Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Spanish Intermediate
Class theme/topics discussed: Shopping
Goal of the class:
To exchange information about shopping preferences
To learn how to bargain in flea markets
To find the best present for an assigned student
How did you structure the class?
Warm up: Students answer some questions about shopping: how often they shop, what is the best / most useless thing they have ever bought, etc.
Activity 1: Brainstorming about the different possibilities of shopping and sharing preferences about where to shop. This will lead to the introduction of special shopping places such as flea markets. Students watch a video of the most famous flea market of Spain and answer some comprehension questions (what can be bought there, when it takes place, etc.).
Activity 2: One of the main things that happens when buying at this flea market is bargaining. Therefore, students practice bargaining with other students to get the best prices for different products. Then they share different advices and techniques for bargaining.
Activity 3: In pairs, students have to “go to this flea market” and find the best present for other randomly assigned students in the class. They will have to agree on what the best presents are according to their personalities.
Extra final activity: Discussing extra topics about shopping preferences (local vs. shopping malls, second hand vs. new, branded clothing, etc.)
Extra final activity (2): What would you buy if you won the lottery? Sharing ideas. Explaining how the Christmas lottery works in Spain, since it is a very important event.
What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)
YouTube
PowerPoint Presentation
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
They were really into the bargaining part, so the role-play worked pretty well.
Some of the questions of the warm-up were not suitable for all students because they did not go shopping that often, but they were still able to share their ideas and preferences, which was one of the goals of the lesson.
Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Spanish Intermediate
Class theme/topics discussed: Food
Goal of the class:
To learn vocabulary about food
To exchange information about favorite dishes
To invent their own creative dish
How did you structure the class?
Warm up: Students see different pictures of food and try to guess which one is Spanish.
Activity 1: I tell them that my favorite dish is the Spanish omelet and I explain them how to do it. Meanwhile students complete a worksheet about how to do a Spanish omelet.
Activity 2: Students think of their favorite food and explain the recipe to another classmate.
Activity 3: In groups students will become chefs and have to think of a super creative recipe. They receive three main ingredients that their dish must contain (they will be weird combinations) and they have to invent a name for the dish and a recipe.
Activity 4: Presentation of the dishes in front of the class and results from the jury.
Extra final activity: Showing them weird foods or strange food combinations that people eat and discussing whether they would try them or not.
Extra activity (2): Telling them a personal story about a cooking disaster.
What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)
PowerPoint Presentation
Handout about Spanish omelet
Cue cards with ingredients for the task
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
They seemed to have fun while inventing their own recipe and they showed lots of interest during the warm-up activity discovering new Spanish dishes. They were also shocked by my cooking disaster; they really like these kinds of personal stories.
How could this class be improved/ modified?
The comprehension activity while I was providing them with some input was a bit confusing because there were two tasks in the same activity. It would have been better to simply put the statements in order and leave the part of matching statements with pictures only for fast-finishers.
Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Spanish Advanced
Class theme/topics discussed: Cinema
Goal of the class:
To exchange information about cinema
To acquire cultural knowledge about Spanish cinema festivals and awards
How did you structure the class?
Warm up: Students answer some questions about personal preferences regarding cinema and films.
Activity 2: Students see the flyers of different films that have received Spanish awards and match them with the corresponding genres and synopsis.
Activity 3: Students become part of the jury of the awards. After seeing part of the trailers of those films, they have to vote for the best film, best music and best animation (sharing their personal preferences and professional aspects that they can notice).
Extra final activity: Students become directors and potential leading actors and actresses. That is, each “director” interviews different potential actors in order to hire the most suitable one for a specific genre that will be randomly assigned. The directors will make questions that are important for them in order to hire an actor suitable for that film genre and the actors invent a personality that would be suitable for that genre as well. Once the interactions finish, the directors share the names of the hired actors and actresses and see if the assigned genres matched or not.
Extra final activity (2): Once directors and actors are paired, they decide the main plot of their new movie.
