For most of us, curiosity to learn about a new culture is what brought us to this field of world language teaching. Maybe you were attracted to learning about new cultural food, architecture, art or language.
I remember feeling so thirsty for knowledge when I was a student… I still show that characteristic and joke that I could be a forever student.
Culture is a key component of world language classes, and so is discovering and empowering our students’ voices. So where do we start? I’ve had students that say they don’t have a culture; they don’t feel they identify with any practice or perspective. But when we start asking questions and challenging their cultural beliefs, interesting answers come forward. A way we teachers can start the discussion is by using the cultural tree model, found in Zaretta Hammond’s book Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain. The tree model can help us explain to students how different aspects of culture range from being surface level to deep level.
My work with cultural literacy in the classroom is guided by the ACTFL Cultural Standards of products, practices and perspectives. This means that students need to be acquainted with these terms and understand their meaning before they proceed to higher order thinking skills or write essays about cultural comparisons.
Think: What definitions of culture do you use in the classroom?
The definitions that we use in class for products, practices and perspectives are the following:
PRODUCTS: Are the things people make and use. They can be tangible (an item of clothing, a dish, a craft, a monument) or intangible (laws, the education system or other institutions).
PRACTICES: Are people’s actions. The way they celebrate festive days and events like birthdays and weddings, but also daily activities such as the way members of a culture greet each other, learn, work and interact daily.
PERSPECTIVES: Signal how people of a culture view the world around them, what are their values and beliefs. For example, the relationship between man and nature, attitudes towards life and death, religious beliefs, the concepts of family and friendships, the value of work. Even if we can’t observe perspectives, we can infer them by observing products and practices within a culture.
We need to break down the three Ps and this can be done in numerous ways. One of them is to bring to class an object that has cultural significance, it could be linked to your heritage even. Being Argentinean, one of the cultural products I like to share with my students is the mate, a traditional drink in my country. Not only do I bring the mate and talk about its cultural value, I also show how it is prepared (a cultural practice) and how the ritual of drinking mate is viewed in my community (a cultural perspective). I enjoy explaining how, to drink mate, we require different components (products) that make the cultural practice.
Source: Mamá, quiero mate by Catalina Di Cocco, 2017
Analyze: Why is it important to teach these cultural standards?
It is important to teach these cultural standards mainly for two reasons:
–To encourage critical thinking: students develop critical thinking skills through analysis and interpretation of cultural phenomena.
–To foster global citizenship: cultivate global citizenship by fostering respect for diversity and promoting intercultural understanding and communication.
Some actionable ideas to work with the three Ps in the classroom through student voice enhancement:
1 Warm-up activity. Have students run a relay race by mentioning as many products, practices and perspectives they can think of in a given amount of time. Make sure you introduce the meaning behind them first. The groups will then need to explain their answers
2 Bring a cultural product that you value, it could relate to your heritage. You can ask students to bring their own cultural product to share with the class, explaining why they chose that specific product. Have students think about the relationship between the product and a cultural practice. We can then help them think how it relates to a cultural perspective.
3 Read an article as a class that touches on cultural products, practices and/or perspectives, and guide the discussion using prepared questions. Remember that perspectives are usually the hardest ones for students to think about on their own. To help you search for an article in the target language, you can think of some of the AP themes crossover (for example: global challenges, beauty and aesthetics, etc.). Don’t be shy to include data and statistics that could add more layers of depth to a topic.
4 Storytelling and research. Ask your students if they can remember a time when they were struck by how something was done differently in another country/community. Ask them to share how they came to know about the said practice and what were their reactions. Instruct them to research that practice to gain a deeper understanding of its cultural value. This can be presented to the class afterwards.
5 Compare two celebrations. Have students compare a celebration from their country/community and one from a different culture. They can do this via a visual representation such as a Venn diagram (to add a TPR approach, you could use hula hoops to represent the Venn diagram and cut out words). Make sure they are considering the three Ps when doing the comparison. This is a good practice step before writing essays. Have students explain their comparisons.
6 Case studies and debates. Deliberate first on a case study (consider a multitude of options to a given issue). Consider how the three Ps will be intertwined. After deliberating, have a classroom debate based on the case study.
Some challenges you might encounter and how to avoid misinterpretation, judgment and incorrect evaluation:
1 Stereotyping – Encourage critical analysis and avoid generalizations. All stereotypes have some level of truth, so teach about them first by giving examples your students might know.
2 Cultural Insensitivity – Promote respectful language and avoid offensive comparisons. Give a couple of concrete examples or stories for students to grasp this concept and its consequences of not practicing it.
3 Lack of resources – Use online tools and collaborate with cultural experts. There are wonderful videos like the TED talk “The danger of a single story” that would greatly help expand students’ understanding. Provide your students with interesting, current and authentic resources.
Think: What activities have you used so far to work with cultural comparisons and the three Ps?
Hace años tenía un montón de sueños. Ahora lo que tengo es sueño 😴 y un montón de años… Es posible que alguna vez hayas leído esta frase entre las muchas que, a modo de chanza, podemos encontrar por la red. Pero más allá de su pertinencia para crear algún meme gracioso con el que asumir de manera jocosa las consecuencias del paso del tiempo en nuestras vidas, dicha frase pone de manifiesto la versatilidad de la palabra sueño en español.
En efecto, a diferencia de otras lenguas romances, la evolución etimológica nos ha dado a los hispanohablantes una mayor pluralidad en cuanto a las acepciones de sueño, palabra con la que podemos designar tanto la necesidad fisiológica de dormir como las escenas que se representan mientras dormimos, así como los deseos o anhelos que nos motivan a buscar nuestras metas.
Asimismo, según el significado que transmita, sueño va asociado a diferentes verbos y expresiones, incluyan o no la palabra. Dicho de otro modo, su campo léxico es muy amplio, pues está formado por numerosas expresiones, modismos y combinaciones léxicas que usamos en nuestro día a día y que tus estudiantes deberían conocer. Por ello, con esta entrada, incluimos una infografía en la que podrás encontrar algunas de estas expresiones.
Dichos significados, al igual que las implicaciones socioculturales que conllevan, están presentes en numerosos manuales de español en diferentes niveles. Así pues, nos gustaría hablarte de algunos de ellos, por si te pudieran resultar útiles para tus clases. Sin embargo, para no alargar demasiado esta entrada y evitar que se te cierren los ojos mientras la lees 😪, dejaremos dichos recursos para nuestra próxima publicación, abrigando el sueño de que la leerás con tanta atención como esperemos que hayas leído esta.
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?
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:
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?
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:
How can we lead with culture on a daily basis in our classrooms?
Culture can serve as your daily catalyst, as it did for me! A few months ago I had the opportunity to teach a High School Spanish Level III class and we began with the unit, “Stories of the Past”. The unit’s communicative functions & essential questions are: -How does our past define who we are? -How does our present shape our future? -Recount the past -Describe how life used to be -Compare/contrast life in the past to the present
Working with department colleagues, we established that we would utilize the reader, “La Llorona de Mazatlan” and backwards planned our unit with the reader in mind, with a focus on Mexican culture, stories & legends.
As I began with this unit, I had an approximate window of when this unit would conclude and the different points of entry that I wanted to explore with students, based on the upcoming reader, vocabulary & structures necessary to address these communicative goals. I also started the school year with this unit and chose to focus primarily on describing past events & actions. So I began to plan out my weeks….
Week 1/2: Getting to Know Each Other, Establishing a Classroom Community/Goals & Descriptions of Summer Vacations (Google Slideshow)
Getting to know students and establishing a positive classroom culture is a key ingredient from day one. One way I approached this concept was doing a “Breakout” with students. Thanks to Kristine Keefe-Hasan (@kkeefe_hasan) aka LaProfeAlta, I was introduced to her breakout, Gozadera, which had the students working in teams to try to unlock the puzzles! It was neat to see them working together to build our classroom community during the first few days together. I also used Canva to design my Spanish III syllabus, which was a different way to approach the typical first-day class outline. (rodriguez syllabus espanol iii)
I started off by describing what I had done in the summer and ironically, I had recently taken a trip to Mexico with my family. I was able to provide input through images and video of my experience and as a pre-assessment for students, asked that the students share the same through the creation of a Screencast video of their summer vacations. This provided me with immediate insight as to how well the students could describe past events and from this, I changed my instructional practices to further emphasize descriptions in the past.
Week 3: Highlighting Famous Spanish-Speaking Individuals (Google Slideshow)
After the first class meeting, I knew the students needed way more input! I selected the biographical reader, Vidas Impactantes, and broke the class into six different groups, to allow students to become “experts” on a particular Spanish-speaking individual and to also highlight Hispanic Heritage Month.
Students read in class and I utilized the technique of “Reciprocal Reading” as students alternated which role they played as they read in small groups. As a follow-up assessment, students created informative Google Slideshows about their individual to be shared with the class. They were also given an interpretive reading and presentational writing assessment/quiz focused on key vocabulary. This key vocabulary pulled from Vidas Impactantes had a direct correlation to the unit’s essential questions & the upcoming reader: La Llorona.
These weeks served as recycling vocabulary from La Llorona, so I continued with my emphasis on input by providing students with (4) Mexican legends that we would read together and discuss. I also provided vocabulary lists through Quizlet, which students practiced with vocabulary both in/out of class. I displayed these lists for students to view & we also “acted” out the words as a whole group.
I utilized different reading techniques such as volleyball translation, whole group reading, popsicle stick reading (randomly calling on students to continue), paired reading and stop/summarize reading. Each legend that students read was read differently. After reading and discussing these different legends, students discussed which was their “favorite” and interviewed my sister-in-law via Skype, who happens to be from Mexico. I also used the song & music video, “Robarte un beso” to emphasize my sister-in-law’s favorite legend: El Callejón del Beso.
Week 6/7/8: La Llorona, Our IPA, The Reader & Mexico: El Presente (Google Slideshow 1 , 2 )
Before diving into the reader, “La Llorona”, I wanted to build background knowledge for the students about this legend. Students completed an EdPuzzle activity for homework and I conducted a MovieTalk narrating the legend using a Youtube video. I posted the La Llorona vocabulary in the back of the classroom, so as I retold the story, I could continue to recycle/emphasize certain words.
At this point, I felt the students were ready to engage in a summative Integrated Performance Assessment with the emphasis of Mexican Legends. Students were provided a different version of La Llorona to read & respond to questions as their interpretive portion, students engaged in a Writers Workshop process by re-writing their own version of their favorite Mexican legend and finally, students had to re-tell their stories/ask questions about one another’s favorite legends for their interpersonal portion via Flip. Questions posed to assist with their conversations were as follows:
Describa tu leyenda mexicana a tu compañero.
¿Quién es parte de tu leyenda? ¿Qué pasó?
¿Cómo terminó tu leyenda? ¿Te gustó la leyenda? ¿Por qué?
We began to read the reader as a class and at this point, because of the backward design process and all of the “preloading” of the important vocabulary that was coming up in this reader, students were able to comprehend 90-95% of the story. In one of the beginning chapters, a discussion between the main character and her father takes place about whether or not Mexico is a safe country. We paused as a class to explore this question and I used materials created by the wonderful Kara Jacobs (@karacjacobs) to discuss narco-violence.
Taking it a step further and hoping to have students further connect, my brother who is a police officer shared via Google Hangouts how widespread Mexican cartel violence truly is as he described some of his experiences with local gangs and hostage situations. Please know that my intention was not to scare these 10th/11th-grade students but to ensure that they are aware that these crimes are happening globally and also, affecting our communities locally in New Jersey.
Culture Daily
A wonderful aspect about these culturally relevant readers is that it does provide a teacher with moments to transition for a bit outside of the reader and dive into a topic that is compelling/interesting for the students to explore & discuss.
My short experience with teaching Spanish III proved that you CAN utilize common curriculum documents, essential questions, and communicative functions but still allow culture to guide the path & planning of daily lessons. I chose to emphasize Mexico, Mexican culture and legends but there are many different ways one can go to reach that same goal of utilizing a culturally relevant reader with students for communicative purposes!
Language Teaching Lab’s Professional Development Initiatives (PDI) is a key component of the what, how, and why of language teaching and learning. Teacher Talks and the LTL Book Club fill a gap in the PDIs already offered by other world language organizations.
The Teacher Talksis a space and time to discuss specific topics related to the what, how, and why of language teaching and learning.
The LTLBook Clubis an opportunity to converse with other world language educators about the book chosen for the month, on topics and themes relevant to world language educators.
Both PDIs are based on reading (books or other sources related to world language learning), talking to like-minded and diverse groups of educators, listening to the different voices in the Language Teaching Lab community, and self-reflecting on your teaching and learning.
Ideally, educators should read the materials before the discussions, but we know that sometimes, there is no time to do it. With that being said, attending these PDIs, i.e. listening to other educators explore rich ideas from the books and how they transfer in the classroom setting, might help us move forward in our personal and professional lives. So, I encourage you to attend, even if you have no time to finish reading the materials!
The topics and themes of the books are universal and geared toward finding answers, asking questions, and gaining new insights into language teaching and learning. But that is not all! As part of the PDI community, you may connect with educators who teach the same language, or level or share your philosophy. You may also end up connecting your classes as pen pal friends, for video exchanges, and much more.
We know that learning languages opens doors to global opportunities and enriches lives. LTL PDIs is all about empowering teachers to cultivate critical thinkers, life-long learners, and global citizens in every classroom. Language Teaching Lab PDIs connect world language educators to learn together and help us grow professionally and personally.
I love this time of the year! But when I come to think about it, it wasn’t always the case…
I grew up in Spain, and when I was little, this time of the year was the beginning of the cold weather, shorter days, longer nights, and still a long wait for Christmas…
At the beginning of November, we celebrate “All Saints Day”. However, as a child, I didn’t like it, because it would mean going to the cemetery and in those days, children weren’t explained much about it, the importance of that commemoration and its meaning. So, to be honest, I didn’t like it very much…
However, today, things have changed very much. Thanks to the Internet and social media and the globalization that they brought, we can learn about different ways to celebrate similar things in different cultures.
I really find it fascinating how El Día de Muertos is celebrated in México compared to how somber the topic of death is in Spain. It is a great teaching opportunity in lessons to talk about how the same topic can be perceived so differently in different countries.
The new generations are enjoying experiencing these traditions, even when they are not typical from their own countries. For example, in Spain in the past, Halloween was always a foreign celebration that you would see in the movies. Nowadays, Halloween is celebrated in many Spanish cities and even small villages and children can experience it firsthand.
The same thing can be said about El Día de Muertos in the United States. Nowadays, it is celebrated in many major and smaller cities, for example in Los Angeles, San Diego, Alburquerque to name a few. And it is not only the celebration itself, but the learning about its meaning and all the traditions around it in schools so that children grow up with the experience of this celebration but also an understanding of its meaning.
I invite you to watch a few resources related to these 3 topics: Halloween, El Día de Muertos y El Día de Todos los Santos. Remember that if you need the PDF or PPT versions from these resources, you can contact me on bilingualcerebros@gmail.com and I will be happy to share them with you. They are free.
Do you like this time of the year? Was your experience growing up different too?
¡Me encanta esta época del año! Pero cuando lo pienso, no siempre fue así…
Crecí en España, y cuando era pequeña, esta época del año significaba siempre el comienzo del frío, los días más cortos, las noches más largas y aún había que esperar mucho para la Navidad…
A principios de noviembre celebramos el “Día de Todos los Santos”. Sin embargo, cuando era niña no me gustaba, porque significaba ir al cementerio y en aquellos días a los niños no se les explicaba mucho sobre eso, la importancia de esa conmemoración y su significado. Entonces, para ser honesta, no me gustaba mucho…
Sin embargo, hoy las cosas han cambiado mucho. Gracias a Internet y las redes sociales y la globalización que trajeron, podemos aprender sobre diferentes formas de celebrar estos días en diferentes culturas.
