing Interpersonal Speaking, I generally use T. A. L. K. (fromThe Keys to Planning for Learning) an acronym where the T stands for Talk/Time, the A for accuracy in content and form, the L stands for Listening, and the K for Kindness. To me this last is the one that helps students reflect the most when they ask themselves ‘How can I help someone else achieve?’ They are putting on somebody’s shoes and being empathetic.
Challenges of Implementing Powerful Learning
Implementing Powerful Learning may be challenging. Consider these tips when you start this journey:
Put one principle into practice and grow from there
Align to the work you are already doing
Consider your “why”
Keep students at the centre of all decision making processes
Quoting Digital Promise, “Powerful Learning … provide[s] opportunities for students to deeply engage in their learning while using technology in ways that contribute to closing the Digital Learning Gap.”
Are you using Powerful Learning in your language classes?
Día de los Muertos / Day of the Dead or Halloween? October starts and there is this buzz in the classrooms about what to wear for Halloween. When we get near to the date, the conversation about chocolate, candy, and costumes is constant. Our minds, however, revolves around Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead, its significance on the one hand, and the different ways that is celebrated in Spanish-speaking communities around the world.
Depending on the age group we teach any given year, we use different resources gathered along the way. Therefore, if somebody asks us, ‘How do you celebrate El Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead?’ the answer will vary as we gear our choice of resources to the students we teach, what is going on in the world, and other circumstances. Sometimes we choose to teach resources about Halloween to have students compare the two celebrations.
Resources
Below you will find a list of some resources that Gaby, Marcela, and myself have used related to The Day of the Dead/Halloween in our years of teaching. Enjoy!
What resources do you use to teach El Día de los Muertos / the Day of the Dead? Share them with us!
by Gabriela Barbieri, Marcela Velikovsky, and Vicky Masson –
Interdisciplinary Connections is a column of Language Teaching Lab to show specific examples of connections between world language teaching and other subjects at school
“EdTech”is a column of Language Teaching Lab where we highlight the use of educational technology in the world language class
To say that teaching with COVID-19 in 2020 was challenging is an understatement!
Whether you had to teach 100% virtually or a hybrid combination of online and in person, the challenge in the world language classes was how to address all modes of communication fairly equally. The Google Meet breakout rooms were okay, but I couldn’t get the whole conversation if I wanted to listen to all my students. Sometimes they would see me join the breakout room and become nervous so I felt I was disrupting their conversation. I wasn’t sure how to get my students to do interpersonal speaking in real time, listen to them, give them feedback, and assess them without spending all my waking hours on the computer. I was becoming crazy with all the different tabs I needed open on my laptop in order to plan and teach my lesson.
One day, my prayers were answered. The Director of Innovation and Educational Technology at my school introduced us to Kami. My challenges were solved with Kami.
https://www.kamiapp.com/
What is Kami?
Kami is a digital classroom tool that helps teachers create flexible and collaborative learning environments. I just couldn’t believe my eyes when I tried it and discovered all I could accomplish with only one tool! It was amazing! Kami Interacts with any documents; it creates, sends, and grades assignments all from one place, it works online or offline, and enables students to interact with teachers, resources, and each other by using text, freehand, audio, voice-typing, or video.
https://www.kamiapp.com/
I’m including their video so you can learn a bit more about it.
How I Use Kami
For Interpersonal Speaking Assessments
First, I would create a document with the directions and prompts to assess interpersonal speaking and give it to the student-partners. One of the partners made a copy and shared it with his classmate so they could work together while maintaining the safe 6-feet-apart distance if both were at school and also if one partner was at school and the other was at home. Taking turns, they would use the voice feature to record themselves and complete the conversation. They shared it with me and I would give them feedback inserting an image of the rubric and using either the voice or text message to focus on their strengths and areas for growth.
Interpersonal Speaking Rubric
For Reading Aloud
I also use Kami as a practice tool for reading aloud. I can open any PDF text with Kami and I record my own reading aloud to model and then have students read aloud while they record themselves. This way I can see how they decode the text and what sounds give them the most trouble. In my feedback, I can share some strategies on how to articulate and connect sounds so the listener can understand what they say.
