Reflection on Comprehensible Input

I haven't updated my blog for a while now, and as I am taking a break due to my fourth baby coming at the end of September, I wanted to reflect on my last school year. I was teaching Spanish from grade 6 to 12 and I decided to turn to comprehensible input and TPRS since I was never fully satisfied with the traditional way to teach languages.

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6th graders2 acquisition33 comments1 comprehensible41 Education8 encourage2 feedback3 fluency15 fluent12 grade 108 grade 74 grade 85 grade 98 IGCSE12 input39 inspire4 languages5 listening29 Martina Bex10 middle school3 motivate7 motivation6 personalized13 reading36 review4 song10 story34 story asking9 storytelling28 TPRS34

How to encourage students to produce comprehensible output on sports

 

 

 

 

 

 

My grade 7 students (12-13 years old) did comprehensible presentations about some popular sports in Hispanic countries. First, I wanted to model a presentation because whenever my students produce Spanish output,

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baseball1 comprehensible41 countries2 Dominican Republic1 Education8 encourage2 example1 group work5 hispanic4 hobbies4 information5 input39 language26 look for2 model2 motivate7 oral11 output10 pair1 popular1 presentation10 project10 quiz4 sample1 search1 speaking37 sports1 teacherspayteachers11

Spanish story: El chico cansado

This story comes from a French story on The Task Magic blog: Bob est fatigué. I wanted to recycle the structures "debe", "tengo que" which my students already learned with Los niños prisioneros de Bolivia and I also wanted to use "está cansado".

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cansado1 comprehensible41 comprehension31 debe2 debes1 Education8 input39 key structures7 obediente1 personalized13 practice17 questions19 reading36 script10 story34 storytelling28 teacherspayteachers11 tengo que1 text4 TPRS34

IB Spanish Students: el Flamenco

As you might already know, I have been reading La casa de Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca with my small group of Spanish language B IB higher level students. They are only girls in this group so I think they have enjoyed reading this tragedy about passionate love and freedom!

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art4 book10 comprehension31 critical thinking2 cultural5 culture22 dance2 define1 Education8 higher1 IB6 input39 intermediate5 La Casa de Bernarda Alba1 language B4 level2 Lorca2 music1 play7 reading36 Spain1 speaking37 teacherspayteachers11 UNESCO1 video32 worksheet2

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 comprehend10 comprehensible41 comprehension31 conversation12 culture22 debate3 debe2 discuss1 discussion3 Education8 effort1 en contra1 engage14 family16 high interest5 input39 interest9 interesting9 issues1 key structures7 listen6 listening29 lo que hace1 Martina Bex10 meaningful4 output10 performance2 prison1 read7 reading36 reflect3 reflection4 skills24 social relationships2 South American1 speaking37 story34 storytelling28 structures6 target8 target language12 TPRS34

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 beginner10 browse1 browsing1 culture22 dictionary3 enjoy2 find2 finding1 foreign language5 fun13 grade 68 language26 letter1 letters1 looking for1 reading36 research1 simple7 skills24 writing17

Reading activity: una televisión para los perros

I believe reading in the target language is crucial because it promotes fluent reading skills which then leads to fluency in the other language skills such as speaking and writing. Fluent reading means reading without a dictionary, which can be challenging if students read an authentic text or a book.

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acquire28 acquisition33 article5 ci16 collaborative2 communicate5 communication7 comprehensible41 comprehension31 connection3 dictionary3 discussion3 Education8 group work5 input39 interest9 listening29 magazine3 Mary Glasgow4 media2 reading36 ressources8 skill4 skills24 speaking37 story34 storytelling28 television2 text4 TPRS34 understand7 understanding8