Encuentro realmente fascinante cómo se celebra el Día de Muertos en México en comparación con lo sombrío que es el tema de la muerte en España. Es una gran oportunidad didáctica para hablar en las lecciones sobre cómo el mismo tema puede percibirse de manera tan diferente en diferentes países.
Las nuevas generaciones disfrutan viviendo estas tradiciones, incluso cuando no son típicas de sus propios países. Por ejemplo, en España antiguamente Halloween siempre fue una celebración extranjera que se veía en las películas. Hoy en día, Halloween se celebra en la mayoría de las ciudades españolas e incluso en algunos pueblos pequeños y los niños pueden vivirlo en primera persona.
Lo mismo puede decirse del Día de Muertos en Estados Unidos. Hoy en día, se celebra en muchas ciudades grandes y pequeñas, por ejemplo, en Los Ángeles, San Diego y Alburquerque, por nombrar algunas. Y no es sólo la celebración en sí, sino el aprendizaje en los colegios sobre su significado y todas las tradiciones que la rodean para que los niños crezcan con la experiencia de esta celebración, pero también con la comprensión de su significado.
Te invito a ver algunos recursos relacionados con estos 3 temas: Halloween, El Día de Muertos y El Día de Todos los Santos. Recuerda que, si necesita las versiones PDF o PPT de estos recursos, puede contactarme en bilingualcerebros@gmail.com y estaré feliz de compartirlas contigo. Son gratis.
¿Te gusta esta época del año? ¿Tuviste una experiencia diferente en tu niñez?
If you are reading this article, you might feel intrigued by using digital escape rooms in your World Language classroom. Whether this is your first try at digital escape rooms or a returning fan, here I share some ideas and steps that might be helpful
Starting with…why even do a digital escape room (DER)?
Digital escape rooms are basically an activity online where there is an imaginary room you and/or your group must escape from by solving several clues that will finally release you from the room. Physical escape rooms also exist, and you can try them in your class or with friends at a special venue. It’s fun!
So what are the benefits of DER?
For starters, their versatility for any unit of your curriculum. They help boost collaborative work and engage students through problem solving and critical thinking. They are also easy to tailor to your classroom’s needs and a novel way to incorporate culture. Last but not least, they prove engaging for educators looking to be creative with their assignments.
When to use DERs
You could create a DER for the end of your unit to review the contents seen in class, or you could incorporate them as an introductory activity (keeping in mind that students should be able to tap into their background knowledge in the target language).
As a plus, digital escape rooms engage students in all core language skills: reading from the clues, listening to audio resources and instructions, writing to solve the clues and speaking between peers and with their teacher, using the target language.
A teacher can also differentiate through escape rooms by incorporating:
different modalities of resources: text, auditory and visual
different roles of the players to exploit their talents
design an escape room where different paths lead to the same goal
Next is…brainstorming DERs
The sky’s the limit when designing a digital escape room. You could base them on any unit you taught, in any language, for every level of language.
Before starting the building process, teachers need to consider the backwards design planning. This stage can be exhilarating and creative, but you need to be crystal clear on what your objectives are before starting to plan the storyline.
Some questions to ask yourself:
What are my objectives? Your escape room might be based on a unit or a reading you did in class.
What skills do you want your students to have mastered or practiced after the activity?
Storyline? What narrative are you thinking of?
What rules will I establish for my escape room? Will I give limited attempts to help each group? Will I let them use any resource from the class material? Will it be a collaborative or individual activity? F2F or fully virtual?
Okay…now how do I actually start a DER?
To introduce the technical content, I will clarify that even though there are many ways to create DERs, I will focus on the steps to follow when creating them on Google slides. And don’t worry if your school or institution does not use Google.
Step 1: Set the room and the mood
On a blank Google slide, choose your background by clicking on “Background”, then choose an image from your computer or search the web. To add any elements into the room, insert an image. When searching the web, you can add the words “transparent png” to the search to make sure the image does not have a background when you add it onto the slide. You can also add yourself as an emoji from the Bitmoji Chrome Extension in your browser.
Step 2: Create locks
You might create your lock/s in a separate Google form. You can customize the header image, add a title and introduction. Remember to click on the three-dot menu to turn on the option “response validation”. You might add a final message once the lock is “opened”. Another way is to use an external tool to create the actual visual locks, such as Flippity.
Step 3: Construct clues
You can choose if you want to set a path of linear clues or let the students find clues randomly. Finding clues randomly will make the game more complex and test their collaboration and communication skills more. You also must decide if you will add any “distractions”, so elements that don’t really lead to anything. This will also add a level of complexity to the game since students will have to discern what elements serve them for their mission and which ones don’t. You will need to produce links from the elements in the room to the different clues (external sites or Google forms for example).
Step 4: Set a timer and make it competitive!
To set a timer, click on “add video” and search Youtube for a timer specific to the number of minutes you want. Just make sure to watch it first to ensure it is appropriate for school.
Step 5: Share it and have fun!
After testing the DER, copy the URL of the slide and paste it into a blank slide. Change the “/edit” in the URL to “/preview” and hit “Apply”. You will have to allow access so that anyone with the link can view. You can find these settings under the “Share” button on the upper right corner. To make sure your slide gets published and seen, click on “File”, “Share” and “Publish to web”.
Feel free to reach out and share your DERs!
Here is an example of a final DER that I created for a unit based on “Agentes secretos y el mural de Picasso” by Mira Canion:
Give it a try! Click on the picture or check this link. This is an example so that you get an idea. Please, do not get discouraged if you cannot advance much.
Hace un año, un usuario de Instagram le pidió a la inteligencia artificial 🗣🤖 que generase imágenes en las que se representara a las comunidades autónomas de España 🇪🇸 como si fueran personas. Después, compartió los resultados a través de su cuenta y las reacciones no se hicieron esperar: se abrió un debate respecto a si reflejaban o no la realidad de cada comunidad 🗨🗯.
En efecto, ¿por qué se habría elegido, para representar la esencia de una determinada región española, a una persona de un género, edad o rasgos concretos? Bueno, se supone que dichas imágenes fueron generadas después de que el usuario en cuestión hubiera introducido datos relativos a aspectos geográficos, culturales e históricos que, si bien no han trascendido, en algunos casos pueden intuirse 🤔. Así, por ejemplo, Galicia está representada como una mujer mayor, de mirada desconfiada y vestida de manera tradicional 👵. Tal vez de esta forma la inteligencia artificial haya querido reflejar el envejecimiento progresivo de la población gallega y su condición históricamente rural.
Ahora bien, si el algoritmo que da las instrucciones no deja de ser una producción humana, es lógico pensar que estará sometido a la condición humana, incluida nuestra tendencia a interpretar la realidad en forma de ideas preconcebidas, estereotipos y, especialmente, imágenes mentales 🧠💭.
Y aquí es adonde queríamos llegar: a la importancia de las representaciones mentales en cuanto formas de ver el mundo y entender la realidad, así como de reflejar nuestras expectativas, deseos y, por qué no, nuestros prejuicios.
¿Y a qué viene todo esto? Pues a que, debido a su potencial, también podemos echar mano de las imágenes mentales en nuestras clases 👩🏻🏫👨🏻🏫. Si no sabes por dónde empezar para poder implementarlas en el aula, te recomendamos un libro 📖 con un título muy directo: ¡Imagínate…! Imágenes mentales en la clase de español, de Sgel.
En él se plantean una serie de actividades ✏️ cuyo nexo de unión son las imágenes mentales, usadas como catalizador para desarrollar las distintas destrezas del lenguaje. Así, en palabras de los autores, “trabajar con imágenes puede aumentar la fluidez tanto en la producción oral 🗣 como en la escrita 🖋, porque si los alumnos tienen una cosa en mente que quieren decir, quedan liberados de la necesidad de encontrar un mensaje que transmitir, y pueden centrarse en encontrar la forma de expresarlo” (página 18).
Así pues, seas una persona 🙋🏻♀️ o Terminator 🤖😎, nunca está de más recurrir a la introspección, generar como resultado imágenes mentales y expresar con ellas el mensaje que quieras transmitir 🗣🥰.
Nota: te dejamos los enlaces a la cuenta desde la que se compartieron las imágenes, para que puedas valorarlas:
As we all continue to get to know our new groups of language learners, I have been working on different systems to set up the school year for success and highlight language proficiency along the way. I believe that implementing portfolios, self-reflection surveys and having constant communication are solid ways to begin the school year.
Portfolios: A Window into Student Growth
Portfolios serve as a valuable tool for tracking student progress and showcasing their achievements. By incorporating a variety of artifacts such as writing samples, audio samples, projects, and reflections, students can develop a sense of ownership over their learning and see their language growth over time. Ideally, if these portfolios can be a part of their World Language program from year to year – what an incredible way to see students grow along the proficiency continuum.
Here are different ways to utilize World Language portfolios:
Goal Setting: Encourage students to set personalized learning goals at the beginning of the year. Discuss the WHAT &HOW behind the goals they set.
Showcase Achievements: Celebrate student accomplishments by featuring their best work in their portfolios. This boosts language confidence and encourages future effort. I love being able to pull a students’ portfolio during parent-teacher conferences!
Self-Assessment: Incorporate opportunities for self-assessment throughout the year. This allows students to reflect on their growth and identify areas for improvement. Here is a self & peer assessment for the writing prompt: Who Am I?
Digital portfolios offer an easy, personalized space to showcase their growth and achievements. By collecting a variety of writing and speaking artifacts digitally and having students reflect on their learning journey, they can develop a much deeper understanding of their progress and look back at any time. I like to use a Google Form to collect all of the URLs of my students and you can view a sample here. Make sure students change their digital portfolio sending to “anyone with a link can view”.
Learner Surveys: Understanding Individual Needs
Are your students auditory, tactile or visual learners? Surveying students can provide insight into their different learning styles, interests, and goals. By gathering this information, we can tailor our instruction to meet their individual needs. Here are a few websites that I have used to determine which type of learner I have in my class. This is one way to collect data about your students and as a result, monitor & adjust my future lessons according to these learning styles.
Another way to learn about your students is to simply administer a survey to “get to know them” and their preferences! I like to learn about a students’ interests, self assess on their Spanish speaking/writing/reading/listening abilities and any obstacles and/or future goals they may have for themselves at the start of the school year. I also like to tap into which units of study are of interest and certain in-class activities they prefer.
Here are a few sample Google Form surveys to get to know my students throughout the school year and gather insight on their preferences.
By starting off the year with a language growth goal in mind, at the midway point in the year, I like to one on one conference with students to see whether or not they have met the language goal they had proposed and if they haven’t or are still working towards it, they are then asked to state at least two actions that are reasonable and realistic to help them attain this goal by the end of the school year. It also provides insight to administer a similar survey at the midpoint in the school year and again at the end of the year.
One on one conferencing or conferencing with students in small groups can go a long way. I highly encourage you to set up appointments with students during the first three weeks of school, mid year point and again at the end of the year. I ask students to schedule themselves over that time period using a Google Doc (sample). Even if this means that I only meet with one or two students each time we have class, this ensures that I dedicate quality time in getting to know my students and discussing their progress in my class.
Building Relationships Through Communication
Effective communication is essential for building trust and rapport with students. Here are some strategies to foster positive relationships:
Open-Door Policy: Maintain an open-door policy to encourage students to seek help and support whenever needed.
Active Listening: Practice active listening to demonstrate that you value students’ perspectives and concerns.
Ongoing Written Communication & Reflection: Students have composition notebooks that serve as a weekly reflection.
Positive Reinforcement: Provide positive feedback and encouragement to reinforce students’ efforts and achievements.
Students also have composition notebooks that serve as their “Yo aprendí” journals. These notebooks are used at the end of every week and students reflect about their progress in class. They add to these notebooks on a weekly basis (beginning classes in English, one paragraph) and I am able to communicate with students directly by adding my own notes and insights on their reflections. We go back & forth each week – so I am always corresponding with students in a low-stakes way about how they feel, what they did well and any goals they have for the next week ahead.
We all understand that it is important to get to know our students and begin to forge relationships right from the first day. By developing strong connections with students, classroom teachers are able to establish climates of respect and mutual understanding in caring, nurturing environments, where student success is celebrated {no matter how big or small!} and learning becomes contagious.
The title of this blog post may make you feel like an actual person is walking alongside you – as you re-enter the school building in the coming days or weeks! The truth is, Generative AI has so many possibilities to ASSIST educators, it is no longer an option to ignore it.
Those first few days back can be very stressful and while Generative AI (GenAI) can’t set up your classroom for you – it CAN design a welcome letter, back-to-school night presentation or set up a solid seating chart! Generative AI just tipped it’s hat forward, did a little dance and walked in as your new, powerful, strong ALLY {*cue the visual in your mind} – helping to navigate the complexities and many tasks in preparation of a new school year.
It’s Time to Train Your GenAI Ally!
Generative AI (GenAI), with its ability to process information rapidly and generate human-like text, offers a wealth of possibilities for educators. Let’s explore how this technology can revolutionize your back-to-school preparation in the coming weeks.
Streamlining Classroom Management
Seating Charts: First and foremost, our student’s privacy is of utmost importance. When writing prompts or asking your LLM of choice to assist you with a task- DO NOT INCLUDE IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION! Use initials or first names only! The key is not to provide any of these LLMs your personal information or anyone else’s – be strategic in the precision of your prompt! When designing a seating arrangement for your classroom, you need to consider each of your student’s learning styles and ensure that they are seated to succeed. You can provide a general overview of your class such as: “Create a seating chart for a Spanish 2 class of 25 students, considering language proficiency levels and learning styles.” or provide a specific parameters to include a fairly anonymous student list, classroom layout, student preferences such as: “Arrange my students in a 5×6 seating chart in a table format, considering the following preferences amongst my Spanish 2 students- special seating requirements include: AG needs to sit near the front, BB and CH do not work well together, DP needs to also sit near the front near AG, HD is chatty and should not sit near GR, AG or JV, PR requires a door nearby.” Using a LLM like Gemini makes it easy to export into Google Sheets for future reference and or/adjustments in the future.
Attendance: Avoid the traditional roll call in those first few days of school. Instead consider a fun, easy warm up for your students to introduce themselves to the group. This will allow students to say their own {preferred} names AND it gives you a chance to hear how they would like their name pronounced. As someone who dreaded the roll call – class after class – it always felt like nails on the chalkboard when they mispronounced my first name {or sometimes made a joke about “never winning an Emmy“} A student’s name is tied to their identity and it is so critical to ensure that they are made to feel welcomed and valued in those first few days together. You can ask your LLM of choice to provide a variety of fun ways to introduce one’s self on the first few days with this prompt, “It is the first few days of school and you are a Spanish teacher, getting to know each of your new students. You would like for students to quickly go around the room to state their name and introduce themselves by selecting ONE word that best describes themselves, their interests, their summer vacation, etc. Come up with a list of at least twenty different fun introductory topics for students to highlight something about themselvesusing just one word.“
Building Community and Engagement
Welcome Letters: Wondering how to jazz up your “welcome back” letter? AI can help draft a general welcome letter that you can customize. Try this prompt: “Write an engaging, kind and sincere welcome letter to Spanish 2 students emphasizing the importance of language learning in today’s globalized world. Outline the course’s focus on conversational fluency, cultural competence, and critical thinking skills. Clearly communicate expectations regarding class participation, homework completion, and assessment methods. Include a brief overview of key course themes or units to generate excitement and anticipation.Limit to 500 words.”
