Author: zeltia
Language and Section: Spanish 13-01
Date: January 31, 2013
Class theme/topics discussed: Restrictions for guns in the US
Goal of the class: talk about this current topic with US students
Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below)
We started the class with a little warm-up game: the pictionary. After I handed them an article about the restrictions of having guns in the US. This article appeared in the Spanish newspaper called “El Pais”. I also gave them a vocabulary sheet. In the same groups as for the pictionary, they had to each read a paragraph (it was perfect because the article had 11 paragraphs and there were 11 students!) and then explain the paragraph they read to their group. After that we talked about the article and I asked them questions. Then, again working in groups, I asked them to think of advantages and disadvantages of having guns. I erased the title of the article so they had to come up with a title that they though would fit best.
What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
I worked well, but they were not very talkative.
How could this class be improved/ modified?
I wanted to show them a couple of news videos in Spanish about this topic but we ran out of time. I will probably show it next class. It is always good to practice by listening to the Spanish news, even if it can be a little bit challenging. Maybe, in order to make it easier for them to talk, I should have given them a guideline with some questions/bullet points that they had to talk about in their own groups. I could have pointed a moderator who would make sure they go through every point.
Here are the links from the news that could have been very useful:
Protesta a favor de las armas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS5B69FpyjA
Plan Barack Obama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu16LhKJwZI
Sube la compra de armas (1.15′): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K62TK08_iuw
” ” ” ” (1.37′): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYgfUe0T2Do
Language and Section: Spanish 11-01
Date: April 4, 2013
Class theme/topics discussed: Drugs
Goal of the class: Learn new vocabulary about drugs and talk about them.
Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below)
I wrote four words on the board: “botellón” “porro” “colocado” and “chocolate”. I asked them what those words had in common. They though about it until someone came up with the word “drugs”. After that I asked them about the atmosphere about drugs on the campus. They talked about some of their experiences and told me some “funny” anecdotes about this issue on campus. We kept talking about how easy it is to get drugs on campus and what drugs are mostly consumed on each campus. After that I showed them a couple of videos on drug prevention in Spain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7MrpCFaXbo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MgRGN4L_yg&feature=endscreen&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lps4HYp-UbQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX0WfKqi-kA
I gave them a piece of paper with some questions about the advertisements. They worked in small groups and then we talked a little bit more in a big group. I asked them questions about the legalization of marihuana or the reasons why young people consume drugs and the effects of the “21-year-old” policy.
What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)
Youtube videos
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
Everything worked well. Students talked for the first half an hour and I was just keeping the conversation alive. I felt like they were more engaged with this issue since it is something that they have experiences with.
How could this class be improved/ modified?
I could have changed the direction of the conversation depending on what I thought it was important but I wanted to give them free rein.
Please attach your lesson plan and handouts for this class below – if you used any.
Here are the questions that I used related to the videos:
¿Qué ves en cada anuncio y qué historia se narra?
¿Crees que estos anuncios muestran situaciones reales? ¿Has visto alguna vez una situación parecida?
¿Qué quieren transmitir? ¿Lo hacen de una manera apropiada?
¿Qué anuncio crees que es más eficaz y por qué?
¿Cuál te ha llamado más la atención?
¿A quiénes están dirigidas estas campañas publicitarias? ¿Por qué crees que es así?
¿Cuál crees tú que es el mejor método para concienciar a las personas del abuso de drogas?
¿Cuáles son algunas de las razones por las que los jóvenes consumen drogas?
Language and Section: Spanish 11-01
Date: April 18, 2013
Class theme/topics discussed: Immigration
Goal of the class: Talk about immigration and the differences between the US and Spain
Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below)
I started the class with a song (papeles mojaos-chambao) that talked about immigration. We commented that song and then I showed them a news video in which they were talking about African immigrants crossing the ocean to get to Spain. We talked about all the differences between Spain and the US, how the immigrants get to the US, what they can do once they have arrived, what kind of jobs they can get, etc. We also talked about the DREAM Act and they explained to me what it was about. I had some questions with me that I kept looking in case I forgot something that I wanted to ask.
Chambao – papeles mojados: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj8aNCtTHW4
What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)
Youtube and rtve.es
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
They were interested in the topic and I think the song was a good start.
How could this class be improved/ modified?
At first I wanted to have them work in two groups and talk about this, but after, since they were all explaining things in the US to me I thought it would make more sense if we just discussed it altogether. Also, instead of keeping the questions with me, I could have handed them to the students and have them discuss them in groups of 3 or 4 people.
Please attach your lesson plan and handouts for this class below – if you used any.
I attach the lyrics of the song and the questions that I had with me to keep the conversation going.
Canción:
Chambao – Papeles mojados
Miles de sombras cada noche trae la marea,
navegan cargaos de ilusiones que en la orilla se quedan.
