Elementary Language Speaking Prompts

  In my classes I have learners practice their listening and speaking in every lesson. Usually I have them do this by providing them with a speaking prompt that meets a very specific list of criteria:

1. The prompt must be simple and must require the learners to use the target vocabulary or grammar.

2. The prompt must give the learners a specific task to perform.

3. The task should involve each learner listening to and understanding what the previous learner said, and saying something for the next learner.

4. The task should be as gamified as possible.

5. The task must require the learner to provide information known only to themselves.

In my experience, learners find these tasks quite enjoyable and helpful.

In the hopes of helping other educators, here is the list of speaking tasks that I currently use in my Elementary Spanish 1 and 2 courses. I would love to get feedback on my current tasks and / or more ideas for new tasks. (Note: These tasks are set up to be used in my current courses, and thus are very much based on the content from the textbook that we are currently using at NSU. Nevertheless, they should provide some good ideas no matter that grammar and vocabulary you are covering.)

Vocabulary tasks:

Greetings: You are a group of new friends getting to know each other for the first time. Greet the person before you and answer their question, then ask a question for the person after you.

Example: 

Places: Guess which place the person before you was talking about. Choose a place and say at least three sentences describing it.

Example: 

Descriptions: Guess the movie character from the person before you. Then use at least four sentences to describe a movie character.

Example:

Foods: Answer one question from the person before you. Talk about what you normally eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ask at least two follow-up questions for the person after you.

Example: 

Family: Answer at least one question from the person before you. Describe at least four members of your family. Ask at least two follow-up questions for the person after you.

Example:

Home: Answer at least one question from the person before you. Describe your current residence using at least 4 sentences. Ask at least two follow-up questions for the person after you.

Example: 

Clothing: Guess who the person is the person before you was talking about. Then say at least five sentences describing the clothing of a famous person or character.

Example: 

Sports: Answer the question from the person before you. Describe what happened during one of your favorite sports-related memories. Ask at least one follow-up question for the person after you.

Example: 

Holidays: Try to guess which holiday the person before you was talking about. Say at least four sentences describing your favorite holiday.

Example: 

Jobs: Guess what job the person before you was talking about. Say at least four sentences in which you talk about a job / profession.

Example: 

Food: Answer a question from the person before you. Talk about what you ate yesterday and ask a follow-up question for the person after you.

Example:

Grammar Tasks:

Adjectives: Guess which movie character the person before you was describing. Say at least four sentences describing a famous movie character.

Example: 

Prepositions: Guess which item the person before you was talking about. Position the camera so that several items are visible. Say at least three sentences using prepositions to talk about the location of one of the items.

Example: 

Numbers 0 - 99: Guess which items went with which price for the person before you. Identify the prices of three items you have with you.

Example: 

Telling Time: Talk with each other about your different schedules.

Example: 

Questions: Answer at least two of the questions from the person before you. Ask at least three questions using different question words.

Example: 

Estar for feelings and locations: Try to guess where the friend of the person before you is located. Say where you are and how you are feeling and how your friend is feeling.

Example: 

Conjugation of regular -ar verbs: Answer the question from the person before you. Say at least three sentences talking about the habits of people in your life. Ask two follow-up questions for the person after you.

Example: 

Conjugation of regular -er and -ir verbs: Answer the questions from the person before you. Ask at least two yes/no questions for the person after you.

Example: 

Articles: (Live) Talk about how you do things.

Example: 

Gender and Number Agreement: Answer the question from the person before you. Describe your car and spouse (or ideal spouse if you don't have one.) Ask a follow-up question for the person after you.

Example: 

Ser + adjectives: Answer the question before you. Describe at least three people in your life and ask a follow-up question for the person after you.

Example:

Ser vs. estar: Answer the question from the person before you. Show a picture of someone in your life. Describe them, talk about where they are in this picture and how they are feeling. Ask a follow-up question for the person after you.

Example: 

Possessives: Answer the question from the person before you. Describe some of your possessions and contrast them with the possessions of someone else in your life. Ask a follow-up question for the person after you.

Example: 

Gustar: (Live) Ask about each other's likes and dislikes.

Example: 

Ir and Ir + a + inf: Answer the question from the person before you. Describe your plans for today after you finish working on this class. Ask a follow-up question for the person after you.

Example: 

Por vs. para: You are a group of friends who run into each other at the store and you are all carrying gifts. Ask about each other's gifts and answer the question for the person after you.

Example:

-Go verbs: Answer the question from the person before you. Describe at least three things you do using the verbs from this section. Ask at least one follow-up question for the person after you.

Example: 

Numbers 100 - 2,000,000: A rich relative has died and given you $500,000. Say at lest three things you are going to do with specific amounts of that money. Ask a follow-up question for the person after you. Answer the question from the person before you.

Example: 

Saber vs. conocer: (Live) Compare what you know with what other's in your group know.

Example: 

Tener + que + inf: Use the target structure to say what people in the previous person's life have to do to fix their problems. Identify at least three problems that people in your life have.

Example: 

Stem changers: Talk about at least 2 or 3 people using verbs in this section. Ask at least one follow-up question. Answer the question from the person before you.