Syllabus Development: While your expertise is invaluable in crafting a meaningful syllabus, AI can assist in generating initial drafts. Head over to Canva (snag your free educator account if you don’t have one yet!) and browse through their array of templates. You can also provide your LLM of choice, your course goals, learning objectives, and grading policies, and it can create a basic outline. “Write a syllabus for a Spanish 1 course focused on conversational skills, with a grading breakdown of 20% daily preparation, 60% evidence of learning through the modes of communication: interpersonal, interpretive, presentational, and 20% Integrated Performance Assessments”
Get-To-Know-You Icebreakers: Building strong relationships with students and building a community in your classroom from the start is crucial. Generative AI can provide a variety of icebreaker ideas tailored to your class level and interests. For example, “Create 5 icebreaker activities for a French 3 class focused on getting to know one another, discussing summer vacation and personal interests.” Check out this Would you rather? (English / Spanish) resource created thanks to Canva + Bulk Create.
Enhancing Back-to-School Night
Ideas for Back to School Night: If you are looking to change up your upcoming Back-to-School night presentations with parents & guardians, why not ask your personal assistant to help brainstorm new ideas? Try this: “Provide at least three different back to school night activities (no more than 3 minutes) each that I can facilitate with my group of parents and guardians from my German 2 High School Class.“
Presentation Slides: It’s easy to create a captivating, informative slideshow! There are many AI slideshow tools out there to help educators, such as Canva, SlidesAI, Almanack.ai or Gamma. Provide AI with key points and desired visuals, and it can generate a basic framework – it provides a wonderful starting point that you can refine and make your own. For example, “Create a PowerPoint slides outline for a Spanish 1 back-to-school night presentation highlighting course goals, materials, and assessment methods.”
Tips for Using Generative AI (GenAI)
It’s essential to use GenAI wisely and begin training. You can ask your LLM of choice – “Ask me 20 questions to better understand my role in education.” Once your LLM poses the questions and you reply thoughtfully, it will have this very insightful information moving forward.
Here are additional tips when prompting your LLM of choice:
Provide Clear Instructions: The more specific your prompts, the better the AI’s output. Strategic precision is key.
Review and Edit: AI-generated content is a starting point or a first draft. Always review and refine to ensure accuracy of what is created and alignment with your teaching style- make modifications to better fit your needs.
Maintain Authenticity: Use AI as a tool to enhance your work, not replace it. Avoid blindly copy/pasting.
Ethical Considerations: Be mindful of copyright and plagiarism issues when using AI-generated content. Cite AI
By harnessing the power of generative AI, language teachers can reclaim valuable time and focus on what truly matters: connecting with students, ensuring that classrooms are a source of joy and designing incredible learning experiences with language acquisition at the core.
Remember, it’s essential to maintain our human connections in our classrooms. Your passion for language learning and your ability to connect with students are qualities that no AI can replicate.
Looking to dive in deeper with GenAI?
Here is where I would LOVE to continue to help support your AI literacy journey as a language educator!I have set up a membership-based learning community exclusively for language educators: The AI Innovator Community for Language Educators (with monthly GenAI workshops, access to five asynchronous courses, a quarterly newsletter with insights, private Innovator communitydiscussion space), I also share often within our Team Lo Logramos FB community, and designed a variety of courses.
Take advantage of this partnership between Lo Logramos Consulting and Language Teaching Lab – Get a $5 off discount when you use the code LTL5 at checkout, exceptions may apply
Lo Logramos does accept School POs, so feel free to reach out! team.lologramos@gmail.com
If you follow the blog, you may have read R.E.S.T., which stands for relaxing, engaging, serendipity, and trying new things. The “S” for serendipitywas for me the highlight last month as I ended up visiting the house of my ancestors (on one side of the family) that dates from the 1700s. It moved me more than I expected and that is how I decided to focus this month on My Roots, My Heritage.
Past, Present, Future
The phrase “Don’t forget where you came from” took a whole new meaning to me. It made me see the past reflected in the present and moving towards the future. All I am now is in part the fruit of the values, beliefs, courage, and hope of my ancestors as well as my own experiences that constantly shape who I am. Learning about our roots is necessary in building our future.
Heritage
As educators, we celebrate ‘Heritage Months’ throughout the year to acknowledge and recognize those who came before us and their contributions. According to the Cambridge dictionary, ‘heritage’ is “the history, traditions, practices, etc. of a particular country, society, or company that exist from the past and continue to be important.”
Another definition found in Family Heritage Blog states “Heritage is a person’s unique, inherited sense of family identity: the values, traditions, culture, and artifacts handed down by previous generations. We absorb a sense of our heritage throughout our lives as we observe and experience the things that make our family unique.”
In celebrating our roots, we get to understand our world and ourselves better. It helps us reflect on our identity, our voices, and our future, as well as the identity and the voices of those who surround us.
LTL Blogs on Identity and Heritage
At Language Teaching Lab we have explored topics related to heritage, roots, and identity in several of our articles such as,
As language educators we have the opportunity to navigate the topic ‘heritage’ in our class for students to understand themselves better as well as understand their place in the world, all while exploring their heritage and roots.
Proficiency Levels
At the same time, we can aim at teaching ‘My Roots, My Heritage’ from an early age and proficiency level. Students progress from the Novice to the Intermediate proficiency levels by answering questions on the topic, such as,
What is your name/last name?
Why is that your name/last name?
Are there any other members of your family you share your name with?
Where were you born?
What does the word ‘ancestor’ mean? Who are your ancestors?
Where were your ancestors born?
What do you know about your family history?
What are your family traditions? Talk to your family and find out!
What food is a tradition in your family? When do you have it? How do you have it? With whom?
What is your grandparents’ traditional food?
Do you know what your grandparents’ grandparents’ traditional food was? You may want to expand traditions regarding celebrations, books, types of music, clothing, flowers, places, etc. You get the idea!)
What do you do every day?
Do you know what your ancestors did every day? How can you find out?
What is important to your family?
Why is it important to understand where you come from?
Why is it important to connect to your roots?
How does heritage shape your identity?
How do you describe your heritage?
I invite you to think about your own roots and heritage and those of your students, to help find our uniqueness and our common humanity.
¿Crees que soy capaz de hacer esta entrada únicamente en forma de oraciones interrogativas? ¿Por qué no iba a ser capaz de ello? 😏 ¿Por ser difícil? 🤔 ¿Por ser absurdo? 🙄 ¿Acaso no sería realmente curioso poder hacerlo? 😉 ¿Lo crees o no? 🤨 ¿A que no has visto ninguna otra entrada planteada de esta manera? 🤭 ¿No te arrepentirás de haber empezado a leer este post tan raro?
Bueno, me doy por vencido… 😔 Es realmente difícil, prácticamente agotador y, francamente, un poco absurdo… 😮💨 ¿Quién me mandaría a mí meterme en camisa de once varas? 🤦♂️
No obstante, sirva el primer párrafo de esta entrada para poner en valor el uso pragmático que se les da a las oraciones interrogativas en el lenguaje coloquial ❓️😌. En efecto, en nuestra vida cotidiana, para lo que menos usamos las preguntas es, precisamente… para preguntar 😲. Me explico: si bien la interrogación es el recurso que utilizamos para obtener una determinada información, también es cierto que, la mayor parte de las veces, en contextos no formales, echamos mano de ella para dar nuestro punto de vista 🤔, expresar sentimientos 😳, reaccionar ante una determinada situación o influir sobre el oyente 🤨.
Se trata de un contenido complejo, ya que a menudo entran en juego factores paralingüísticos. Pero merece la pena profundizar en él y tenerlo en cuenta en nuestras clases, sobre todo en aquellas actividades que implican interacción oral 🗣. Al fin y al cabo, tus estudiantes están expuestos a la mayoría de estos usos de la interrogación, ya sea en canciones 🎼, en series 📺 o en películas 📽. Vamos, en el español real…
Por ello, te adjuntamos una infografía 👇 con algunos de estos usos y sus ejemplos, para la que hemos tomado como fuente el libro Español coloquial 📖, de Edinumen. Asimismo, nos gustaría recordarte que también abordamos este tema en el curso de refresco para profesores no nativos que ofrecemos todos los veranos 🤗.
¿Qué? ¿A que nos ha quedado bien esta entrada…? 🤔 (¿Acaso creías que no iba a intentar de nuevo redactar en forma de preguntas? 😌 ¿Por quién me has tomado? 🤭).
Academia Iria Flavia – Spanish Courses – Know all the possibilities! Get a 20€ off discount when you use the code LTL20 at checkout, exceptions may apply
Hispanic Heritage Month has started having a big impact and has gained importance in schools in the USA during the last decade or so, but it all started 56 years ago. “The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988.
Instead of starting at the beginning of September, Hispanic Heritage Month takes place over 30 days starting on the 15th — a nod to the anniversaries of national independence for several Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua all recognize September.
From Bilingual Cerebros we offer a range of free resources and activities to support students, families, schools and teachers celebrating this special month. From biographies to celebrate important and inspirational people in the Hispanic community to virtual visits to the 21 Spanish speaking countries exploring their gastronomy, traditions, music, festivals and celebrations, places and monuments to visit and creating projects in the classrooms. Bilingual Cerebros shares all these free resources to support the Bilingual Community all over the world. Feel free to request any resources by email at bilingualcerebros@gmail.com
These are the recommended sections and activities you can use:
El Mes de la Herencia Hispana ha comenzado a tener un gran impacto y ha ganado importancia en las escuelas de EE.UU. durante la última década, pero todo comenzó hace 56 años. “La observación comenzó en 1968 como Semana de la Herencia Hispana bajo el presidente Lyndon Johnson y fue ampliada por el presidente Ronald Reagan en 1988 para cubrir un período de 30 días que comenzó el 15 de septiembre y finalizó el 15 de octubre. Fue promulgada como ley el 17 de agosto de 1988.
En lugar de comenzar a principios de septiembre, el Mes de la Herencia Hispana se lleva a cabo durante 30 días a partir del día 15, un guiño a los aniversarios de la independencia nacional de varios países latinoamericanos: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras y Nicaragua reconocen septiembre.
Desde Bilingual Cerebros ofrecemos una gama de recursos y actividades gratuitas para apoyar a estudiantes, familias, escuelas y profesores que celebran este mes tan especial. Desde biografías para celebrar a personas importantes e inspiradoras de la comunidad hispana hasta visitas virtuales a los 21 países de habla hispana explorando su gastronomía, tradiciones, música, festivales y celebraciones, lugares y monumentos para visitar y creando proyectos en las aulas. Bilingual Cerebros comparte todos estos recursos gratuitos para apoyar a la Comunidad Bilingüe en todo el mundo. No dudes en solicitar cualquier recurso por correo electrónico bilingualcerebros@gmail.com
Estas son las secciones y actividades recomendadas que puedes utilizar:
What’s your favorite part of a summer, winter or any break? For me, it’s all about R.E.S.T.
Yes, taking time to rest during a break is essential for my well being. While physical rest, like slowing down and having periods of inactivity is not only needed but also important, I’m referring here to a different kind of rest— R.E.S.T
The “R” is about Relaxing, Recharging, Renewing, and Reviewing my goals
According to the Cambridge dictionary, relaxing is a “pleasant activity that makes you become calm and less worried.” When you unwind and set aside your duties, it’s easier to recharge and rethink what you want to accomplish next. It helps you organize your ideas and focus on what truly matters. During your next break, renew yourself and consider the big questions: What have I achieved so far? Where has it taken me? Where am I going?
The “E” in R.E.S.T. is about Engaging, Enjoying, and Evaluating
The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines engaging as “having emotional involvement or commitment.” When you are fully engaged, you enjoy what you are doing more and can evaluate your progress with a new light. This helps you find your purpose and move forward with clarity.
The “S” is about Serendipity
As defined by the Cambridge dictionary, serendipity is “the fact of finding valuable things by chance.” Breaks are perfect times to discover unexpected treasures! I wrote about how ‘serendipity’ inspired me in “Professional and Personal Experiences Inform My Language Curriculum.” Whether meeting new people, visiting new places, or participating in professional learning communities these experiences can inspire you to do something different, thoughtful, and maybe also fun. You never know where your next inspiration will come from.
The “T” in R.E.S.T. is about Trying new things and Trusting yourself
I love learning and being with people, so visiting different places in good company is a must during breaks. Trying new things can open doors to new adventures!—whether it’s a walk on the beach, a visit to a new spot in town, listening to Calm, or tasting a new dish. Inspiration comes in many shapes and forms!
Have confidence in yourself. You’ll make the right choices and create lasting memories from your experiences. Trust yourself; you have it in you!
Next time you are on a break, think R.E.S.T. You’ll return refreshed and ready for teaching with a new perspective.
La lengua española, también conocida como castellano, es un reflejo vivo de la historia y la rica interacción cultural que ha tenido lugar en la península ibérica. Una de las influencias más significativas y duraderas en el español es la del árabe, una lengua que dejó una profunda huella durante los más de 700 años de presencia musulmana en España, desde el siglo VIII hasta el XV.
Según el filólogo español Rafael Lapesa, más de 4.000 palabras de nuestro léxico (incluidos los topónimos) provienen del árabe, lo que supone en torno a un 8 % del vocabulario total del castellano.
Contexto Histórico de la Influencia Árabe
La influencia árabe comenzó con la conquista musulmana de la península ibérica en el año 711 y se extendió durante la dominación de al-Ándalus, el territorio gobernado por musulmanes. Durante este periodo, hubo un intercambio cultural y lingüístico intenso entre los habitantes musulmanes y los cristianos y judíos que convivían en la región.
Aportaciones Léxicas
El legado más evidente de esta convivencia es el vasto número de palabras de origen árabe que se han incorporado al español. Se estima que alrededor de 4.000 palabras en el español moderno tienen raíces árabes. Estas palabras abarcan diversas áreas del conocimiento y la vida cotidiana, reflejando la avanzada cultura y tecnología de al-Ándalus. Algunos ejemplos notables incluyen:
Almohada (al-mujadda): Refiriéndose al cojín o almohada.
Almendra (al-majroud): La fruta seca del almendro.
Aceituna (al-zaytūna): La fruta del olivo.
Algodón (al-qutn): Material textil obtenido de la planta de algodón.
Alcohol (al-kuḥl): Sustancia química que se encuentra en bebidas fermentadas.
Alcalde (al-qāḍī): Funcionario que preside un ayuntamiento.
Influencia Árabe en Términos Científicos y Técnicos
La influencia árabe es especialmente notable en términos científicos y técnicos. Durante la Edad Media, los eruditos musulmanes hicieron avances significativos en campos como la matemática, la astronomía, la medicina y la química. Muchas de las palabras relacionadas con estos campos provienen del árabe, como:
Azimut (al-sumūt): Término de navegación y astronomía.
Cero (ṣifr): Número que representa la nada.
Jirafa (zarāfa): El animal africano de cuello largo.
Química (al-kīmiyā): La ciencia que estudia la composición y propiedades de la materia.
Influencia Árabe en la Toponimia y la Nomenclatura
La presencia árabe también se refleja en los nombres de lugares. Muchos topónimos en España tienen origen árabe, como:
Guadalquivir (al-wādi al-kabīr): El gran río.
Guadalajara (wād al-ḥijāra): El valle de las piedras.
Almería (al-Marīyya): La atalaya o torre vigía.
Impacto en la Gramática y Fonética
Además del léxico, el árabe ha influido en la fonética y la sintaxis del español. Algunos sonidos presentes en el español, como la aspiración de la “h” en ciertas regiones, pueden rastrearse hasta la influencia árabe. Asimismo, la estructura de algunas expresiones y la incorporación de partículas como “ojalá” (inshallah, que significa “si Dios quiere”) reflejan esta herencia.
Legado Cultural
Más allá de la lengua, la influencia árabe se extiende a la arquitectura, la música, la gastronomía y otras áreas de la cultura española. Este legado cultural enriquece y define la identidad única del mundo hispanohablante.