Historias del día a día, historias de buena gente.
Se juegan la vida cansaos, con hambre y un frío que pela.
Ahogan sus penas con una candela, ponte tu en su lugar,
el miedo que en sus ojos reflejan, la mar se echó a llorar.
Muchos no llegan, se hunden sus sueño papeles mojaos, papeles sin dueño Muchos no llegan se hunden sus sueño papeles mojaos, papales sin dueño
Frágiles recuerdos a la deriva desgarran el alma,
cala to’ los huesos el agua los arrastra sin esperanza.
La impotencia en su garganta con sabor a sal,
una bocanada de aire le da otra oportunidad.
Tanta noticia me desespera, ponte tu en su lugar,
el miedo que en sus ojos reflejan, la mar se echo a llorar.
Muchos no llegan, se hunden sus sueño papeles mojaos, papeles sin dueño. Muchos no llegan, se hunden sus sueño papeles mojaos, papeles sin dueño
Muchos no llegan, se hunden sus sueño papeles mojaos, papeles sin dueño. Muchos no llegan, se hunden sus sueño papeles mojaos, papeles sin dueño
Questions:
¿Con qué se asocia el término inmigración?
¿Cómo acceden los inmigrantes a EE.UU?
¿Existen en EE.UU trabajos temporales para los inmigrantes?
¿Cuáles creéis que son las formas en que se pueden conseguir “papeles”? ¿Es posible trabajar sin tener papeles? ¿En dónde?
¿Qué ventajas tiene la inmigración para el país y para los inmigrantes? ¿Y problemas/desventajas?
¿Con qué medios llegan los inmigrantes a EE.UU?
En EE.UU, ¿las leyes de inmigración son las mismas en todos los Estados? ¿Hay alguno que tenga leyes más severas? ¿Cuál y por qué?
Los inmigrantes, ¿qué tipo de trabajos desempeñan normalmente?
Language and Section: Spanish 11-01
Date: 15.November.2012
Class theme/topics discussed: Holidays and touristic spots in Spain
Goal of the class: talk a little bit about holidays and show them some cities in Spain, which are tourists’ attractions
Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below)
We did a discussion between life in the cities and in the countryside. There were two teams and one team had to come up with advantages of living in a city and disadvantages of living in the countryside and the other team the other way around. After that we had a discussion among all the students with their arguments.
I asked them to form two groups and talk about their favorite holidays. They had to share their experiences with the class. After that I asked them if they knew any cities and traditions/fests in Spain. I asked them to get in pairs and I gave them a document with different pictures on them. Each document had pictures of a city in Spain and they had to talk and try to figure out what the city was, what kind of tourism would have, what people could do, etc.
I projected a map of Spain on the screen and they had to point the place they thought the city was. I helped them and told them a little bit about the cities. They passed the documents around so that everybody could see the pictures.
What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)
Internet
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
They liked to talk about their own experiences. Also, they were pretty interested in know which one the cities were and where they are located. They asked some questions about the map and asked to pass around the pictures so that everybody could see.
How could this class be improved/ modified?
I should have left more time for the pictures and the map. I realised that if we had had more time we could have talked a lot more about the cities and the touristic spots. I could have shown them some more pictures on the screen.
Please attach your lesson plan and handouts for this class below – if you used any.
1. HECHOS:
• VENTAJAS DE VIVIR EN UNA GRAN CIUDAD Y DESVENTAJAS DEL CAMPO
• VENTAJAS DEL CAMPO Y DESVENTAJAS DE LA GRAN CIUDAD
2. PARA VOSOTR@S…
• QUÉ DEBE DE TENER UNA CIUDAD?
• QUÉ ES IMPORTANTE QUE NO TENGA?
3. VUESTRAS CIUDADES…
• DE DÓNDE SOIS? OS GUSTA VUESTRA CIUDAD? POR QUÉ?
• SI TENÉIS UNA VISITA, QUÉ PUEDE HACER/VER ALLÍ?
• FOTOS?
4. SI…
• PUDIERÁIS ELEGIR: DÓNDE OS GUSTARÍA VIVIR? PAÍS O CIUDAD
5. EXPERIENCIA
• CUÁL ES EL LUGAR QUE MÁS OS HA GUSTADO HASTA AHORA?
Language and Section: Spanish 13-01
Date: 27.September.2012
Class theme/topics discussed: Social Networks
Goal of the class: deepen a little bit more in the social network’s topic.
Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below)
I started showing them the trailer of the movie that I will be showing this Sunday (Volver). After that we moved onto reviewing some of the vocabulary of the previous class related to facebook/social networks.
