La Importancia de Aprender Español y la Inmersión como Clave para un Aprendizaje Eficaz

Posted on by Vicky Masson
inmersión

by Alonso Cano (LTL Contributor)

El español es uno de los idiomas más hablados en el mundo, con más de 600 millones de hablantes nativos en más de 20 países. Aprender español abre puertas a nuevas oportunidades personales, académicas y profesionales, conectándonos con culturas y comunidades ricas en historia y tradiciones. La importancia de aprender este idioma radica en su impacto global, en su relevancia en sectores como los negocios, la diplomacia, la tecnología y el turismo, y en el valor cultural que aporta.

Razones para Aprender Español

Relevancia Global: El español es el segundo idioma más hablado en el mundo por hablantes nativos, después del chino mandarín. Se estima que es la tercera lengua más usada en internet, lo que facilita el acceso a una gran cantidad de contenidos, desde literatura y arte hasta avances científicos y oportunidades de educación superior.

Ventajas Profesionales: En un mundo globalizado, la capacidad de hablar español abre oportunidades laborales y de negocios en mercados emergentes de América Latina, Estados Unidos y Europa. Cada vez más empresas buscan empleados con habilidades en español para atender a sus clientes o expandirse en mercados hispanohablantes.

Crecimiento Personal y Cognitivo: Aprender un idioma extranjero, como el español, mejora las habilidades cognitivas, potencia la memoria y facilita la resolución de problemas. Además, permite desarrollar la empatía y una comprensión más profunda de otras culturas, algo esencial en el contexto multicultural actual.

Acceso a una Riqueza Cultural Inmensa: Al aprender español, accedemos a una vasta herencia cultural, desde la literatura de autores como Gabriel García Márquez y Federico García Lorca hasta el cine, la música y la gastronomía. El español no solo es una lengua; es la puerta a una cultura vibrante y diversa que ha influido profundamente en el mundo.

La inmersión como Método de Aprendizaje

Aprender español a través de la inmersión es uno de los métodos más efectivos y enriquecedores para alcanzar fluidez y comprensión cultural. A diferencia de los métodos convencionales de aprendizaje en aula, la inmersión te permite vivir el idioma, sumergiéndote en él de forma natural y cotidiana.

Ventajas de la Inmersión Lingüística

Práctica Continua en Contextos Reales: La inmersión ofrece la oportunidad de practicar español en situaciones reales, desde pedir comida en un restaurante hasta conversar con nativos en el mercado. Estas experiencias ayudan a los estudiantes a comprender mejor las expresiones idiomáticas, el tono y las variaciones del español según la región.

Mayor Velocidad de Aprendizaje: Estar rodeado de hablantes nativos acelera el proceso de aprendizaje, ya que el estudiante se ve expuesto al idioma de manera constante. La inmersión fomenta una rápida adaptación al ritmo, la pronunciación y la gramática, haciéndolos parte del entorno natural del estudiante.

Comprensión Cultural Profunda: Al vivir en un entorno hispanohablante, los estudiantes no solo aprenden el idioma, sino también las costumbres, las tradiciones y las perspectivas culturales. Esto enriquece la experiencia de aprendizaje y permite una comprensión más completa del español y su cultura. Aprender el significado detrás de expresiones, gestos y rituales sociales profundiza la conexión con el idioma y los valores de las comunidades hispanas.

Confianza y Fluidez: A través de la inmersión, los estudiantes adquieren confianza para comunicarse y adaptarse rápidamente a diferentes contextos lingüísticos. La exposición constante al idioma fortalece la fluidez, permitiendo que el estudiante se exprese de manera natural y efectiva, incluso en conversaciones espontáneas.

Elementos Clave de un Programa de Inmersión Efectivo

Clases con Enfoque Comunicativo: En un buen programa de inmersión, las clases están diseñadas para promover la comunicación y la interacción. Los profesores nativos emplean una metodología práctica que integra ejercicios de conversación, juegos de rol y actividades interactivas, fomentando el uso constante del idioma en situaciones cotidianas.

Actividades Culturales y Excursiones: Un programa de inmersión integral incluye actividades culturales y excursiones que permiten a los estudiantes experimentar la vida local. Estas actividades pueden incluir visitas a museos, participación en festivales, clases de cocina local y recorridos por sitios históricos. A través de estas experiencias, los estudiantes tienen la oportunidad de aprender sobre la cultura y practicar el idioma en un contexto auténtico y enriquecedor.

Interacción con Hablantes Nativos: La interacción con nativos es fundamental para aprender a reconocer y usar las variaciones del español, además de enriquecer el vocabulario y la comprensión de los diferentes acentos. Conversar con personas de la comunidad local permite al estudiante adaptarse a distintas maneras de hablar y, al mismo tiempo, entender mejor la cultura y las costumbres.

