When you are taking on an endeavor to promote awareness of your program, it helps to have HELP. Some of you are blessed with entire departments of teachers in your language and possibly multiple other languages; they should be every bit as passionate about this week as you are! Delegate, brainstorm, and as soon as this week is over...start dreaming of an even better next year!
However, some of you are a courageous department of one. You PLC with no one. You swap resources online with whoever you can reach out to. Ideas and initiative fall to you alone.
Whichever boat you are in, there are ways of utilizing and equipping those around you to support you. But, there is a strategy to doing so.
Getting Volunteers:
I have had success getting donations of time, food and materials when I have asked well in advance. For example, my cultural breakfast always involved TONS of helpers, even outside of our language department. I suggest choosing carefully and specifically here: Don't send out a broad email of "help if you can!" Rather, email (or better yet, visit in person) specific people that you think would be good for a specific job. Keep it simple, keep it cheap and keep it focused on the STUDENTS that will benefit because of it. Also: it helps if you are known for returning the favor later on.
Involving Administration:
Each building is different, and each administrator has their own preferences on how involved they like to be. However, in my experience it can't hurt to inform and invite. I sent out handwritten or emailed invites to any activities we were doing throughout the day, including project presentations in class. If they come, thank them. Engage them with students so they can see the learning taking place and the value that your program has in the lives of your students. Take pictures of them interacting and print them to send with a thank you note in a week!
Other Teachers:
Don't assume that because someone teaches Math or Choir, they haven't had international travel experience. I found out (quite to my surprise!) that nearly 20 teachers in my building had studied abroad, gone on missions trips, taken vacations or studied a foreign language in another country. They had amazing stories of cultural misunderstanding, language bloopers and once-in-a-lifetime experiences that they were eager to share with students. I compiled them via email and made them into a scavenger hunt of sorts. Instead, you could video interview them during their preps and play them for your class throughout the week. Or, you could just orally read off statements about them and have students try to predict who you are describing. Another idea might be to have a map and paste teacher's pictures close to the country they have traveled to. The more people you can incorporate the more that students can realize these opportunities are for EVERYONE. Plus, who doesn't like reliving a crazy story from their youth?! :)
Follow-up:
Regardless of how many people you do or do not get involved this year, make sure to go out of your way to thank them for their level of involvement. I love picture thank-you cards so they can hang on walls and sit on desks for the following year, reminding the recipient of a great memory. Have a running Google Doc of people who were involved and people you would like to include in the future. Next year, it will make your planning process easier! In fact, include all kinds of ideas and comments there so you don't have to start from the beginning all over again next time.
These quick summaries don't even mention the world that is the staff at your school, parent volunteers, area schools, social media and the immense amount of communication that all play important roles as well. Don't limit yourself. You might be surprised by the way the right question at the right time can yield a huge reward for you. Reach out!
Who knows?! You might end up with a nice little video crew like my high school did...see the genius I came into?! I truly deserve little to no credit for any success of our program. Take a look-see:
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
World Language Week: Celebrities & Languages
For the third day of World Language Week 2016, I wanted to point you in the direction of some great Youtube videos to play in class this week. What makes them great? They include some famous actors, actresses, singers and professional athletes speaking a variety of foreign languages. In my experience, many students were familiar with the people...and very surprised at what was coming out of their mouths!
- Sandra Bullock speaks beautiful German at an awards show.
- Gwenth Paltrow speaks Spanish.
- Bradley Cooper does an interview in French.
- Natalie Portman speaks Hebrew.
- Kobe Bryant does an interview in Italian.
And, just for an example of something we want to avoid...Selena Gomez speaking English in a Spanish interview about how important the Hispanic culture is to her...*face palm*
Last year, I enjoyed playing clips of these videos in class and having the students then say who the person was and what language they thought they heard (I would cover up anything that gave that information away). Then, we discussed why these people would spend the time and energy learning a foreign language and how it helped them in their career.