For Interpretive Reading and Annotation
When we read novellas in class, I use a digital copy of the chapter to project on my screen. This way, students can see when I highlight, underline and write as we read along so they do it in their own text. The writing tool allows me to write new vocabulary, but also to verbalize our thinking as we read and make connections to the text. Students write annotations in sticky notes that add to the pages in their book. This is an example of Brandon Brown quiere un perro, by Carol Gaab:
For Presentational and Collaborative Writing
I can open my students’ projects and see who wrote what and when. This helps me know exactly how I can better support them depending on their needs. I can also make a copy for each partner so each student receives individual feedback.
Why I like Kami
Being a language teacher, I design lessons that include all modes of communication, so having such a versatile tool that allows me to interact and use what I already have in one platform is my dream come true! In addition, I always have lots of feedback for my students and time does not allow me to conference with them in person as I’d like. So another perk of this fantastic tool is that it allows me to give them feedback right away and directly on the assignment that they virtually hand-in. I can underline or circle things in their writing at the same time I record or write my explanation.
This is an example of how I used Kami with my novice students
And you? How have you used Kami? If you haven’t used it yet, are you ready to try?
“Interdisciplinary Connections” is a column of Language Teaching Lab to show specific examples of connections between world language teaching and other subjects at school
by Vicky Masson
Interdisciplinary connections
Long-lasting learning happens when students’ minds and hearts are involved and invested in their own growth, when what is being taught sparks their curiosity, and when they make connections. The more senses involved, the better. Interdisciplinary connections are powerful experiences for student learning.
What is Olivia y el violin
Olivia y el violín by Silvina Rocha and illustrated by Vanessa Zorn is a picture book in Spanish about a girl named Olivia who is in search of creating beautiful melodies using her violin. She experiments with different sounds and tries new ways of playing music with her violin. At times she is frustrated, at times she is sad, and at times she wants to give up. However, Olivia persists. She persists till she succeeds in creating music.
When I read the book, I absolutely loved it! At that time I was teaching Spanish in elementary and middle school. The music teacher also taught strings in elementary to second and third graders, and to middle school students. It sparked an idea in me. We got together and looked at the book illustrations. Then, we talked about the content of the book and how it would be a novel way of introducing her second and third graders to violin lessons, so we gave it a try.
Impromptu performance to students starting with violin lessons
We arranged a time that would work with our schedules and off we went! I started reading the book in Spanish and she started playing the violin following what I was reading. The second and third graders’ Spanish proficiency was limited and the book had what we would consider ‘big’ words.
I used all possible body language to make it comprehensible to the students and to the music teacher. She was creating music, sounds, and melodies with her violin at the words’ rhythm.
There is a part in the book that says that violins can jump, scream, mumble, complain, sing in whispers, and stomp on the floor. Well, the music teacher made the violin perform all those actions full of emotion, as if the violin were sort of speaking. The students broke into a loud applause and cheered us wholeheartedly. We were both humbled by our students’ reaction to the experience.
Book becomes part of my classroom Spanish library
The next class, the students asked me to read the story again. I added the book to our classroom library and each time we had independent reading, students reread Olivia y el violin and recalled the experience.
What are some interdisciplinary connections experiences that you have to share?
Syncretic Press: Get 10% discount when you use the code LANGTECH99 at checkout
“EdTech” is a column of Language Teaching Lab where we highlight the use of educational technology in the world language class
by Vicky Masson
Wonder.me is the next Zoom/Teams?
I had the opportunity to attend the #HPTeachingFellow Summer Convening where I experienced Wonder.me first hand. I loved how I could easily navigate this site, forever changing the way I saw online meetings. I am looking forward to using Wonder.me in my language classes.
What is Wonder.me?
Wonder.me is a platform to connect with other people. This connection can take the form of virtual networking, virtual gatherings, and virtual spaces.This platform is simple to navigate and it gives you the freedom to move from one space to another by moving your avatar to another area or circle. Does it sound complicated? Watch this short video to see how Wonder.me works and what it looks like
Wonder.me Introduction
How does it differ from Zoom/Teams?
Zoom and Teams are great and they have their own purpose. I have used both of them when teaching, and depending on what I am planning to do I would choose one or the other. My premise is to choose the best edtech tool for my students to thrive, and Wonder.me gives me another option to connect my students among themselves and to the world.
