Lo tuyo es puro teatro: expresiones útiles (in Spanish)

Posted on by Vicky Masson

By Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor)

El teatro nos ha dado gobernantes arbitrarios, criados sin escrúpulos, príncipes atormentados y amantes irracionales. Pero también nos ha dado expresiones con las que describir situaciones, valorar comportamientos o juzgar actitudes. Conocerlas les permitirá a tus alumnos incrementar su léxico y acercarse aún más a la lengua cotidiana, así que, ¿por qué no enseñárselas?

Algunas de ellas se refieren a elementos escénicos. Pensemos, por ejemplo, en las bambalinas, lienzos entre los que se oculta al público el trasiego de personal durante la representación de una obra. Por ello, decimos que hacemos algo entre bambalinas cuando lo hacemos de forma discreta, para que no llegue a conocimiento de los demás 🤫.

Quien también permanece oculto al público es el apuntador, persona que, situada en una posición estratégica en el escenario, se encarga de dictar el texto a los actores cuando estos olvidan alguna de sus líneas. Su función suele pasar desapercibida 😶‍🌫️, de ahí que se emplee su figura para exagerar la ausencia o presencia de personas en una determinada situación; y así, decimos que a tal o cual acto no fue ni el apuntador o, al contrario, que fue hasta el apuntador.

También podemos encontrar expresiones que hacen referencia a la actuación de los actores y actrices sobre el escenario. Así, por ejemplo, decimos que alguien hace mutis por el foro cuando abandona un lugar sin llamar la atención, en alusión a la salida que los actores hacen del escenario cuando así se lo exige el guión🚶‍♂️.

Si alguien hace mutis por el foro, quizás lo haga para eludir responsabilidades. Otra manera de eludirlas es hacerse el sueco, en referencia a los cómicos del teatro romano, quienes calzaban unos zuecos llamados soccus, y de los que se dice que permanecían impertérritos cuando eran increpados por el público, de ahí que usemos esta expresión para hablar de alguien que trata de desentenderse de un asunto haciéndose el despistado 🤷‍♀️.

Y ya que hablamos de actuaciones, cuando queremos censurar un comportamiento exagerado, falso, no creíble 🧐, podemos considerarlo una pantomima y calificar a quien lo realiza como una persona teatrera 👺.

Por último, algunas de estas expresiones también contienen referencias a obras de teatro o a sus personajes. En este sentido, son perceptibles las alusiones teatrales en ser una celestina o ser un donjuán. Y a ellas podemos añadir al perro del hortelano 🐶, que ni come ni deja comer, o dicho de otra manera, ni disfruta de algo ni permite que otros lo hagan.

Nosotros no vamos a terminar esta entrada haciendo mutis por el foro, sino que lo queremos hacer recordándote que más abajo incluimos una infografía que puede ser útil para tus clases 👇. Igualmente, te pedimos que no te hagas el sueco y no permitas que estas expresiones se queden entre bambalinas y que no las conozca ni el apuntador. ¡Enséñaselas a tus alumnos!

Lo tuyo es puro teatro https://ifspanish.com/en/

And the Stars Align… Combining AI + CI

Posted on by Vicky Masson

By Noemí Rodríguez (LTL Contributor)  

If you are a language teacher, then you are probably using comprehensible input teaching methods (repeat, recycle, repeat) or have heard about them – it is not a surprise that by adjusting language strategically and providing input (either spoken or written) that is tiered to only include words, phrases and structures that students comprehend – students will be able to make meaning of the language and in fact, acquire. Which is how and why Acquisition Driven Instruction works so well. Our goal as language educators is to fill our student’s minds with lots of useful language, so they can USE the language in the future in their presentational and interpersonal communication. This is also why I believe WE (the people who use languages) keep the languages alive- and languages do in fact change and evolve over time, thanks to all of us!