Example:

Reflexives: Answer the follow-up question from the person before you. Say at least three or four things the people in your life do as far as their daily habits go. Ask at least one follow-up question for the person after you.

Example: 

Reciprocals: Answer the question from the person before you. Talk about at least two things that people in your life do to each other. Ask at least one follow-up question for the person after you.

Example: 

Hace + time + que + V: (Live) Talk about how long you have and have not been doing stuff.

Example: 

Present progressive: Answer the question from the person before you. Say at least one thing you are doing right now and one thing you are not doing right now. Ask the person after you whether they are doing something right now or not.

Example:

Tener feeling expressions: Answer the question from the person before you. Talk about how you feel in specific situations using the target expressions. Ask a follow-up question for the person after you.

Example: 

Direct Object Pronouns: Answer the follow-up questions using direct object pronouns. Talk about two chores you do to an object. Ask two follow-up questions using direct object pronouns.

Example: 

Demonstratives: Talk about how much you like / don't like something that is close to you vs. one that is far away from you. Ask and answer a follow-up question.

Example:

Adverbs: (Live) Compare and contrast how you do different activities using adverbs.

Example: 

Ser vs. estar: Show a picture of someone. Describe them as they normally are and talk about how they are in this picture and where they are in the picture. Ask and answer a follow-up question.

Example: 

Indirect Object Pronouns: Talk about the things you exchange with people. Ask who gives what to whom and answer the question from the person before you.

Example: 

Gustar-type verbs: Describe a person using gustar-type verbs. Try to guess the person the person before you is describing.

Example: 

The Preterit: Talk about your last Christmas or other recent event using the preterit. Ask and answer a follow-up question.

Example: 

The Preterit of ir and ser: (Live) Talk about the last time you went on a fun outing.

Example: 

The Preterit of Reflexives: Talk about the last time you did certain things. Ask and answer a follow-up question.

Example: 

The Preterit of -er / -ir verbs whose stem ends in a vowel: Talk about the last time you participated in a sport. Ask and answer a follow-up question.

Example: 

The Preterit of Stem-Changers: Describe the general narrative of a famous movie character. Guess who the person before you is talkingn about.

Example: 

Post-prepositional Pronouns: Talk about the last time you went on a date. Be sure to use prepositions followed by pronouns. Ask and answer a question.

Example: 

Irregular Preterits: (Live) Talk about your most recent or favorite trip.

Example: 

The Imperfect: Describe what your favorite holiday was like as a child. Ask and answer a question.

Example: 

Preterit vs. Imperfect: Tell a very memorable story from your childhood. Be sure to include background and foreground information. Ask and answer a follow-up question.

Example: 

Comparisons of Inequality: Compare your current life with your ideal life. Ask and answer a follow-up question.

Example: 

Comparisons of Equality: Compare your current life with that of someone else you know. Ask and answer a follow-up question.

Example:

Extremes and superlatives: Talk about the extremes in your High School experience.

Example: 

Preterit vs. Imperfect: Tell a story of you and your best friend. Ask and answer questions.

Example: 

Direct Object Pronouns and Indirect Object Pronouns: Talk about the last time that someone did something really nice for you or that you did something really nice for someone else. Ask and answer a question.

Example: 

Double Object Pronouns: Talk about your last day at work. Ask and answer a question.

Example: 

Formal Commands: You are in a support group. Talk about your problems and give advice to each other using formal commands.

Example: 

Impersonal Se: Share your opinions about the best places to do things in your town. Ask and answer questions.

Example: 

The Present Perfect: Talk about things you have and have not done this semester. Ask and answer questions.

Example: 

Using participles as adjectives: Describe some of the things in your room using participles as adjectives. Ask and answer questions.

Example: 

Informal Commands: Use informal commands to give each other device on how to live healthier.

Example: 

Elementary Language Writing Prompts

 In my classes I have learners practice their reading and writing in every lesson. Usually I have them do this by providing them with a writing prompt that meets a very specific list of criteria:

1. The prompt must be simple and must require the learners to use the target vocabulary or grammar.

2. The prompt must give the learners a specific task to perform.

3. The task should involve each learner reading and understanding what the previous learner wrote, and writing something for the next learner.

4. The task should be as gamified as possible.

5. The task must require the learner to provide information known only to themselves.

In my experience, learners find these tasks quite enjoyable and helpful.

In the hopes of helping other educators, here is the list of writing tasks that I currently use in my Elementary Spanish 1 and 2 courses. I would love to get feedback on my current tasks and / or more ideas for new tasks. (Note: These tasks are set up to be used in my current courses, and thus are very much based on the content from the textbook that we are currently using at NSU. Nevertheless, they should provide some good ideas no matter that grammar and vocabulary you are covering.)

Vocabulary tasks:

Greetings: Greet the person before you. Answer their question. Ask a question for the person after you.

Example: Hola, me llamo Dr. Wendorf. ¿Cómo estás?

Classes: Indicate whether you agree or disagree with one thing the person before you wrote. Write out at least three statements about your opinion about different class subjects.

Example: El español es fácil. La informática es interesante. La literatura no es mi favorita.

