Teach by Video

¡Buenas noches a todos!

I QUICKLY wanted to share a great resource with you tonight.  I know many of us have tomorrow off because it is Good Friday, and for some that will start Spring Break, too.  Perhaps over your long weekend and/or break you could check out this website and see how it could benefit your students.

Introducing:  Language By Video!  This website has a tab labeled "Countries."  From there, you can click on any Spanish speaking country and pull up a list of videos (sorted by Spanish level) that people from that country have made.  For example, I used this video when I met with my class who was preparing to go to the Dominican Republic and knew from past trips that conversations in the markets were challenging.  The video is extremely short and is conducted completely in the target language.  Out to the side, they have a transcript in English and in Spanish of what is being said.

Overall, I think this website provides a lot of videos I hadn't found on YouTube that show authentic, country specific language being used in a variety of contexts.  Other than that, I have been a bit disappointed in the other resources (or lack thereof), but I think experienced teachers can come up with ways to use these videos as the basis for discussion, as a quick warm-up or intro, or even as a homework assignment after a lesson.

Take a look and let me know what you think! 

World Language Week: Polyglots (and what they can teach us!)

Today is the FINAL day of the week set aside to celebrate World Languages. I hope you have sparked some enthusiasm in your students, your coworkers and throughout your sphere of influence:  Languages ARE influence.  Languages are power.  Languages are connections and communication and change.

Here is my last suggestion for celebrating languages (yes, MORE than just Spanish) in your classroom:

Introduce your students to the AMAZING reality of polyglots!

If you hadn't heard the term before, polyglots are individuals that can communicate in multiple languages (often used to describe people who know more than SIX).  In the most incredible cases, these individuals know more than 12 and are called hyperpolyglots.  Yeah, #mindblown.

This can be a really fascinating discovery for your students that value competition, records, trivia and hold themselves to high expectations or like to be known for something they can do that no one else can (um, hello every middle school student ever).  Here are some fun resources you can use to wow your students with the perfect representative for this week of celebration:  The Polyglot.

• This article gives basic information on what a polyglot and hyperpolyglot really is, as well as lists some amazing, living examples.
• This blog post includes 5 mini-interviews with polyglots where they share language learning myths, their favorite technique to learn a new language and things they wish they would have known when they started their journey.
• Tim Doner began teaching himself languages when he was 13!  Here is a video in which he demonstrates many different languages, and here is a Ted-Talk where he discusses the issues in our school system when it comes to language education and gives us many ideas of how to improve it:

• And this final video is of a young boy,Ravi, from India who uses an AMAZING amount of languages to sell things on the street. Genius.

I love the intrigue that discussing individuals such as polyglots bring to our class.  It's amazing! It astounds us!  We immediately think of how difficult just one or two languages has been for us, and we think How in the world did they do it?!  This is a great place for your language learners to be:  curious, motivated, and challenged.

How did you celebrate this week?  Please reach out and tell me; I would love to hear from you!

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:

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.

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.

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."

1.  Listen and try to catch any words you possibly can.  Maybe write them down on a notebook sheet of paper.
2. 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?
3. 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!

World Language Week: Duolingo Initiative

Last year, I tried to encourage my students to dabble with the app Duolingo , especially during World Language Week.  Although not perfect, Duolingo does an excellent job of making language learning fun and addicting.  It also encourages students to practice each domain:  reading, writing, listening and speaking.  Unfortunately, not many of my students took it upon themselves to download the app on their own time and see the wide variety of language options the app had to offer.

This year, I figured they needed more of a formal introduction.  So, I got approval from my building technician to get Duolingo added on a class set of Ipads.  I also encouraged students to create an account over the weekend so they could log in immediately in class.  When they arrived, we logged in to their accounts (or created them) and I walked them through the basics of the program:  the languages they can choose from, the 3 hearts per skill, lingots, etc.  I also explained how to add friends on Duolingo and gave them my username so they could see how many points I was earning. I then encouraged them to tweet screenshots/share their level, points, and fun phrases they were learning with the hashtag #LMSwlw (Lakeview Middle School, World Language Week) and I turned them loose!  You should have HEARD my classroom as students were talking in German, Portuguese, French, Swedish, Italian, Irish, etc.  It was beautiful!  They had a lot of fun competing with each other or seeing what someone else was learning.  I listened to multiple conversations about comparing grammar to Spanish or translating a word to Spanish...L3 to L2...NOT L1!  I was so impressed by their focus for a whole class period and their repeated desire to try again once they failed.  Success!

