Help me give my students a learning experience as close to immersion as possible in a 40-minute class so they can not only acquire the language but experience it also.
Our school is in a small town, rural area which means resources for classrooms are not always available. At least 70% of the students are eligible for free or reduced lunches. Many of our students have difficult situations at home which a lot of times translates into struggling academically at school.
Regardless of the obstacles that many of my students face, the majority of them have a desire to learn and to be successful.
They are crazy and I mean that in a good way. I thoroughly enjoy teaching them.
My Project
Reading comprehensible-based novels that are compelling and interesting, such as "Bianca y los 7 toritos, for example, will naturally "suck" a student into the language and the culture and before the student realizes it he has not only learned words but has acquired the language-it has become a part of him to the point he can use it naturally.
Hearing language that is comprehensible is essential to language acquisition but the key component is making learning compelling.
Acquiring a language is hard work and more often than not is exhausting; therefore, students must be interested enough to motivate themselves to continue forward in their learning. A comprehensible novel is a gateway to language acquisition but to pique their interest, I will use videos-such as parts of documentaries and/or newscasts in Spanish or English about a bullfight, a bullfighter, bullfighting, etc. I will have them read articles about the history and the culture surrounding bullfighting. We will also read "Fernando" and watch clips of the movie in Spanish. These are only a few of the activities I will plan for my students to do.
Although each of my students will not have a book to hold, there are other ways to make things happen such as projecting this book on the board. My students will work in groups and as partners, they will participate in speaking, listening, writing, and reading activities, as well as having a little grammar thrown in. By doing these various activities, my expectation is that the subject matter will be compelling enough to motivate them to do the hard work of reading a comprehensible novel in Spanish which in turn will result in my students not only learning vocabulary and some culture but acquiring the language to where it becomes a part of them.
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