Descriptions: Guess who the movie character is the person before you was talking about. Share a screenshot from Adivina showing several different movie characters. Secretly choose one of them and write at least three sentences describing them.

Example:

Es bueno. Es alto. Es fuerte. Es verde.

Foods: Indicate whether you agree or disagree with one of the statements from the person before you. Write at least three sentences talking about HOW you like or dislike certain foods.

Example: Me gusta sopa con pan. Me gusta ensalada con pollo. En mi familia, nos gustan papas con queso.

Family: Guess who the person before you is talking about. Share a screenshot from The Family. Secretly choose one of the people and write at least three sentences talking about how they are related to other people in the family.

Example:

Es el hijo de 5. Es el padre de 19. Es el esposo de 11.

Home: Read what everyone before you wrote about our class' dream home. Write at least three sentences describing our class' dream home. Do NOT contradict what anyone else has said about our dream home!

Example: El baño es muy grande. Tiene piscina azul. Está en las afueras de la ciudad.

Clothing: Guess who or what the outfit the person before you described is for. Then write at elast four sentences describing of a prototypical outfit for a specific situation or a specific group.

Example: Bata marrón de lana. Botas marrones de cuero. Cinturón de cuero marrón. Camisa marrón de manga larga de lana. Sable láser azul o verde.

Sports: Guess which sport the person before you is talking about. Write at least four sentences describing your favorite sport.

Example: Hay una pelota blanca. Hay seis personas en cada equipo. Hay una red. A veces hay una playa.

Holidays: Guess which holiday the person before you is talking about. Write at least 5 words you associate with your favorite holiday.

Example: otoño, pavo, comida, familia, descanso

Jobs: Guess which job the person before you is talking about. Write at least four sentences describing a profession.

Example: Trabajan en todas las ciudades. Tienen que estudiar para la licencia / certificado. Hablann con muchas personas. Trabajan con las manos. Ayudan a las personas a ser más guapas.

Food: Guess which food the person before you was talking about. Share a screenshot of Adivina showing several foods. Secretly choose one of the foods and write at least four sentences to describe it.

Example:

Es anaranjada. Es muy buena para la salud. Es muy buena en ensaladas. Tiene muchas vitaminas.

Grammar Tasks:

Adjectives: Answer the question from the person before you. Write at least two sentences in which you describe yourself. Ask a question for the person after you.

Example: Soy creativo. No soy romántico. ¿Eres optimista?

Prepositions: Guess which item the person before you is talking about. Share a screenshot of The Storage Room. Secretly choose one of the items and write at least three sentences describing its position with relation to other items in the room.

Example: 

Está debajo del laptop. Está detrás del cesto. Está al lado de la mesa.

Numbers 0 - 99: Google what business the number from the person before you goes to. Write out the phone number (in pairs of digits) for a local business.

Example: Noventa y uno, ochenta y cuatro, cincuenta y seis, cincuenta y cinco, once.

Telling Time: Guess which item from the previous person is a lie. Write out at least three times and the things you do at those times. One of them should be a lie

Example: A las seis y veinte de la mañana - get up. A las seis de la tarde (más o menos) - dinner. A las diez y media de la noche - bedtime.

Questions: Answer at least one question from the person before you. Write out at least two open-ended questions for the person after you.

Example: ¿Dónde trabajas? ¿Qué estudias?

Estar for feelings and locations: Answer the question from the person before you. Ask the next person about how they feel in a specific place.

Example: ¿Cómo estás en la biblioteca?

Conjugation of regular -ar verbs: Guess the lie from the person before you. Write at least three sentences using -ar verbs talking about the habits of people in your life. One of the sentences should be a lie.

Example: Bailo mucho. Mi esposa habla en la universidad todos los días. Muchos de mis amigos trabajan en la universidad.

Conjugation of regular -er and -ir verbs: Answer one of the questions from the person before you. Write at least two yes/no questions using -er -ir verbs about the people in the life of the person coming after you.

Example: ¿Lees mucho? ¿Tus padres comen pizza?

Articles: Guess what the items from the person before you are for. Write out at least three items for, including their articles, for a specific activity.

Example: la mesa, la computadora, el libro

Gender and Number Agreement: Guess which of the sentences from the person before you is a lie. Write at least two sets of sentences in which you compare things that people in your life own. One of the statements should be a lie.

Example: Yo - mi auto es bueno. Mi papá su auto es grande. Mi famillia - nuestra computadora es rápida. Mis amigos - Sus computadoras son nuevas.

Ser + adjectives: Guess who the movie character is the person before you was talking about. Share a screenshot from Adivina showing several different movie characters. Secretly choose one of them and write at least three sentences describing them.

Example:

Es bueno. Es alto. Es fuerte. Es verde.

Ser vs. estar: Try to match up the sentences from the person before you. WRite at least two descriptions of how people in your life normally are, and how they are different than that in certain situations.

Example: Yo soy trabajador. Pero, estoy....

Mi amigo es fuerte. Pero está....

débil en la mañana.

perezoso los domingos.

Possessives: Try to guess who goes with each sentence. Write at least three sentences saying what different people / groups possession(s) are like. Include the list of people.