As Generative AI begins to take over how we “do” our day to day tasks – let me attend that meeting but have my AI assistant take notes, let me figure out what is for dinner tonight or let me write that important letter of recommendation – it also makes sense to look at how this incredible technology can assist language teachers with designing resources and activities with comprehensible input at the heart of the design. And, in addition to a CI lens, can we also harness the power of Generative AI to focus on true intercultural aspects of the target language (products, perspectives & practices) AND design lessons that meet ALL of our student’s needs? My friends – the answer is YES!

Let’s begin with THE PROMPT!

The most important part of using any Generative AI tool is how descriptive you are with writing your prompt. Chat GPT is continuing to learn YOU and understand who you ARE – and as a result, you must specify with your language, level, proficiency target(s), students (general information*), content, delivery of content and potential modifications in mind.

I’ve designed the below guide to assist language teachers create a well designed prompt, with the intentionality of having the “export” align with your expectations. I’ve also created a collaborative prompt library for language educators, which is one of the many perks in joining the AI Tools for Language Educators Institute community. When designing your prompt, consider all of the different important elements that you would like to include. A simple rule of thumb is understanding the better the prompt provided, the better the output. Chat GPT or other LLMs of preference can truly serve as your thought partner, brainstorming buddy, content creator or my favorite role- your new personal assistant. Consider the possibilities!

AI @team_lologramos

So, how do we merge the world of AI with CI?

It all goes back to your well designed prompt! By specifying the type of language instruction model you are using, reference using cognates in your language (hopefully they exist!), frequently used words from the target language and specific targeted vocabulary (not sheltering grammar & treating expressions as vocabulary words) – the content created by Generative AI will align to your ADI expectations. And don’t forget to lead with culture in your CI lessons!

Plug the following prompt into your LLM and see what it can do!

Be sure to change the language and/or information that is underlined to make the prompt specific to you and your language class.

You are an acquisition driven instruction teacher of Spanish, which means you focus on delivering comprehensible input and making language easy to understand and comprehend for beginning language learners. You teach a group of 7th grade students in a suburban middle school and they are currently discussing their school schedules and day to day activities using Novice Mid or A1 language. Can you write a paragraph (no more than 150 words each) in Spanish in comparing and contrasting a typical school day in Spain with a typical school day in the United States. Include information about schedules, subjects, and extracurricular activities. Repeat and reuse the following vocabulary expressions at least three times in this paragraph: tiene, empieza, termina, es aburrido, es interesante. In addition to cognates and the vocabulary provided, use ONLY the most frequently used vocabulary in the Spanish language. You can reference this website for the top 100 frequently used words in Spanish to assist you with your development of this reading passage: https://spanishforyourjob.com/commonwords/, use cognates frequently. For this paragraph, create at least five follow up comprehension questions based on this paragraph in Spanish and one open-ended prompt for beginning level language learners to respond. Create a simple table with a typical school schedule with start/end times using military time and specific classes at each time in both countries, in Spanish. And design a simple dialogue between a teenager from Spain and a teenager from U.S.A. discussing the key information from the paragraph about their school days.

Tools to use AI

I used Gemini (Google’s LLM) and it provided the following Google Doc ( *asked if I could export the schedule/table into a Google spreadsheet as well). The fascinating part is that designing this initial resource for me took a matter of seconds. And of course, I can look at this “School Life” reading as an initial draft and go in to make modifications to further customize it, understanding that my students should comprehend at least 90% of this reading. I can also have the LLM create “tiered” versions of this text, further simplifying it or making it a bit more challenging, to allow for students to read the text at their individual reading level. And – to take this reading passage and use an AI tool to design a slideshow export – head over to Diffit.me and copy/paste your text into the third section labeled “Any text or excerpt” and let the magic happen! Diffit.me can also export into Google Docs, Google Forms, pptx or PDF files.

Another great way to merge the world of AI with CI is with chatbot design and providing a low-stakes environment for interpersonal practice! I had previously blogged about using chatbots in the language classroom as conversational partners. Remember, your chatbot can be ANYONE! So who would you like your students to chat with? Someone famous? An artist? A musician? An athlete? And the same goes with WHAT your students are chatting about with their chatbots – you can ask your chatbot to target specific vocabulary and adhere to the provided conversational rules. Similarly to those reading passages, you have to set the specific parameters with language use and level to ensure that the chatbot adheres to your expectations and truly becomes a great language practice partner for your students!

