How about educating students (not just those who speak Spanish as their first language) to become fully bilingual. Teach all subjects in both Spanish and English -- math, science, etc.
Too many times in "educationese," the term "bilingual classroom" refers to one in which the students are taught only in Spanish. The emphasis needs to be on students' becoming fully fluent in both languages.
Identify a problem that involves the Spanish language in some way. Your choice! (Example: Unfairness/bias issues in highstakes testing for ESL students) Propose a solution to the problem. And then support and develope your solution into a persuasive writing piece. (Doesn't have to be in Spanish, and can't be on immigration) Don't have any ideas. Does anybody have any?
3 answers
thanks so much!
Wonderful idea above for learning a second language and becoming bilingual. However, since it involves the Spanish language in some way and is non-specific, I'd like to present: teaching native Spanish speakers to write. A native speaker learns to communicate orally first. Writing is a later skill in any language. Having taught Spanish to Spanish-speakers, I'd like to address some of the pitfalls.
Writing is a complex procedure involving how to construct and organize what is to be written, transforming and revising and finally executing the finished product.
It's necessary to be exposed to all sorts of writing - flyers, ads, articles from magazines/newspapers, letters, etc. Because at first the grammar, syntax, spelling needed work I gave 2 scores. One for the grammar and one for the content, because some of the ideas in the writing were superb.
Composing, developing, analyzing ideas were new to most students and they enjoyed the "brainstorming" before organizing. Some even excelled at the revision strategies, but because we tend to skip over our own mistakes, they loved "read-arounds" where you got to pick someone else's errors. Proofreading can be fun, even though it is work.
Of course, there are regional differences in Spanish, (in sound as well as in vocabulary) as there are in any language, as well as social and cognitive differences with individuals. The difference between formal and informal language is supressing the language of the street, chicanismos and putting the required accent marks where they belong. Most students at first thought that was absolutely ridiculous, not really seeing the difference in meaning "with or without an accent."
Depending upon the career an individual might like, it was interesting to focus on specific phraseology and to be sensitive to the "audience" for which something was written.
This is just another idea you might like, but perhaps only if you are interested in what a language-teaching specialist might do.
Sra (aka Mme)
Writing is a complex procedure involving how to construct and organize what is to be written, transforming and revising and finally executing the finished product.
It's necessary to be exposed to all sorts of writing - flyers, ads, articles from magazines/newspapers, letters, etc. Because at first the grammar, syntax, spelling needed work I gave 2 scores. One for the grammar and one for the content, because some of the ideas in the writing were superb.
Composing, developing, analyzing ideas were new to most students and they enjoyed the "brainstorming" before organizing. Some even excelled at the revision strategies, but because we tend to skip over our own mistakes, they loved "read-arounds" where you got to pick someone else's errors. Proofreading can be fun, even though it is work.
Of course, there are regional differences in Spanish, (in sound as well as in vocabulary) as there are in any language, as well as social and cognitive differences with individuals. The difference between formal and informal language is supressing the language of the street, chicanismos and putting the required accent marks where they belong. Most students at first thought that was absolutely ridiculous, not really seeing the difference in meaning "with or without an accent."
Depending upon the career an individual might like, it was interesting to focus on specific phraseology and to be sensitive to the "audience" for which something was written.
This is just another idea you might like, but perhaps only if you are interested in what a language-teaching specialist might do.
Sra (aka Mme)
9 answers