La Influencia Árabe
La influencia árabe en la lengua española es un testimonio de la rica historia de interacción y convivencia en la península ibérica. Este legado lingüístico no solo añade profundidad y riqueza al español, sino que también nos recuerda la importancia del intercambio cultural en la formación de las lenguas y las sociedades. Hoy, las palabras de origen árabe en el español son un puente hacia un pasado compartido y una celebración de la diversidad cultural.
¿Cuál es tu palabra favorita de influencia o raíz árabe? A nosotros nos gustan muchas… Aceite o gazpacho entre nuestras preferidas.
🤎 Débora Ball, de la Universidad de Michigan, afirma que los docentes toman un promedio de 20 decisiones en el lapso de un minuto y medio; y nos alerta sobre la necesidad de que éstas no queden libradas al azar, ya que de eso depende la calidad de lo que se enseñe.
🤎 De las decisiones que toma un docente en una clase, se calcula que el 97% se tomarán de forma rápida e inconsciente. 🤎Este tipo de decisiones, si bien son efectivas para resolver situaciones rápidas, son las más proclives a errores.
🤎 Muchas de ellas son decisiones pequeñas, de gestión en el aula, de motivar a ciertos alumnos de manera distinta que a otros, de intervenir frente a una situación disruptiva, de cambiar de estrategia cuando alguna no es suficiente, de tareas administrativas o de logística, de cómo transmitir conocimientos dejando que sus alumnos experimenten, planificación de actividades, cambio de voz, observaciones, etc.
🤎 Por otra parte la Dra. Bondie, profesora de la Escuela de Educación de la Universidad de Harvard, propone que los docentes analicen sus decisiones diarias, tomándose un tiempo para pensar en profundidad sobre las elecciones realizadas y los motivos que las llevaron a tomarlas.
🤎 Para esto es importante tener al día la planificación diaria o semanal.
🤎 Como directivos tenemos la responsabilidad de demandar y exigir la planificación, no solamente para supervisar y estar al tanto de lo que se hace, sino para colaborar con la efectividad y calidad de la enseñanza, y evitarles tanto estrés a los docentes.
🤎 La propuesta es que podamos reflexionar en cada comunidad educativa en la búsqueda individual y colectiva de mejora de nuestras decisiones en el aula, y en la escuela.
20 Decisions per Minute
🤎 Deborah Ball, from the University of Michigan, states that teachers make an average of 20 decisions in the span of a minute and a half; and alerts us to the need for them not to be left to chance, since the quality of what is taught/learned depends on that.
🤎 Of the decisions a teacher makes in a class, it is estimated that 97% will be made quickly and unconsciously. 🤎 These types of decisions, while effective in resolving quick situations, are the most prone to errors.
🤎 Many of them are small decisions: classroom management, motivating certain students differently than others, intervening in a disruptive situation, changing strategies when one is not enough, making tasks that are administrative in nature or about logistics, on how to transmit knowledge by letting your students experiment, activity planning, changing voices to grab students’ attention, observations, etc.
🤎 On the other hand, Dr. Bondie, a professor at the Harvard University School of Education at Harvard University, proposes that teachers analyze their daily decisions, taking time to think in depth about the choices made and the reasons that led them to making them.
🤎 For this, it is important to keep up with the daily or weekly planning.
🤎 As leaders we have the responsibility to demand and demand planning, not only to monitor and be aware of what is being done, but also to collaborate with the effectiveness and quality of teaching, thus, avoiding more stress to teachers.
🤎 The proposal is that we reflect in each educational community on the individual and collective quest to improve our decisions in the classroom, and at school.
No vamos a descubrir nada nuevo si afirmamos que saber colaborar es fundamental para la formación integral de nuestros estudiantes 🤝. Sin embargo, a veces no es sencillo desarrollar y saber llevar esta idea a la práctica 🤔🤯.
Para conseguirlo, es preciso que los alumnos se impliquen en las distintas tareas y proyectos del aula. Y obtener tal implicación pasa, en primer lugar, por darles a conocer las diferentes herramientas colaborativas que la red pone a su disposición 🛠💻.
Hoy hablaremos de tres de ellas, que sin duda podrán servirte para que tus estudiantes puedan intercambiar puntos de vista respecto a la manera de enfocar las tareas que estén realizando en ese momento. Su rasgo en común es la idea de mural colaborativo✏️🧱🖊, si bien cada una de ellas está “especializada” en un aspecto concreto de dicha colaboración. Todas ofrecen versiones gratuitas con restricciones en cuanto al uso de sus funcionalidades, que se pueden desbloquear accediendo a las versiones de pago 💳.
Plataformas de colaboración:
Padlet
👉 Así, por un lado, tenemos Padlet, quizás la más sencilla e intuitiva de las tres. Puedes asignar a cada grupo de trabajo un padlet desde el que podrán subir los resultados de sus investigaciones 📝, compartir recursos y enlaces 🔗 y comunicarse entre ellos y contigo 🗨.
Stormboard
👉 Si prefieres hacer mayor hincapié en las lluvias de ideas 🌧, tu plataforma es Stormboard, ya que está especialmente diseñada para ello. Con ella, podrás no solo plantear dichas tormentas de ideas ⛈️, sino también organizarlas y administrarlas (si bien las funcionalidades superiores están reservadas para las opciones de pago).
Mindmeister
👉 Y si lo tuyo son los mapas mentales 🗺💭, te recomendamos Mindmeister. En efecto, con esta última podrás generar mapas mentales en línea a partir de las aportaciones de tus alumnos. Se parte de una idea principal, desde la que se pueden crear subtemas ilimitados ♾️, que además se pueden ir enriqueciendo con archivos adjuntos 📎 o recursos multimedia 🔊🎞.
Además, la versatilidad de estas plataformas hace que no se ciñan a un contexto concreto. De esta manera, seguro que les encontrarás un hueco en cualquier punto de la secuenciación de tus clases: para introducir un tema, como repaso de contenidos ya trabajados o como actividad final.
Lograr la colaboración entre los estudiantes
Lo importante es hacer de ellas una herramienta con la que conseguir que tus estudiantes se impliquen en todas aquellas tareas que les propongas 🙋🏽🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♂️.
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 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.
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.
Hablar por hablar fue un programa radiofónico nocturno que alcanzó su mayor éxito en los años noventa y en la primera década del siglo XXI 📻🌃. En él, la gente llamaba para contar algún problema de tipo personal con la esperanza de que los otros oyentes les dieran algún consejo al respecto 🗨☎️.
No sólo hablar
La gente hablaba 🗣, sí, pero seríamos injustos con la riqueza de la lengua española si solo nos limitáramos a este verbo. En efecto, en dicho programa unos contaban, exponían, confesaban, reconocían, manifestaban, anunciaban, revelaban, lamentaban, proclamaban o pedían, mientras que otros contestaban, opinaban, aconsejaban, replicaban o proponían. Como vemos, este programa era un reflejo de diversas funciones comunicativas a las que podemos referirnos más allá de los verbos hablar o decir.
Practicar otros verbos de habla
Y eso es lo pretendemos en esta entrada: proponerte una actividad con la que tus estudiantes podrán practicar diferentes verbos de habla (enriqueciendo su vocabulario), así como el estilo indirecto.
Para poder desarrollarla, necesitaréis:
-Un oyente que llame a la radio planteando un problema y un locutor que reciba la llamada (primera representación).
-Dos oyentes que llamen para aconsejar a la primera persona y que interactúen con el locutor (segunda representación).
-Otras dos personas que, al día siguiente, comenten el programa (tercera representación). Aquí es donde deberán usar el estilo indirecto, sintetizando lo que escucharon la noche anterior en la radio mediante oraciones en las que deberán emplear una variedad significativa de verbos de habla.
Una vez terminado este primer turno de representaciones, podréis continuar con más llamadas radiofónicas hasta que haya participado toda la clase ↩️.
Recurso útil
Para que puedas llevar a cabo dicho juego de roles, te adjuntamos una infografía 👇 en la que aparecen una serie de situaciones incómodas o embarazosas 😅😳 (que hemos tomado de ¡Exprésate! Actividades de expresión oral, de SGEL), así como varios de verbos de habla 🗣, que serán los que tus estudiantes deberán usar cuando reproduzcan las conversaciones en estilo indirecto.
¡Seguro que de vuestro programa de radio saldrán consejos muy interesantes! 🥰
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.
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!
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!
¿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… 😊
Here’s to a summer with fewer screens and more reading to let your imagination soar!
A contest for all ages with 4 categories: Infant, Primary, High School, and Over 18. With prizes for the winners donated by fantastic writers that will make your imagination fly. We invite you to participate and share with your friends and family.
Concurso de reseñas de libros
¡Por un verano con menos pantallas y más lectura para dejar volar tu imaginación!
Un concurso para todas las edades con 4 categorías: Infantil, Primaria, Secundaria y Mayores de 18. Con premios para los ganadores donados por fantásticos escritores que harán volar tu imaginación. Anímate a participar y comparte con tus amigos y familiares.
Las reseñas o recomendaciones de libros deben incluir los siguientes puntos:
Feedback is essential to the learning process, whether we seek it or we receive it.
Learning and teaching are incredibly dependent on feedback. What opportunities do you provide for your students to receive feedback and reflect? And, as an educator, how do you seek feedback from your colleagues, administration or students to enhance your lessons?
In my classroom, I create opportunities for students to receive feedback through individual conferences, peer review activities, and self-assessment exercises. This allows them to reflect on their strengths and consider actionable next steps to assist themselves in their language development. And, as a language educator, I actively seek feedback from my colleagues, administration, and my students to refine my teaching methods and ensure my lessons are engaging and effective.
Feedback for Teachers
Teachers can welcome their students at different points in the year, to share their own (anonymous) comments about how the class is organized and running. Teachers can set up online surveys or a Google form, to have this feedback take place in an environment where students feel comfortable to share their honest opinions.
Another idea that comes to mind is with a professional development model of teachers learning from teachers. Using whichever evaluation model a local district has put into place, teachers can observe each other’s lessons and provide realistic feedback as to what they feel went well during the lesson and what maybe did not go so well. Teachers can help each other by targeting specific goals that they may have for themselves. Teachers can also learn new strategies and techniques from each other, by watching model lessons and providing constructive criticism to one another.
When you create an environment that is structured around meaningful feedback it also involves self-reflection. As teachers begin to reflect on their own practices, they can provide feedback to themselves by taking a closer look at their lessons, assessments and techniques used to engage student learning. Posing a different question/comment each month for a teaching staff to consider, may be a good starting point. Then, allowing for the articulation of these self reflective ideas & practices during department meeting time, may allow for these professionals to really make meaning of what they do each day and realize whether or not it is deemed to be effective or how it can be improved.
*The TELL Project also offers an array of self-reflection tools for language educators.
Feedback for Students
Providing one on one feedback to our students is so valuable to their learning and progress in language proficiency. In a world language classroom, rich feedback goes beyond simply correcting grammar mistakes. It offers specific and actionable guidance. When a teacher can pinpoint exactly where a student stumbles, they can provide targeted suggestions for improvement. This might involve recommending vocabulary that better expresses the student’s intended meaning, or suggesting alternative sentence structures for greater clarity.
I often ask students to be self reflective in their study of the language at the beginning and at the end of a unit of study. Rich feedback also acknowledges strengths and celebrates progress. By highlighting areas where a student shines, the teacher fosters confidence and motivates continued effort. This well-rounded approach to feedback empowers students to become more strategic and self-aware language learners.
AI Tools
There are now several AI Tools that can assist language teachers provide rich feedback to students.
Briskteaching – Under the “Feedback” tab, teachers can use Targeted, Glow & Grow, Rubric Criteria or Next Steps as different ways to provide feedback on written submissions
Curipod – Check out the AI generated feedback & reflection components that can be added to slides
Mizou – Generate a language tutor chatbot for your students to connect in real-time about any topic and further their understanding. The same chatbot can serve as a rich source of feedback.
Padlet – Students and teachers can use a tool like Padlet or Google Drive as a visual digital portfolio space for ongoing additions and collaborations throughout the school year.
Students can self-reflect at several points in the school year as well. I appreciate when students set goals for themselves at the start of the school year, we have a one on one mid-year check in meeting and an end of the year student reflection. A student slideshow, Google Form or creating a vision board as language learners are all great ways to gauge self-reflections.
Feedback acts as a personalized roadmap, guiding students towards fluency and accuracy. By offering specific suggestions, acknowledging strengths, and fostering self-reflection, teachers can empower their students to take ownership of their learning journey. A continuous cycle of feedback and improvement paves the way for students to confidently navigate the complexities of a new language.
LoLogramos – Get a $5 off discount when you use the code LTL5 at checkout, exceptions may apply
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!
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!
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 – GenerativeAI 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 outCanva, 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!
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?
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.
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.
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.
After several months of highlighting different Generative AI Tools for the language classroom, the most exciting has been using conversational chatbots. The idea that students can practice their language skills in a low-stakes, non-judgmental way, available at any time and personalized to fit their language level is quite revolutionary. AI has the power to enhance our students’ language learning experience and also provide limitless opportunities to practice speaking in the target language.
As with any AI tool, educators must design prompts that are specific to the task and adhere to the intended learning outcome. Within your prompt design, it is important to share who the chatbot IS, the language students are learning, language proficiency targets and specific key phrases/vocabulary you would like the chatbot to use. You can also set up your chat bot to be engaging, kind, funny, creative, etc. For example, with your novice learners, tell the chatbot to limit the questions and responses to a certain number of words for a student who is learning another language, repeat & recycle high frequency vocabulary and be supportive & helpful in the replies provided.
In what ways can our students practice their language learning? Here are a few scenarios, prompts and a Chatbot Choice Board for you to copy and share with your language colleagues (or students!).
Chatbot Uses & Sample Prompts
LanguageTutor– Consider designing a tutor for your students to practice their conversational skills or be provided with direct feedback given your language class, level and current unit of study.
Sample Prompt – You are a friendly Spanish tutor, ‘Srta Bot’. Engage the student in a simple dialogue in Spanish and discuss what the student is like, characteristics about themselves, family members, basic greetings, foods, preferences in activities, clothing items and weather conditions. Limit your questions and responses to simplistic, no more than 30 words. Repeat and recycle frequently used vocabulary in Spanish. Be funny and engaging.
Role Play – A chatbot can be anyone….no, really….ANYONE! Who would your students like to speak in the target language with? Anyone from the past, present or even future can “come to life” as an interactive chatbot. Or how about a particular professional to interact with like a nutritionist, an astronaut or a climate change activist? You can also transform your chatbots into animals – imagine what your dog may say to you if they could?
Sample Prompt – You are Greta Thunberg, climate activist, engaging in a discussion about the Amazon rainforest’s climate crisis with a novice French learner / student. Use simple sentences and questions to discuss the climate change effects on the rainforest and its inhabitants. Repeat and recycle cognates from the Spanish language related to the Amazon rainforest such as desforestation, climate change, animals.
Debate Partner – Having students engage in a lively discussion about a topic that is relevant to your unit of study can be exciting and the chatbot can point out some important points that students may have not considered before!
Sample Prompt – You are engaged in a debate about education. You will play the part of a debater who supports the opinion: not everyone should have access to public education. The student, who is learning Spanish, will play the part of a debater who supports the opposite opinion: everyone should have access to education regardless of age or gender. State your opinion and ask simple follow up questions, limit your questions and answers to an A2 or Novice High proficiency level.
Design A Story! – Students can work one on one with a chatbot to come up with a story together! A creative way for language learners to design a story about any topic of study, create an engaging story for an intended audience and consider questions as well – to design their own adventure within a story!
Sample Prompt – You are co-writing a narrative story with a student who is learning the Spanish language and has an A1 or Novice Mid proficiency level. The story involves three to four characters, a plot, conflict, rising and falling action and a conclusion that resolves the conflict. Be creative and original in storytelling. Provide helpful feedback to help correct grammar and/or spelling mistakes.