Ambiente de Aprendizaje Inmersivo y Natural: El entorno del programa debe estar diseñado para crear una experiencia de inmersión completa. Desde las conversaciones con profesores y compañeros hasta las interacciones en tiendas, restaurantes y otros espacios, el estudiante debe sentir que está viviendo y respirando el idioma en todo momento.

Consejos para Aprovechar al Máximo la Inmersión en Español

Participar Activamente: Involúcrate en la cultura local, asiste a eventos, festivales y reuniones para conocer a personas y practicar el idioma en situaciones informales. Cuanto más te expongas, mayor será tu progreso y tu comodidad con el idioma.

Establecer Metas y Evaluar el Progreso: Define objetivos claros para tu aprendizaje, ya sea mejorar la comprensión auditiva, enriquecer tu vocabulario o ganar confianza en la conversación. Evaluar tu progreso regularmente te ayudará a mantenerte enfocado y a aprovechar al máximo la experiencia.

Mantener una Actitud Abierta y Positiva: Aprender un idioma es un reto que requiere paciencia y flexibilidad. La inmersión puede ser intensa, pero mantener una actitud abierta te permitirá adaptarte más rápido y disfrutar cada paso del proceso.

Aprovechar el Entorno para Aprender Constantemente: Escucha las conversaciones de los locales, lee carteles, intenta entender las noticias en español y aprovecha cualquier oportunidad para usar el idioma. La inmersión permite aprender tanto en momentos de estudio formal como en el día a día.

La Inmersión como Camino hacia la Fluidez y la Conexión Cultural

Aprender español a través de la inmersión es una experiencia transformadora que va más allá de memorizar vocabulario y reglas gramaticales. La inmersión ofrece la oportunidad de vivir el idioma en toda su riqueza y complejidad, permitiéndote no solo comunicarte, sino también comprender y experimentar una nueva cultura.

En un mundo cada vez más globalizado, la habilidad de hablar español y de entender la cultura hispana es una ventaja invaluable. La inmersión es el método ideal para aquellos que desean alcanzar una fluidez auténtica, experimentar el español en su contexto cultural y formar conexiones significativas con el mundo hispanohablante.

Alonso Cano is at Escuela de Idiomas

Focusing on Good Role Models in Our Society (Spanish & English)

Posted on by Vicky Masson
culture

by Maria Martínez (LTL Contributor)

Let’s Highlight and Focus on Good Role Models in Our Language Lessons

Lately, there is a big focus in the media on bad role models in our society. And as important as this is to uncover bad things, to make sure they don’t happen again, to deal with injustice and to keep everyone safe, I think there should be an emphasis on the opposite too. Let’s focus also on the good role models, the people who have achieved and are achieving great things, who have fought and are fighting for injustice, people whose work ethic can inspire the young generations and all of us.

I propose several activities to do this in our language lessons, activities that can reinforce vocabulary whilst serving as an inspiration.

What makes a person outstanding and inspiring?

What qualities do these exceptional people have?

Just asking those two questions can create a great opportunity to discuss adjectives and values in our society. We can also discuss how some values have changed for the worse, and how we, as a society, are focusing on empty and superficial values. A great opportunity to compare the role models in our society nowadays compared to role models in the past.

You can focus on any famous inspiring role model or students can also focus on a family member that has really inspired them. Below are a few examples from activities and resources in my channel, Bilingual Cerebros.

What adjectives can you use to describe a person that really inspires you?

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From these examples we can discuss how they are the opposite of some of the bad role models that sadly we are seeing recently more than ever on the news, and mention the negative adjectives too, but without giving it too much of a focus, as we want to cover the vocabulary, but we want to focus on the positivity and good role models and not the opposite. What we focus on, grows. So, let’s focus on goodness.

More examples:

In my channel you can find biographies of inspiring people with activities to practice the past tenses, reading and comprehension and questions about the texts. These are some of the resources that I recommend:

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Women that changed the world: https://youtu.be/RQWGwicnDvg?si=cajB7mnuD895EfrU

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José Hernández: https://youtu.be/7nQPBZ8rmIM?si=IjtYSbznawOOI840

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Frida Kahlo: https://youtu.be/k3FuLWt-5-w?si=gh-1sNwT3xrkeaVD

This is the link to the Playlist to this section in the channel:

Please let me know what other biographies you would like me to upload next, I appreciate your comments.

I hope these ideas and resources are helpful and inspire your lessons to focus on positivity and to create a better world together.