What do you need to do?
To use Wonder.me in a language class, you need to create an account with Wonder.me, which is free, and you need to become a host – you can also have co-hosts. That way you can invite guests to join your students and you to Wonder.me.
As a host, you set up different areas, decide the content for each area, and plan how students will interact. You decide how much autonomy you want to give your students and you also have the option of talking to all the groups/circles/areas by making announcements when needed. You can decide what background to choose depending on the unit of study. As a host you can include a question that everybody has to answer to join your Wonder.me space and much more!
This 5 minute video gives you an idea of what a host can do and how it is done.
When can Wonder.me be used in language teaching and learning?
Wonder.me’s mission, “to give the world a space where groups can meet and talk” goes hand in hand with the nature of a language class: to have students think in another language and communicate their ideas orally and in writing with others –the chat feature works great for this.
As you can see, there are many possibilities to be explored in a language class using Wonder.me. Here are two examples of how I would use Wonder.me in a language class:
Book circles:
This applies when reading books in your own class or with a classroom partner
When reading the same novel, have students choose or assign students to join different circles for each character in a book
When reading different books, each circle hosts students that are reading the same book
Collaboration Spaces:
This applies to groups in your own class or with groups between your class and a classroom partner. Students navigate to a circle in order to…
discuss topics
solve a problem
provide definitions of their own
create a story
analyze an image using a PZ Thinking Routine
investigate and research
prepare for an interview
Interview other students
One of the features that I like the most about Wonder.me is that you can see where every student is at any given time. That, to me, is precious!.
Do you have a favorite edtech tool to use in your language classes?
“Museums Alive” is a column of Language Teaching Lab that aims to connect the authentic resources of museums, art galleries, and other collections to the teaching and learning of World Languages.
Why authentic resources
Authentic resources in World Language such as art and artifacts help explain and understand the people that created and used them, its history, and its culture. They tell stories, are springboards for deeper learning, and leave memorable impressions to those who come in contact with them. Also, they open our minds to new perspectives and make it easier to relate to different points of view.
What is the Smithsonian Learning Lab
The Smithsonian Learning Lab (SLL) is a platform that connects the millions of objects that belong to the Smithsonian institution to anyone in any part of the world who has internet access. The SLL helps you find digital resources, create content using online tools, and share them with the world.
Why use the Smithsonian Learning Lab in a World Language Class
What a better way of learning a language than using the authentic resources from the SLL! The platform has millions of authentic resources at our disposal. The SLL collection that my colleague and I created, “Using Authentic Resources,” can give you ideas on what type of art and artifacts to choose and how to include them in the World Language class.
The artwork included in this collection helps students understand how art reflects culture by exploring and learning about cultural topics. It increases their language proficiency and develop global competence and 21st century skills.
How we Teach with the SLL: PZ Thinking Routines, SDGs, and EdTech Tools
Creating a collection with the SLL allows you to have all that you need accessible in one place. Most importantly for teachers to consider is how you present the unit for student learning. All while, they use EdTech tools for a purpose: from Flipgrid to EdPuzzle to Teams or Google Docs. The SLL allows you to create collections with interdisciplinary connections.
People, Place & Time: How Art Reflects Culture
The collection “People, Place, & Time was presented at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language Conference 2019.” It explores how integrating museum resources, Global Thinking Routines, and the Sustainable Development Goals can help students understand who the people are, when and where they live, and what they do. In the collection teachers will find guiding questions to help with lesson planning, presentation slides, museum resources, examples of student work, and links to the three case-study collections.
Using the SLL is quite simple. In the following GWATFL TIPS video, “Introduction to the Smithsonian Learning Lab,” Tess Porter, Digital Content Producer at the Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access, explains how to use the SLL. Follow her tips and in no time you will have your own collection to use with your students.
In short, using authentic resources helps develop global competence and prepares students to communicate and interact in the world. It helps our students move beyond their inner circle and familiar contexts to understand people from different cultures with different points of view.
Using the SLL digital resources combined with Project Zero Thinking Routines and relating what we teach to the Sustainable Development Goals connect students with real-world global issues, all while raising empathy and curiosity.