Assessment Prep/AP Lang Practice – Before an upcoming performance assessment, design a chatbot to serve as a conversational buddy to review essential questions and unit performance objectives.
Sample Prompt – You are a teacher of Spanish who is assisting a student practice their language skills before an upcoming integrated performance assessment. You review the following essential questions by engaging in a dialogue to help the student practice respond and share their thoughts about: What makes up a balanced lifestyle? How do you define wellness in your community? What routines, habits and foods contribute to healthy living? Be sure to keep the conversation all about a balanced lifestyle and how we maintain wellness in our daily lives. Repeat and recycle key vocabulary that involve cognates from the Spanish language. Be supportive and provide feedback related to the student’s use of grammar and spelling when appropriate.
With these different chatbot uses in mind, there are two current platforms that I have used which allow language teachers to generate these bots for students and they do not require any identifiable personal information from the student, such as emails or full names. The student is an anonymous participant but perhaps uses their initials only or an assigned numerical code, so the teacher can later review the conversation on their end once completed.
Chatbot Design Platforms & Resources
Mizou – It allows teachers to design their own chatbots, search within a community of available chatbots, set their own to “public” or “private” and students are provided with a link to access the session, once the teacher has made it “live”. You can view tutorials on their site.
SchoolAI – This AI tool has MANY capabilities, as they are considered an “all-in-one” platform for educators. The site has “spaces” available for teachers to set up for students to practice their language skills.
*For both of the above tools and many others, I have created and shared simple five minute or less tutorial videos on the Lo Logramos Youtube Channel, be sure to subscribe to stay connected to future AI Tools tutorial videos for language educators & language instruction!
*To learn more about how to transform your language classroom with AI, you can check out my newly launched asynchronous course: The AI Tools Institute for Language Classrooms to assist language teachers of any language! A seven session journey with guiding slideshows, resources, guides, helpful reflective questions and many videos, all in one space!
Chatbot Choice Board
To receive your own copy of the handy Chatbot Choice Board, please head over to the private Team Lo Logramos Facebook Community. There you will be able to request to join our community and later, access the Chatbot Choice Board for use in your language department or with your language students!
Thank you for reading! I hope that you keep experimenting, sharing and learning about how Generative AI can help transform your language classroom and your students’ language learning experience! I do hope we stay connected and feel free to reach out with any questions, wonderings or comments! @team_lologramos
LoLogramos – Get a $5 off discount when you use the code LTL5 at checkout, exceptions may apply
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!
Si tienes estudiantes que están en la edad del pavo 🦃, te habrás fijado en que hay momentos en los que es difícil gestionar sus emociones. No hay que ser un lince 🐈 para darse cuenta de que se trata de una etapa complicada…
Seguro que en tu aula tienes estudiantes que en ocasiones se sienten como la oveja negra 🐑⚫️ de la familia o de su grupo de amigos. A ellos hay que ofrecerles mucha empatía.
Otros posiblemente avancen como una tortuga 🐢 en el aprendizaje del español. No pasa nada: podemos pararnos un momento, bajar el ritmo, acompañarlos en su lento caminar y darles un empujoncito para que avancen más rápido y alcancen a sus compañeros.
Tal vez algunos sean unos gallitos 🐓 que necesitan reafirmarse en el aula. A ellos hay que tratarlos con mano izquierda, llevarlos a nuestro terreno y ganar su lealtad.
Probablemente no falten los ratones de biblioteca 🐭📚, aquellos a los que sí les gusta estudiar. Es posible que en ocasiones no quieran hablar porque temen quedar como repelentes ante el resto de la clase. Hay que saber entenderlos y administrar sus intervenciones, para no exponerlos demasiado si no lo desean.
Alguno habrá que tenga memoria de pez 🐟🤔 y apenas recuerde cuándo usar el subjuntivo… Debemos ser pacientes y no transmitirles presión.
Linces, gallos, tortugas, ratones… pueblan nuestra lengua cuando queremos hablar de comportamientos o actitudes humanas. Para todos estos animales hay un sitio en nuestra arca. Así que, ¡no seas gallina 🐔, da el paso y usa los modismos con animales en el aula!
Nosotros te ayudamos con una infografía muy mona 🐒 en la que aparecen algunas de estas expresiones junto con su significado.
As the new year started, I thought about what is important to me. To keep my line of thoughts, I brainstormed a phrase for each month. So far, I came up with ‘collecting moments’ for January, and I chose ‘doing more of what you love’ or follow your passion for February.
I realized that my students’ work in the unit “Visible e Invisible,” where we talked about ‘identity,’ encompasses both phrases perfectly: “moments” and “passions.” One definition of ‘identity’ describes it as “the characteristics determining who a person is or group of people are.”
In some earlier posts, I wrote about ways I work on identity and what I do for projects. If you are interested in reading about those topics, here they are:
Throughout the unit on ‘identity’ students went deep into learning, thinking, and expressing themselves about who they are, describing both the visible and invisible parts of -self.
Including all Modes of Communication
As a language teacher I make sure that projects include all forms of communication. Interpretive tasks, such as reading articles or watching videos, interpersonal, and presentational tasks related to the topic. The presentational tasks are usually the culmination of the project where students bring together what they learned throughout the unit.
A couple of resources I used for the interpretive reading and listening are an article on the ‘iceberg cultural’ and the story “El dia en que descubres quien eres” by Jacqueline Woodson, which I read aloud.
Students learned basic ways of saying who they are and what they are like in this unit geared towards the interpersonal mode of communication. Some resources that we used included Amy Lenord’s “Yo” unit and “Mi red personal,” an activity I did in an ISTE professional development webinar a few years ago. These activities and tasks helped students talk about themselves during T.A.L.K. practices and assessments.
I incorporated art into the unit. Students analyzed art like ‘Braiding’ by Lin Tianmiao and ‘Caja de memoria viva’ by Adrián “Viajero” Román (see: Professional and Personal Experiences Inform My Language Curriculum for more information about these pieces of art) to help them understand the concepts of visible and invisible developed in the unit.
The final project included a drawing of a half-face to represent the visible and invisible parts of self, writing a composition/essay, and recording a video where they talked about themselves using FLIP. After they completed the tasks, I asked them to complete a reflection about what they learned and I was amazed reading them.
Students’ Reflections
Let me share some so you can see for yourself,
I am proud that I wrote a whole essay in Spanish. I liked that we got to draw as part of the project. I learned that I know more vocabulary in Spanish than I thought and I learned that everyone has a different personality.
I learned more about identity and more vocabulary. I also realized that identity has a deeper meaning. I hope people who view my artwork realize that the half face is to show the ‘visible e invisible’ on a person. I learned that everyone may not seem as they appear. I learned a lot of new words and their meanings so I can create more complex sentences.
I liked how I was able to learn more about myself because I described myself in a different way. I am proud of my drawing because I put down all the characteristics that make me, me. I learned that people see themselves in a way I could not see them, and I learned more about what they think of themselves and tried to make them feel like I understood them.
When I look at my self-portrait, I want people to know that there is more to everyone than what meets the eye. Even if someone is your best friend there are still many things you don’t know about them.
The QR codes from their recordings and the half-face drawing were displayed outside the classroom, so the community could learn more about who my students are. 🙂
Moments and passions also guided my students in their “Visible and Invisible” unit on identity. I wonder what phrases will guide me in the months to come.
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! 🥰
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.
En otra entrada anterior hacíamos referencia a esos elementos de la lengua aparentemente caprichosos llamados preposiciones 🤪. Y finalizábamos aludiendo a un superpoder 🦸♀️🦸♂️: el de cambiar el significado de los verbos a los que acompañan.
👉 No es lo mismo romper algo 🔨 que romper CON alguien 💔 (aunque en algunas rupturas amorosas puede haber alguna rotura de jarrones y vajilla 🏺🍽).
👉 Seguro que os gusta que vuestros amigos se rían CON vosotros 🤣, pero no os hace tanta gracia cuando se ríen DE vosotros 🤣👉🙍🙍♀️.
👉 Podemos tratar de entender A alguien 😄🫂 (expresar nuestra empatía hacia esa persona, ponernos en su piel y comprender por qué se siente así o por qué ha actuado de esa manera) aunque no entendamos DE psicología ni sepamos deletrear “Nietzsche” 🤔.
👉 Si le damos algo A alguien, se lo ofrecemos, pasa de nuestras manos a las suyas; pero si damos CON la solución a un problema 🤔💡, simplemente la encontramos (al margen de que luego queramos compartir o no nuestro hallazgo).
👉 No es lo mismo querer cambiar nuestro país ♻️, y transformarlo en un lugar mejor para vivir 😊, que cambiar DE país 🧳✈️👋🥺 (en todo caso, haríamos esto último si los intentos de transformación no obtuvieran resultado y, resignados, optáramos por buscar otro lugar para vivir).
👉 Seguro que nuestro grupo de B1 ya puede contar anécdotas en el pasado 🗣⌛️✅️. Para eso, cuentan CON el indefinido y el imperfecto, y nosotros hemos contado CON muchos recursos para explicárselo. Y, por supuesto, cuando hemos tenido dificultades para llevar el contraste de pasados al aula, también hemos contado CON los consejos de los demás docentes 👩🏫👨🏫.
👉 Hoy en día, en la era de las noticias falsas 🗣🗞❓️, la gente cree casi cualquier cosa 👀👂, pero nosotros siempre creeremos EN nuestros estudiantes 👨🏾🎓👩🎓👍 (porque confiamos en ellos y sabemos que van a usar el subjuntivo sin problemas). Eso sí, ya no creemos EN los Reyes Magos 🌠👑🐪👋 (porque esos buenos tiempos de inocencia ya han pasado).
👍 Hemos tratado DE explicar 🤔💪🗣 estos cambios de significado con varios ejemplos que pudieran ser ilustrativos. Esperamos que a vuestros estudiantes les puedan resultar útiles 😊, aunque ya sabemos que no es fácil tratar CON 🤝 las preposiciones, ya que se trata DE un tema complejo. Pero no por ello deja de ser apasionante… 🥰
Las preposiciones son “personajes” particulares a la hora de aprender un idioma. De pequeños nos aprendíamos la retahíla en orden alfabético y la recitábamos con orgullo en clase. Pero ya de mayores llega el problema de aprenderlas en otras lenguas y comienzan las dificultades 🫣: reflexionamos sobre ellas 🤔 y nos damos cuenta de que ni siquiera podríamos explicarlas en nuestro idioma 🤷♂️. Y, por si fuera poco, dependiendo de la lengua, cambian de posición y hasta de nombre 🤦🏽 (y resulta que se llaman “posposiciones” ↩️).
En suma, que al final nos resignamos a tratar de usarlas… y ya está, aplicamos alguna regla mnemotécnica o simplemente actuamos por “ensayo y error” (al fin y al cabo, como diríamos en Galicia, “malo será” …).
Y es que si queremos establecer un símil con la física, podríamos pensar que las preposiciones son la parte “cuántica” de la lengua: nos da la impresión (es solo una percepción) de que se comportan de forma caprichosa, de que son difíciles de controlar… 🤪 Nos desesperamos porque los patrones que creíamos haber establecido no se cumplen 😨 y maldecimos porque la comparación con otras lenguas no solo es insuficiente, sino que genera confusión.
Puesto que las explicaciones tradicionales no son satisfactorias, debemos recurrir a otros modelos explicativos, como por ejemplo, la arqueología 🏛.
“¿La arqueología? ¿Habéis perdido la cabeza?”🤪. Bueno, lo de “arqueología” es una nueva metáfora (como puedes ver, nos gustan mucho los símiles). Esta disciplina rastrea los orígenes 🧐, y si hablamos de buscar el origen en el uso de una preposición, tenemos que hablar de gramática cognitiva 🧠, un apasionante enfoque que trata de llegar al significado primitivo de las preposiciones, para entender y explicar su uso presente (enfoque especialmente útil en el aula de ELE).
En la entrada de hoy no vamos a ofrecerte ninguna fórmula mágica para enseñar las preposiciones a tus estudiantes. Lo que vamos a hacer en las siguientes líneas es hablar de amor 👨🏻❤️👨🏽👩❤️👨👩🏻❤️👩🏽.
Ahora sí que puedes pensar que hemos perdido la cabeza de verdad 🙄. Pero todo tiene una explicación 🙏. En efecto, si nos hemos atrevido a relacionar las preposiciones con la física cuántica y con la arqueología, ¿por qué no íbamos a intentar hacer lo mismo con el amor? Y si de paso nuestros alumnos aprenden algunas colocaciones con preposición, pues mucho mejor…
En español nos enamoramos DE alguien 💞 (igual que hacen los italianos), mientras que en portugués, inglés y coreano (esta última usa posposiciones) la gente se enamora “con” otra persona. Podemos enamorarnos de muchas formas, pero una posible manera es hacerlo A primera vista 👀💘, después de una cita A ciegas 🙈❤️.
Tras un tiempo de enamoramiento, en español nos casamos CON esa persona de la que estamos enamorados, al igual que en portugués y coreano, mientras que en inglés y en italiano no se usa preposición para expresar tan bonita unión.
Pero como el amor es eterno… mientras dura, llega un momento en que se acaba, y necesitamos expresar dicho fin ❤️👋. Y para eso también tenemos las preposiciones: así, en español rompemos CON alguien o nos divorciamos DE alguien 🙍♀️🙍💔, al igual que en las lenguas anteriores (excepto en coreano, en donde nos divorciamos “con” alguien).
En fin, que las preposiciones nos acompañan en las diferentes etapas de nuestra vida. Están ahí, son necesarias y tenemos que convivir con ellas. Y lo mejor es hacerlo con humor.
Entre los personajes del mundo hispano que contribuyen a exportar la lengua española encontramos mujeres y hombres procedentes del mundo del arte 🎨 (por ejemplo, Frida Kahlo o Salvador Dalí), de la literatura 📚 (tales como Cervantes o García Márquez), de la música 🎼 (pensemos en Shakira) o del cine 🎬 (Penélope Cruz, por ejemplo).
Por ello, es frecuente ver referencias a ellos en los manuales de español, ya sea para introducir contenidos lingüísticos, ya sea para presentar contenidos culturales.
Sin embargo, los países hispanohablantes no solo están bien representados por personajes procedentes de dichas disciplinas, sino que la nómina se amplía a sectores como la cocina 👩🍳👨🏾🍳, la investigación científica 🧑🔬👩🏽🔬 y, por supuesto, el deporte 🥇.
Pues bien, en relación con este último ámbito, no podemos dejar de hablar del tenista español Rafa Nadal 🎾, quien hace unos días anunció un parón ⏸️ en la competición oficial con el fin de recuperarse completamente de su lesión y volver a ser competitivo en 2024 ⏯️.
Nadal es un abanderado del deporte español (y de hecho, lo es literalmente, ya que fue el encargado de portar la bandera de España en la ceremonia inaugural de los Juegos Olímpicos de Río 2016) y uno de nuestros mejores embajadores. Y ese aprecio que se le tiene se manifiesta con frecuencia en un grito de guerra popularizado no solo entre la afición que asiste a los torneos, sino también en el periodismo deportivo: ¡Vamos, Rafa! 🗣💪
Sin embargo, en ocasiones (bueno, en realidad, en muchas ocasiones) nos encontramos con que a ese mensaje de ánimo, cuando es reproducido en prensa escrita, le falta algo: la coma. Y es que ese grito de guerra debe escribirse con coma. ¡Con coma vocativa, por favor! 🙏
Así es como debemos escribir cuando nos dirigimos de manera expresa a alguien 🫵, ya sea para darle ánimos 💪 o para hacerle algún reproche 🤨. Es decir, desde el ¡Vamos, Rafa! al que nos hemos referido hasta el viral ¿Qué mirás, bobo? con el que Leo Messi se dirigía a un futbolista neerlandés tras un caldeado partido entre Argentina 🇦🇷 y Países Bajos 🇳🇱 durante el pasado Mundial de fútbol ⚽️.
