Spanish Conversation ~ Neighbors
Conversación Español ~ Vecinos
Personalized Content, levels 1-4
Tuesdays, 3:30 PM
Tuesdays, 3:30 PM
Bernie Weigand, facilitator, instructor
541-621-7467
Course overview:
With individual help from the teacher and other Spanish speakers, students will build a vocabulary of sentences and questions that pertain to their own personal interests, for example: snowboarding, horses, art, friends, travel, job, reading, etc. These will be put on flash cards. From this personalized and meaningful context the grammar and structure will be drawn. Most of class time will be spent in pairs, practicing saying and responding to those questions in pairs. About 5-10 of a student’s sentence-level weekly set of flash cards will be teacher-assigned, basic communications that everyone will need. It is hoped and expected that this oral/aural paired practice will continue at home daily during the week.
When we participate with classmates who have a different vocabulary focus, we are absorbing and becoming familiar with structures, and sounds that our brain automatically is making “connections” for, in the natural way that we learned our first language.
Every class we’ll engage in some normal activity like a culturally based snack or a game or a song to with as much Spanish as possible.
We have about 25% Hispanics at home in our valley, from many different countries. It will be fun to engage with them in their native language, their “heart” language. In doing so we become better neighbors vecinos, and we’re also enriched by them.
Homework: A commitment of 1 hour a day, 4 different days a week, will move your second language forward and keep you there much better than cramming 4 hours into one day. About half the hour should be listening, and half speaking: study OUT LOUD. Efforts will be logged and initialed by parent and/or ES
Instructor:
Bernie Weigand and the native Spanish speakers of our valley. I hope to also engage some native speaking high school students help us in our meetings.
Grades:
Based on
- active participation,
- logged efforts and activities,
- http://www.studyspanish.com/ tests passed (about 2-4 per week, depending on your level)
- the number of personalized sentences and questions memorized and internalized per week (about 15-30).
75% of total points is needed to pass with a C
85% for a B
95% for an A.
About
30% of points are attendance and participation in class: discussion, activities, presentations, paired practice
50 % of points are logged activities and learning products made at home or on location with native speakers: for example, StudySpanish.com lessons, research, reports, blog entries, native speaker interviews.
10% of points are your personalized, organized curriculum binder with notes, materials and records of your work.
Recommended Class Size:
10-16.
Day(s):
Tuesdays, 1.5 hour, (after 3:30?), or by arrangement
Materials:
Student should have access to the internet and an email address.
3x5 cards with a hole punched in one corner for a ring to turn them on
pencils
2” 3-ring binder exclusively for Spanish
Friends or family to do your oral practice with
A native speaker friend, language mentor would be great for many language-growing reasons, and fun, too
*Parent volunteers can participate in the learning
*Your friends who are native speakers of Spanish are encouraged to come to share
(*These will need to be arranged beforehand and case-by-case)
Recommended Curriculum:
Each will create an individualized curriculum as we go, keeping orderly materials, a record, and other notes in their binders and on the class site & blog.
http://www.studyspanish.com/ will be supplemental at home, some lessons being assigned, others the student’s choice.
Visits to local places where mostly Spanish is spoken
The student’s other curriculum can be used as a resource.
Prerequisites:
In order to succeed in language study, you need desire, commitment to oral practice, and willingness to take risks speaking and listening (being creative with the target language). You also must have some interest in the PEOPLE and the cultures that use the language. You must be in high school or middle school, or if younger, to be able to maturely and fully participate. Younger students may earn high school credit in advance. Parents and staff may participate if they will also be teacher aides.
How many classes can they miss to still receive credit:
You may join by Skype (pre-arranged a day in advance) and arrange to do extra research and present it to the class to make up missed meetings.
Proposed length of class:
One semester. This is repeatable if continuing to a higher level.
Proposed time needed for class:
1.5 hours in class