One more tip considering how a CI-focused teacher can leverage the power of AI tools – Generative AI can also design images, change backgrounds and create videos for you! So, if you have a fun story that you were never really able to locate the right pictures to match the storyline – check out Canva, Magic Design and see what image(s) or video can be generated for you. Here are some neat images that I generated this afternoon while working with a fantastic group of language teachers!

Canva also now has Dall-E (OpenAI’s Image Generator) and as teachers, we receive premium access to this incredible platform. Canva has so many neat capabilities, I continue to enjoy exploring and experimenting- check out their “AI-powered” apps!

Looking to dive in deeper with AI?

Here is where I would love to continue to help support your journey as a language teacher! I have designed an asynchronous course as mentioned before: The AI Tools Institute for Language Classrooms (with monthly support built in*), host free-virtual meetings often for the Team Lo Logramos FB community, and will present a two-part webinar series in May with the incredible Joe Dale (@joedale) ! Please also do follow @team_lologramos to stay connected!

I hope this post has given you some great ideas on how to leverage Generative AI with a CI focus in the future

LoLogramos – Get a $5 off discount when you use the code LTL5 at checkout, exceptions may apply

Students Move Forward: Proficiency in the World Language Class

Posted on by Vicky Masson
students move forward: proficiency in the world language class

Move forward, the theme for the month, was inspired by a question I have been pondering a lot lately; 

How might a proficiency-based curriculum approach help students move forward in their language acquisition? 

There is a huge difference in an educational setting between noticing language and acquiring language once students have time to process it. Acquiring language is making it yours to use when communicating. 

This first question inspired other questions. 

How do you implement a proficiency-based approach in the language classroom? What type of questions should I/ we ask to develop students’ language proficiency to move forward?

A proficiency-based language approach has the objective to help students think and communicate ideas. 

When answering questions, students demonstrate specific understandings, knowledge, and language skills that over time, reflect progress and the transition from one proficiency level to the next.

Teaching for proficiency starts by asking the right questions to help students develop communicative functions based on a context provided: describing, explaining, comparing, etc. It is about finding meaning and having a purpose to communicate what helps students to move forward in their language acquisition.

What is the data on the topic? 

There is an array of data on proficiency-based language instruction. These are some worth- exploring resources:

What lesson plan works best for implementing a proficiency-based language learning that help students move forward?

This is one lesson plan template I use for planning for proficiency. It helps to ask the right questions and plan accordingly. Use it and let me know if it helps.

What rubrics best align with a proficiency-based approach to language instruction?

Rubrics may be used for grading, giving feedback, self-assessment, and goal-setting. They can help students understand expectations and components of an assignment, become more aware of their learning process, and improve their work through timely and detailed feedback.

One possibility is the ‘single-point rubric’ as explained in the Cult of Pedagogy. Teachers can create the criteria to meet expectations for the assignment, provide feedback on areas for improvement, and have evidence of exceeding standards. The rubrics for World Languages from the Ohio Department of Education show examples of rubrics for each mode of communication. Organic World Language (OWL) also offers great rubrics to assess student proficiency in the language. 

What do you do if your innovative teaching methods are met with resistance from students or other stakeholders? 

Don’t give up! 

Students need an authentic purpose for learning, relevant learning experiences, and a real audience. They also need to have these questions answered,

  • Why is this important?
  • How will I use it?
  • How does this connect with something I already know? 

When I read the book Innovate Inside the Box: Empowering Learners Through UDL and the Innovator’s Mindset it reminded me to center my teaching around those questions important to students. This book also inspired me to create and innovate within the constraints of the educational setting I am immersed in. 

Other things that can be helpful if you feel there is resistance from students and other stakeholders are: 

  • Communicating the goals and benefits of using this approach 
  • Repeating the goals and benefits of a proficiency-based approach as needed and providing new ideas and examples
  • Explaining the proficiency levels to students and showing them what it looks like in terms of language use
  • Evaluating and re-evaluating students’ progress
  • Inviting teachers to the classroom 
  • Understanding the perspective of other stakeholders

In the classroom, welcome questions, ask students for feedback, create a structure to support ambiguity, and help students become comfortable with the uncomfortable. 