Vamos a destacar y enfocarnos en buenos modelos a seguir en nuestras clases de idiomas

Últimamente, los medios de comunicación se centran mucho en los malos modelos en nuestra sociedad. Y por muy importante que sea descubrir cosas malas, desenmascarar a personas fraudulentas, asegurarse de que no vuelvan a suceder, abordar la injusticia y mantener a todos a salvo, creo que también debería hacerse hincapié en lo contrario. Centrémonos también en los buenos modelos a seguir, las personas que han logrado y están logrando grandes cosas, que han luchado y están luchando por la injusticia, personas cuya ética de trabajo puede inspirar a las generaciones jóvenes y a todos nosotros.

Para ello propongo varias actividades en nuestras clases de idiomas, actividades que pueden reforzar el vocabulario y al mismo tiempo servir de inspiración. 

¿Qué hace que una persona sea excepcional e inspiradora?

¿Qué cualidades tienen estas personas excepcionales?

Simplemente hacer esas dos preguntas puede crear una gran oportunidad para discutir adjetivos y valores en nuestra sociedad. También podemos discutir cómo algunos valores han cambiado para mal y cómo nosotros, como sociedad, nos estamos centrando en valores vacíos y superficiales. Una gran oportunidad para comparar los modelos a seguir de nuestra sociedad actual con los modelos a seguir del pasado.

Puede centrarse en cualquier modelo a seguir inspirador famoso o los estudiantes también pueden centrarse en un miembro de su familia que realmente los haya inspirado. A continuación, os muestro algunos ejemplos de actividades y recursos en mi canal, Bilingual Cerebros.

¿Qué adjetivos puedes usar para describir a la persona que más te inspira?

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Ein Bild, das Text, Menschliches Gesicht, Mann, Person enthält. Automatisch generierte Beschreibung

A partir de estos ejemplos podemos discutir cómo son lo opuesto a algunos de los malos modelos que lamentablemente estamos viendo últimamente más que nunca en las noticias, y mencionar también los adjetivos negativos, pero sin darles demasiado énfasis, solo para cubrir el vocabulario, pero lo que queremos es centrarnos en la positividad y los buenos modelos a seguir y no al revés. Aquello en lo que nos centramos crece. Entonces, centrémonos en la bondad.

En mi canal puedes encontrar biografías de personas inspiradoras con actividades para practicar el tiempo pasado, lectura y comprensión y preguntas sobre los textos. Estos son algunos de los recursos que recomiendo:

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Mujeres pioneras que cambiaron el mundo: https://youtu.be/RQWGwicnDvg?si=cajB7mnuD895EfrU

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José Hernández: https://youtu.be/7nQPBZ8rmIM?si=IjtYSbznawOOI840 

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Frida Kahlo: https://youtu.be/k3FuLWt-5-w?si=gh-1sNwT3xrkeaVD

Y más biografías en esta sección del canal. Listas de reproducción de esta sección: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5TlFjB4h2gVeH0XWB3C-TYWfFEAstkQm&si=17FbbPhCnDACMJEp 

Por favor déjame saber qué otras biografías te gustarían que suba al canal, agradezco tus comentarios.

Espero que estas ideas y recursos sean útiles e inspiren sus lecciones para que se centren en la positividad y así crear juntos un mundo mejor.

La Tradición de las Tapas en Úbeda

Posted on by Vicky Masson
tapas

by Alonso Cano for LTL

Úbeda, ciudad declarada Patrimonio de la Humanidad, no solo destaca por su impresionante arquitectura renacentista y su rica historia, sino también por una tradición gastronómica muy especial: las tapas. Esta práctica culinaria, profundamente arraigada en la cultura andaluza, se vive de manera única en las calles y bares de Úbeda.

tapas

Tapas en Úbeda

Tapas: Origen y Evolución

La tapa, cuyo origen se remonta a siglos atrás, se dice que comenzó como una pequeña porción de comida servida junto a una bebida para “tapar” el vaso y evitar que el polvo o los insectos entraran. Con el tiempo, esta sencilla práctica evolucionó hasta convertirse en una auténtica expresión de la gastronomía local, ofreciendo a los visitantes y habitantes de Úbeda una variedad de sabores y experiencias culinarias.

Variedad y Sabor

En Úbeda, la oferta de tapas es tan diversa como deliciosa. Desde clásicos como el jamón ibérico y el queso manchego, hasta especialidades locales como los OCHÍOS, los ALCAUCILES, las berenjenas fritas con miel, los caracoles en salsa y el famoso lomo de orza, cada tapa es una muestra de la rica tradición culinaria de la región. Los ingredientes frescos y de calidad, muchos de ellos provenientes de la fértil tierra jienense, garantizan una experiencia gastronómica incomparable.