How do you teach for Global Competence with Authentic Resources? How would you use the Smithsonian Learning Lab in your teaching?
‘Why do we teach…?‘ is a column of Language Teaching Lab. It might help us think deeper on why we teach a certain topic. In addition, it might show a new perspective on how to teach it.
Emotions galore
Why is it important to build a culture of trust in our language class? The beginning of the school year is always one full of emotions for me. I love new beginnings and I know my students love them too. Each new year allows us a fresh start. It is like having a blank page in front of us to draw and write our next chapter.
Apart from this initial excitement towards a new year, my students also feel the uncertainty of the unknown. They have lots of questions regarding their new teachers, friendships, and also, let’s face it, how they are going to be assessed. Students want to succeed in school and each year brings new challenges.
Building connections
Teachers want to learn about their students. They want to know about students’ strengths and stressors. At the beginning and throughout the year teachers usually plan activities and tasks that will help them get to know their students better. ‘What do they like?’ ‘What is important to them?’ ‘How can I help students overcome obstacles?’ Building those connections takes time and it is absolutely worth it. The more we learn about students’ identities, backgrounds, and of course, how they learn best, the better. I see building these connections at the center of my teaching. But wouldn’t it be important to start concentrating on developing ‘Trust’ first?
HP Teaching Fellow Challenge-Based Learning
I am so lucky to be a Digital Promise #HPTeachingFellow! The fellowship helped me tackle last year’s new distance learning modality with strength and support.
Along with other fellows, we embarked on a Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) Nano-Challenge.
CBL is about engaging, investigating, and acting upon a challenge. The Nano-Challenge (as it was a small challenge) consisted of exploring the idea of building positive relations with students in distance learning.
The group I belonged to had teachers and instructional coaches. We engaged in the Nano-challenge and investigated different ways of building relations with students in distance learning. After some thought and prompted by questions posed by our facilitators, we came to the conclusion that in order to build positive relationships, students needed to trust us first. Therefore, we shifted our ‘act’ question to answer “How do we build trust for student learning?”
Building a culture of trust
I realized through the Nano-Challenge that by building a culture of trust first, our students would feel safe and supported while in distance learning. Now that I am starting a new school year, I believe that building a culture of trust applies to onsite learning too.
To develop and build a culture of trust in my language class, I put together some activities into a lesson plan. The following includes one of the activities we did. I used the Harvard Project Zero Thinking Routine, “Root Cause” thus, becoming “Root Cause of Trust.” For this part of the lesson I had students work with assigned partners.
In this routine, to build a culture of trust, I used the tree metaphor. Students write the issue in question, trust in this case, in the middle of the trunk. What makes people trust is identified on the tree roots, and what trust reflects or how it is reflected is in the branches and leaves of the tree.
I was amazed at how much students opened up throughout the lesson but in particular during the ‘Root Cause’ task. Students were also amazed at having someone explicitly asking and talking with them about trust.
Giving students agency and showing them you care for what they have to say is key in building relationships and trust. It deepens your understanding of who they are and what they care about. Most importantly, my students understood that I really cared about them. This lesson allowed me to emphasize a classroom culture where learning would happen. And all was done virtually and in Spanish!
Begin with a culture of trust and everything else will fall into place
In times of remote learning (or face-to-face learning), it is not only critical getting to know students or building relationships between students and teachers, but primarily it is about building trust. Once trust is present, as fragile as trust might sometimes be, students will surely share more about how they feel, what they think, and how their ‘mindsets’ adapt and change to the new realities.
We are starting a new year. I should begin having my students talk about what is important to them. I should weave into my curriculum other lessons related to other deep concepts like ‘trust.’ Which concepts would you investigate in your classes?
“Novels in the Centre” is a column of Language Teaching Lab where you will read about why, how and what novellas become meaningful resources for teaching a language
If we learn to walk by walking and to talk by talking, we can also learn to read and write in another language by reading and writing in that language.
That is why I love teaching Spanish and I love teaching with novellas!
How is Reading and Writing Teaching with Novellas for me
I start by building the necessary background knowledge to facilitate students’ understanding of the story. Depending on the novella, I focus on the social-economic, historical or geographical aspect. For example, before reading “Patricia va a California” students research about Guatemala.
