Teaching Culture to Novice Language Learners

 Teaching culture to novice learners is hard. They just don't have the language background to go very deep at all into a topic in the target language. It is normal then to want to not use the target language. It happens to me too too. But just as often I teach culture in the target language.  Here are some ideas for how...    (Want to skip right to the freebie? Grab it here.)

1. Use video. All the visuals you can see in a video help students understand the language. Or maybe you don't even need the video sound. Turn the sound off and talk along with the video using language your students do understand. Use your own videos or videos filmed by family and colleagues. Or search for videos on sites like youtube or teacher tube. I usually use a site like safeshare to choose a small section of the video for viewing and to stop students from seeing ads.

2. Do a short and easy cooking project. You can demonstrate how to make something using language your students understand and holding up the ingredients to help make it comprehensible. Depending on the recipe, you can also have your students participate in making the food. You can make salsa, arepas, crêpes, European sipping hot chocolate (the kind served with churros in Spain, at Angelina's in France & at Artefact in Quebec) or ask families to bring in cheeses from France, Spain... for cheese tasting.

3. Have a mini holiday celebration. It doesn't even HAVE to be at the correct time of year. Decorate the classroom as if it were Bastille Day in May (or whenever). Bring in typical foods or photos. Show them to the class while talking about them in simple comprehensible language they can understand. Sure, you can dig deeper into talking more about the celebration and what it is all about in English - but you can do that another day. Today is all about actually celebrating and using the target language.

4. Use a lot of pictures, images, drawings, etc. of the target culture. The picture gives a context and makes language comprehensible. Use small chunks of language to talk about what you can see in this country (or city), what you can eat and what you can visit. I like to compile the pictures and small chunks of language into a comprehensible reader. Make them yourself, or grab a few I've made & have in my TpT store. I have them for many French-speaking countries and cities and all Spanish-speaking countries. 

I've also created a free printable for you to use as you teach culture in the target language in your French or Spanish class. Grab the freebie here!

Storytelling Lessons and Student Involvement using Questioning in the Target Language

 I read stories in my language classes as often as possible. It is a great way to provide comprehensible input for novice learners. Each page is a small chunk of language with an image or illustration to aid in comprehension.

But I never just read a story to my students. I am constantly involving them in the story using questioning in the target language.

Here is how…

In this example lesson, my focus is on the seasons vocabulary. I want to repeat the seasons vocabulary as much as I can to help students acquire these new words.

I am using Nearpod to present my story (if you want to learn how to use Nearpod, get my how to guide here), but you can also do this questioning verbally while holding a storybook in your hands in front of the class.

The first page of my story presents the season with an image to illustrate. I read the page and then I start brainstorming … how can I repeat the seasons vocabulary word in a question they will understand and know how to respond to?

My students know the weather vocabulary well. I decide to ask about the weather.

I have different types of questioning I can do.

Question type 1:  I can ask a yes / no question. This is a great way for students to demonstrate comprehension without having to say much in the target language. This works well if they don’t have the language ability to respond to a question where a full response is necessary.

(the microphone just let's them know they can shout out the answer)

Question Type 2:  I can ask an either / or question. Often my students know an answer to a question … it is on the tip of their tongues … but they can’t quite get it out. An either / or question leads them to success! Success gives them a happy, I can do it! feeling. They will feel more comfortable in my lessons and with responding to questioning in the future when they feel successful.

Question Type 3: I can have the students respond physically to questions. They can gesture or point or hold things up to provide a response. In Nearpod I have the students circle things using a Draw it slide. They are demonstrating comprehension of the question and have more exposure to the season vocabulary word.

     Question Type 4: I can ask a question which requires a full answer in the target language. I do this when I am confident the students know this vocabulary well enough to be able to provide a full response. BUT … if I see them struggle a bit and can tell it is on the tip of their tongues but they can’t quite get it out, I will switch to an either / or or yes / no question to help them out.

Ready to try out a storytelling lesson? Check these out...

Writing Simple Stories for Novice Language Learners

 

It is next to impossible to find stories in the target language that don't have odd vocabulary or advanced grammar structures my novice language learners will not understand.

So I write my own stories for my students!

First, start with your current focus. In my example story, my students were learning emotion vocabulary words like surprised, afraid, happy...

Next I put lists of what my students have already learned on my desk and I begin to design a story. I decided to use family vocabulary and to have different family members feeling a certain emotion. 

Then I wanted to bring in previously learned vocabulary to explain why this family member felt this way.

I spent time on this part and brought in a lot of previously learned vocabulary - in part to add to the storytelling. And in part because language learners need to recycle back to previously learned vocabulary so they don't forget it!