Example: Nuestra clase es fácil. Mi mesa es pequeña. Sus ojos son bonitos.

yo, nosotros, mi esposa

Gustar: Try to guess the lie from the person before you. Write at least four sentences talking about what people in your life like and don't like. One of the sentences should be a lie.

Example: Me gusta el amarillo. Me gusta nadar. A mis estudiantes les gusta sacar buenas notas. A mi esposa le gusta el otoño.

Ir and Ir + a + inf: Guess the lie from the person before you. Write out at least four sentences about your plans for the next break. One of them should be a lie.

Example: Voy a tocar el piano. Voy a descansar. Mi familia va a ir a la ciudad. Los jóvenes en mi familia van a leer mucho.

Por vs. para: Try to guess the movie character from the person before you. Share a screenshot from Adivina showing several different movie characters. Secretly choose one of them and write at least three sentences talking about them. Each sentence must contain por or para.

Example:

Camina por mucho tiempo. Camina por un camino amarillo. Camina para llegar a casa.

-Go verbs: Answer the question from the person before you. Write at least three sentences using -go verbs to discuss your routines. Ask a question for the person after you.

Example: Hago la cama en la noche. No salgo con mis amigos mucho. No traigo comida al trabajo normalmente. ¿Traes comida al trabajo?

Numbers 100 - 2,000,000: Try to write out in digits the numbers the person before you wrote out in words. Try to guess which number goes with which item. Write out in words three numbers (one between 100 and 1,000, one between 1,000 and 100,000, and one between 100,000 and 2,000,000). Write a list of three things those numbers represent

Example: ciento noventa y cinco, dieciséis mil setecientos treinta y ocho, doscientos treinta y ocho mil novecientos

the number of countries in the world, the number of miles to the moon, the number of people living in Tahlequah in 2018

Saber vs. conocer: Answer the question from the person before you. Write at least two things you know / know how to do, and two people / places you have interacted with. Write a question for the person after you.

Example: Sé hablar español. No sé cantar muy bien. Conozco Tahlequah. No conozco China. ¿Conoces China?

Tener + que + inf: Write a sentence saying what someone the person before you talked about has to do in order to fix their problem. Write at least two problems people in your life have.

Example: La esposa de mi amigo es loca. El hijo de mi amigo come mucho.

Stem changers: Try to guess which character the person before you is talking about. Share a screenshot from Adivina showing several different movie characters. Secretly choose one of them and write at least three sentences talking about them. Each sentence must contain a stem changer.

Example:

Duerme en la noche. Viene de un planeta muy sucio. Quiere estar con su amiga.

Reflexives: Try to guess the lie from the person before you. Write at least four sentences using reflexive verbs talking about people in your life. One of them should be a lie.

Example: Mi hermana se maquilla mucho. Mis hijas necesitan mucho tiempo para vestirse. Mis hijos se duermen a las nueve. Me afeito todos los días. Mi papá no se peina.

Reciprocals: Identify the action from the person before you that you think is best. Write at least three sentences talking about reciprocal activities people in your life do.

Example: Mi esposa y yo nos abrazamos. Mi papá y yo no nos hablamos mucho. Mis hijos se ayudan a veces.

Hace + time + que + V: Say which sentence from the person before you you think has been going on for the most excessive amount of time. Write at least four sentences using the formula in which you say how long people in your life have been doing things.

Example: Hace nueve horas que trabajo hoy. Mi hija duerme la siesta hace una hora. Mi esposa habla por teléfono hace diez minutos. Hace una hora que quiero comer.

Present progressive: Try to figure out which picture goes with which sentence for the person before you. Share a screenshot from Adivina showing several different verbs. Write sentences about at least three of them talking about what is going on in them.

Example:

Está barriendo. Está cocinando. Está haciendo ejercicio.

Tener feeling expressions: Try to identify the lie from the person before you. Write at least three sentences using tener expressions in which you identify when people in your life have the indicated feeling.

Example: Tengo sueño en la mañana. Mi esposa tiene miedo de serpientes. Mis hijas tienen mucho frío en el invierno.

Direct Object Pronouns: Try to identify which place the person before you is talking about. Think of a place or thing in your house. Write at least three sentences saying what you do to it using direct object pronouns to replace the "it".

Example: No me gusta limpiarlo. Lo uso todos los días. Cuando estoy en mi dormitorio, lo veo.

Demonstratives: Try to guess which character the person before you is. Share a screenshot from Adivina showing several different characters. Secretly choose which character you are in one of the corners. Write at least three sentences that use demonstratives to talk about the other characters in a straight line from your character. (Pay attention to how close or far away they are from you.)

Example:

Esta persona es mala. Esa persona es muy simpática. Aquella persona es joven.

Adverbs: Try to guess who the person before you is talking about. Share a screenshot from Adivina showing several different characters. Secretly choose one of the characters and write at least three sentences using adverbs saying how they do certain activities.

Example: 

Corre rápidamente. Come infrequentemente. Quiere vivir tranquilamente.