When we read it is important to check students’ comprehension often to avoid misinterpretation and help them construct meaning beyond unknown words.
When we read it is important to check students’ comprehension often to avoid misinterpretation and help them construct meaning beyond unknown words. I ask them comprehension questions sometimes in English and sometimes in Spanish. I explain new vocabulary and phrases in context and when I model reading aloud, I verbalize my thinking and ask for their opinion. “Hmmm, I wonder if Patricia…” What do you think?” Do you think she will… or…?
When I’m sure they grasp the story in a chapter, we analyze, explain, compare and contrast characters and places. For example, Patricia’s house has only one bathroom for seven family members living there. This is something common in Latin America that shocks most students who are used to bigger houses with multiple bathrooms.
Go deeper when re-reading chapters
We annotate, represent, and talk and write about the topics and themes in the novella. For example, Patricia, the main character, is being discriminated against for being Latina. While she’s Guatemaltecan, Debbie, one of the characters, calls her “Mexican.” This leads us to talk about identity, immigration and discrimination. Students make personal connections and read current events articles and watch short videos in Spanish related to the topic and theme.
Assessment Tasks
The novella becomes the center from which I derive multiple communicative tasks related to each chapter. For example, I’ve used the following task as an assessment:
Pick ONE of the following points and write a paragraph in Spanish based on the information given in Chapter 8:
Point A – When Patricia talks with Debbie at the party, she says that while many people think being poor is a terrible thing, she has “everything” and “she does not need anything else.” What does Patricia consider the most important things in her life?
Point B – What do you think are the most important things in your life? Why?
Point C – Imagine you’re Patricia. Write a letter to a friend in Guatemala telling her/him all about the robbery.
This way, students empathize with the characters in the novella and see the world from different perspectives.
Novellas are Key for Language and Culture Learning
Students focus so much on the characters and the plot that don’t realize how much language they are absorbing. Novellas are great not only from the point of view of language acquisition, but also to immerse students in the culture and other people’s realities through the life experiences of the characters. I also use novellas as a springboard for class discussions of current events that relate to the topics and themes developed in the novellas.
“Interdisciplinary Connections” is a column of Language Teaching Lab to show specific examples of connections between world language teaching and other subjects at school
Why it is important to make Interdisciplinary Connections
My motto: “Connecting Spanish with other subjects and working side by side with Homeroom teachers and other specialists is a great way children see the value of language as a means of communication and not as a subject that they have to study for”.
This reflection makes me go back in time to when I started teaching in Lower School. The kids were hungry to express themselves in Spanish and would ask me… “Sra Barbieri..how do you say this and that?” The words and expressions were the ones they were using in their English class when reading books that definitely could be related to Spanish culture.
Definitely, the way the brain makes connections is amazing, and it is more significant in kids’ brains. It is easy for students to discover the connections between languages and I do not need to tell them to relate concepts when presenting a theme they are learning in the English language.
What is important in this matter is that those connections endure for a long time, if not forever, in the students’ brain. When I meet with students the following year, they recall those expressions, words, ideas like they were studying them on that day. I have to admit that everything we do in class is significant for them, and they love to recognize and find meaning in every way they acquire those words, expressions, ideas, and concepts.
For these reasons, I believe that to learn anything new, and for it to last and to be available to use, it needs to be meaningful and connected in the human brain.
How I do it
Once, when third, fourth and fifth graders were reading The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry in English class, I found that this book was also written in Spanish, its name is El Gran Capoquero (translated by Alma Flor Ada), soI decided to create a unit with the message of this book for each grade. I ran my interest in reading this book in Spanish by the Homeroom teachers while they were reading it in their English classes. The first step was to read the story aloud in Spanish and show the beautiful pictures of the Amazon rainforest. The exciting part for the kids was to see that the book they were reading in English had the same pictures! Then, students, through the pictures as a medium for understanding, found the meaning of the words in Spanish. Since they had a lot of INSIGHTS while I read, I did not need to translate any words into English.
We talked about the people from the Amazon rainforest, their language and culture in the three grades. The activities in class were different but always connected. Students loved to learn and research about the animals in the rainforest, the people who live there, and the geography.
