Video Activities for Your Spanish Class

by Ann Abbott

Four and a half weeks: that is all the time left in our semester at the University of Illinois.

This is usually the time in the semester when our Spanish community service learning (CSL) students are consolidating their knowledge about their community partners, the clients they serve, and the Spanish they need to communicate effectively. Their confidence has increased, and the relationships they have formed with community members are strong. After the difficult first weeks, this is a time of calm, but also deeper questioning of what they are seeing and doing in the community.

For Spanish CSL instructors, this is a time to pull together loose threads and to push students to do deeper, more nuanced reflection about their learning. You may need to inject some variety into your classroom activities, just to change the atmosphere in the classroom and to help students approach their learning from a new angle. You're also probably thinking ahead to the final: how will you write an exam that covers everything they've done in class, for homework and in the community.

To meet those needs, my following posts will feature the videos at Comunidades' Companion Website and activities to accompany them. Just when your lesson-planning energy is waning, I hope you'll be able to grab some quick activities to take to your next class.

Tune in tomorrow.