What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)
PowerPoint Presentation
Handout with film synopsis and warm-up questions
YouTube
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
The selection of movies was appropriate, since they really enjoyed watching the trailers.
They did the extra questions and they were very fast and creative inventing new plots for the movies.
Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Spanish Advanced
Class theme/topics discussed: Halloween
Goal of the class:
To know more about how Halloween is celebrated in Spanish regions
To invent their own scary story
How did you structure the class?
Warm up: Students are asked about how they celebrate Halloween to find out different possibilities. Students do a Kahoot quiz to prove how much they know about the origin of Halloween.
Activity 1: I explain how Halloween is celebrated in Spain and, more specifically, how it is celebrated in my city, where one of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer legends takes place. They do some comprehension activities about the legend.
Activity 2: Students invent their own legend with the help of the story cubes.
Activity 3: Students share their stories with the rest of the class and ask one or two questions to make sure that they understood it and that they were paying attention.
Extra final activity: Speaking about Halloween customs, about the ones they liked the most so far and the one they will be wearing this year.
What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)
PowerPoint Presentation
Kahoot
YouTube
Story Cubes
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
They created very original stories and they were really into it.
Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Spanish Advanced
Class theme/topics discussed: Regional festivities (1)
Goal of the class:
To know about the different festivities that take place in different parts of Spain.
To invent their own festivity.
How did you structure the class?
Warm up: Students brainstorm about Spanish festivities that they have heard about. Afterwards, they see a map of Spain with stereotypical features of the different regions to appreciate how the stereotypes change in the different cities. They match some of the Spanish regions with sentences that describe those stereotypes.
Activity 1: Students see some of the typical festivities that take place in some parts of Spain. It will serve as example for the following activity.
Activity 2: Students receive a handout with a table about different elements that are needed to describe a festivity (when, where, what, why, etc.) and one card describing the main element of the festivity (e. g. tomatoes). They invent their own festivity filling the table.
Activity 3: They share their festivity with the rest of the class and see how the real festivity is (in this case, la tomatina), being able to compare it with their invented ones.
Extra final activity: Students walk around talking to each other about their favorite festivity in the US.
What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)
PowerPoint Presentation
Handout
YouTube
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
They really enjoyed watching some videos of the festivities, since some of them were really unique. They also participated very actively while inventing their own festivity.
The invention of the new festivity took less time than I thought, so we had enough time to do the extra activity and they were able to talk about their favorite American festivities. Some of them insisted that there were no such festivities in the US, but still they had nice conversations with each other.
Spanish Conversation Class – Intermediate/Advanced
Language Resident Name: Katherine Pérez Gutiérrez
Class theme/topic discussed
Social media
Goal of the class
Practice vocabulary related to social media
Compare and contrast different situations usually found in social media
Create new social media platforms
Class’ structure
Attendance (2 min)
Warm up: What do you know about social networks? What words come up to your mind: Students create a Menti Word cloud with words they would use to define social media. Most interesting words are chosen and discussed by everyone: Would you use this word as well? Why? Where in social networks do we see it reflected the most? (10-15 min)
Input: Video + Survey: I show students a video that talks about uses, advantages and disadvantages of social network uses. Followed by a discussion: Do you agree with this? How many of you do this kind of things when on the internet? We also talk about a survey that shows which are the most common social platforms used in some Hispanic countries. They discuss and compare to the US (5-7 min)
Activity 1: Toteking – “Redes Sociales” music video. Students watch half of the video and, as they are watching it, they have to check at least 2 critiques the singers makes to social media. Afterwards, they get three short statements from they just heard. In groups they discuss they statements to finally report their discussions to the class (10-15 min)
Activity 2: Made-up social media platform: After giving an example of a social media platform my sister and I created, in groups of three, students have to create new social platforms using either of the criteria provided in the table (they can also add new ones). They have to consider three different categories: Topic, target audience and functions. Also, they have to create a name and a logo for their platforms (15-20 min)
Reflection: What worked/did not work? How can it be improved?
