Language Resident: Katherine Pérez Gutiérrez 

Class theme/topic discussed : Indigenous Languages

Goal of the class 

  • Discuss the relationship between Spanish and indigenous languages
  • Talk about the public policies surrounding indigenous languages
  • Learn some indigenous words used in a day-to-day basis in some Spanish speaking countries.

Class structure

  • Warm-up:  Students play 3 rounds of would you rather.  
  • Activity 1: In breakout rooms, students answer some questions related to the languages they speak. Do you speak any more languages other than English and Spanish? What are the benefits of speaking multiple languages?
  • Activity 2: We watch a short video about how some indigenous languages are dying and what kind of public policies are being ruled to help this issue. In addition, students discuss a couple of questions to check what they understood from the video: What are the advantages and disadvantages of learning an indigenous language in school? What factors contribute to the loss and death of indigenous languages? What do you think about prioritizing teaching a foreign language over an indigenous language at school? What are the consequences?
  • Activity 3: I read aloud a paragraph of colloquial Chilean Spanish and students have to identify the indigenous words and guess the meaning of the words used in the text.
  • Activity 4: After checking and discussing the meaning, students come up with a dialogue where they use at least 2-3 of the words just learnt.

Resources used

  • PPT
  • Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyMjFoqUhfA

Reflection: What worked/did not work? How can it be improved?

  • It was a good class. We spent most of the class on activity 2 discussing the questions and the video. Although students were engaged with that activity, I think moving on faster so that you have enough time to do the last two activities would be more fun and more dynamic.