What would you recommend for a novice language teacher or anyone who would like to implement a proficiency-based approach to their language instruction? What workshops, classes, or online/onsite courses would help achieve their goals? 

I highly recommend starting your journey by attending an Organic World Language training, either online or onsite, as a way of immersing yourself in the experience. 

Other recommendations include becoming familiar with the Teacher Effectiveness for Language Learning Framework and taking the Avant Advance online teaching training, 

Of course, attend state, regional, and national conferences for world language educators such as GWATFL, NECTFL, and ACTFL. Get involved in your local professional learning communities! 

Students and teachers alike will move forward in the proficiency-based teaching and learning continuum.

students move forward: proficiency in the world language class

Motivating and Inspiring Through Music in Language Lessons

Posted on by Vicky Masson

by Maria Martinez (LTL Contributor)

Looking back at what motivated me as a learner when I was a child and I started learning English, brings back memories from my primary school years in a small village in the south of Spain. Back then foreign languages were introduced in Year 6 (at age 12).

Before that, I’ve had my first contact with English through music like most of us did back then, listening to Madonna, Michael Jackson and all the great singers from the 80s, (I’m showing my age now…🙃😊) musicals like Grease, etc. And of course, I loved singing their songs without having a clue about their content and mispronouncing every single word: “Wi ar de worl, wi ar de children!” or “Laik a berjen, tach for the beri ferst taim” 🤣

One day, I remember that one of my sister’s friends heard me singing and started laughing at me (not only because of my singing, but more because of the words that I was saying… Well, not that she knew any better, as she was older than me and the older generations were learning French…). I must have been around 8 or 9 years old, but I remember it really annoyed me and that day I decided that one day I would speak English really well and that I would understand every single word from my favorite singers.

Some years later, when I was about 12-13 and I was already learning English at the school, I remember that I had fallen in love with the boy band of that time “New Kids On The Block.” I used to spend hours and hours listening to their songs, rewinding my tapes (very 80s!) and writing down the lyrics that I could understand by decoding them on my own and using my Spanish/English dictionary to find out what they were singing about.

Ahhh the 80s! No Google Translate back then to help me, all manual… But you know what? There was something about that process that really helped those words and sentences stick better in my head and allow them to stay in the long-term memory and embed themselves as part of my vocabulary. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am really in love with technology and all the advantages that it brings; however, I am seeing how relying too much on technology is making us all slowly less sharp… Faster for some things, but in terms of independent learning and reasoning, I think that the abuse of technology could make us lose some of our intellectual capacities gradually, so I believe that keeping a balance is very important. The key thing is to find the balance, like with everything else in life.

Music in Language Lessons

Going back to the motivation and inspiration when learning languages, I believe that Music is without a doubt a tool to be used in lessons as frequently as possible. I invite you to the section in my channel called  MUSIC & ACTIVITIES IN SPANISH & ENGLISH LESSONS, where I post and recommend songs and activities related to them.

I try to choose songs that have great messages, key structures, verb tenses that need to be revised (subjuntivo, pretéritos, etc.) Also, I try to give ideas of activities that you can do in Spanish and English lessons. I hope you find them helpful and include music in your lessons to motivate and inspire students. Be on the look as I will be uploading many more soon.

Check that section of the channel and let me know!

♡ Website: www.bilingualcerebros.com

♡ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bilingualcerebros

♡ instagram: https://www.instagram.com/languages_sra_martinez/

♡ tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bilingualcerebros

♡ facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LanguagesResourcesSraMartinez

♡ twitter: https://twitter.com/LanguagesSra

♡ linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-martinez-5bb94a1a5/

Con las cosas serias no se juega… ¿o sí? (in Spanish)

Posted on by Vicky Masson

by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor)

El diccionario de la RAE define serio/-a como real, verdadero y sincero, sin engaño o burla, doblez o disimulo. Teniendo en cuenta esta definición, no nos equivocamos si decimos que la enseñanza del español es una cosa muy seria. Nosotros nos la tomamos muy en serio y estamos seguros de que tú también lo haces.

