Cultural input: the prisons in Bolivia (or how to engage Spanish learners)

How to get students engaged and producing a lot of language???? Well…. I recommend purchasing Martina Bex 7-day lesson plans about Los niños prisioneros de Bolivia as it is truly worth the investment! Not only did it save me a lot of prep-time, it also made my students had a meaningful discussion in the target language!

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a favor1 Bolivia1 comprehend52 comprehensible100 comprehension250 conversation311 debate11 debe2 discuss30 discussion39 Education20 effort1 en contra1 engage150 family164 high interest7 input47 interest10 interesting23 issues1 key structures8 listen283 listening52 lo que hace1 Martina Bex11 meaningful15 output44 performance2 prison2 read40 reading252 reflect17 reflection20 skills26 social relationships7 South American3 Spanish33 speaking73 story46 storytelling39 structures7 target9 target language12 TPRS71

The Spanish alphabet

This is a simple activity to do with Spanish beginners when you are teaching the alphabet: students create their own alphabet page by looking for words which start with each letter of the Spanish alphabet. This is the first year in my teaching career that I do this activity and I have found out that my grade 6 students (11-12 years old) had a lot of fun doing this.

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activity13 alphabet1 beginner318 browse1 browsing1 dictionary3 enjoy48 find6 finding2 foreign language35 fun413 grade 68 language45 letter2 letters2 looking for1 reading252 research17 simple15 skills26 Spanish33 writing55

Pablo Picasso y el Guernica for Spanish beginners

As the school year draws to a close, I have chosen to read a book in Spanish with my students. If we don’t manage to finish the book, my students will have to finish reading it over the summer holidays which will be an excellent practice to keep up their Spanish.

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acquire50 Agentes secretos y el mural de Picasso1 book95 civil war2 cognates7 connect104 easy reader35 Guernica1 interactive43 key structures8 Mira Canion1 mural1 novel51 painting33 personalized16 Picasso1 PowerPoint2 presentation140 questions74 reading252 recycle2 renew1 repeat78 skills26 slideshow33 Spanish33 speaking73 video350

Civilization project to use the past tense in Spanish

I have covered the past tense in Spanish with my grade 8 students (13-14 years old) this term and I want them to be able to describe past events confidently and accurately. Over my teaching experience I have found out that doing the traditional grammar exercises such as filling in the gaps with the correct verb forms does not really work with students.

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acquire50 acquired4 acquisition65 civilization1 collaboration work2 collaborative3 communication10 communicative7 comprehend52 comprehensible100 Education20 fluency107 grade 85 group work5 history92 imperfect187 incas2 independent4 information7 informative1 innate1 input47 internalize1 invented1 language45 language skills1 listening52 mayas1 oral12 output44 pair work2 past316 poster2 presentation140 proficiency12 project11 simple past24 skills26 Spanish33 speaking73 storylistening142 video350

Back to school!

I am officially back to work after a wonderful holiday with my family in France and in Spain. It has actually been more than a week that I am back to school but it has been a shock to the system (getting back to the routine after more than a year of maternity leave!).

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3d1 3d printer1 acquisition65 back4 backtoschool18 center3 class31 classroom9 decorate1 display1 Education20 experience15 first week2 hispanic4 interact183 interactive43 language45 learning15 leearner1 middle school3 posters1 printer1 printing1 response1 school35 school year5 setting2 shape1 Spanish33 stories40 storytelling39

Marceline Loridan-Ivens: a moving account.

When I prepare dinner in the evening, I like to listen to the radio and it usually falls during Le Grand Entretien on France Inter. François Busnel, a journalist spends an hour interviewing different people from authors to comedians to politicians. I like the way this journalist conducts the interviews.

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acquired4 acquiring18 acquisition65 advanced294 biograhy3 cinema35 comprehensible100 comprehension250 French41 history92 input47 interview15 interviewee3 journalist3 life21 listen283 listening52 Marceline Loridan-Ivens1 past316 personal13 personalized16 podcast127 radio3 risks7 speaking73 story46 storytelling39 war30

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Today was a great day! Not only it was sunny and warm and we could for once enjoy the beautiful springy outdoors but it was also the Cinco de Mayo. The excuse to celebrate and have Mexican food! Well… As French people we shouldn’t really be celebrated this date as it marks the defeat of the French army (which I didn’t know!): “

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cinco de mayo1 Cooking41 Education20 flag1 food154 geography8 heritage25 history92 map2 Mexican3 Mexico1 personal13