Try them for a few minutes in your classroom and see if students who typically aren't as engaged, lean in a bit when someone they know is on the screen. For another way to get your students invested in your class, ask them to find a different video of a celebrity speaking a foreign language and bring it in to the class with an explanation of why that language helped that celebrity.
**Fair warning, I only showed a minute or two of each video, so I cannot vouch that 100% of the video is school appropriate. Please view all videos before showing them to your students. Always **
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
World Language Week: Decorate!
Happy Tuesday! Yesterday I shared some resources for bringing language besides Spanish into your Spanish classroom. Crazy, I know. But when we're celebrating World Language Week 2016, we want to open our students' minds even wider to the array of possibilities that languages offer. Today, I want to focus on ways you can make your classroom, hallway, and surrounding areas feature and teach languages all throughout the year, but especially this week.
I've narrowed it down to 5 pins that I have loved having in my classroom because of the conversations they bring up, the color and interest they add, and the topics they feature.
As you look through this list, I encourage you to click on the links, print out the infographic/picture and then display it around your room on colored construction paper, or even make a large banner of it at your local Staples.
I've narrowed it down to 5 pins that I have loved having in my classroom because of the conversations they bring up, the color and interest they add, and the topics they feature.
As you look through this list, I encourage you to click on the links, print out the infographic/picture and then display it around your room on colored construction paper, or even make a large banner of it at your local Staples.
- Rosetta Stone created a great infographic that shows the "Business Risk of Language Barriers." This can get your students thinking about how languages might make them more marketable in the coming years!
- This pin helps categorize languages into groups of "Easy, Medium and Hard" to learn for English speakers based on the amount of hours required to gain proficiency, and the similarities or differences in the alphabet and grammatical structures as they relate to English.
- Encourage your students to be bilingual (or trilingual!) with this information about how much more money languages can earn you compared to your peers who know just one language.
- This might inspire your students to become the "Perfect Language Learner!"
5. And this picture has twenty reasons to study language. It is interesting to have students discuss which word motivates them the most!
Perhaps you could print off these pins, (or ones like them) and lay them on random desks as students enter. As they observe and make comments, scaffold their focus. Or, you could utilize your document camera or project them so you don't have to print them initially. Come up with ways to draw students' attention to them by asking specific questions. My favorite routine is to place them in "high traffic" areas of my classroom: by the pencil sharpener, by the recycling bin, by the tissue box, etc so that students have the best chance of noticing them throughout the day. Tape them to your door! Hand them on fishing line from your ceiling! Peak their curiosity and teach them something new even when you're not instructing.
Do you have go-to decorations you love in your classroom? Share them with us by commenting and linking them below!
Monday, March 7, 2016
World Language Week: Spanish Opens Doors!
Today is the first day of World Language Week 2016! To help celebrate this week, I am committing to blogging once a day for 5 days...and giving away something free to help you teach the importance of languages! Make sure to check out my resources throughout the week, comment with some of your own, and pass on the love of languages to each student that walks through your doors.
When I was younger I thought I wanted to know French. I dabbled a bit, and then I stopped. Spanish was so much more prevalent in my school, so I just switched over. I FELL IN LOVE. I couldn't get enough of Spanish and I never wanted to stop. Other languages really held no appeal to me: I just wanted to know Spanish. I knew college classmates trying two or three or five languages at a time, and I just didn't see the point. Spanish intrigued me. Spain intrigued me. End of story.
Imagine my surprise, when three years later as a Spanish teacher in a local high school, I find myself in a professional collaboration with Chinese, Latin, German, and French teachers as well. The disinterest melted away quickly when I realized how much we had in common: we were misunderstood, undervalued and put on the back burner while other core subjects seemed to get priority. We tried to get students outside themselves to see a bigger need in the world around them. We tried to relay the experiences we had traveling thousands of miles away to students who hadn't left our county. I quickly realized something I never expected: If you teach any language, you advocate for all languages.