Ser vs. estar: Try to guess the correct verbs and verb forms for the blanks from the person before you. Write a short story which uses ser and estar at least once each. Replace these uses with blanks.

Example: Mi amigo 1. _____ muy inteligente, pero 2. _____ muy tonto hoy porque no estudia para su examen. El examen 3. _____ muy difícil y después mi amigo va a 4. _____ triste.

Indirect Object Pronouns: Try to guess which sentence goes with which person. Write at least four sentences saying what people in your life give as gifts to you, or that say what you give to other people. No one should be identified in these sentences. Write a second list of all the people from the sentences.

Example: Les doy Legos. No le doy nada. Me da juegos. Me da galletas.

Mi hermano, mi esposa, mi papá, mi mamá, mis hijos

Gustar-type verbs: Try to identify the lie from the person before you. Write at least five sentences about the opinions of people in your life using gustar-type verbs. One of the sentences should be a lie.

Example: A mi hijo le encanta llevar calcetines. Me gusta mi impermeable. A mi esposa le parece lógico llevar pantalones cortos en el invierno. A mi hijo le gustan los zapatos de tacón. No me interesan los RomComs.

The Preterit: Guess the movie from the person before you. Summarize the main actions in the plot of a famous movie by using the preterit to write at least four sentences.

Example: El chico salió de su casa. El chico nadó lejos de su papá. El papá buscó a su hijo. Al final, el papá encontró a su hijo.

The Preterit of ir and ser: Guess the traveler of the person before you. Write at least four sentences using ir and ser in the preterit to talk about a famous traveler.

Example: Fue muy malo. Fue a muchos planetas. Fue al templo. Fue muy fuerte con la Fuerza.

The Preterit of Reflexives: Try to guess the story of the person before you. Write some key events of a famous story using reflexive verbs in the preterit.

Example: El papá se enfadó con el niño. El niño se atrevió a ir solo. Se encontró con un dragón. El niño se arrepintió de atacar el dragón.

The Preterit of -er / -ir verbs whose stem ends in a vowel: Try to guess the lie of the person before you. Write at least five sentences in the preterit talking about things that happened last week. One of the sentences should be a lie. At least three of the sentences should contain -er / -ir verbs whose stem ends in a vowel.

Example: Me levanté temprano un día. Leí un libro de Brandon Mull. Construí un juego para la clase de español. Mi familia nadó en la piscina. Mis hijos jugaron con sus Legos.

The Preterit of Stem-Changers: Answer the question the person before you asked about your story. Write a story using the preterit and at least three stem-changers. Write a follow-up question for the person before you about the story they wrote.

Example: Ayer jugué videojuegos con mis hijos. Nos divertimos mucho jugando a Mario Kart. Mis hijos se rieron mucho cuando ganaron. Cuando mi hijo perdió, no se rio.

Post-prepositional Pronouns: Answer the questions from the person before you being sure to use a pronoun in place of the person in the question. Ask two questions for the person after you being sure to have a person after a preposition in each question.

Example: ¿Cuándo hablas con tu mamá? ¿Cuánto dinero recibes de tus abuelos para tu cumpleaños?

Irregular Preterits: Guess where the person before you went on their trip. Write the story of things that happened on a trip you took using the preterit, and being sure to use at least three irregular preterits. You should not identify where you went on your trip.

Example: Fui con mi familia. Estuvimos allí por un día. Pudimos ver un palacio famoso. Unos caballos nos trajeron al palacio. Supimos mucho sobre Rey Ludwig II.

The Imperfect: Guess whether the person before you is talking about themselves or on of their parents. Write about how things were either in your childhood or the childhood of one of your parents using the imperfect.

Example: Vivía lejos de la ciudad. Tenía dos hermanos. Trabajaba mucho.

Preterit vs. Imperfect: Try to guess which story the person before you is writing about. Use the preterit and imperfect to summarize a famous children's story.

Example: El papá murió. La madrastra era mala. La chica fue al baile. La chica y el chico hablaron mucho.

Comparisons of Inequality: Try to guess which ninja the person before you is talking about. Share a screenshot from Ninjaed showing several different ninjas. Secretly choose one ninja. Write at least four sentences using comparisons of inequality to compare your chosen ninja to the other ninjas.

Example: 

Es peor que el ninja marrón. Es más lento que el ninja negro. Come menos que el ninja gris. Es menor que el ninja morado.

Comparisons of Equality: Try to guess which ninja the person before you is talking about. Share a screenshot from Ninjaed showing several different ninjas. Secretly choose one ninja. Write at least four sentences using comparisons of equality to compare your chosen ninja to the other ninjas.

Example:

Es tan bueno como el ninja dorado. No es tan rápido como el ninja amarillo. Tiene tantas casas como el ninja azul. Come tanto como el ninja morado. Es tan viejo como el ninja de plata.

Extremes and superlatives: Answer the follow-up question from the person before you. Share a picture. Write at least 3 sentences about your picture using extreme and superlative forms. Write a follow-up question for the person after you.

Example: 

Es el juego más popular del mundo. Es divertidísimo. Requiere muchísimo tiempo y dinero.

¿Te gusta World of Warcraft?