En ambos casos, por muy opuestos que sean los mensajes, debemos usar la coma vocativa.
Podemos decir que los signos de puntuación son los grandes olvidados de la ortografía española 🥺. Nos esforzamos en poner las tildes 🧐, tratamos de usar correctamente la g y la j, advertimos sobre los peligros de confundir a ver y haber ☝️, nos enzarzamos en peleas 🗯 (lingüísticas, eso sí) acerca de la tilde en solo…, pero nos olvidamos del punto y coma, los dos puntos, el guion y, por supuesto, de la pobre coma 👋.
Por eso, te dejamos una infografía en la que se indican varios casos (aunque no todos) en los que debemos usar la coma, con el fin de mejorar nuestra expresión escrita, evitar enunciados ambiguos, estructurar mejor nuestro discurso y, por supuesto, animar a nuestros estudiantes con un alentador ¡Vamos! 💪🥰.
Hello! My name is María Martínez and I am the creator of the channel BILINGUAL CEREBROS. I am also a former MFL Coordinator, Spanish and primary teacher with over 24 years of teaching experience, almost 20 of them in the UK and for the last 4 years in Germany.
But today I am not speaking as a teacher, but as a mother of a young girl raised bilingual (English and Spanish) and now a polyglot. At age 13 she can speak fluent Spanish, English, and German, all three languages fluently as a native. She is also currently learning Italian and French at B1/B2 level and is interested in learning Japanese soon.
In this article I am going to share with you some of the tips that worked for us as a family living in a multilingual household.
TIP 1 – Have a 100% pressure-free attitude:
The first and most important tip I can give you is without a doubt: HAVE FUN! Your approach must be 100% pressure-free. If children feel an obligation to learn the language, it suddenly becomes a chore, for them and for you. Your attitude is key. You need to be really relaxed about it. Yes, there will be days in which you will barely speak ‘the target language,’ but there will be others in which the opposite might happen. It is not about quantity but quality and meaningful learning that will have a long-lasting effect.
In our case the target language was Spanish as we lived in England until my daughter was 9, so she was constantly being exposed to English first in the nursery, then the school, playing with her friends, watching television, etc. You need to accept that the target language will progressively be acquired, not from one day to the next. The main thing is not to stress. So, start slow and build it in gradually from day 1. Well, I should say from day 0, as you can start from pregnancy 😉 I remember talking and singing to my little girl in Spanish before she was born.
TIP 2 – Play anytime!
The second tip is related to the first one. What better way to have fun than playing in the target language. Any kind of games, from dolls to racing cars to board games, riddles, etc. At first, it is not that easy and they won’t understand everything, but that doesn’t matter, the purpose is to foster that enthusiasm for the second language. When they are playing games, they are learning in a relaxed way without even realizing it and it gives them that thirst for knowledge as they will want to discover new ways to express themselves. As we all have very busy lives, sometimes making time for these games can be difficult, but the key is to use any opportunity during the day. For example, I remember playing games such as ‘Veo-Veo’ (I spy with my little eye, something beginning with…) as my daughter and I were in the car, bus, while shopping, etc.
Another example is ‘Palabras encadenadas’ (Chain-words), where we have to say a word and start a new one beginning with the syllable from the previous word. For example: amigo – gorra – rápido, etc. There are many more games like these or different variations of these games that can be simply done orally as you are busy doing other things, while cooking, cleaning, going for a walk around the park, etc.
Another game my daughter and I loved to play (and still do) is ‘Para el lápiz´ (Stop the pencil), where you can create your own categories (food, country, professions, colors, drinks, etc.) and need to find words for each category with a different letter from the alphabet at the time. This one needs a bit more time and preparation, although all you really need is a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. Below is an example, but different variations of the game can be created with more or less categories depending on the age and level. Normally we score 20 points if we are the only ones with an answer in a particular category, 10 points if we have a valid answer but the other player has an answer too and finally 5 points if we have the same answer as the other player/s (It can be played in pairs or small groups).
Game: Categories
TIP 3 – Leave behind false and old-fashioned misconceptions:
This tip is also related to attitude, but in this case, I am referring to the NEGATIVE belief that some families have in some multicultural and multilingual homes. Some believe that learning a second or third language will delay the acquisition of the mother tongue. WRONG! Unfortunately, in my years as a teacher in England, I came across many families who did not want their children to be classified as “EAL children” (English as an Additional Language). They thought this was a bad thing and for many years there was a kind of stigma about it. Even today, there are still many parents who delay the introduction of a second language due to this fear. It is scientifically proven that learning different languages from childhood unlocks parts of the brain that will allow you to learn languages in an easier and faster way. The sooner the better. It is the best gift you can give your children. Do not rob them of this experience by having an outdated misconception.
TIP 4 – Bilingual storytelling:
This is something that could be done every night and alternate languages; one night in the mother tongue and the next day in the second language. If you can do the same story in both languages, your child will gradually acquire vocabulary and language structures in a very natural way. Today, there are tons of stories online that can be found in any language. Repetition is also very important. Read the same story several times so they learn it well and can eventually try to retell the stories using their own words. You can use puppets when they are younger, as they are a great tool to keep their attention while you read the story to them and then to retell or role-play the story. In my channel, BILINGUAL CEREBROS, you can find a section in which there are already 30 tales and fables and soon I will upload more.
TIP 5 – Real-life experiences will enhance and speed the language acquisition:
Traveling, when possible, to the country or countries where the target language is spoken, is the best way to learn and reinforce language learning. One of the reasons my daughter learned Spanish faster was spending summers and sometimes Easter in Spain with our family. She had the opportunity to make friends there too. However, as we all know, it is not always possible to travel and there are many other real-life experiences that you can do even without leaving your country. For example, go to an authentic restaurant from your heritage in your city; ideally one in which they have staff who can speak the target language, and model for your child ordering a meal, asking for the bill, etc. When they are older and more confident in their language skills, they can be the ones ordering the meal. This is a great experience and a good skill to learn. If you are lucky to know people from your country who also have children of a similar age living in your city, arrange play-dates so that they can play with other children using the target language. If that is not your case, you could find a new friend or ‘pen-pal’ of a similar age in another country and arrange online play-dates via Zoom or any other platform. Technology nowadays makes these different opportunities much easier and it gives us many more choices. So, let’s use them to our advantage!
TIP 6 – Exposure to other accents in the target language is important too:
I guess this tip is more relevant in the later years when they are already bilingual or have a secure level. However, I think that as ‘heritage’ speakers, it is also vital to be exposed to a wider variety of accents. In the early stages of language acquisition, parents are their role model, but as they grow older, they should be exposed to as many other accents as possible to enrich their learning and to also learn different vocabulary. This is also an easy thing to do with the Internet. For example, with YouTube, Netflix, watching films and series from different regions and countries in which the target language is spoken. And again, when possible, of course, traveling to those places.
TIP 7 – Listen to music in the target language:
Expose your child to a wide range of singers and music genres from different generations and nationalities. I love sharing with my daughter the music I grew up with and the music I started liking later in life. Music is great for learning new vocabulary and language structures in a fast way.
TIP 8 – Avoid using the second language to tell them off, at least at the beginning…
Always try to use the second language in a positive way. I’m going to start at this point with something negative that I think most of us can be guilty of at some point… and whoever is free of sin cast the first stone…😉 It can be difficult, however, we must try to avoid using the second language to ‘scold’, as they might end up seeing it as negative language and punishment. Of course, we need to use the second language to discipline them, but this must be done with positive language. I am referring here about how sometimes we can get carried away and in the ‘heat of the moment’ the “not so nice” expressions and vocabulary can slip out… Well, no-one is perfect… However, as bilinguals/polyglots, they will eventually come across this language, but in my opinion, this is something that should emerge much later…
TIP 9 – Embrace your heritage:
As part of their bilingual journey, it is important to feel identified with the culture of that language too. Make them proud of their heritage. In all my teaching years, I have met many students who came from multicultural families and who knew very little about their heritage. Growing up in a country that is different from your parent’s heritage should always be seen as an advantage, but unfortunately, I have very often seen the opposite. Some children feel only part of the country where they were born and do not feel close to their roots, to the heritage of their parents. It is sad that some do not celebrate the cultural richness of their families.
Unfortunately, and due in some cases to bullying, xenophobia and the closed-minded people that we sometimes come across in life, there are people who believe that they should hide what makes them special and authentic, their roots and their identity. As parents, it is our responsibility to make sure this is something our children learn and make sure they have a strong foundation where their multicultural background is proudly celebrated. Very often I have come across young people who came from a multicultural background who knew very little about their heritage and that is a very sad thing and it should not happen. As Whitney Houston sang: “Give them a sense of pride…”
TIP 10 – Festivals and celebrations:
Continuing with the previous point, the best way to celebrate and feel more connected to the culture of the second language in your home is through the celebration of traditions and festivals. Do not miss them, they are an important part of language learning. For example, in our house we always celebrate Christmas and the arrival of Santa Claus on December 25, but we also celebrate The Three Wise Men on January 6. There are so many different festivals and traditions to celebrate! It is a very nice thing to incorporate these customs into your family, even if they are not celebrated in the country in which you are currently living.
TIP 11 – Traditional food as part of the language learning:
It is important to cook traditional foods from your heritage so that your children grow up with those foods as part of their culinary knowledge. At the beginning when they are younger, you can talk about the names of the ingredients and as they get older, you can teach them the recipes, you can cook together and you can even research other recipes for traditional foods that you have never cooked before.
Raising a bilingual or polyglot child is an interesting journey in which not only your child will learn but you will learn a lot from them too. I hope these tips are helpful. You can contact me if you have any questions about this topic. In my channel you can find lots of resources that I post weekly to support students in their journey to becoming bilingual and to support parents and teachers too. If you need a particular topic, you can also request it. There are more than 300 videos and in some of my early videos you can hear my daughter’s sweet voice as she collaborated with me in the channel at the start. She was 10 years old at the time and this was during the pandemic when we were at home.
Enjoy your adventure raising bilingual or polyglot children! It’s the best present you can give them!
11 Consejos para criar hijos bilingües o políglotas
¡Hola! Mi nombre es María Martínez y soy la creadora del canal BILINGUAL CEREBROS. Soy profesora especializada en la enseñanza de Lenguas Extranjeras con más de 24 años de experiencia docente, casi 20 de ellos en el Reino Unido y durante los últimos 4 años en Alemania. También he sido coordinadora de Lenguas Extranjeras y maestra de primaria. Pero en esta nueva sección del canal os voy a hablar también desde mi experiencia personal como madre.
Mi hija Natalie, nació en Inglaterra y ha sido criada bilingüe. En casa hablamos inglés y español desde que nació. Cuando mi hija tenía 9 años nos mudamos a Alemania y ahora a sus 13 años puede hablar con total fluidez inglés, español y alemán. Además está aprendiendo italiano y francés (nivel B1/2) y le gustaría empezar pronto a aprender japonés.
En este artículo voy a compartir con vosotros algunos consejos e ideas de actividades que nos han funcionado como familia que vive en un hogar multilingüe. Espero que os sean útiles.
CONSEJO n. 1: Mantén una actitud 100% libre de presión:
El primer y en mi opinión más importante consejo que puedo darte es sin duda ¡DIVIÉRTETE! Tu enfoque debe ser 100% libre de presión. Si tus hijos sienten la obligación de aprender un idioma, de repente se convierte en una tarea, para ellos y para ti. Tu actitud es clave. Tienes que estar muy relajado/a al respecto. Sí, habrá días en los que apenas hablarás ‘el segundo idioma’, pero habrá otros en los que puede ocurrir exactamente lo contrario. No se trata de cantidad sino de calidad y de aprendizaje significativo porque solo así lograrás que tenga un efecto duradero.
En nuestro caso, el segundo idioma era el español, ya que vivimos en Inglaterra hasta que mi hija tuvo 9 años, por lo que constantemente estaba expuesta al inglés primero en la guardería, luego en la escuela, jugando con sus compañeros, viendo la televisión, etc. Debes entender que el segundo idioma va a ser adquirido progresivamente, no de un día para otro. Lo principal es no estresarse. Empieza poco a poco, y cada día puedes ir introduciendo una nueva palabra o expresión. Puedes empezar incluso antes del nacimiento de tu hijo/a, desde el embarazo😉 Recuerdo haberle hablado y cantado a mi hija en español antes de que naciera. Puede parecer una tontería, pero los hábitos deben establecerse temprano.
CONSEJO n. 2: Juega en cualquier momento:
El segundo consejo está relacionado con el primero. Qué mejor manera de divertirse que jugando en el segundo idioma. Cualquier tipo de juegos, desde muñecas hasta coches de carreras, juegos de mesa, adivinanzas, etc. Al principio no es fácil y no lo van a entender todo, pero eso no importa, el propósito es fomentar ese entusiasmo por el idioma. Cuando estamos jugando, están aprendiendo de una manera relajada sin ni siquiera darse cuenta y les despierta esa curiosidad de conocer mejor el nuevo idioma, ya que querrán descubrir nuevas formas de expresarse. Como todos tenemos vidas muy ocupadas, a veces planificar tiempo para estos juegos puede ser difícil, pero la clave es aprovechar cualquier oportunidad durante el día. Por ejemplo, recuerdo jugar a juegos como el ‘Veo-Veo’ mientras mi hija y yo íbamos en el coche, autobús, de compras, etc.
Otro ejemplo de juego oral es ‘Palabras encadenadas’, juego en el que tenemos que comenzar nuevas palabras con la última sílaba de la palabra anterior: amigo – gorra – rápido, domingo, etc. Hay muchos más juegos como estos o diferentes variaciones de estos juegos con temáticas específicas, que se pueden hacer simplemente oralmente mientras estás ocupado haciendo otras cosas, por ejemplo mientras estás cocinando, limpiando, paseando por el parque, etc. Otro juego que a mi hija y a mí nos encantaba jugar (y todavía lo hacemos) es ‘Para el lápiz / Levanta el lápiz’, donde puedes crear tus propias categorías (comida, país, profesiones, colores, bebidas, etc.) y necesitas encontrar palabras para cada categoría con letras diferentes del alfabeto. Este juego necesita un poco más de tiempo y preparación, aunque todo lo que realmente necesitas es una hoja de papel y un bolígrafo o lápiz.
Te dejo un ejemplo imprimible, pero se pueden crear diferentes variaciones del juego con más o menos categorías según la edad y el nivel. Normalmente obtenemos 20 puntos si somos los únicos con una respuesta en una categoría en particular, 10 puntos si tenemos una respuesta válida pero el otro jugador también tiene una respuesta y 5 puntos si tenemos la misma respuesta.
Juego: Para el lápiz
CONSEJO n. 3: Deja atrás conceptos falsos y anticuados:
Este consejo también está relacionado con la actitud, pero en este caso me refiero a la creencia NEGATIVA que tienen algunas familias en algunos hogares multiculturales y multilingües. Algunos creen que aprender un segundo o tercer idioma retrasa la adquisición de la lengua materna. ¡FALSO! Lamentablemente, en mis años como docente en Inglaterra, me encontré con muchas familias que no querían que sus hijos fueran clasificados como “niños EAL” (English as an Additional Language – inglés como idioma adicional). Pensaban que esto era algo malo y durante muchos años hubo una especie de estigma al respecto. Incluso hoy en día, todavía hay muchos padres que retrasan la introducción del segundo idioma debido a este miedo. Está científicamente comprobado que aprender diferentes idiomas desde la infancia desbloquea partes del cerebro que te permitirán aprender idiomas en general de una manera más fácil y rápida. Cuanto antes mejor. Es el mejor regalo que le puedes dar a tus hijos. No les robes esta experiencia por tener un concepto erróneo y anticuado.
