IPEE has designed a course for teachers
teaching Spanish as a second language. This course was developed to fill
a need that Spanish teachers have for a program that directly addresses
their needs to provide the best education to their students. It is our
goal to provide instruction for areas of teaching that have a direct impact
on the assimilation of language by those being taught and cover subjects
not usually taught at university level.
The subjects covered in this course include;
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The most important points to incorporate into
a study program
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Methods of teaching
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Auditive comprehension
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Reading and composition
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Corporal communication
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Evaluation
These following subjects are not usually included
as university courses but which we consider critical for teaching Spanish
as a second language.
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Elaborating didactic material in order to
reinforce specific topics.
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Eliminating a students fear to speak in a
foreign language.
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Localizing an individuals mistake and achieving
an explanation in group activities.
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Stimulate individual improvement without hurting
the susceptibilities of the entire group.
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Achieving a balance between making mistakes
and the linguistic level of the student.
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Improving the spontaneous activities of the
group while improvising topics of conversation or discussion.
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How to make a typically uninteresting subject
come "alive".
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Explaining specific "problem subjects".
METHODOLOGY OF TEACHING
SPANISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
In order to teach Spanish as a second language,
it is necessary to use a methodology in relation to the students' interests.
One has to also bear in mind particularly the age, the interest and the
ability of each student.
Once the type of student has been found
out the instructor will adapt the methodology in relation to the student's
linguistic level; the variety of activities has to be considered in order
to maintain the interest during a determined number of lessons.
Some advisable activities could be for
instance:
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Didactic games which stimulate the oral expression
together with a grammatical base.
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Use of colored pictures for discussions.
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Elaborated filing cards aiming at coordinating
comprehension and oral proficiency.
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Videos (movies and documentaries) which the
instructor will use adequately for criticism, discussion and comment.
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Songs that help to improve the auditive comprehension.
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Group dynamics as personal judgments, imitations,
presentations, and exposures in general.
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Reading for discussion (use newspaper items)
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Field work if possible where the student can
interview native Spanish speakers.
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Use of sequences to create stories where the
student shows his grammatical knowledge.
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Writing: different activities that stimulate
the written expression such as stories without end, writing of reports
in virtue of pictures, invention of dialogues, composition of informal
letters and business letters, etc.
A most important aspect is to create
a natural atmosphere within the classroom, and to that end it is necessary
that the instructor knows the Hispanic culture and to share this experience
with his/her students. This important fact will give validity to the need
to learn the language as well as something "living" to share during the
process. Therefore, we strongly recommend that any Spanish language instructor
live for a while with a native speaker.
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