Preterit vs. Imperfect: Guess which movie the person before you is talking about. Write at least 4 sentences describing a famous movie using the preterit and imperfect.

Example: Estaba oscuro cuando las personas se conocieron. Un hombre quiso matar a otro hombre. Muchas personas mataron a otras personas. No podían aprender la verdad. Por fin uno supo qué pasó.

Direct Object Pronouns and Indirect Object Pronouns: Try to guess the careers from the person before you. Write at least three sentences related to different careers. Each sentence should contain a direct object pronoun or an indirect object pronoun.

Example: Me mandó el documento legal. Te sacó del incendio. Nos vendió la comida.

Double Object Pronouns: Answer one of the questions from the person before you about your most recent experience dining out. Your answer must contain a double object pronoun. Write at least one question for the person after you a question about their most recent experience dining out. The question must contain a direct object and an indirect object.

Example: ¿Te sirvieron el agua rápidamente?

Formal Commands: Write at least two sentences using formal commands telling the person before you what they need to do in order to fix their problems. Write at least two sentences about problems you have in your life.

Example: Tengo un examen el lunes. Nuestro auto no funciona muy bien.

Impersonal Se: Guess what the recipe that the person before you wrote is for. Write at least four steps in a common, simple recipe using the impersonal se.

Example: Se sacan dos rebanadas de pan. Se pone mantequilla de maní en una rebanada. Se pone mermelada de fruta en la otra rebanada. Se combinan las rebanadas.

The Present Perfect: Guess what the lie is from the person before you. Write at least five sentences about things that people in your life have or have not done during your life. One of them should be a lie.

Example: He nadado en el mar. Mi familia ha mirado muchos partidos de fútbol americano. Mi esposa ha comido ranas. He vivido en tres países. Mi hermana ha estudiado tres idiomas.

Using participles as adjectives: Guess the lie from the person before you. Write at least three sentences to talk about the current state of places in your life using participles as adjectives.

Example: Mi habitación está desordenada. Mi oficina está decorada. Mi casa está adornada para la Pascua.

Informal Commands: Write at least two sentences using informal commands telling the person before you what they need to do in order to fix their problems. Write at least two sentences about problems you have in your life.

Example: Tengo mucho trabajo. Mi esposa quiere un gato.

Language Learning MAGEs

One of the great ways that technology can help with language learning is through the use of Mini-Applied Game Environments (MAGEs)! Basically, these are technology tools that provide reusable (randomly generated) resources for games that language educators can then play with their students. Here are several examples:

Adivina - This MAGE is a multipurpose guessing game (similar to Guess Who?). You choose your category (e.g. animals, foods, movie characters, etc.) and how many options you want displayed, and Adivina generates a set of options for you. Secretly pick one of the options, then have your students ask you questions until they can figure out which option you are thinking of. Then you can generate a new set of options!

Where is it? - This MAGE provides a randomly arranged set of images of classroom items. You secretly pick one of the items, then have students ask you questions about its location (e.g. is it above the table?) to try and guess which item you are thinking of.

Maze Master - For this MAGE, have one student at the controls who cannot see the screen. The rest of the class can see they screen. They yell instructions to the player telling them which way to turn, to go, to stop, etc. Their goal is to get the player through the maze. It can be fun to time them and see who can do it the quickest!

Ser vs. Estar

What is the difference between ser and estar?

This is a very common question! This is actually one of those tricky points for English speakers, because we don't make this distinction in English in the same way.

Unfortunately, I am not aware of any good resources for this topic. There are probably some out there, but most of them are at least partially incorrect. (The most common error is to say that ser is permanent and estar is temporary. This is quite often wrong.)

Let me see if I can help. First, remember that there are some uses that can only be used by one or the other:

Ser
- telling time (son las ocho)
- saying where someone is from (soy de Iowa)
- saying what something is made of (es de oro)
- identifying (x = y) (es mi amigo)
- stating the location of an event (la fiesta es en el parque)
- stating an occupation (soy profesor)

Estar
- stating the location of anything physical (ella está en la biblioteca)
- stating feelings (estoy cansado)
- identifying civil status (estoy casado)
- used in compound verb forms (estoy hablando)

Among others.

So, the problem usually arises because they can both be used with adjectives / descriptions (at least those not already covered in the list). The difference is:

Ser indicates that the speaker perceives the description to be the normal state. (Es gordo. He is fat. He is a fat person. That is the kind of person is he.)
Estar indicates that the speaker perceives the description to be a deviation from the normal state. (Está gordo. He has put on weight. He is normally not that fat. What happened to him anyway?)

Because this difference is based on the speaker's perception, it is almost always possible to use ser or estar in the same sentence! They are both (usually) grammatically correct, the difference is in the inflection the speaker puts on the adjective. That is why in the grammar game I make a distinction between (norm) and (deviation).

Now, just to make the situation a bit more complicated, there are a few other things we can throw in the mix. For example, there are some adjectives that can only be used with one or the other (e.g. embarazada can only be used with estar). And there are some adjectives that change their translation in English depending on whether they are used with one or the other (e.g. estoy aburrido means I am bored, while soy aburrido means I am boring.)