I love to get a little silly...

Because someone in my story needed to feel surprised. My students know some farm animals and some bedroom vocabulary. Finding a cow on your bed is certainly a reason to feel surprised! And my students love the silliness!!

Do you love writing stories as much as I do?

If you are not sure and would like to take a look at one of mine, I have one to share!

You can get my Stone Soup Reader in French, Spanish & Bilingual Versions by clicking here.

Enjoy!

Janice

Let's travel to a Spanish-speaking country! ~ Paper bag suitcase craftivity

Today we are making a suitcase craftivity & planning a trip to a Spanish-speaking country! We are sneaking some writing practice & cultural information into this fun craft.

First take a paper bag and fold it into thirds. Now tape or glue an index card into each section of the folded paper bag. You can have the index cards pre-printed with the start of each sentence (like mine below), or you can have the students copy the text onto the cards themselves. Next have students complete the sentences.

Now it is time to decorate!
I used a paper fastener to close my sample suitcase. You can also use a velcro circle.
Students can create a handle to the suitcase by trimming the edge of the paper bag, or using construction paper.  Finally, they will decorate the suitcase using markers and stickers.

Enjoy!

I was inspired by Inner Child Fun's blog post

El día de los muertos ~ 5 Day of the Dead Classroom Activities

El Día de los Muertos is just around the corner. Here are five activity ideas for your classroom!


1. Make QUICK and SIMPLE {make in 20 minutes!} sugar candy skulls!

2. Want even more sugary treats? These marshmallow sugar skull pops by mom.me are sooooo pretty!

3. Learn what the Day of the Dead is all about. Then complete a sorting activity for what is typical & what is not typical on the Day of the Dead.

4. Let the students face paint Day of the Dead faces on each other. Here is an easy tutorial from mom.me.

5. Or if you prefer something less messy, make paper plate Calavera masks.

What's your favorite classroom Day of the Dead activity? Comment below!

Hispanic Heritage Month Activity Freebie & Bulletin Board Idea!

I'm excited to share this fun Hispanic Heritage Month activity with you! It is super fun and will get your students talking about important Hispanic Americans. You can download the activity here.

Print pages 1 and 2 front to back. You'll need one for each student. Have the students fold along the solid line (see #1 below). Next, have them open the page back up & cut along the dotted lines (see #2 below). Now have the students choose a famous Hispanic American and complete the clue sentences inside the paper (see #3 below).

Now provide each student with a copy of page 3 of the download. Have them glue, tape, or staple their clues to the right side of the ¿Quién soy yo? page. (See #4 below)

Print pages 4 & 5 of the download front to back. Fold the page down the middle & cut down the dotted line. You will give one "Me llamo" slip to each student. They will open the slip and write the name of the famous Hispanic American they chose to describe inside (See #5 below).

Have the students glue or staple their "Me llamo" slips on the inside of the last clue. They will want to attach it to the left side, without covering up the text of that last clue (see #6 below).

And now you are ready to play! You can have one student come up to the front of the class and begin to open and read each clue while the class tries to guess who it is. Or you can have the students pair up & work together to try to figure out who is being described. 

After everyone has finished the activity, they can draw on and color the person outline to illustrate who it is they used for their ¿Quién soy yo? page. The completed products make a great Hispanic Heritage month bulletin board!

Spanish Class Back to School Freebie Treasures

As promised ... the treasure hunting results for Spanish classes!

The new school year is just around the corner and I'm starting to think about lesson planning. I've spent some time treasure hunting for start of the school year freebies and I'm sharing the treasures I've found!

Today I will be sharing the goodies I've found for my Spanish classes. Last week I shared what I found for my French classes.

Let's start with one of my freebies. It is an All About Me Build-A-Book! Novice learners can cut and paste. Students ready to write on their own can just write on the pages of the book. The students will end up with a mini story book all about them that they can present to the class or read with a partner/in small groups. Find it here.

I love playing Find Someone Who at the start of a school year. It is another great way to learn about our classmates. I like this freebie from el Mundo de Pepita.


I always give my students Spanish names. I just love this back to school name activity by El Tesoro del saber. It is such a cute activity for working with learning new names.


I'll be ready to work with greetings and this greeting game resource from el Mundo de Pepita will make it so much fun!

I'll want to review colors and classroom vocabulary, so I've printed out this freebie from Peg Hutson.

And as I continue working with classroom vocabulary, I'll be excited to use this Spanish Back to School Mini Book from Doodles and Kreations. What an awesome freebie!


And I have one more of my freebies to share. My days of the week reader will get your students reading and talking all about what they do each day of the week. Find it here!

I hope these treasures help you get off to a great new school year!