So, this week, I want to lead a charge for Spanish teachers to embrace, highlight and celebrate other languages. Stop competing for numbers, and start encouraging students to explore other options in addition to Spanish, not in place of. Here's one way you can do this:
Here is a handout of 5 new words to teach your students this week. They include a word in French, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, and Romanian. At the end of the handout there are the definitions, the Spanish words I would use to connect them, and a link to a native speaker pronouncing them for you.
Here's how I would use it in class:
When I was younger I thought I wanted to know French. I dabbled a bit, and then I stopped. Spanish was so much more prevalent in my school, so I just switched over. I FELL IN LOVE. I couldn't get enough of Spanish and I never wanted to stop. Other languages really held no appeal to me: I just wanted to know Spanish. I knew college classmates trying two or three or five languages at a time, and I just didn't see the point. Spanish intrigued me. Spain intrigued me. End of story.
Imagine my surprise, when three years later as a Spanish teacher in a local high school, I find myself in a professional collaboration with Chinese, Latin, German, and French teachers as well. The disinterest melted away quickly when I realized how much we had in common: we were misunderstood, undervalued and put on the back burner while other core subjects seemed to get priority. We tried to get students outside themselves to see a bigger need in the world around them. We tried to relay the experiences we had traveling thousands of miles away to students who hadn't left our county. I quickly realized something I never expected: If you teach any language, you advocate for all languages.
So, this week, I want to lead a charge for Spanish teachers to embrace, highlight and celebrate other languages. Stop competing for numbers, and start encouraging students to explore other options in addition to Spanish, not in place of. Here's one way you can do this:
Teach your students 1 new word a day in a language other than Spanish.
Not random words, however, Words that they can know because of their background knowledge in Spanish. We often highlight English to Spanish cognates, but do we teach our students how many other languages have Spanish-look-alike vocabulary? Their English will only get them so far, but once they have learned Spanish, dozens more doors swing wide open in their path.
Here is a handout of 5 new words to teach your students this week. They include a word in French, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, and Romanian. At the end of the handout there are the definitions, the Spanish words I would use to connect them, and a link to a native speaker pronouncing them for you.
Here's how I would use it in class:
- Spend 5 minutes at the beginning of class passing out the flashcards to each student and learning and repeating pronunciation together.
- Place ALL English words on the board (all definitions from the week mixed on one slide) and ask students to guess. The idea here is that English alone is not enough knowledge to help.
- Take down the English translations and place the Spanish words for the week on the board (RESIST the urge to translate back to English!). Students should now be able to narrow down which one matches.
- Have students draw a small picture, write the Spanish translation, etc on their flashcard and save in a pocket of their binder.
- Each day, review the words you have already learned, and then add to it with a totally new language!
- Allow students to make observations about differences in letter sounds in Spanish and the other languages. Engage in deeper conversations about a time abroad when your Spanish helped you learn another language or translate (I always talk about when I was in Rome and negotiated prices, got a taxi, purchased food, etc without speaking the same language...I spoke Spanish, they spoke Italian and we understood!)
You could even follow it up with videos like this one, that show the similarities between Spanish and Arabic (or other languages). I loved to encourage my native speakers to pursue a third or fourth language instead of staying bilingual. I rave about how French teachers have mentioned that native Spanish speakers have the best French pronunciation. Open their minds to the possibilities beyond just your classroom.
Let me know if you use it! Or, think of other language and vocabulary that Spanish has helped you learn. Pass this knowledge along to your students this week in an effort to not only show them how vital Spanish is for their future, but also to show them what else they can do because of it.
Thursday, March 3, 2016
World Language Week: Cultural Breakfast
This year, World Language Week is being celebrated from March 7-13. Maybe you didn't even know it existed? Me neither just four short years ago. But our department truly embraced this opportunity to show students how vibrant and vital languages can be in our world. Read more about our activities, competitions and projects to get ideas for your school!
