Bring World Languages to Life in Your Spanish Classroom for NFLW
As we all know, classes can get a little monotonous if the teacher isn’t fun enough during the learning process. Making discussions, worksheets, and listening to audiobooks are definitely useful in learning Spanish (or another foreign language), but they should always be coupled with highly engaging activities for students. This is why, during this National Foreign Language Week, we will talk about some ways teachers like you can introduce and explore world languages to your students, while also have some fun learning in Spanish!
Know Your Students’ Preferences
First, as you already know, it is important that you take advantage of your students’ likes and dislikes to facilitate learning. Students learn better depending on the modality of the material. Materials can be visual, auditory, or kinesthetic, which targets students who may learn better by hearing, seeing, or touching (manipulating) the lesson material. Some teachers try to figure out each student’s learning style in order to teach them effectively, while, realistically, their goal should be to find the most practical way to present the content to the class as a whole.
For example, if you as a teacher want your students to learn and remember what something looks like, then the presentation should be visual. Let’s say you want them to appreciate the appearance of a Mayan pyramid, it would be much more effective to view a picture than to hear a verbal description. If, on the other hand, you’d like to show them how to build a tower that can resist an earthquake, it would be more useful to manipulate the material and build the tower themselves than to present a Powerpoint with the instructions.
Why Are World Languages Useful?
Focusing on world languages in your Spanish class gives students the capacity to connect to others in the world through language and culture. This is very important nowadays because we live in a world full of technology, social media, and global relationships that keep us connected with each other every day. If we fail to teach the importance of other cultures that allow us to foster the creation of future connections, our students won’t be able to stand out in the world (or in their own country) in order to make positive change.
Skills for a Brighter World
Let’s build a brighter future by helping our students focus on world cultures and languages! In this guide, we present activities and games for students in elementary, middle school, and high school. These activities help them to develop skills such as:
- Researching (on the internet or dictionaries)
- Creativity
- Public speaking
- Teamwork
- Active listening
- Organization
Get Creative!
Let’s get right to it! Here are ways to introduce and blend world languages into your class curriculum, organized by “activities” and “games”:
Language Activities
- Ask your students to join in groups and make posters that say “hello” in 50 different languages.
- Have your students to join in groups and draw a comic book that has people from different parts of the world. They have to add speech balloons that tell a story in different languages.
- Ask your students to research the “Happy Birthday” song in ten different languages and have them sing it!
- Ask them to count from 1 to 100 in ten different languages.
- Show them different colors and ask them to write their names in fifteen different languages.
- Ask them to search on the internet how their names translate in other languages.
- Watch a movie in a different language. After that, make them create a poster with the words that caught their attention.
- Divide your students in groups and have them make up a song regarding a certain topic in different languages. Then, they have to present the song in front of the class.
- Make them respond to emails that require them to use the vocabulary in a real-life scenario.
- Have conversations in pairs about a topic you assign to them, and after the discussion, have them present to the class what their partner told them.
- Make them write short poems in different languages, then present them in front of the class.
- Produce a movie (in iMovie or any other program) in which they have to include a script in different languages.
Language Games
- Play a game in which they have to point to different parts of the body and say its name in different languages.
- Make a fun and interactive quiz using Kahoot and/or Quizlet Live.
- Write a story in different languages using Storybird.
- Give them some flashcards with drawings on them and ask your students to say what’s on them in different languages.
- Expand your students’ vocabulary with word games, such as rhymes, jokes, riddles, and tongue twisters.
Have Fun Learning About the World
These are some ideas for you to replicate in your classroom in order to blend the world’s languages and teach with different methods! Remember students want to have fun during class, so try to listen to them and figure out what would work best for them. Add an extra element of surprise to your class activities by connecting to a native Spanish teacher in Guatemala. Not only do we offer online group Spanish classes for schools, but we also provide supplemental support for Spanish teachers who may have struggling students. Sign up today for a free class at Homeschool Spanish Academy to find the support you’ve been looking for!
Would you like to read more titles for National Foreign Language Week? Check these out!
- What is National Foreign Language Week and How to Celebrate
- How to Get Your School Involved for NFLW
- Top Professional Careers for World Languages and Literature Graduates
- Hispanic Flags: Symbolism Vocabulary in Spanish
- 20 Inspirational Quotes in Spanish for Your Classroom During NFLW
- Celebrate Foreign Languages Through Film During NFLW
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