I did this class at the beginning of the year so students felt more comfortable working in groups at first. For Activity 2 you have to be careful not to take that much time giving an example about what they have to create because the activity itself already takes a long time. They had a lot of fun with activity two and you can even do a jury like activity in a following class where they all have to grade each other’s platforms
Annex
Social networks table
Categoría
Público
Funciones
Citas Empleo Noticias Compra y venta Lifestyle Educación Comida OTROS
Ancianos Adultos +30 Jóvenes Niños Animales OTROS
Fotos y videos Transmitir en vivo Juegos Mensajería directa Música OTROS
Class theme/topics discussed: Face expressions, gestures and emojis
Goal of the class:
Talk about emotions and certain situations to
use gestures/emojis
Learn cultural differences about gestures and
facial expressions
How did you structure the class?
Warm-up:
Greetings and announcements
– Cultural events
– Lunch Table attendances
Activity I: Emojis
I give students Handout of emojis and briefly explain what “emojis” are. In
pairs, I ask students to discuss (i) what kind of emotions/meanings the emojis
represent, and (ii) in what kind of context people would use the emojis in a
message. After a while, I ask the questions to the whole class and discuss
together. If needed, I explain cultural backgrounds of some of the emojis. I
also ask if there are other emojis that students often use.
Activity II: Gestures
I show a list of words/situations on the screen (“to call,” “thank you,” “when
you meet your friends” etc.) and ask students to think of gestures they might
use in the situations. Students work in pairs, and when they are done, I ask
them to act out each gesture. We talk about cultural differences found in the
gestures.
Activity III: Discussions
In pairs, students discuss the following questions:
1. Are there other gestures you use/ have seen? (To give examples at first, I
mention a couple gestures that I have seen in American TV shows.)
2. When you travel abroad and you don’t know the local language, what do you
do? (It could be gestures or other ways to communicate.) For example, when
you’re at a store or in a taxi?
What technology, media or props
did you use?
Handout with pictures
PowerPoint slides
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
We had lively and interesting discussions throughout the class. Students enjoyed talking about emojis more than I had expected. I think it was a good topic for our generation. The first few emojis in Handout were meant to be basic expressions (e.g. smile, laugh, cry etc.), but they developed way more than that and had a huge discussion (e.g. “It is a fake smile you make when you don’t like something,” “You don’t use this crying face when you are actually sad,” “It could be happy tears”). Moreover, students in this class had culturally diverse backgrounds, so it was interesting to compare the cultural differences in gestures (e.g. how to count with your fingers in China).
How could this class be improved/ modified?
I was going to do another activity (storytelling by using emojis), but students spent a long time discussing emojis (which is fine because they enjoyed and talked a lot). Depending on the audience, however, I would use another activity to adjust the time.
Language and Level (intermediate
or advanced class): German,
Advanced
Class theme/topics discussed: What can we do as individuals to combat
climate change?
Goal of the class: Students learn the vocabulary and grammar
needed to discuss measures that individuals can take to combat climate change.
They will be able to say whether they are feasible or not and whether they would
take them or not and give reasons for their decisions.
How did you structure the class?
They write
down 3 questions they want to ask another student. Then they pair up.
Focused
free writing (2-5 min.) with a few words/phrases having to do with climate
change as inspiration.
Discuss
what they have written with their partner.
We watch
a video with 5 tips for a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. After the video
we quickly discuss what they think was important and whether they learned something
new.
Students
write all their ideas down about what people can do individually to fight
climate change.
I give
input, explaining what I do to contribute to the struggle (Already modeling the
grammar they will use later)
I
explain what “containern” and “bändern” is. Controversial topics as food for
thought for the discussion.
I
introduce all the phrases and words they can use to discuss actions with their
peers.
Students
write down 5 things they would do or already do, and 2 things that they
wouldn’t do.
They discuss their ideas in pairs first, then
in the group.