One of our most popular traditions in the World Languages Department is DEFINITELY our Cultural Breakfast. It takes a lot of work in planning, but if you delegate well and promote it like crazy, it is definitely worth every minute and cent you put into it. It can boost the notoriety of your program, but more importantly it can also be a unique way to expose students to authentic foods and customs.
You might be thinking: It's way too late to plan something for next week, Maestra! Agreed. Don't do that. But it's not too late to organize something small for the last part of the month. Your school can adapt to create its own World Language Week at a time that doesn't interfere with standardized testing. This year, I am helping out at the high school's breakfast that will be taking place March 30. I'll be posting pictures and reflections after that!
Do you do something similar at your school? If not, what would you bring?
One of our most popular traditions in the World Languages Department is DEFINITELY our Cultural Breakfast. It takes a lot of work in planning, but if you delegate well and promote it like crazy, it is definitely worth every minute and cent you put into it. It can boost the notoriety of your program, but more importantly it can also be a unique way to expose students to authentic foods and customs.
We picked Thursday morning, March 19, last year. We asked teachers, staff members, community members and parents to contribute anything they could. We raved to the students about how delicious it would be. And then...we shopped and cooked and baked and decorated!
The main objective: Introduce students to breakfast foods and customs around the world. To do so, we asked each language teacher to contribute something from their target language/culture. In addition, we reached out to teachers who travel frequently, ESL teachers, and our social studies teachers who incorporate a lot of cultural information into their classes. Many hands make light work, as the saying goes, and without so many helpers there is NO feasible way to do this. Some volunteered to purchase store bought items, some asked local restaurants to donate in exchange for advertisements and some cooked up their concoctions on their own time. For those who aren't so handy in the kitchen...we also asked for plates, cups, silverware, napkins, water, hot chocolate packets and people to help serve. Everyone can help!
The menu over the past three years has included the following items: tortilla española, French baguettes with jam or nutella, Chinese assorted breads, Chinese noodle salad, clatites, naranjas preparadas, French quiches, Peruvian parfaits, Mexican chilaquiles con huevos, churros, magdalenas, pan dulce, Chinese dumplings, taquitos, doughnuts, biscotti, Indian doughnut holes, Indian chickpea bread, arroz con leche, and more. To drink we normally provide water, orange juice or hot chocolate. The items are labeled with names and the culture they are from. We have also learned it is much easier to have the teachers serve the items so we can control the portions initially. Plus, it gives us a great opportunity to greet the students in our target languages!
Here are some logistical tips, from someone who has learned the hard way more than once:
- Plan ahead. Like months. Email and check in person to follow up. We meet face to face once ahead of time just to triple check.
- Publicize!! Get it in school emails, over the morning announcements and show videos like these two (2nd video has "a*s at 2:03 but is generally unrecognized because of everything else that is going on)in the days leading up to it in class. The more students have friends going, the more students will show up. So get them excited!
- Know people in your building who can help. Our head custodian provides large serving tables, extension cords/surge protectors and extra trashcans. Our cafeteria manager provides hot water carafes, chaffing dishes and a case of individual sized orange juice cups. Two teachers who have connecting rooms let us use their space to eat/serve. Many times the resources to help you are there, you just need to know who to contact.
- Have students sign up in advance. To limit numbers, we require students to get rides before school (not ride the bus). We also have them sign up and receive a sticker for the back of their ID card so that they can get in the door on the morning of. We have even played around with the idea of charging students and collecting it for our World Language Club budget or to give to a local charity, but we haven't done so yet. The bottom line is your teachers and community members need to know if they are making food for 15 students or 200.
- Have adults serve. Have adults mingle. Have adults. Lots. Period.
- We don't infringe on class time. That would do more harm than good for our department. But if you are, make sure first period teachers know that ahead of time. We tell students to get there with enough time to eat and get to class on time. (Our school day starts at 7:35 so breakfast is served at 7:00am)
- Prepare a simple slideshow to have in the background as students are eating. We have trivia questions about breakfast traditions/foods around the world as well as how to say "Good morning", "Breakfast" and "Delicious" in each language. You can even turn on some authentic music!