Students recognized cognates in both languages, enriching their vocabulary base, and helping them to use more specific language when communicating.
Third and fourth grades focused on describing the animals and shared other interesting facts they found. The students loved to describe the appearance and behavior of the animals living in the Amazon rainforest.
Fifth graders described the four layers of the amazon rainforest, labeled and explained the habitat and environment of the animals. Through whole class discussions, small groups, and pair work, they realized that a rainforest is more than just a forest of trees. It provides shelter, food, and oxygen to all kinds of living creatures. They also researched and brainstormed about the reasons for deforestation and the consequences of deforestation. They found ways to help preserve the environment by linking the themes to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
In connection to the story, students learned about Chico Mendez, an environmental activist who gave his life in order to preserve the rainforest through Mana’s song Cuando los angeles lloran.
Interdisciplinary Connections Value
This experience made students’ learning meaningful, memorable, and long-lasting. Interdisciplinary teaching allows students to learn about a topic through language and use language to learn more about a topic.
Resources:
El Gran Capoquero – As an Amazon Associate LTL earns from qualifying purchases
‘What’s in a framework?’ is a column of Language Teaching Lab. A framework informs our teaching and it shows a unique philosophy. It gives us a shared language and purpose, and it lets us see teaching and learning from diverse perspectives
DKDK – Don’t Know what you Don’t Know
You do not know what you do not know. What counts is what you do when you get to know something, i.e. when you learn something. That is what happened to me when I learned about the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs are a path to action for people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnerships. The SDGs consider sustainability from the economic, environmental, and social perspectives. As we know them now, the SDGs started in 2015 with a plan to achieve the 17 goals by 2030. I had to do something so I became a Cohort 3 #TeachSDGs Ambassador.
17 Goals
When I saw the image of the seventeen goals and started reading each one, I happily realized that most of the teaching happening in my Spanish classes related directly to them. I committed to introducing the 17 goals to my students, our changemakers.
There is so much more information about the SDGs now than when I started introducing them in my classes. Fortunately, lots of these materials are in different languages!
Let’s start by learning about some of these resources. Then, let me share some of the things that I did in my language classes.
SDGs in different languages
Let’s start with some places where you can find materials on the SDGs in different languages:
The Wonderment (mostly in English but your students can submit ideas in the language they are learning)
This is a short list with lots of information. These sites are great starting points for introducing the SDGs in language classes.
How I prepared to teach SDGs
In order to teach about the SDGs, I first informed myself. I took courses, I read books, I created a Wakelet, and I presented together with Gaby and Marcela in language conferences.
Since I became a #TeachSDG ambassador, I have introduced the SDGs to all my students. Learning about the SDGs is engaging and empowering for students, therefore, it boosts proficiency. Students want to learn, read, and talk about the SDGs. Most importantly, they want to take action.
How I teach SDGs in my language classes
I usually show them the Global Goals icons. I ask students their favorite goal or the one that catches their attention and why, how old they will be in 2030 and what they see each other doing differently than they do now. Then, I explain what the SDGs are and their importance, and connect them to what they are studying in class. In no time students realize that the SDGs are an intrical part of their life and of what we do in class.
SDGs = Enduring learning
The most enduring learning happens when students are connected with other students to solve problems. The No.More.Plastic. project was one of these instances. It was a three week project where 4th grade students had to attempt to answer:
What’s the problem?
Are there any solutions? Let’s try to fix the problem!
Action! The students take action and try to bring change at school and at home.
Students researched about plastic, brainstormed possible solutions for reducing the use of plastic at school, and wrote a chant to share with the rest of the elementary school. They posted the chant in the cafeteria as a reminder of the importance of reducing the use of plastic. All in Spanish!
Students also saw some of the projects done by other schools around the world and felt part of it!
My students were engaged in the content and empowered to make change happen. They were also proud when they received a certificate of participation.
SDG in language classes
The SDG framework is perfect for language classes. It is a powerful tool to raise awareness of sustainability, to empower students as changemakers, and to have students see that learning a language might have an impact outside the classroom.
Don’t wait one more minute to introduce the SDGs in your language classes if you haven’t yet done that. Don’t wait to have students ask you: Why has no other teacher taught us about them?