Tapas: Un Ritual Social

Tapear en Úbeda no es solo una cuestión de comida, sino también un ritual social. Los bares y tabernas se llenan de vida a todas horas, convirtiéndose en puntos de encuentro donde la gente se reúne para disfrutar de buena comida y buena compañía. Este ambiente de camaradería y celebración es una parte esencial de la experiencia de las tapas en Úbeda.

tapas
tapas

Ruta de las Tapas

Para aquellos que quieran sumergirse por completo en esta tradición, Úbeda ofrece diversas rutas de tapas que permiten explorar la ciudad de bar en bar. Cada establecimiento ofrece su propia especialidad, permitiendo a los visitantes descubrir nuevos sabores y platos en cada parada. Estas rutas no solo son una excelente manera de disfrutar de la gastronomía local, sino también de conocer la ciudad y su gente.

Una Experiencia Imperdible

La tradición de las tapas en Úbeda es una invitación a disfrutar de la vida a un ritmo más pausado, saboreando cada momento y cada bocado. Para los amantes de la buena comida y la buena compañía, tapear en Úbeda es una experiencia imperdible que deja un sabor de boca inolvidable y el deseo de volver una y otra vez.

Euroidiomas Spanish School in Úbeda

Globally Grooving: Using Authentic Music in the Language Classroom

Posted on by Vicky Masson

by Noemí Rodríguez (LTL Contributor)

I LOVE using music in my classroom with students. How about you? Music is engaging, helps with retention of key structures & vocabulary and provides a great lens into the target language and culture! Between the awesome, dance-promoting beats, incredible repetition and cultural connections, music is an easy way to check off several boxes as a world language teacher! Here are some of my top ways to globally grove with your students!

Use Music to Investigate Target Culture

Using music goes WAY BEYOND just the lyrics! Before listening to a song with students, why not delve into a musician or band’s background- who are they? where are they from? how long have they been together? what kind do they make? Play the music video – without sound – and ask students to make observations about what they see. Can students create a list related to our 3Ps: practices, perspectives, products from the target culture? Or write a simple story around what they see? Would you, as the classroom teacher, be able to design a Movietalk around this music video?

Please see this previous blog post to learn more about the Movietalk technique. In the music video, is there dancing? Can students in your class try the dance from the music video? Or can they create their own dance? If you can get your students moving – sometimes my high school students were a bit reluctant – dancing to music can be SO FUN!

Music Competitions

Whether you have students compete in a dance off, lip sync battle, or karaoke competition, using music each week can be incredibly engaging for all learners. Assign a new song each week to your groups! Try it! Students listen to the song for a few minutes during each class, with lyrics provided and if you want to infuse some gestures to match the lyrics – why not?

On Fridays…

On Fridays, I would host our weekly music competition towards the end of our time together and we had a “batalla” between each of the classes. Would Period 1 sweep the competition this week or perhaps Period 4? I kept a simple tally of “points” for their combined efforts in singing, dancing and overall enthusiasm with performing our weekly song as a class. The class that “wins” for the week would receive a certificate of musical talent (template here)- which all students would sign – I laminate and would proudly display in our classroom.

Other Educators…

For my weekly competitions, I used authentic music and sometimes, music made for students learning a language – Señor Wooly and Canciones de HipHop by the textbook series: Realidades were easy to use with students for their catchy beats and simple lyrics.

Señor Wooly also has a great website with a ton of activities embedded around his catchy tunes! And if you can – pick up some of those inflatable microphones, it can really inspire students to sing!

*Señor Ashby hosts two annual music competitions known as “Locura de marzo” and “Locotubre” – in the Facebook community, teachers are so incredibly generous with their creative creations and I SO appreciate that all of the authentic songs are carefully selected by educators – so you know the songs are a-ok to sing with students!

Leading up to each competition, teachers share activities, readings, slideshows- all connected to the songs that as deemed the “sweet sixteen”. Voting takes places on a GLOBAL level and students can predict their winners from the very start- just like a March Madness Basketball Bracket! There are plenty of Spotify playlists too, and here is one by Cassie Molloy that has all of the previous songs in one place, over eight hours!

*Maniemusicale is available for my French teacher friends.

authentic music

Cloze Activities

An easy way to have students listen to the music is to create a cloze activity, as they listen, they fill in what is missing from the lyrics! A great website that can help students listen for what is missing is lyricstraining.com. I’ve had one student volunteer sit and fill in what is missing, as the class sings the song out loud, filling in what they believe is missing and music videos are available from all over the globe!

There are also many teachers who have generated AMAZING Activities on the topic for the WL classroom. Here are some of my favorites from the Spanish teacher community – Bertha Degadillo shares ideas on her blog & resources on her TPT page, Kara Jacobs has resources on her blog page: CEAuthRes, and Allison Wienhold has competitions during Hispanic Heritage Month, as well as música miércoles on her blog & TPT store .