Afterwards I showed them a couple of videos related to social networking in Spain and the world. Then they discussed for 5-10 minutes some questions that I had prepared. After that we discussed the questions with the whole class. (I attach the paper with the questions).
During the last 5 minutes they voted what they wanted their projects to be.
What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)
Videos from the Internet
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
They liked the videos. However these were a little bit too fast for them to understand everything, even though everything is written.
How could this class be improved/ modified?
I could have had them working in two groups analyzing the two different videos. Then putting all the ideas together with the class.
Please attach your lesson plan and handouts for this class below – if you used any.
REDES SOCIALES EN EL MUNDO Y ESPAÑA
1. ¿Qué os ha llamado más la atención del vídeo? ¿Qué os ha parecido lo más interesante?
2. ¿En qué redes sociales estáis metid@s? ¿Desde cuándo? ¿Por qué os hicistéis miembros?
3. ¿Cuántos amigos tenéis en facebook? ¿Con cuántos habláis en realidad?
4. Si tenéis twitter… ¿Cuánta gente os sigue y a cuánta gente seguís?
5. ¿Cuánto tiempo pasáis conectados a facebook/twitter…?
6. ¿Prestáis atención a la publicidad? ¿Creéis que la percibís inconscientemente o indirectamente?
7. ¿Creéis que es indispensable para un negocio estar presente en las redes sociales hoy en día? ¿Puede triunfarse sin estar presente en internet o en las redes sociales?
8. Las redes sociales… ¿Una moda o una revolución? ¿Por qué?
Language and Section: Spanish 13-01
Date: 29.november.2012
Class theme/topics discussed: Sayings and proverbs in Spanish
Goal of the class: teach them some useful proverbs in Spanish
Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below)
We started up with a warm-up game. I started a sentence and they had to continue with it. Each person had to repeat everything from the beginning. After that we moved onto the proverbs and sayings. We made two groups and I gave one group the first half of the proverb and the other group the other half. They had to come together, put the proverbs together and figure out their meaning. There was a student by the board and every time they got a new proverb this person would write them down on the board so that we had all of them in the end written on the board. Each student read one proverbs out loud and said what he or she thought it meant. I told them if they were right or wrong.
In the end I asked them which proverb they like the most and why and which one they find more useful.
What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)
Strips of paper
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
They all enjoyed the game because it was challenging! They also liked the proverbs and were active and interested in knowing the meaning.
How could this class be improved/ modified?
Please attach your lesson plan and handouts for this class below – if you used any.
Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando.
Los amantes de Teruel: tonta ella y tonto él.
Santa Rita Rita, lo que se da no se quita.
A palabras necias, oídos sordos.
Nunca se sabe lo que se tiene hasta que se pierde.
Nunca es tarde si la dicha es buena.
Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente.
De tal palo, tal astilla.
A caballo regalado no se le mira el diente.
A quien madruga, Dios le ayuda.
El que la hace, la paga.
Ir de mal en peor.
Se cree el ladrón q todos son de su condición.
Éramos pocos y parió la abuela.
Cada uno a su casa y Dios a la de todos
Se pilla antes a un mentiroso que a un cojo.
El que la sigue, la consigue.
Sabe más el diablo por viejo, que por diablo.
Language and Section: Spanish intermediate 01
Date: 14.02.2012
Class theme/topics discussed: S. Valentine
Goal of the class: Talk about love in Spanish and new vocabulary about it.
Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below):
We started up with a warm-up. They explained me how this tradition is celebrated in the US and what people normally buy.
We brainstormed about Saint Valentine and talk about these concepts (Business, love, engagement…). They also asked some vocabulary (cursi, almas gemelas,comprometidos…)
Then I asked them if they knew where the tradition comes from. They didn’t know so I wanted them to read an explanation of it but after a student read the first paragraph I realized that it was going to be very difficult and boring. That is why I explained to them where the tradition came from.
After that I asked them to rank in pairs/three some adjectives and things that they thought are the most important ones in order to find a partner. (I gave them a paper with the adjectives). I asked them to imagine a character and take into account all those adjectives that they had ranked. After that we played speed dating representing the person that they have created.
What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)
Paper and information from the Internet.
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
They seemed bored with the reading of the tradition, so I changed and explained it myself.
How could this class be improved/ modified?
Unlike in advanced, here I did not tell them to write three questions that their character would ask to a potencial partner. That was an easier way to carry out the activity with advanced so I should have told them to do that. Without the questions the purpose of the activity was pretty blurry and did not make much sense.
Please attach your lesson plan and handouts for this class below – if you used any.
– Inteligente 1.
– Rico/a 2.
– Buena salud 3.
– Persona amable/buena 4.
– Educado/a 5.
– Sexy 6.
– Honesto/a 7.
– Misma religión 8.
– Cultura similar 9.