‘Why do we teach…?‘ is a column of Language Teaching Lab. It might help us think deeper on why we teach a certain topic. In addition, it might show a new perspective on how to teach it.
This was me back then
How do you teach to describe people? For a long time, early in my career, I embraced the typical unit on how to describe people wholeheartedly. Most of all, I loved teaching descriptive words. In particular, I was so happy to teach my students how to say the eye color in Spanish.
What a great way to show that ‘green eyes’ or ‘brown eyes’ would become ‘los ojos verdes’ or ‘los ojos marrones’ in Spanish.
I would emphasize the sentence structure needed in Spanish compared to English:
articles + nouns + colors/adjectives – in Spanish
color + noun – in English
Moreover, I was delighted to explain how to use the articles and the colors in the plural form, a concept that was extremely difficult to grasp for my learners. To make things even more complicated, I happily added that in the case of ‘brown eyes’ you could also say ‘los ojos café’ where the adjective remains singular!
My students would practice saying the eye-color through describing family pictures, friends and playing ‘Guess Who?’
I used to teach article-noun-adjective-verb agreement through this unit and I felt accomplished. I was teaching about the language and not necessarily to think and communicate in the language.
Fastforward, I don’t do that anymore
So, what happened? Teaching evolves. Language research provides new approaches and methodologies. We study. We read. Suddenly, it doesn’t make any sense to describe people for the sake of teaching agreement. I mean, I continue to explain the importance of agreement in class to avoid comprehension gaps, but I explain it depending on the functions we use and of course, always in context.
One aspect of teaching that has changed is the push for the decolonization of the curriculum. We want to be inclusive in our teaching. We want to consider the variety of voices that encompass a language. And in doing so, we fall into another trap.
We often present our learners with a textbook unit, where they showcase people from another culture that are probably different from our students, and we ask students to describe them. Without realizing we may perpetuate stereotypes by doing so. We are pointing out differences in our humanity without celebrating them.
How do we break this cycle?
One way I broke this cycle of perpetuating stereotypes in my classes was by referring to the cultural iceberg to frame my teaching.
Students define culture, iceberg, and talk about what the phrase cultural iceberg may mean in their own words.
After we brainstorm what a cultural iceberg could be and what it could be about, we describe visuals, read articles, and watch videos about the cultural iceberg. Even novice learners can do this. It is a question of finding the correct resources, scaffolding the teaching, and putting students into the driver’s seat.
Then, I ask students what words come to mind when they ‘describe people.’ We brainstorm ideas on physical characteristics and personality traits that they could use.
A task that has proven effective for perspective taking was to ask students to describe themselves by their personality traits first. Then, to compare themselves to a family member. Most importantly, have them think about what personality traits from their chosen family member they would like to have themselves and why. This challenged them to put themselves on someone else’s shoes.
After connecting the cultural iceberg to describing people, I asked why it might be important to be able to describe people in Spanish. We talked about people as prisms, gems, and multifaceted unique beings.
This exercise reminds students that a person is more than its physical characteristics. I include an example that shows this from an activity that I created as part of my own professional development during an ISTE conference.
The cultural iceberg becomes our framework
We might continue by asking what happens when two cultures come together and what elements of those cultures are shared at first. We connect the topic to diversity and extend it to linguistic diversity, for example. We can talk about music as a universal language, distinctive but unifying. We can also talk about literature, food, and clothing. We conclude that for the most part these are products of a culture.
After defining the words ‘products,’ ‘practices,’ and ‘perspectives,’ I proceed to ask students to sketch an iceberg and add those words to it.
We refer back to what students said about culture earlier. Students generally conclude that they concentrated on the part of the iceberg that is visible. It is what we see of a culture, mostly its ‘products.’ Just below the surface we find the ‘practices’ or how it is done. Finally, the part of the iceberg that is even deeper, refers to the ‘perspectives’ or why it is done.
Having incorporated the ‘cultural iceberg’ framework in my teaching has allowed me to help my students expand the lens through which they study a language. It has helped them to find the differences as well as the similarities among humanity. It has also helped me anchor my teaching.
What are you doing differently now than when you started teaching?