Extension Activities

–Draw images to represent the lyrics/chorus in a song, have students compare & contrast.

–Lyric scramble – students put the lyrics in the correct order after listening.

-Create (or have students create) true/false statements or guiding questions about the lyrics.

-Use a word cloud (generated from the chorus or lyrics) to either pre-teach vocabulary or help prompt a post-viewing writing activity.

–Change it up! Have students use the melody and create their own song / change the lyrics.

-Use music as a timer for your Daily Do Now or Classroom Activities.

Music For my Elementary Friends

Having time with my almost nine month old, I have enjoyed singing along to several songs in Spanish made for young children! We dance, move around and sing to the tunes every day- many involve animals! Here are some of my favorites {so far!} for the little ones!

Tortuga, Tortuga La Vaca Lola Susanita tiene un ratón Los pollitos dicen pio pio Veo Veo

I hope you are inspired to use music with your students this week and always! If you have any other ideas or resources for the language classroom related to songs, please feel free to share below!

For more blogs on the topic visit

El subjuntivo entre acordes: Canciones para el nivel intermedio (in Spanish)

Posted on by Vicky Masson

by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor)

¿No te parece fascinante que tus alumnos retengan con facilidad las letras de las canciones 🎶🥰, incluso de las más complejas? Es asombroso ver cómo reproducen sin aparente dificultad sus palabras más complicadas, sus rimas, su sintaxis… En efecto, las canciones son una puerta al español que los profesores debemos mantener no solo abierta, sino además bien cuidada y con sus goznes en perfecto funcionamiento 🚪🎵.

Por eso, hoy nos gustaría hablarte de una serie de canciones que te pueden venir muy bien para abrirles de par en par a tus estudiantes las puertas del subjuntivo. Y para ello, nos vamos a centrar en las siguientes estructuras con las que expresar deseos y peticiones en español:

👉 Querer + infinitivo / querer que + subjuntivo.

Podemos encontrar un buen contraste entre una y otra matriz en la canción Quiero tener tu presencia, de Seguridad Social. Canción noventera, marchosa, con buen ritmo y trazas de denuncia social.

👉 Ojalá (que) + subjuntivo.

Para trabajar con esta estructura podemos recurrir a un clásico entre los clásicos: Ojalá que llueva café, de Juan Luis Guerra 🌧☕️. Con ella, además, podemos ver léxico relacionado con el español de América (en especial, productos agrícolas 🍯🥔🍓), sin olvidarnos tampoco de la reivindicación social.

👉 Que + subjuntivo.

En relación con esta matriz, te presentamos a otra veterana de las “canciones ELE”: Shakira. Hubo un tiempo en el que sus letras tenían un contenido profundo. De esa época, rescatamos para ti la canción Que me quedes tú, cuya sucesión de verbos en subjuntivo hace todavía más bonito su mensaje de amor 🥰.

👉 Pedir que + subjuntivo.

No dejamos Colombia 🇨🇴 para trabajar la siguiente estructura. En este caso, te hablamos de A Dios le pido, canción con la que Juanes se hizo conocido en España allá por el cambio de milenio. Amor ❤️ y contenido social 🌎 a partes iguales en una canción de la que no dudamos que le gustará a tus estudiantes.

👉 Solo le pido a Dios

Y ya que hablamos de pedirle cosas a Dios 🙏, no podemos terminar esta entrada sin mencionar al cantautor argentino 🇦🇷 León Gieco y su Solo le pido a Dios: guitarra, armónica, voz rasgada, letra reivindicativa y subjuntivo.

¿Qué más podemos pedir?

A ti, lo único que te pedimos es que nunca pierdas la pasión por enseñar el subjuntivo… 😊

Nube de palabras (subjuntivo)

Make it Happen! #GoalsProject in Spanish Class

Posted on by Vicky Masson

It has been great to focus on one goal a month since the beginning of 2024. So many times we start school strong to find ourselves drifting as the months go bye. So far, in 2024, we have concentrated in collecting moments and doing more of what we love. So, in March, we will continue with … Make it Happen!

To me, to ‘make it happen’ is to accomplish what you dream of or desire by doing what is best for you and your students. It does not mean that it is easy or that it is a quick fix. It will probably require effort to solve problems and face different challenges. Thus, I want to encourage you to take the first step, take action, and make it happen!

It was the end of January and I remember thinking: What do I want to accomplish? How am I going to do it? Then, I learned about the #GoalsProject through social media and I signed up as soon as I got the green light from my school.

#GoalsProject – Make it Happen!