What technology, media or props
did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)
Class theme/topics discussed: Onomatopoeias and Slang
Goal of the class: Learn casual vocabulary and phrases
How did you structure the class?
Warm-up:
Greeting and announcements
– Ghibli Movie Night on Sep. 26
Activity I: Match the
onomatopoeias (= sound-based words)
I ask students to make groups of
two or three and give each group a table of onomatopoeias and picture cards. I
ask them to place each picture on a corresponding onomatopoeia. When all groups
are done, I tell them the correct answers and explain when to use the words.
I introduce other common onomatopoeias and ask students if they know even more.
Activity II: Guess what these slang words mean
I give a handout that lists slang words and ask students to choose the closest
synonym from the options. Students work in pairs, and when they are done, I
tell them the correct answers and explain when to use the words.
Activity III: Names
As the newly-invented slang term “kira kira name” (millennium kids’
untraditional names) was mentioned in Activity II, I give a few examples of
kira kira names (I first show students the Chinese characters and have them
guess how to read them).
Next, I ask students to make groups of three and talk about their name origins.
What technology, media or props
did you use?
PowerPoint slides
Drawings from the internet
Picture cards
Web articles
What worked well in this class? What did not work? Students talked a lot in Activity I. I thought the vocab was too easy for advanced students but they were not familiar with all of them, which led them to discuss with their group members.
How could this class be improved/ modified? I think this class went well and the amount of content was good for a one-hour class.
Note: I told students to avoid using slang words to professors and in writing; I made it clear that I talked about slang in this lesson because they might hear/see it sometimes in Japanese media but they are not supposed to use it in formal contexts.
Language and Level (intermediate
or advanced class): German,
Advanced
Class theme/topics discussed: Thanksgiving, children’s stories
Goal of the class: Students improve their narration skills, asking
questions, reading skills
How did you structure the class?
Warm-up (Prior knowledge):
Two
truths and one lie: I tell students three short stories about my Thanksgiving
holidays, one of which was a lie. I wrote 1 word associated with each story on
the board. Then students had to decide which story was a lie. They could each
ask me two questions before making a decision. Then the students had to come up
with three words and stories about them, and then they presented, and we played
in the same way as detailed above.
Activity 1 (Input):
I
talked about children’s books that I read as a child and showed and described
to them the covers of these books. I then told them about my favorite
children’s book, and in the process answered the 5 questions I would give them
afterwards.
Activity 2 (Guided Practice):
I gave the students the following questions to answer about their
favorite children’s book:
What is
the title of the book?
When was
it first published?
Did you
read it yourself or was it read to you?
What is
the plot of the book?
Why
should everyone in this room read this book?
The students presented their books to the class.
Activity 3 (Task):
I introduced the “Struwwelpeter” to the class
and read the first story in the book to them, while showing the text and
pictures on the screen. Then I gave both students a story and they figured out
what it was about, asked for words that they did not know and then read and
presented their story to the class.
What technology, media or props
did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)
Whiteboard, pens, PPT, Handout with the Struwwelpeter stories (You can find the whole book as a free pdf on Google)
What worked well in this class?
What did not work?
The class worked pretty well,
the students were engaged and seemed to have fun.
How could this class be
improved/ modified?
More work with the text. Maybe
a gap text, or matching pictures and verses of the stories.
Become familiar with Japanese superstitions
and customs
Learn how you are supposed to speak and act
in business situations
Learn how to present your ideas
How did you structure the class?
Warm-up: Greeting and small talks (How their days are going etc.)
Activity I: Superstitions in Japan Students make groups of two or three and I give each group a set of cards (See the attached file). Each card describes a famous superstition in Japan with a picture. Students have to guess if the superstitions on the cards are something they should or should not do in terms of good fortune/manner. After they separate the cards in do’s and don’ts, I give them the correct answers and explain.
Activity II: Business manners in Japan I talk how job hunting in Japan has many rules you have to follow. I give students this webpage I printed out, which is about the dress code in job interviews: https://job.rikunabi.com/contents/manners/1003/ I mention a few important rules and ask how what they think about having these strict rules in job hunting and how it is different from their cultures.