CONSEJO n. 4: Cuentos bilingües:
Esto es algo que podría hacerse todas las noches y alternar los idiomas; una noche en el idioma materno y al día siguiente en el segundo idioma. Si puedes hacer la misma historia en ambos idiomas, tu hijo/a irá adquiriendo poco a poco vocabulario y estructuras por temas de una manera muy natural. Hoy en día, hay muchísimas historias en línea que se pueden encontrar en cualquier idioma. La repetición también es muy importante. Lee la misma historia en distintas ocasiones para que la aprendan bien y eventualmente puedan tratar de volver a contar las historias usando sus propias palabras. Puedes usar marionetas cuando son más pequeños, ya que son una gran herramienta para que mantengan la atención mientras les lees la historia y luego para volver a contarla o dramatizar. En Bilingual Cerebros, puedes encontrar una sección en la que ya hay 30 cuentos y fábulas y pronto subiré más.
CONSEJO n. 5: Experiencias de la vida real:
Viajar, cuando sea posible, al país o países donde se habla el segundo idioma es la mejor manera de aprender y reforzar el aprendizaje. Una de las razones por las que mi hija aprendió español más rápido fue porque pasaba los veranos y, a veces, la Semana Santa en España con sus abuelos, su tía, su tío y su primo. Allí también tuvo la oportunidad de hacer amigos. Sin embargo, como todos sabemos, no siempre es posible viajar y hay muchas otras experiencias de la vida real que puedes hacer incluso sin salir de tu país. Por ejemplo, ve a un restaurante auténtico de tu país; idealmente uno en el que tengan personal que pueda hablar el idioma y sirva de modelo para que tu hijo/a aprenda a pedir una comida, pida la cuenta, etc.
Cuando sean mayores y tengan más confianza en sus habilidades lingüísticas, pueden ser ellos quienes ordenen la comida. Esta es una gran experiencia para ellos y una buena habilidad que deben aprender. Si tienes la suerte de conocer a personas de un país que también tienen niños de una edad similar que vivan en tu ciudad, organiza encuentros para que jueguen con otros niños usando el segundo idioma. Si no tienes esa suerte, puedes encontrar un ‘amigo por correspondencia’ de una edad similar en otro país y organizar encuentros para que jueguen en línea a través de Zoom o cualquier otra plataforma. La tecnología ahora hace que estas diferentes oportunidades sean mucho más fáciles y nos brinda muchas más opciones. Así que debemos utilizarlo a nuestro favor.
CONSEJO n. 6: Variedad de acentos:
Supongo que este consejo es más relevante cuando ya son bilingües o tienen un nivel más alto y mayor seguridad en el idioma. Sin embargo, creo que, como hablantes de “herencia”, también es vital estar expuesto a una variedad más amplia de acentos. En las primeras etapas de la adquisición del idioma, las madres y los padres son el modelo a seguir, pero a medida que crecen, deben estar expuestos a tantos otros acentos como sea posible para enriquecer su aprendizaje y también aprender distinto vocabulario. Esto también es algo fácil de hacer con Internet. Por ejemplo, con YouTube, viendo películas y series de diferentes regiones y países en los que se habla el idioma que están aprendiendo. Y de nuevo, cuando sea posible, viajar a esos lugares.
CONSEJO n. 7: Escucha mucha variedad de géneros musicales:
Expón a tu hijo a una amplia gama de cantantes y géneros musicales de diferentes generaciones y nacionalidades. Me encanta compartir con mi hija la música con la que crecí y la música que me empezó a gustar más adelante en mi vida. La música es excelente para aprender vocabulario y estructuras nuevas de una manera rápida y duradera.
CONSEJO n. 8: Evita usar el segundo idioma para reñir, por lo menos al principio:
Intenta siempre usar el segundo idioma de una manera positiva. Voy a empezar en este punto con algo negativo de lo que creo que la mayoría de nosotros podemos ser culpables en algún momento… y el/la que esté libre de pecado que tire la primera piedra… 😉 Puede ser difícil, sin embargo, tenemos que evitar usar el segundo idioma para ‘regañar’, ya que podrían terminar viéndolo como un lenguaje negativo y un castigo. Por supuesto, necesitamos usar el segundo idioma para disciplinarlos, pero esto debe hacerse siempre con un lenguaje positivo. Me refiero aquí a cómo a veces podemos dejarnos llevar y usar expresiones y vocabulario “no tan agradables”… Bueno, nadie es perfecto… Sin embargo, como bilingües/políglotas , eventualmente se encontrarán con este lenguaje, pero en mi opinión esto es algo que debería surgir mucho más tarde…
CONSEJO n. 9: Enorgullécete de tu herencia:
Como parte de su viaje hacia el bilingüismo, es importante sentirse identificados con la cultura de ese idioma. Haz que se sientan orgullosos de su herencia. He sido profesora de muchos estudiantes que venían de familias multiculturales los cuales no estaban muy seguros de sus raíces. Crecer en un país que es diferente al de la herencia de tus padres siempre debería verse como una ventaja, pero desafortunadamente, he visto muy a menudo lo contrario. Algunos niños se sienten solo parte del país donde nacieron y no se sienten cercanos a sus raíces, a la herencia de sus padres. Es triste que algunos no celebren esa riqueza cultural de su familia.
Por desgracia y debido en algunos casos al bullying, la xenofobia y a las personas de mente cerrada con las que a veces nos cruzamos en la vida, hay personas que creen que deben ocultar lo que los hace especiales y auténticos, sus raíces y su identidad. Como padres, es nuestra responsabilidad asegurarnos de que esto sea algo que nuestros hijos aprendan y asegurarnos de que tengan una base sólida donde se celebre con orgullo su origen multicultural. Muy a menudo me he encontrado con jóvenes que provenían de un entorno multicultural que sabían muy poco sobre su herencia y eso es algo muy triste que no debería pasar. Como cantó Whitney Houston: “Dales un sentido de orgullo…”
CONSEJO n. 10: Celebraciones y festivales:
Siguiendo con el punto anterior, la mejor manera de celebrar y sentir más cercana la cultura del segundo idioma en tu hogar es a través de la celebración de costumbres y festivales. No te los pierdas, son una parte importante del aprendizaje del idioma. Por ejemplo, en nuestra casa siempre celebramos la Navidad y la llegada de Papá Noel el 25 de diciembre pero también celebramos Los Tres Reyes Magos el 6 de enero. ¡Hay muchísimos festivales y tradiciones diferentes que celebrar! Es algo muy bonito incorporar estas costumbres en tu familia, aunque no se celebren en el país en el que estás viviendo en la actualidad.
CONSEJO n. 11: Comida tradicional:
Es importante cocinar alimentos tradicionales de tu herencia para que tus hijos crezcan con esos alimentos siendo parte de su saber culinario. Al principio, cuando son más pequeños, puedes hablar sobre los nombres de los ingredientes y, a medida que van siendo mayores, puedes enseñarles las recetas, cocinar juntos e incluso podéis investigar otras recetas de comidas tradicionales que nunca antes habías cocinado.
Criar hijos bilingües o políglotas es un viaje interesante en el que no solo ellos aprenderán, sino que tú también aprenderás mucho de ellos. ¡Disfruta tu aventura criando hijos bilingües o políglotas! ¡Es el mejor regalo que les puedes dar!
Espero que estos consejos sean útiles. Puedes contactarme si tienes alguna pregunta sobre este tema. Además en mi canal puedes encontrar muchos recursos que publico semanalmente para apoyar a mis estudiantes en su proceso de convertirse en bilingües y para apoyar también a padres y profesores. Si necesitas algún tema en particular, también puedes solicitarlo. Hay más de 300 vídeos y en algunos de mis primeros vídeos puedes escuchar la dulce voz de mi hija cuando colaboraba conmigo en los comienzos del canal BILINGUAL CEREBROS. Ella tenía 10 años en ese momento y colaboró conmigo durante la pandemia cuando estábamos en casa.
Te dejo mis redes sociales por si tienes alguna consulta:
Que el Camino de Santiago es una experiencia vital de gran importancia es algo con lo que muchas personas están de acuerdo 🙋🏾♀️🙋, y así lo vemos reflejado en los rostros de los peregrinos que pueblan y dan color a la Plaza del Obradoiro 😄😆🥹.
Que el subjuntivo es una experiencia vital de gran importancia es algo con lo que no muchas personas están de acuerdo 😒, y así lo vemos reflejado en los rostros de los estudiantes de español 🫣😨.
Sin embargo, ¿será posible aunar ambos, y conseguir de esta forma que el alumnado produzca de manera más espontánea el subjuntivo? 🤔
¡Pensamos que sí! 😄💡 Te presentamos una infografía con la que tus estudiantes podrán expresar sus sentimientos (ya sea con el infinitivo o con el subjuntivo) en relación con el Camino de Santiago: qué les alegra 😄, qué les hace ilusión 🥹, qué les preocupa 😟, cómo prefieren vivir la experiencia 😀 y qué les molesta 😠.
There are many edtech tools and videos to help students with their Interpretive Listening skills. Sites such as EdPuzzle and Lyrics Training and other edutech resources like Forms (Google and Microsoft) are some of my go-to resources. I have also used Bilingual Cerebros, Señor Wooly, and Rockalingua, to name some, to help students expand their vocabulary and language structures.
Videos as Authentic Resources
What first comes to my mind when I hear ‘videos’ is authentic and organic ways of teaching and learning. I use a lot of music videos when teaching. Previously, I talked about using songs as Interpretive Reading tasks. Now, I’d like to share about one of the latest video I have used in class.
The video “Soy Tuya” to talk about Puerto Rico is what I used. I adapted a plan that I had created to fit my novice-mid level students. Students would discover Puerto Rico in a different way … and it worked! Before we started, I asked them what they knew about Puerto Rico and we used OneNote to record their answers. Only then I played the video “Soy Tuya”. They watched it several times, but each time, they had to focus on a particular aspect. This is what I had my student do when watching this video:
Talk about what surprises and/ or impacts you
Name the objects that you recognize
Name things related to nature or the environment
Talk about your favorite part and explain why you like it
After watching the video and completing the tasks mentioned above, I asked them to write what they knew about Puerto Rico. They were able to write a lot and were so proud about it!
Media Literacy
Once I learned what they knew about Puerto Rico, I played the video again and paused it as I needed to focus on some landmarks and important information given in the video. Students learned a little bit of history, geography, flora and fauna, etc. We also discussed the lyrics and the story told through the song (using a little bit of Spanglish for this, I confess!).
One of my questions after watching the video together was “Did you notice what is NOT in the video”? Although at first, they were a little puzzled by my question, they started to mention a few things that were missing, such as hurricanes and their devastating impact. We briefly discussed Media Literacy Q-Tips, and we especially focused on who is not represented in the video.
Vocabulary & Language Structures
The next class, students watched the video again and this time they listed the activities people do and then told me who does what. Students noticed many more activities than I had expected! It gave them the opportunity to practice conjugating with a purpose and in an organic way!
Authentic and Connected
A few days later, when we had a video conference with a Puerto Rican, a dear friend and also a language teacher…my students were ready! They recognized some of the places and faces from the video in the slides she showed them, and asked good follow up questions based on their novice-mid level.
Your Turn
I’d like to know how you use videos in your class. Please, leave a comment or email me at connect@languageteachinglab.com with questions and ideas.
No, no vamos a hablar de psicología. Pero… ¿verdad que queda chulo el título?
De todas formas, si bien no hablaremos de Freud, sí lo haremos de un superpronombre: el “yo”.
De todos es sabido que, a diferencia de otras lenguas, en español no es necesario incluir el “yo” para expresar la persona del hablante, ya que con la desinencia verbal es suficiente.
Sin embargo, en la lengua coloquial, con frecuencia recurrimos a él. Entonces, si no es necesario desde el punto de vista gramatical, ¿por qué lo usamos en ciertos contextos? . Pues muy sencillo: porque así nos lo exige nuestra amiga la pragmática. En efecto, lo que pretendemos en estos casos es hacer valer el propio criterio, individualizando al hablante frente a otras personas.
Tranquilidad, ya os lo explico yo…
Y es que yo pienso que la pragmática debe condicionar el uso que hagamos de la gramática. Vamos, creo yo. Porque, vamos a ver… ¿cómo lo diría yo?… . Es que, de otra forma, no podríamos alcanzar nuestros objetivos comunicativos. Os lo digo yo, que algo he leído sobre esto… .
Bueno, te dejamos aquí abajo una pequeña infografíasobre el tema (está chula, la he hecho yo mismo), para que puedas relacionar los usos de “yo” con los ejemplos que aparecen en este texto. Y yo, yo me voy a descansar ahora un rato. . ¿Qué dices? ¿Que soy un vago? ¿Yo?. ¡Eso lo será el señor Freud!
FREUD, THE SPANISH AND THE SUPEREGO
No, we’re not going to talk about psychology. But … isn’t the title cool? 🤨
In any case, although we will not talk about Freud, we will talk about a superpronoun: the “I”. 😎
Everyone knows that, unlike other languages, in Spanish it is not necessary to include the “I” to express the person of the speaker, since verbal desinence is enough.
However, in the colloquial language, we often resort to it. So, if it is not grammatically necessary, why do we use it in certain contexts? 🤔. Well, very simple: because that’s what our pragmatic friend demands of us. Indeed, what we intend in these cases is to assert one’s own criteria, individualizing the speaker in front of other people. ➡️➡️ 😊 ⬅️⬅️
Tranquility, I explain it to you … 😌
And I think that pragmatics should condition the use we make of grammar. Come on, I think. Because, let’s see… how would I say it?… 🤔. It is that, otherwise, we could not achieve our communicative objectives. I tell you, I’ve read something about this… 🤥.
Well, we leave you here a small infographic on the subject (it’s cool, I’ve done it myself), so you can relate the uses of “I” with the examples that appear in this text. And I, I’m going to rest now for a while. 🛋. What are you saying? That I’m lazy? I? 😤. That will be Mr. Freud!
It all started with the pandemic and the boredom during lockdown. I have been a teacher for 23 years and creating my channel BILINGUAL CEREBROS was, especially during the pandemic, a way to motivate and support my students and keep my mind occupied.
However, once our lives went back to normal, I decided to continue with this channel as it had grown into a large community, currently more than 7,000 subscribers from all over the world, Spanish and English students and teachers.
My actual students have given me great feedback and encouraged me to carry on with the project as it really helps them revise the content from our lessons and even practice before exams.
I have also received very positive feedback from independent students from all over the world, thanking me because my videos and resources help them learn and many can’t afford to pay for private lessons, so they find my channel very helpful.
Teachers from all over the world have also given fantastic feedback to the channel as the resources shared help them save planning and preparation time. I also share the PowerPoint versions from the videos shared in the channel and they are all free.
In BILINGUAL CEREBROS you can find different sections in the playlists, including: short stories and fables to reflect on, vocabulary and grammar quizzes, reading and comprehension texts including questions and answers, tasks to train listening skills, cultural texts, bilingual mindfulness, songs and some more. There are more than 240 videos with activities and links to printable resources and I upload new content weekly. You can see in the photo below a summary of the different sections in the Playlists.
I love creating and sharing resources. For me it is a real pleasure to know that my resources help not only my students but also many others, and that this help can have an impact in someone’s life and their future. As we all know, languages open many doors, and if my contribution to improve someone’s language skills can have a role in their future, that is the best feeling in the world.
Have you ever wondered why we teach what we teach? I realized that my professional and personal experiences inform my language curriculum in more ways than I have imagined.