Okay, that was a long winded answer, sorry. To summarize: You need to memorize which uses are unique to each verb, and remember that, with adjectives, ser is used when the speaker thinks they are describing the norm, while estar is used when the speaker thinks they are describing a deviation.

The ser - estar distinction takes a long time to fully internalize. (At least a couple years of regular Spanish practice.) So do not expect to dominate it quickly (e.g. in a semester). Like most things in this introductory Spanish classes, our purpose isn't to make you fluent in it, our purpose is to help you understand enough so that you can then go on and know what to look for while practicing Spanish in the real world. So, what I want you to be able to do is understand that there is a difference and be able to put that difference into practice when you are carefully analyzing Spanish. So, please do not worry too much about this! For the time being, just do your best and move on. :)

Recording in Zoom

How to Record a Conversation

Here is a video showing you how to do this assignment. Detailed written instructions are also provided below.

Step 1: Email each other to find a day and time that works for everyone to meet via Zoom. Decide who will be the host.
Step 2: At the agreed time, the host should do the following:
     - Go to nsuok.zoom.us
     - Click on the green "Host" button
     - Click on the "Open Zoom Meetings" popup button
     - Click on "Join with Computer Audio"
     - Click on "Invite" on the bottom of the screen
     - Copy the meeting ID (e.g. 123-456-789) located at the top of the popup
     - Email the meeting ID to the other students
Step 3: The rest of the group should do the following once they receive the email with the meeting ID:
     - Copy the meeting ID from the email
     - Go to nsuok.zoom.us
     - Click on the green "Join" button
     - Paste the meeting ID and click "Join"
     - Now everyone should be in the same Zoom meeting together.
Step 4: Watch the initial video below by Dr. Wendorf, and make a note of what your task is.

Step 5: When everyone is ready, everyone should click on "Record" on the bottom of the screen, then on "Record on this Computer".  (Here are instructions on how the Host gives your group mates recording privileges.)
Step 6: Have your conversation in Spanish.
Step 7: When you are done, close the Zoom session. The video will automatically start to download and process. It will ask you where to save it. Be sure to make a note of where you save it!
Step 8: After it finishes processing, make sure it worked. Open the video and watch it. If you're feeling ambitious, you are allowed to trim the video.
Step 9: Upload your video to your Google Drive or YouTube. Copy the sharing link and submit it to this Blackboard assignment.

How to Record a Presentation

Here is an excellent video walk-through of how to use Zoom to record a presentation.

What I'm Looking For in an Elementary Spanish Course Content Guides (Textbooks)

I regularly get emails / calls from textbook reps that want to help me find the best possible resources for my classes, which is great!

Unfortunately, I am very picky. Largely, this is due to the fact that my area of expertise is Second Language Acquisition (SLA), and specifically technology-enhanced SLA. Additionally, I have invested significant amounts of time and effort into the creation of my own online resources for the classes I teach, and I'm reluctant to switch over to a new Course Content Guide for minor reasons. I am going to use the term Course Content Guide (CCG) as synonymous with the term "textbook". I do so because I am quite open to the idea of not using an actual book. I'd be quite happy to have an online resource that provided me with the needed structure.

The truth is, I barely use the resources provided in the textbook we currently use. I base my classes on the content from the textbook, but I usually just use my own activities. And this blog post is my attempt to explain why. In other words, here is my wish list for a CCG for my elementary Spanish courses.

But first, here is a list of my theoretical leanings:

1. Flipped-Classroom - I like to use a Flipped-Classroom approach. This is where students are introduced to the material at home before class, and then practice the material in class.

2. Small Group Work - In class, I predominantly have the students working in small groups of 3 - 4 students. (See my blog post about my gamified approach to group work.)

3. Replay Value - I like to provide my students with browser-based tools that provide them with randomly generated content for rote practice (drills). Yes, I know that "drills" is a buzz word. But students desire this type of practice. So, if they're going to do it, I want to give them the option to do it in the most effective way possible, and the option to do it with my content, rather than the content from some random website. And with an unlimited supply of new content. (See my game Español Al Azar for an example of what I mean.)

4. Task-Based Language Teaching - In class, I like to have students engaged in communicative tasks with easily measurable, non-linguistic objectives that they accomplish by using the target content in the target language. For example, I want them to summarize the plot of a movie so that their peers can guess what movie it is. I do not want them just writing a list of sentences with a specific verb conjugation.

5. The Four Skills - In every class, I want students to engage in at least one reading/writing task and one speaking/listening task. The tasks need to be as natural as possible (i.e. "repeat after me" does not count.)

6. Communicative Language Teaching - I want the tasks done in class to be communicative. Really communicative, not pretend communicative. I want the students to be involved in the transmission of messages in Spanish. And the messages need to have a point! And the point needs to be important to the students.