Pero eso no significa que siempre debas ser un profe serio ni que siempre tengas que estar seria en tus clases 🤨❌️. Y es que también podemos hacer que el español sea real, verdadero y sincero con juegos 🎲🃏.

En esta entrada te presentamos algunos juegos con los que conseguirás que tus alumnos se lo tomen muy en serio pasando un momento realmente divertido. Vamos con ellos:

👉 4 en letras: se trata de un juego ideal para que tus estudiantes puedan rescatar de su memoria palabras cortas y sencillas que seguramente ya hayan visto y conozcan. No importa si son plurales, formas verbales o topónimos; cualquier combinación que resulte en una palabra correcta en español dará un punto a quien la consiga. 4️⃣

👉 Mim Too: juego idóneo para que tus alumnos pierdan la vergüenza y eliminen el estrés. Deberán hacer mímica 🫶 para representar a un personaje 🥸, objeto 🫖 o animal 🐶 que haga una determinada acción. ¿Te imaginas a un guardaespaldas regando plantas carnívoras? ¿O a una tetera haciendo patinaje sobre hielo? ¡Pues estamos seguros de que tus estudiantes sabrán representarlo!

👉 Sospechosos inhabituales: juego colaborativo que reproduce una rueda de reconocimiento policial y que sirve para que tus alumnos, a partir de un nivel A2, puedan practicar el vocabulario relativo a hábitos, gustos y personalidad de una manera original. ¡Deberán ponerse de acuerdo para encontrar al culpable! 👮‍♀️👮🏽‍♂️

👉 Dixit: las imágenes de sus cartas lo convierten en un juego atractivo en clases de español. Tus estudiantes deberán asociar una carta determinada a un concepto concreto (puedes proponer ideas como “subjuntivo”, “las clases de español”, etc.), en función de lo que les evoque el dibujo, y luego tendrán que adivinar la imagen elegida por sus compañeros. ¡La inclusión de este juego en niveles intermedios y avanzados es una apuesta segura! 🖼✅️❌️

Esta pequeña selección no es más que una muestra del uso que se les puede dar a los juegos en nuestras clases. Juguemos con nuestros estudiantes, sin importar su edad, y conseguiremos que se tomen el español muy en serio.

Juegos en la clase de ELE

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!

Una lengua con cuerpo (in Spanish)

Posted on by Vicky Masson

by Ramón Clavijo (LTL Contributor)

Cuando un estudiante está con el agua al cuello 👤💧🔝, necesita que le eches una mano 🫳❤️. Si confía en tu capacidad como profesor o profesora, si entre vosotros se establece una relación de lealtad, estamos seguros de que acabará poniendo la mano en el fuego por ti 🫳🔥. Y no porque tú te creas el ombligo del mundo 🌎, sino porque habéis llegado a ser uña y carne 🫶.

Pero no solo nuestros estudiantes necesitan ayuda. También nosotros necesitamos sentirnos arropados. Cuando tenemos la sensación de que nos hemos levantado con el pie izquierdo 🦶😞, cuando sentimos que no somos capaces de dar la cara 🫣, cuando estamos irascibles y sacamos las uñas 💅 a la menor adversidad… siempre viene bien sentir el apoyo de una sonrisa amiga 😄. Sobre todo en nuestra profesión: somos lo que transmitimos, y si expresamos optimismo, nuestros alumnos aprenderán mejor👨🏾‍🎓👩‍🎓🥰.

Estamos seguros de que cuando te encuentras en una situación así, hay alguien a tu lado en disposición de ayudarte 😊, alguien que, sin pelos en la lengua 👅, te aconseja de manera sincera. Nosotros, por nuestra parte, tal vez no podamos hacer mucho desde estas líneas, pero lo que tenemos claro es que, si algún profe necesita recursos para sus clases, no vamos a quedarnos de brazos cruzados 🙆🏻‍♀️.