The #GoalsProject is done by students all around the world based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (I wrote about the SDGs in What Do You Do When You Learn Something New?). The UN SDGs are the solutions to world problems and a call to action to make it happen.

The #GoalsProject is a richly infused 6-week global collaboration project based on the SDGs to promote taking action in the classroom. It requires students to practice 21st century skills: learning skills, literacy skills, and life skills, which are essential for students to succeed in life. As a world language educator, this was exactly what I envisioned for my students!

The #GoalsProject also encompasses most of the principles of Powerful Learning. And what better way to provide voice and agency to my students than through taking action for the SDGs.

To introduce the project, students talked about the SDGs and learned about their importance and how crucial it is to help in achieving these goals by 2030. This year, students dug deeper into SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production. 

Middle school was given 3 SDGs to choose from, and SDG 12 was the one we picked for sixth grade Spanish. I chose SDG 12 because it relates directly to the work we do at school with TerraCycle ‘to recycle the unrecyclable.’ 

Activities and Tasks: Make it Happen!

Some of the activities we did and some tasks my 6th-graders performed in Spanish class during their participation in this program are these:

  • Participating in a Virtual School Assembly  
  • Responding to Youth Ambassadors 
  • Having a video-conference with students in the Dominican Republic 
  • Completing a KWHLAQ graphic organizer 
  • Listening to videos about the ‘Circular Economy’ 
  • Completing a Systems Thinking Compass 
  • Creating a poster for Fact-ivist! 
  • Brainstorming solutions to problems related to SDG 12 

Let me share a little bit about these tasks below. There are links to the sources used as well. 

Participating in a Virtual School Assembly

The Virtual School Assembly was a webinar in which my students participated with thousands of other students in the world. It showed students the scope of the project and gave purpose to what they were doing.

Responding to Youth Ambassadors 

After listening to what Youth Ambassadors from all over the world did towards the SDGs and why, my students found inspiration to start their contribution to helping achieve the SDGs. Their responses in the Padlet showed how impacted students were by the Youth Ambassadors speeches/ presentations to a personal level. 

Having a video conference with students in the Dominican Republic 

Connecting with students their age from another country in Spanish and learning about their projects was a highlight for most of my students. 

Completing a KWHLAQ graphic organizer 

To show students’ thinking we used the KWHLAQ graphic organizer which is based on six questions:

  • K – What do we think we know about this topic? 
  • W – What do we need to find out? 
  • H – How will we find out the answers to our questions? 
  • L – What are we learning and what have we learned? 
  • A – What action will we take? 
  • Q – What new questions do we have? 

Using the KWHLAQ helped me see what students learned and what their interests were.

Listening to videos about the ‘Circular Economy’ 

The Ellen MaCarthur Foundation is all about the circular economy, which is key in achieving SDG12, Responsible Consumption and Production. We listened to some videos on this topic and discussed them. 

Completing a Systems Thinking Compass 

I loved having students complete the Systems Thinking Compass because it is a tool that helps students see the interdependence of any system.

The Systems Thinking Compass is easy to understand as it uses the four points of the regular compass but renaming them. So the N for North, becomes the N for Nature. The E for  East becomes the E for Economy. The S for South becomes the S for Society, and the  W for West becomes the W for Wellbeing. 

For example, having the SDG 12 in the center and thinking about the impact of consumption and production from the lens of Nature, Economy, Society, and Wellbeing helped students identify the issues and then connect their commonalities.  It was probably the most difficult activity we did as it required them to think in systems, make connections, and then present their ideas to the class.

Creating a poster for Fact-ivist!  

Researching data related to the SDG12 in Latin America was challenging as they had to find reliable sources. Students did their research starting from a simple Google or Bing search and narrowed it down to relevant sources like the World Bank, UN.org, Paho, Agenda2030lac, IDB, etc. In the end, students were able to identify data related to the SDG 12 that was interesting to them and complete their assignment of creating a poster using data.

At the beginning, data such as the amount of food that is wasted, was surprising to them, but it made this SDG real! Then, they created a poster to represent the data found using a digital art tool like Canva. The cherry on top was publishing their poster for the world to see. You can check them out in the Fact-ivist Gallery. 

Brainstorming solutions to problems related to SDG 12 

Using a storyboard, students sketched their possible solutions to problems related to SDG 12, from recycling to creating innovative ways to wasting less food. They came up with such great solutions! Then, they wrote a sentence or two about their sketches. 

Make it Happen!

In a fun way, students learned about the SDGs while having the opportunity to think about the world’s needs and contribute with their different perspectives to make a change. This experience was very powerful as it showed students what they can do to help the Earth and that they can do it.

I am happy to have made it happen for my students!