7. Hierarchy of Tasks - I would very much prefer a course set up with a hierarchical structure for the lessons. This means that in a unit, you have a big task to complete. Something the students know that they are working towards, and know when they have completed it (e.g. preparing a presentation to the class on their family.) Each unit will have several lessons. Each lesson should involve the students performing smaller tasks that will help them develop the skills they need for the unit task. In our example, one lesson could be describing a famous person so the rest of the class can guess who it is, one could be listing the biggest occupations in a city of their choice, one could be giving a presentation to the class on healthy vs. unhealthy pastimes, one could be completing a family tree, etc. Each of these is a measurable, communicative task that students know when they have finished it. And each task helps them acquire the skills needed for the unit task. Each of these lesson tasks could in turn be supported by simpler, input-based, activities. For example, for the family tree lesson task, students could play a game where they are given sentences such as (my brother's daughter is my _____) which they complete with the correct term.

8. Gameful L2TL - I am a firm believer that games and gamification can be used to improve almost every teaching/learning situation.

9. Take Advantage of Technology - "Any teacher who can be replaced by a machine should be" - Arthur C. Clarke. We have computers that can help with drills and many other things. Anything that a computer can do better than a human should be done by a computer, that way the human teachers can do stuff the computers can't. Such as directing small group conversations. Not everything can be done by a computer, but a lot can. And often they can do it better! For example, computers can be programmed to have fun, engaging communicative drills that provide students with feedback 100% of the time. Whereas this would be logistically impossible for an educator to do for each student / group.

So, what do I want?

I want a CCG that provides me with:

1. Several units per semester. Each unit having a culminating task the students complete. Preferably with editable, easy-to-use rubrics.
2. Several lessons per unit. Each lesson having a culminating task the students complete. Each lesson should also prepare the students for the unit task. Ideally, each lesson should be set up to take around 40 - 50 minutes.
3. An editable small slideshow for each lesson that quickly provides enhanced input for the learners to refresh on what they read for that lesson.
4. At least one good reading/writing and one good speaking/listening task per lesson. (Preferably a couple of each, and preferably the prompts are provided in the slideshow.)
5. Online communicative drills in the form of engaging digital games. Ideally, there would be a way for students to click a button in order for the game to report student participation to the instructor.
6. Simple examples and explanations for the students to read / watch / play at home before class so that they can have a basic understanding of the content they will be covering in class. Additionally, there should be some simple comprehension checks that they can complete, which can be reported to the instructor.

Finally, if you really want to impress me, provide me with a platform that can also do the following:

1. Allow me to integrate my Unity WebGL games into your website so that they can played in the browser and have the data recorded to your site.
2. Provide me with a gradecenter with the type of functionality described here.
3. Make it all reasonably priced (read: dirt cheap / free.)

4. I am really interested in a user-friendly API for Google Sheets.

So, if you think you have a CCG that I would be interested in, I'm all ears! Please comment below and/or send me an email! I would love to stop working on the one I'm developing and use yours!

Best,

Grade Masters

Do you ever get tired of your students asking you where they stand in your class? Or whether they can still pass your class?

Well, I kept getting these questions too. And they are a legitimate concern for students. And I realized something. Just grading stuff on time isn't good enough. Students don't just want to know about the past, they want to know about the future!

That's why I created my Grade Masters. (See this folder for all referenced files.) The idea is to make it as easy as possible for students to know exactly where they stand in my classes. I know below it looks complicated. But it really only takes me an hour or so to set up each class each semester, and the students only have to log into their Google Drive and open a single file to see all of this information! Here is how it works:

1. There is one Grade Master per course. This may seem like a simple gradebook, but there is more to it. Note what it does in each indicated column:

D-G: Shows students how many points they've earned and lost, and how many they still have to play with
H: Shows what grade students need to make on all remaining assignments in order to get an A in my class
J: Shows what grade students need to make on all remaining assignments in order to get a C in my class
BM: Shows whether students are exempt from taking the final exam
etc.

Now, here's the real beauty. The Grade Master send out the information for each individual student to their own, personal Grade Spreadsheet! They have to log in with their university email in order to view their spreadsheet, so these are private. Each student can see exactly where they stand all the time! You want to know if you can pass my class? Let's take a look at your Grade Spreadsheet. Looks like you need to make an average of 66.84% on all remaining assignment in order to get a C in this class. Do you think you can swing that? Yes? Good! Then you can pass my class.

Finally, if you open the sample Grade Spreadsheet, you'll also notice that it has a second tab with attendance. Here it shows my entire attendance record. Don't know where you're two absences came from? Let's take a look at tab 2. Looks like I have you as tardy on 9/6 and 9/16 and as absent on 9/11. Just another way to help students know where their numbers are coming from.

And I take attendance using the Attendance Spreadsheet, which automatically feeds the data to the Grade Master, which automatically feeds the data to the individual Grade Spreadsheets, so students know right away what their attendance is. (The Grade Spreadsheet also calculates penalties based on attendance, such as losing 20 points for each absence beyond the 4th.)

All of these resources are created using importrange on Google Spreadsheets. So it is free. I also make sure that the Grade Master and Attendance Spreadsheet are fully password protected and that each Student Spreadsheet is only accessible by each individual student, and that they cannot edit their spreadsheets. If you would like more details, please comment below or send me an email.

To date I have not found any software that provides the kind of functionality I have described above. If it exists, please let me know!

Have fun teaching!

Dr. Agon