Activity III: Invent a new product I mention a few products from this webpage which lists products invented by college students in Japan: https://matome.naver.jp/odai/2138608074292868501 I ask them to work in a group of two or three and invent a new product. Before they begin, I present a product I came up with, as an example. I show them a drawing of the product and present a) its name, b) what it is like and what it can do, c) the target consumers, and d) its price. I ask them to try inventing something and give them a handout that helps list (a)-(d). After they collect their ideas and draw what their products look like, they present it to class.
What technology, media or props
did you use?
PowerPoint
Pictures from the internet
Japanese webpages
Picture cards
Handout
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
Students had very creative ideas at inventing new products. The task was more than just language practice but exciting for them.
How could this class be improved/ modified?
It would have been better if I gave students time to practice how to speak in job interviews; in Japanese, you are supposed to talk in honorifics in business situations, and I don’t think they get to practice speaking in honorifics in their usual conversation practices.
Language and Level (intermediate
or advanced class): German
Intermediate
Class theme/topics discussed: Introduction (personal & organizational)
Goal of the class: The students and I get to know each other;
they understand what the class will be like. Also, they get to talk about
themselves, practice asking questions and describing the past.
How did you structure the class?
Introducing
myself (in German), with a stick figure representing myself and answers to
questions about myself around it. The students guess the questions to the answers.
Organizational
introduction (class agreement, attendance sheet, syllabus (task for second
lesson: look over the syllabus, think about what topics may interest you)
Students
do the self-introduction like I did in step 1
What did
you do this summer?
In pairs: One person explains, the other person draws a picture of the
holidays. Afterwards, the person who drew shows the picture to the other pair
and explains their partner’s holidays using the picture.
Speeddating:
Students pair up, and they get 5 Minutes to find 4 things they have in common.
Then they switch partners and repeat.
Difficult
decisions: I ask “either or” questions and the students position themselves on
one or the other side of the room, according to their opinion. Then they
explain their decisions.
What technology, media or props
did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)
White
Board, pens
What worked well in this class?
What did not work?
Language and Level (intermediate
or advanced class):
Russian, Advanced
Class theme/topics discussed:
Poetry
and translation
Goal of the class:
To work on translation
skills and to perform poetry.
How did you structure the class?
0.Greetings, announcements, general questions.
Activity 1: Discussion. What is more important in the translation of poetry: to keep the form (rhythm, the literal meaning of every word, etc.) or the ideas and images beneath the text?
Activity 2: Students receive a poem by Wallace Stevens “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” in English. They should read it first and then we talk about ideas, technics, images, etc. that are present in the text. Then students work in pairs: their task is to translate 2-3 stanzas from English into the Russian language, keeping in mind the style of each stanza. Once everyone is ready, they should read what they have come up with, one by one. We edit the translation together and then read out loud one more time.
Language and Level (intermediate
or advanced class):
Russian, Advanced/Intermediate
Class theme/topics discussed:
Storytelling
Goal of the class:
To practice improvisation
while speaking
How did you structure the class?
Greetings, announcements, general questions
Activity 1: “Two Truths and One Lie”. Students work in groups of three. Each of them should tell three stories (‘’I don’t like cats” is not a story!) to the others. Then they ask this person questions in order to catch him up on lying. After that they take turns.
Activity 2: “Collective Story”. A teacher writes down on a whiteboard a phrase. It can be something like: “Katya missed her train and her takes an unexpected turn”. Students sit down in a circle. The first student has one minute to tell what happens next. When the time is over, the next student starts talking and continues the story, and so on.
Activity 3: “Story Cubes”. Students are divided into two teams. Each team gets Story Cubes and the show begins. They should create a story and then present it to each other.
What technology, media or props
did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)
A whiteboard, Story Cubes
What worked well in this class?
What did not work?
The class worked out great! Students had a lot of fun, they talked and laughed a lot.