Por eso, te dejamos una infografía con unas cuantas expresiones idiomáticas relacionadas con las partes del cuerpo, por si la encuentras útil para llevarla al aula. Y es que el español, como un buen vino, es una lengua «con cuerpo» 🍷🤭.

Modismos con partes del cuerpo I

Academia Iria Flavia

Teaching and Celebrating International Days in World Language Classes

Posted on by Vicky Masson

Teaching and celebrating international days in World Language classes helps students see the power of learning languages. The International Days in September are particularly special to me. They help me set the tone of what is important in class, they help expand students’ global views, and they help me see how (un)comfortable students are in an immersion-style class. We celebrate International Literacy Day, September 8 and International Dot Day, September 15. In this post, we will only talk about International Literacy Day.

International Literacy Day (ILD) has been recognized on September 8 since 1967, when UNESCO chose this day as a reminder of the importance of literacy as a human right. Each year, UNESCO adopts a theme and the one for this year is “Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies.” I wondered if my students would grasp this theme, and  I was pleasantly surprised when they surpassed my expectations. 

I presented  UNESCO’s theme, an image, a poster, and a book to my students, and used thinking routines to help go deeper into comprehending the concept of “Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies.”

First, students found cognates, such as,  ‘promoting’ ‘transition’ ‘foundation’ ‘sustainable’ and ‘societies’. and familiar words, within the theme for the year. 

Then, students studied and described the image from the ILD concept note to go deeper in their understanding. It was developed by UNESCO and showed the relationship between literacy and the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The image I used is the following:

There are posters with the Sustainable Development Goals icons in my classroom, so my  students are very familiarized with them. They observed the symbols in the image, and started making connections. Here, they ‘got’ the word ‘peaceful’.

The second visual was the poster created by UNESCO to celebrate ILD. Students worked with a peer and in small groups to describe the poster and then discussed it as a class. The poster I used is the following:

Students loved the poster! It brought the words ‘literacy’ and ‘world’ to the forefront. I had to explain with gestures the word ‘building’ as it is not a cognate or a familiar word to my students. After I helped them figure out the meaning of “building”, they got what “Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies” meant. It was one of those ‘Aha’ moments in learning.

I chose a book that showed a concrete example related to the ILD theme for 2023. I read “El violín de Ada” written by Susan Wood and translated by Shelley McConnell. It is based on the story of the “Cateura Orchestra” in Paraguay that made its instruments with recycled materials. Students immediately connected the story to ‘building sustainable and peaceful societies’. Many of my students play instruments so they made a personal connection to the story.

Moment of truth! It was time to put ideas together. I asked them to connect the theme, the book, the image, and the poster to see how much they really understood. For this, students used the Project Zero Thinking Routines “10×2” in 5th grade and Hexagonal Thinking in 6th grade.

I loved how my 5th graders stretched their thinking and completed the thinking routine using a limited number of words. They wrote words familiar to them and then they asked me if words like ‘creative’ ‘talented’ ‘curiosity’ were cognates and tried to figure them out in Spanish. Students felt so proud of their work, and I was proud too.

I gave each of my 6th graders a printed sheet of paper full of hexagons. They had to individually write a word connecting the resources in each hexagon. Afterwards, in groups of 3, they glued their cut hexagons by grouping them by themes. In the end, they had to write a phrase that described the groupings. It was my first time using hexagonal thinking and I loved how students worked individually and in small groups, and what they created. All groups concluded that education is fundamental for building strong communities. ‘Wow!’ I thought, ‘they got it.’

Have you integrated international day celebrations into your world language classes? How do you think teaching and celebrating international days in world language classes might impact your curriculum? If you have not started celebrating international days yet, start by choosing one that you want to share with your students. Then, think of one or two activities that you can include in your class. Next year you will revisit your plan and I am sure that you will be adding a spin to it. This is one way of starting integrating international days into your world language classes. International day celebrations set the tone for what is important. 

Wonder.me in a World Language Class

Posted on by Vicky Masson

“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?