La banda sonora de nuestras vidas (in Spanish)

Posted on by Vicky Masson

by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor)

Decía Chaikovski (o tal vez solo dijo, o quizás nunca llegó a decir, pero eso ahora no importa) que si no fuera por la música 🎶, habría más razones para volverse loco 🤪.

No sabemos si estaríamos más locos o no, pero de lo que no hay duda es de que, sin la música, a nuestras clases de español les faltaría algo 🤔. Y no nos referimos solamente al hecho de poner canciones en el aula para que nuestros alumnos completen espacios en blanco, sino a tratar la música como un tema en sí mismo.

En este sentido, nos parece muy interesante el tratamiento que se le da en la unidad 9 del libro Etapas Plus C1 📚, en la que se presentan una serie de actividades que siempre podrás adaptar a niveles inferiores (de hecho, ¡funcionan muy bien con B1 y B2!).

En ellas, se trabaja el tema de la música a partir de la idea de recuerdo, de vivencia, de experiencia. Y eso es algo que nos parece precioso 🥰 (y sobre todo, implementable* en el aula).

¿Quién no tiene una canción asociada a una determinada época de su vida? Pensemos en los tiempos de la escuela 👩🏻‍🏫, en aquel viaje sin los padres 🚍, en aquel primer amor ❤️, en aquel verano 🏖🏕… ¿Acaso no son momentos asociados a alguna canción? 

Así pues, ¿qué te parece si promueves entre tus estudiantes ese viaje al recuerdo? Imagínate cuánto vocabulario podrán usar para hablar de sentimientos asociados a canciones 🗣. Piensa en las estructuras de las que podrán echar mano. Y además, combinando los tiempos de pasado…

Pero puedes ir más allá: haz que el español también forme parte de su recuerdo. ¿Qué canciones relacionan con las diferentes etapas y contenidos en su aprendizaje de nuestra lengua 🎶📚? Seguro que entre sus canciones favoritas hay alguna en español que les ha permitido practicar el subjuntivo o en la que han aprendido alguna palabra que ya no olvidarán nunca. ¡Hagamos que hablen también de ello!

Aquí te dejamos una infografía 👇 que podrás utilizar si finalmente te animas a llevar la música a tus clases de español. Nosotros te damos la “partitura”. ¡El ritmo lo pones tú!

* Nota: Sí, lo sabemos, implementable no está en el diccionario. Ahora bien, la RAE no la censura, por atenerse a las reglas de derivación, así que nos hemos permitido el lujo de usarla 😌. Y además, ¡nos gusta mucho esta palabra! 🥰

La banda sonora de nuestras vidas

Engaging Language Learners with Global Views

Posted on by Vicky Masson
global views

Presenting global views connects language students to the experiences of others. It engages their minds, hearts, and hands. There are wonderful resources that help language students broaden their perspective of the world, not necessarily limited to the people in the countries that speak the language they are learning. Why wait until they are at an intermediate level? You may start with novice learners. It all depends on what you show them and what you do with it, i.e. how you use the resource, as well as why you are using that specific resource. 

Why global views?

I part with the idea that we live in one world and the more that we learn from each other, the better. As a Spanish teacher myself, I moved from showing only things related to the Spanish-speaking world to showing my students the whole world. Of course, a big part of what we do in class is related to the Spanish world, but I intersect resources that go beyond that.  Learning about others helps break down stereotypes, expands our worldviews, and helps us become aware of our interconnectedness and common humanity. In sum, it is about helping my students become globally competent. 

How do we use photographs as global views ?

To successfully reach the minds, hearts, and hands of language learners, it is necessary to think through how we introduce, develop, and conclude each lesson. It is also important to think about what background knowledge students need in order to understand the topic and what prior knowledge they bring to class. Using resources thoughtfully is key. 

Many times I choose to use photographs to do this type of work because they are potent visuals. They tell stories and we can all relate to stories. Photographers have a unique eye as their lens captures a precious moment in time. It is up to us to show these global views and choose how to do it.

The following are some ways in which I have presented global views to my students. 

When I taught elementary school, my students particularly enjoyed when I showed them photographs of classrooms around the world and they had to compare and contrast those with their own classroom. As an added benefit, I learned about students’ prior experiences and their families’ history. 

My students love when they can choose. When presenting them with several photographs, I let them choose one that talks to them and ask them to do different activities, from simply describing the photograph to creating a story to only asking and answering questions. Other times, I present them with two photographs and we compare them to find similarities and differences. These types of activities propel great conversations.  

The National Portrait Gallery has many classroom resources to use when describing portraiture, and some of them can be applied to analyzing photographs successfully. I especially enjoy:

–Unveiling Stories

–Seeds for Storytelling

–Jump in!