- Have "Thank You" signs in all represented languages and take pictures of students holding those signs and stuffing their faces. Then, print cheap "Thank You notes" and distribute to servers, cooks, and support staff.
- Apply for grants. You can get teachers and staff reimbursed for their contributions to your meal...that might make you even more likely to get more volunteers in the future.
- Invite the big wigs! Have your administration and Central Office staff come and see what your program does for students. They love free food, and you might love the publicity!
- Take pictures. Post them on your school webpage, give them to your yearbook editor, put them on your class Instagram and save them for publicizing for the next year.
You might be thinking: It's way too late to plan something for next week, Maestra! Agreed. Don't do that. But it's not too late to organize something small for the last part of the month. Your school can adapt to create its own World Language Week at a time that doesn't interfere with standardized testing. This year, I am helping out at the high school's breakfast that will be taking place March 30. I'll be posting pictures and reflections after that!
Do you do something similar at your school? If not, what would you bring?
Friday, February 26, 2016
Spanish Podcast
Last year, I came across a great resource for listening and comprehension of authentic Spanish (complete with dreamy Spain accent!) :) As a white, Spanish-as-a-second-language, young, female teacher, I always felt it was important to expose my students to the rhythms and vocabulary and accents of native speakers much different than myself. This is one great way to do so!
Spanish Podcast is an excellent resource from everything that I have found so far.
On their website they have a 192 available episodes with their titles. And their twitter profile is constantly tweeting out links to episodes as well. The episodes are 100% in Spanish, mainly spoken by a male. The entire transcripts are available online, also in Spanish. This might be initially intimidating if you are hoping to use these podcasts in a level 1 or 2 class, but I love the explanation that the website gives for why they choose not to translate their transcripts:
What an indictment of the majority of Spanish programs in the United States, am I right?! Thankfully, there are teachers like you and I out there who know that there has to be a better way than filling in the verb conjugation tables and doing a packet of worksheets each day. Not to imply that those things can't possibly benefit some students, but they do not typically build fluency.
Granted, I have not used these podcasts in a traditional classroom. BUT, I have assigned it as preview homework for my group of students traveling to Spain this summer in order to familiarize themselves with cultural customs and to help get their ears used to Spanish. I gave them much the same advice that Spanish Podcast gives its listeners:
Spanish Podcast is an excellent resource from everything that I have found so far.
 |
| From @VSSpanishPodcast |
On their website they have a 192 available episodes with their titles. And their twitter profile is constantly tweeting out links to episodes as well. The episodes are 100% in Spanish, mainly spoken by a male. The entire transcripts are available online, also in Spanish. This might be initially intimidating if you are hoping to use these podcasts in a level 1 or 2 class, but I love the explanation that the website gives for why they choose not to translate their transcripts:
"Sólo puedes aprender a hablar y comprender español o cualquier otro idioma escuchándolo, no traduciéndolo. Si hablamos en inglés para explicarte cómo hablar español, sería una pérdida de tiempo, no aprenderías correctamente y nosotros queremos que tengas éxito. Si quieres aprender español o cualquier otro idioma, la única forma es estar totalmente inmerso en el idioma."
What an indictment of the majority of Spanish programs in the United States, am I right?! Thankfully, there are teachers like you and I out there who know that there has to be a better way than filling in the verb conjugation tables and doing a packet of worksheets each day. Not to imply that those things can't possibly benefit some students, but they do not typically build fluency.
Granted, I have not used these podcasts in a traditional classroom. BUT, I have assigned it as preview homework for my group of students traveling to Spain this summer in order to familiarize themselves with cultural customs and to help get their ears used to Spanish. I gave them much the same advice that Spanish Podcast gives its listeners:
" Simplemente haz lo que puedas para entender lo que estamos diciendo mientras escuchas cada episodio del podcast. Una vez que lo hayas intentado, lee la transcripción en el blog y vuelve a escuchar el episodio."