I had multiple students speak with me at various other points throughout the week, commenting on how they "passed" me, or asking me if I had gotten to this lesson in French yet.  Students were much more willing to work on their own the rest of the week after having a class period to dedicate to getting familiar with it and getting "hooked."

So far, so good.  I am learning the importance of instilling a love of learning and an interest in all languages and cultures...not JUST Spanish.  I'd say it's working!

Voice Recorder Pro

The way our current tests are set up, students step into the hallway with me to have a quick conversation for their speaking test.  It is usually between 5-8 points, and it involves the student answering a few questions I ask them in complete sentences.  While I greatly value the one-on-one conference with each of my students, the obvious downside to such an exercise involves time.  28 students X 2 minutes each X 3 classes = lots of time spent not "teaching."  I am constantly trying to come up with activities the rest of the students can be doing that are truly worth their time while I am not instructing/monitoring.  Plus, the conversation I am having with one student generally feels rushed and pressured as I am always with one ear turned towards my classroom.

I am convinced there has to be a technological advancement out there that will make this process more efficient.  This year I began experimenting with Voice Recorder Pro.  It is a free app that allows students to record their voice, play it back, alter the speed of recordings and export these files to various locations.  It has truly streamlined our speaking tests!

Pros:

1. Each student can take the speaking test at the same time, instead of waiting 2 days to speak with me.
2. Students can listen to their own answers and learn from their mistakes and my comments instead of trying to remember what they said or how they said it by memory.
3. The anxiety related to conversation being "put on the spot" is greatly reduced when you can think first and re-record later if necessary.

Cons:

1. Instructions took quite a bit of time the first time we used the app together.  There are many options and many different features for the students to sift through.
2. The best option we could think of for me to hear each recording was for the students to export the file to DropBox.  But, each time, it uploaded the MP3 file along with a text coding file.  Our DropBox account had to be cleared out regularly.
3. Each file has 2 names you can edit.  One just changes the name inside the app, but the other will change it when you export it, too.  Trial and error!

I will continue to use this app as often as is feasible while we aren't yet 1-to-1.  I anticipate it being even more helpful when students have a device in class each day.  

Frase de la Semana

I am always looking for ways to encourage students to incorporate Spanish organically into their daily conversations.  Sometimes it happens, often it does not.  So this year I decided to take a more proactive role in targeting one "frase de la semana."

Each Monday I introduce a brand new phrase that I think will be helpful for them to know.  I have a spot on my front chalkboard where I write the phrase in Spanish and leave it all week for them to reference.  I do my best to act out the phrase in Spanish using gestures, pictures and whatever else I can gather to express the meaning.  Each time I hear the students using this phrase in context throughout the week, they receive a red "boleto."  They write their name and class period on the back and place it in my little bucket by the door.  On Fridays I draw out a name (or two or three, depending on how generous I'm feeling :) ) and the winner gets to choose from my highly coveted "premios" box.  It was JUST refilled, so tickets are going hot!

This semester students requested the ability to use the phrase on social media sites and gain credit that way too.  I think that still accomplishes our original objective...so I said yes!  We will see how it goes this week.  At this point, I love seeing tweets from my students using #valelapena, so I'm considering it a win.

Nuestro Mantra

"I'm so stupid."

"I never get good grades."

"I can't do this."

"I'm just not good at Spanish."

These are just some of the common tidbits I overhear as a teacher.  At the beginning I used to just say, "Did I say that about you?" and when they answered, "...no..." I would reply, "Exactly.  Because I don't think that." I assumed they got the picture.

But as the negativity began to be more prominent and as I began to read more about fixed mindsets vs. growth mindsets, I realized these statements went much deeper.  No amount of lectures seemed to be getting through.  Time after time students walked into my classroom already defeated because of something that happened at home that morning or in the hallway before class.  I couldn't take it anymore!

So, I drafted what I call our Mantra.  I introduce it as positive brainwashing.  I explain to the students that the words we say over and over again are what we subconsciously begin to accept as truth.  I give them the handout and allow them to practice pronunciation of unfamiliar words and then we go through what the Mantra means.  If I hear negativity from that day forward that affects our class culture, I loudly begin the first line and the students break into a grin as they repeat after me.  In fact, on days when I feel rushed and accidentally forget to start class with the Mantra, I have multiple students who interrupt me and say "You forgot our Mantra, Maestra!" Sometimes as a quiz or test is being distributed they ask to say it one extra time "for good luck."

Lately, students have been asking if they can say my part and be our Mantra leader for the day.  I take a seat in their desk and shout the student part as loud as I can..."Puedo alcanzar mis sueños poco a poco empezando con mis decisiones HOY!"