– Personalidad similar 10.
– Mismos hobbies 11.
– Edad similar 12.
Language and Section: Intermediate Spanish 01
Date: 13.September.2011
Class theme/topics discussed: Stereotypes I
Goal of the class: Making students talk about stereotypes. These are very common nowadays so it is something familiar for students. At first we talked about stereotypes closer to them (school, university) and then we moved onto more general ones (social stereotypes, between men and women…).
Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below):
We started up with a warm-up, Pictionary (vocabulary related to the previous class). After that we moved onto the stereotypes. They had to come up with as much stereotypes as possible for Spain and I would write them down on the board. Then we did the same with stereotypes for the US. Afterwards I showed them a video of some Spanish stereotypes and explained a little bit since they didn’t understand everything. We talked about other stereotypes, e.g. between men and women and also stereotypes of kids in school.
What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)
.ppt and a video from youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0nGKN_64T8&feature=related
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
I think they liked the fact that they had to come up with ideas to find stereotypes for Spain and the US. And they also liked to learn some “slang” vocabulary to define some characters in the school, e.g. “coqueta”, “ligón”, “empollón”, “bonachón”…
How could this class be improved/ modified?
I could’ve also had them working in pairs or little groups and discuss about some of the main stereotypes of Spain and the US.
Please attach your lesson plan and handouts for this class below – if you used any.
Language and Section: Spanish intermediate 01
Date: 08.Sept.2011
Class theme/topics discussed: Bad habits
Goal of the class:
Learn vocabulary about bad habits in Spanish and learn habits that are different in different countries.
Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below):
We started with a warm-up game. They had to stand up and say two things that are true and one thing that is a lie about them. The one who guesses it is the next one to stand up.
Afterwards I had them working in two groups and writing down as many bad habits as they could think of. After that, we discussed them and we learnt some new vocabulary in Spanish about bad habits. Once we finished going through all the bad habits they came up with, I showed them a .ppt with some pictures of bad habits. They had to figure out what they were. Then we talked about smoking and brainstormed a bit about that topic. I divided them into two groups and they did a roleplay. One group wanted to smoke in a pub and the other group didn’t want them to smoke inside. They had to find as much arguments as possible to win the debate.
What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)
I used a .ppt.
I found pictures of bad habits on the Internet. Google or flickr, for example.
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
In this class everything worked great. They talked a lot and they were very keen on the warm-up game. We even had some volunteers who wanted to play and tell us something about themselves. They enjoyed the roleplay game and they even took it serious!
How could this class be improved/ modified?
During the roleplay some people didn’t participate as much as others so maybe I could’ve told them that everyone in the group had to say at least one argument.
Please attach your lesson plan and handouts for this class below – if you used any.
Language and Section: Spanish advanced 01
Date: 15.November.2011
Class theme/topics discussed: Looking for a housemate
Goal of the class: Give students some useful vocabulary about housing
Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below):
**They were 5 so 3 were looking for house and 2 were looking for a new housemate.
What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)
Handouts
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
They enjoyed both the interview and the discussion after it. However they didn’t understand at first what they were supposed to do with the patterns for the interviews that I gave them. I told them they could be themselves during the roleplay or make up a character. Some of them started writing down the answers instead of just thinking about their character and what they were going to say.
Also it would have been better if they had been even numbers since this way they could’ve had interviews with everyone two-to-two.
How could this class be improved/ modified?
Instead of giving them some patterns to answer when they were looking for a housemate I could have told them to make them up and have real interviews with their classmates
Please attach your lesson plan and handouts for this class below – if you used any.
Language and Section: Intermediate Spanish 01
Date: 29.September.2011
Class theme/topics discussed: FmyLIfe.(your everyday life stories). In this website people post comments, normally funny, in which they share something that happened to them in a ironic way. You can find this website in English, Spanish, French or Turkish, among others.
Goal of the class: This topic is always interesting. Students also get to learn some slang that people use in those posts.
Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below):
We started with a warm-up: Talking about their exams and their plans for the weekend. After that we moved onto the FmyLife activity. I gave them some strips of paper in English with FmyLife posts on them. In pairs, they had to translate them into Spanish and say out loud to the class. After that we talked about some embarrassing things that may have happened to us. Afterwards they read some posts of the Spanish website and we commented them.
Then we talked about our project for this semester.
What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)
Strips of paper and info from the Internet (FML/VMV website)
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
They loved the topic. We laughed a lot and students were very engaged. It was a bit difficult for some of them to translate the posts into Spanish, since some expressions are very difficult to represent in Spanish.
How could this class be improved/ modified?
I could’ve told them to think about something embarrassing that happened to them as well and have them write it on the board so that the students get more active.
Please attach your lesson plan and handouts for this class below – if you used any.