–Compare and Contrast: Top Hat

There is no doubt that using the Project Zero Thinking Routines makes perfect sense when analyzing photographs. For this type of work, I would go with the Global Thinking Routines ones.

The Library of Congress has a special tool when it comes to analyze photographs that differs from the tools used to analyze other media. It is a wonderful way to start a conversation about photographs. Check it out!

Source: Library of Congress

The LOC also has an online analysis tool for students to download and work directly there. 

You may also want to read our blog “Authentic Resources with the Smithsonian Learning Lab,” where we give examples of integrating art into the curriculum.

There are so many ways to go when it comes to introducing global views to students. Of course, the images per se are key in making it a powerful experience.

What resources can we use to engage learners with global views ?

The following are some resources based on photographs. Some of these photographs include the topics of school, food, identity, and landscapes and I have used some of them with my novice students. What is important is to choose what to show and how to present it to students. 

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Food

-In her kitchen

–Menzel’s photographs

–Article on Menzel’s work in Spanish

–What I Eat (Menzel)

–Hospital Food

–School Lunches

Galimberti’s work on what children play with

-An article in Spanish

–Photographs

Esther Honig’s photos on beauty

–Article on Honig’s photos in Spanish

-Article on Honig’s photos in Spanish

–Webpage

School

–Schools around the world – The Guardian

–Schools around the world – Boston

House

–Menzel’s photographs

Landscapes, Ecology, Social issues

–Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot (OVER)

Each time I present global views to students, their engagement is palpable as global views engage language learners’ minds, hearts, and hands. If you haven’t already, give it a try and let me know how it goes in your classes.

Some Classroom Tested Resources for Winter and December Holidays

Posted on by Vicky Masson

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! 

Art

El invierno: un viaje a través de la pintura y el arte

Articles

¿Cómo se celebra Navidad en América Latina?

La Navidad en América Latina

Fiestas de invierno celebradas en todo el mundo

Books

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Iguanas en la nieve y otros poemas de invierno by Francisco X. Alarcón

El regalo de Navidad by Francisco Jimenez  

Una muñeca para el Día de Reyes  by Esmeralda Santiago

¡Ya llegan los Reyes Magos! by Georgina Lazaro – Morella Fuenmayor

Carta Virtual a los Reyes Magos by Lucia Margarita Cruz Rivera

Un día de nieve by Ezra Jack Keats

Lesson Plans and Ideas

December Stations 

La Navidad: Resources by Profe de Ele

Activities: La Navidad en España by La clase se Ele 

Rif – Actividades para un día de nieve

Rif – The Snowy Day: Reading Adventure Pack

Songs

Las Navidades by Lulu Delacre

Websites

Spanish Playground: Winter 

Worksheets by iSLCollective

Activities by ELE Internacional

YouTube

La noche mágica de Gaspar

Santa Claus llego a la ciudad

What resources do you use?

How Do You Celebrate El Día de los Muertos / Day of the Dead?

Posted on by Vicky Masson

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!

Día de los Muertos: Art

A Room of her Own: an Altar for my Mother, by Sandra Cisneros

Smithsonian Learning Lab– Smithsonian Latino Center

Day of the Dead – National Geographic Photos

Day of the Dead – Kids NG Photos

Articles

Let Día de los Muertos Stand on Its Own | Learning for Justice

El dia de los muertos en America Latina: su origen y como se celebra

Articles about Day of the Dead by Scholastic Magazines ¿Qué Tal? – Ahora

Día de los Muertos: Books

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The Day of the Dead: A Bilingual Celebration by Bob Barner

Day of the Dead by Tony Johnston, Jeannette Winter (illustrator)

Tumba by Mira Canion

La bruja Winnie by Valery Thomas and Korky Paul

Recuerdo a abuelito by Janice Levy (Author), Loretta Lopez (Illustrator), Miguel Arisa (Translator)

La familia de Federico Rico by Craig Klein Dexemple

Día de los Muertos: Lesson Plans

Smithsonian Learning Lab: People, Place and Time: How Art Reflect Culture – Night of the Dead by Alan Crane

Movies 

Coco

Film School Shorts

Día de los Muertos: Songs

Babelzone – Los esqueletos

La bruja cereza es la mas traviesa

Día de los Muertos: Websites

Spanish Playground

Real Spanish Right Away Free Activities in Spanish, French, Mandarin

YouTubes

Day of the Dead – Flavor and Tradition

Dia de los Muertos – Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead – Sugar Skulls

Day of the Dead- Monarch Butterfly Migration to Michoacán, México

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

Why It is Important to Make Interdisciplinary Connections

Posted on by Vicky Masson

by Gabriela Barbieri

“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

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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), so I 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