It all started when a few years ago, in the educational and pedagogical arenas, there was a big emphasis on culturally responsive teaching. That is when I decided to revisit my curriculum. Among all the units, I started by digging deeper into the typical ‘get to know students’ one at the beginning of the school year. Yes, it is important to know what students’ preferred name is and learn about their favorites, and I do not underestimate this, but to me that was not enough. I wanted my students to learn about themselves, who they are and who they want to become as language learners.
A children’s book, a trip to a museum, and a fellowship are three examples that informed my unit on identity. I developed, tweaked, and grew this unit throughout the years.
A Professional and Personal Experience: A Children’s Book
I had the privilege of meeting Rafael Lopez in person when he received the Americas Award for illustrating Pat Mora’s Yum! MMMM! Que Rico!. Lopez made an imprint on me that day. I bought most of his titles from then onwards (all worth it!).
When I read Rafael Lopez’s, El dia en que descubres quien eres, I knew I had to introduce it to my students. This book reminds us not to forget how you feel when you are new to a place. It reminds us of the importance of making connections and sharing stories among each other. It touches upon the identifiers of race, ethnicity, gender, class, ability, origin, and age and at the same time it develops empathy. I use the Project Zero Thinking Routine CSI – Color, Symbol, and Image – to have students show understanding of the story.
A Personal Experience: A Trip to a Museum
I make a big emphasis throughout the identity unit on the importance of learning about the ‘invisible’ side of people, of others and of our own. Students discover and explore this by walking the same steps I walked many years ago when I saw ‘Braiding’ by Lin Tianmiao while visiting a Chicago museum.
Lin Tianmiao massive installation made a huge impact on me back then. I decided to add this work of art into the identity unit. It seemed the appropriate way of helping students understand how much of what we see and perceive influences what we think about others.
Students use the simple (but powerful) Project Zero Thinking Routine “I see, I think, I wonder” to describe the installation. As a first entry to the art, I only show students the face in the artwork. Once students share what they have written about what they see, think, and wonder, I show them the complete piece of art. In their own words they express what I intended them to understand.
I want to show students that we cannot stop at the visible part of human beings to learn about others. Introducing them to Caja de Memoria Viva II: Constancia Colón Clemente by Adrián Viajero Román seemed the way to go. The following materials are based on the collections developed when Marcela and I participated in the Smithsonian Fellowship.
Students use personal memories to recall what songs or sounds, what smells, what artifacts, and what tastes we associate with home or a special place for us. Only then we analyze the art.
Students observe and analyze the three dimensional work of art first. Then they describe both its exterior and interior. I usually start by showing students some photographs of the visible cube representing the head of a person. The installation is of a black Puerto Rican woman who migrated to the United States in the 1940s.
After they observe the photos from the outside, I have them observe photos of the inside of the piece of art. Students see lots of different objects hanging in the inside walls of the cube.
We continue by using the Project Zero Thinking Routine ‘Layers.’ This routine provides learners with a structure for looking analytically at creative works through its narrative, aesthetic, mechanical, dynamic, and connections.
Example questions for using ‘Layers’
-Who do you think is this person?
-How old do you think she is?
-Where do you think she lives?
-How does this installation make you feel?
-What do you see?
-What is unique in this piece?
-How does it connect with your personal experiences?
The installation helps students concretely see the connection between the ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ sides of a person. One important aspect about this art piece is the fact that you can hear the voice of Constancia Colon Clemente when you are under the installation. It feels you really are in her head!
Future Professional and Personal Experiences
The examples mentioned above – a children’s book, a trip to a museum, and a fellowship – informed my unit on identity. I will surely keep on developing and tweaking this unit in the years to come.
Though usually unexpectedly, my professional and personal experiences will keep on influencing my language curriculum. Therefore, I wonder where my next inspiration will come from.
“’P’ is for Project” is one of the frameworks that I usually use to help students complete a project successfully in my Spanish language classes. This framework uses words in Spanish that begin with ‘P’, guiding students to identify and follow the different steps of the process while gaining independence. In Spanish, the 7 Ps of a project include: Preguntar / Preguntarse, Planear, Preparar, Practicar. Presentar, Personalizar, Pensar.
‘P’ is for Project
In English, most of the names for the steps use the word ‘P’ except for the very first one, which stands for ask yourself or questions. The framework includes: ask myself/questions, plan, prepare, practise, present, personalize (give feedback) and ponder (think and reflect).
Having a consistent path when doing projects helps students know where they are and what comes next, which lowers their affective filter. It also focuses them on the task at hand and helps them stay in the language!
In my classes the best learning has happened when students follow all the steps. I am going to show you the path my students – in elementary and early middle school – follow when doing a project in my Spanish classes. You can adapt these steps to use in Early Elementary or in High School.
‘P’ in Preguntar / Preguntarse
We usually start our projects with questions. Questions usually bring more questions. The word for questions in Spanish is ‘preguntas’ and ‘preguntarse’ is the action of wondering. It is the perfect way to start our ‘P is for Project’ framework.
I read the following “If we’re willing to ask the questions, we can begin changing things.” (Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future, page 71). Though not all projects in my Spanish class lead to substantial change, students might change their way of seeing the world, their understanding of themselves, and their knowledge of other cultures.
‘P’ in Planear
What may ‘Planear’ include? It may include making a drawing, creating a simple outline, chunking what we need to do into daily doables, getting the materials needed, choosing what technology to use, investigating a topic, etc. Before we jump in, it is better to step back and think about what resources you need and what you need to do to achieve your goal.
‘P’ is for Project: Preparar
‘Preparar’ may include creating a graphic organizer, writing the first draft, preparing a PowerPoint or using another presentation edtech tool. My students have realized that usually this step is the one that takes the longest and after doing a couple of projects, they take their time to complete this step thoughtfully.
‘P’ in Practicar
‘Practicar’ is a key part of any project. Usually, in the first project of the year, my students skip this step. Students immediately get to understand that they should have practiced more before presenting in Spanish. When it is a presentational writing, they realize that they should have gone over, edited, and proofread their writing before turning in their final draft. Some students benefit from doing this step consciously as they realize that practicing compensates their effort.
‘P’ is for Project: Presentar
Once students complete Preguntar/Preguntarse, Planear, Preparar, and Practicar, ‘Presentar’ becomes an easy part of their projects. They are proud and ready! They feel accomplished and it often helps develop their self-esteem.
At the beginning of my career, I would have stopped after their presentation, either speaking or writing, was complete. Now I include two more steps: give feedback and reflect on their work. Why do I do this?
‘P’ in Personalizar
‘Personalizar’ has become my students’ favorite part of any project. It is the time in which they give feedback and celebrate their accomplishments and their friends’. If students created a Flip as a presentational speaking assignment, for example, they give personal compliments on each other’s successes. If students created a ‘gallery walk,’ they proudly give their feedback on other students’ work by posting stickers or post-it notes.
‘P’ is for Project: Pensar
‘Pensar’ has become my favorite part of any project. I get to hear students’ reflections on the process and as well as the product. I get to know how they feel and what they think. Interestingly enough, I also get to know how the project has opened their eyes to new products, practices, and perspectives, how it has transformed the way they see the world, and what personal connections they have made. It also gives me a chance to make changes to the project to help the following group of students. I usually use a form to capture their pondering on the project but other times, I prepare a set of questions and discuss them as a class.
So, to me, the ‘P’ is for Project because in my Spanish classes, following these steps -’Preguntar/Preguntarse (to ask questions), Planear (to plan), Preparar (to prepare), Practicar (to practice), Presentar (to present, in writing and / or speaking), Personalizar (to personalize and give feedback), and Pensar (to ponder, think, and reflect on their learning)’- help students engage in their learning by giving them a choice on what they want to learn about, investigate, communicate, and many times act upon.
It is only one page but it lets you dive into so many topics while personalizing it for each of your students.
Many ways to use ‘Mi día típico’ by Amy Lenord
This one page can be used to review many topics already studied, such as clothing, food, time, sports, meals and food, school, chores and other activities, and grammar structures, such as prepositional phrases, adverbs of quantity, sequencing words, besides the conjugation of verbs in the 1st person singular of regular, stem-changing, and reflexive verbs.
It also gives the perfect context to review the verbs ‘desayunar, almorzar, merendar & cenar’ for the specific meals of the day, as opposed to repeating ‘comer’. This is something quite confusing to language learners as these verbs are used differently in English and in Spanish.
Another application of this great resource is to make comparisons and explore new topics.
How I used ‘Mi día típico’
Reading for understanding
Initially, students read the page, it was easy for them to understand the meaning of the statements by looking at the images Amy Lenord included as a clue, plus my acting out, and drawing when necessary.
Later, I used this page for Interpersonal Speaking, Presentational Writing, and Presentational Speaking.
Interpersonal Speaking
After my fifth grade students read the page multiple times and were familiar with the meaning of each statement, I moved to having them ask and answer questions about themselves. They quickly realized that they needed to change the endings of all the verbs and the pronouns from ‘me’ (about me) to ‘te’ (about you) when asking their partner. There were some giggles when they made the questions without making this change, e.g.: ‘Do you brush ‘my’ teeth in the morning?’ instead of asking ‘Do you brush ‘your’ teeth in the morning?’
Scaffolding in Preparation to Present ‘Mi día típico’
Using the resource for presentational writing and presentational speaking needed some scaffolding. The following are some activities and tasks that my students did prior to presenting.
Draw the activities
I had students use this ‘jewel’ to also think about their typical days. I handed a booklet with three pages with the days of the week on each page. The first page read ‘Por la mañana’ (In the morning). The second read ‘Por la tarde’ (in the afternoon) and the third one had ‘Por la noche’ (at night), Students drew what they do during each part of the day on the specific days of the week. This booklet, along with the page ‘Mi día típico’, were our anchor for the rest of the tasks and activities. Students used both as guides all along.
Self-checking competition
I asked students to study the ‘Mi día típico’ verbs and the next day we played a competition. Each student would say a verb and everybody had to write it down. Students numbered the verbs and wrote them down until they thought they had named them all. Then they self-checked their writing against the ‘Mi día típico’ page for spelling and completion of all verbs. To my surprise, not only had they included all the verbs, but they had also added a few more!
Level up the phrases
Then, students chose one of the drawings from their booklet and wrote a sentence in their notebook that later read aloud to share it with their peers. I have to say that they came up with excellent phrases! To push them a little bit more, I asked them to ‘level up’ the phrases, so we discussed ideas on how to do it. Finally, students practiced ‘leveling up’ their phrases into emerging sentences by writing two more sentences and adding some details. They were very proud to share them in class.
Topic and conclusion sentences
The next class, We discussed which could be a good topic and a conclusion sentence for a presentational writing assignment and we jotted down several possible sentences. We used OneNote so everybody knew where to find the topic and conclusion sentences to study.
“We are in RLA,” they said
For reference, RLA is Reading Language Arts. I asked students if they had written paragraphs in Language Arts and they all said ‘Yes’, and we talked about what makes a good paragraph. I asked them to look at their drawings and circle those which they thought could be good illustrations to write about in Spanish. They could choose up to six pictures from any part of their booklet. While they were planning what to write, I told them they should answer: What can I write that will make an impact on Sra.? That way,I would see complete and original thoughts when I read their paragraphs. In other words, their writing had to catch my attention as a reader.
I also told them that we would be writing a presentation in class only using the booklet with the drawings and it would be an assessment. They practiced with different partners until they had a better idea of what they could write about and how they would write it.
Presentational Writing Assessment
It is imperative that I know what students are able to do. It helps me understand what I need to do to move students along the proficiency levels. Using their drawings as the only resource, most of my students included at least a Novice High sentence, evidence that they have already started creating original thoughts in Spanish. As a teacher, I felt accomplished!
Presentational Speaking & Reflection
For the Presentational Speaking they would be recording ‘Mi día típico’ in Flipgrid the following class. In preparation, they chose what to say, they practiced with friends, asked me questions, and shared strategies on how to do it. Then, they completed a reflection about the following:
What went well for you?
What was challenging?
What did you learn about yourself?
What would you do differently next time?
For the most part, students’ responses showed that the presentational writing was better than the presentational speaking because when writing, you can proofread your text, but when speaking, you have to come up with what to say on the spot. For the most part, they said that they could write and speak in Spanish much better than they could have ever imagined. I was proud of their work, effort, and growth.
I find that ‘Mi día típico’ by Amy Lenord is a resource that helps my students accomplish communication. Thank you, Amy!
What do intercultural conversations look like in your language class?
Depending on the age of the students, intercultural conversations can take many different shapes and forms. For the purpose of this blog, I’ll talk about the experience of bringing a native Spanish speaker to my middle school class. This person was from Spain. Why from Spain? We were getting ready to read “Agentes secretos y el mural de Picasso” by Mira Canion and I wanted to introduce them to Spain in a different way. My first impression was that (in general), my students knew little about Spain and had misconceptions about this country. Off to an interesting start!
How might you prepare students to have intercultural conversations?
I am sure that there are many ways to have students get ready for intercultural conversations but I decided to go with questions, facts, and maps.
Asking Questions:
I asked my students what they wanted to know about Spain and wrote each one of their questions. I could see how their minds fed from each other’s ideas, and I was impressed with the array of questions they had. We created a long list of questions.
Categorizing questions:
Next class, I asked them to work in groups of three. They had to read the questions generated in our previous class, find connections among them and group them in categories. They also had to come up with the names for the categories. When they finished, I asked one group to tell me a category and read the questions that were in it. If others disagreed, they would have to explain why and what they would do differently. When all the questions were classified and everybody was in agreement, we paused for a second and re-read all the questions in each category.
Delving Meaning:
Now, it was time to think deeper and discuss how the visitor would feel or react to the questions. We wanted to avoid questions that sounded too direct or even unintentionally offensive, i.e. ‘Why did you come to America?’ We rearranged the questions and tweaked some of them so that they would provoke a positive response in our speaker. When we finished, we re-read the questions once more and … finally, we all liked how they sounded!
This step of the process proved to be a fundamental part of the experience, it sparked empathy and kindness. Students could see that the way we ask questions is as important as what we ask.
Finding Facts:
Now that the questions were ready, students had to investigate and find three to five facts about Spain.The next day, they came excited about their findings. “Quite interesting facts, Sra!” they said. “Did you know that the Spanish anthem does not have lyrics? Did you know that Spain has many World Heritage Sites?”
Reading Maps:
We found Spain and its islands on a world map and also read a couple of simple articles that explained Spain’s location and regions. Students were surprised to find out that Spain is similar to Texas in size. Now, I felt students were ready to meet our guest speaker.
Time to meet our guest speaker
Finally, the day to meet our guest speaker had come! I had sent her the questions in advance so she could prepare for our meeting. She had made a short presentation with images based on the questions my students had asked. As I had anticipated, students were intrigued by all she had to show them about Spain but she did not stop there. She also asked students personal questions such as, favorites, sports, and traveling, to compare their experiences with hers and so that they could relate to what she was talking about. They gave her a round of applause when she finished.
Time to reflect on the learning of intercultural conversations
As my guest speaker spoke practically all in Spanish (really! the 90% suggested by ACTFL) I was curious to know how much my students had understood. I decided to have them do a short reflection using the PZ Thinking Routine: I used to think … But now I think / I know. I added “I learned” and “I liked” for those that needed to express more concrete thinking. I was amazed at how much students had understood and learned through this experience.
In sum, I was happy to see the growth in my students’ thinking and learning. Moreover, I felt very accomplished to have facilitated a successful intercultural conversation.
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:
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!
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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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.
“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!
. Pues muy sencillo: porque así nos lo exige nuestra amiga la pragmática. En efecto, lo que pretendemos en estos casos es hacer valer el propio criterio, individualizando al hablante frente a otras personas. 
. Es que, de otra forma, no podríamos alcanzar nuestros objetivos comunicativos. Os lo digo yo, que algo he leído sobre esto… 
.
. ¿Qué dices? ¿Que soy un vago? ¿Yo?
. ¡Eso lo será el señor Freud!