- Listen and try to catch any words you possibly can. Maybe write them down on a notebook sheet of paper.
- Read the Spanish transcript and mark it up: What words do you already know? What words are new? Which words are vitally important in this podcast?
- Listen to the podcast again and make any additional notes about what you understood. Also, highlight areas of confusion or specific questions you want to bring to class.
 |
| From http://www.spanishpodcast.net/faq/ |
Here is an example of how I used one episode to teach my Spanish travelers about greeting each other in Spain.
If your students have Apple devices, these podcasts are available on iTunes. If not, they are easily accessible by going to the website linked above. They also sell audiobooks and have tongue twisters available for some fun practice with pronunciation. One of my all-time favorite aspects of the website is their 7 videos that address techniques for how to become conversationally fluent in Spanish: by listening, repeating, imitating, being consistent, learning from native speakers, NOT translating, and having fun! What a great homework assignment for students who may be new to the concept of teaching in the target language!
Have you used Spanish Podcast in class before? Have you found other podcasts helpful? I would love to hear from you!
Monday, February 1, 2016
#CelebrateMonday
¿Qué día es hoy?
Hoy es...lunes. *collective sigh from all students*
This is how many weeks in my classroom unintentionally started. I wanted to begin class each day with a few simple questions in the target language and use some choral response to really get the blood flowing. And yet, when the answer was "the first day of an impossible week and WHY ARE YOU REMINDING ME" it didn't always get the positivity I was hoping for.
That's why I have loved reading about the #CelebrateMonday trend going around. What a way to change our school culture of complaints and defeat to inspiration and encouragement!
I have also seen many educational leaders begin to post uplifting quotes and messages to inspire their colleagues as they start the week. Some of my favorite quotes come from scrolling through the #CelebrateMonday hashtag on Twitter and Instagram alike!
I challenge you all to participate today (and each Monday) in spreading a chuckle, a compliment, or something that inspires you and tag it #CelebrateMonday. Perhaps you can even challenge students to take a picture in your class on Monday morning and flood the internet with positivity!
Today I posted this:
Hoy es...lunes. *collective sigh from all students*
This is how many weeks in my classroom unintentionally started. I wanted to begin class each day with a few simple questions in the target language and use some choral response to really get the blood flowing. And yet, when the answer was "the first day of an impossible week and WHY ARE YOU REMINDING ME" it didn't always get the positivity I was hoping for.
That's why I have loved reading about the #CelebrateMonday trend going around. What a way to change our school culture of complaints and defeat to inspiration and encouragement!
Teachers (and students) around the country have taken to posting pictures from their classrooms that make them smile, even on Mondays. Young teachers have highlighted successful lessons, students have taken selfies with friends and administrators have boasted about the learning going on in various classrooms throughout their building. When these things pop up on your feed, you can't help but catch on to the contagious energy and optimism!
— Mrs. Abbitt (@AbbittsMonstars) August 17, 2015
So excited to hear about all the great things going on here @WCS_District during our Coaches' meeting today! #WCSmission #CelebrateMonday— David Robertson--CAO (@drobertson_cao) October 19, 2015
I have also seen many educational leaders begin to post uplifting quotes and messages to inspire their colleagues as they start the week. Some of my favorite quotes come from scrolling through the #CelebrateMonday hashtag on Twitter and Instagram alike!
What can you do in your classroom to intentionally focus on starting the week off in a way that students can look forward to? Can you implement a special ritual on Monday mornings to excite students? How might your negativity (even unintentionally) in the hallway, in first period or with your fellow teachers impact students on Mondays in a way that is counterproductive to what you stand for the rest of the week?
I challenge you all to participate today (and each Monday) in spreading a chuckle, a compliment, or something that inspires you and tag it #CelebrateMonday. Perhaps you can even challenge students to take a picture in your class on Monday morning and flood the internet with positivity!
Today I posted this:
To remind students that what feels like hopelessness on a foggy Monday morning might actually be the start of an important transformation in your growth. What can you post before the day is out?
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