Sinopsis

Any Spanish teacher will tell you that vocabulary can only take you so far.  You have to be able to conjugate verbs.  My elementary classes are learning their subject pronouns in Spanish, and soon the fourth graders will be giving verb presentations for the entire class.  This week we started learning our subject pronoun song, even though the students have been seeing all of the pronouns since third grade:

Subject Pronoun Song (To the tune of The Farmer in the Dell)

Yo means I

Tú means you

Usted is the formal word that means you, too

Él means he

And ella means she

Nosotros and nosotras both mean we

Vosotros means you all

Vosotras does, too.

They are informal words in Spain for plural you

Ustedes means you all

We use it everywhere

Ellos and ellas both mean they

Here and there

Our 5th through 8th graders are now doing a sinópsis at the beginning of every class period.  So far, they have just been for fun, but eventually we will be doing them as quizzes.  What is a sinópsis, you ask?  For the purposes of our classes, it means taking a verb and a subject and writing out the conjugations in Spanish and English of all the tenses and moods that we have learned up to this point. Often, they include expressions with other verbs that are not actual tenses, but still important ways to express ideas.  I can't take credit for the original idea, but I have modified them for our middle schoolers.  Here is an example of what our 8th graders are doing:

1. Present
(inglés – 1)
2. Near future (ir +a+inf)
(inglés – 1)
3. Preterite
(inglés – 1)
4. Progressive
(inglés – 1)
5. Affirmative Tú command
(inglés – 1)
6. Imperfect
(inglés – 1)
7. Gustar
(inglés – 2)
8. Obligation (tener que + inf)
(inglés – 1)

Having to give the English meanings for each of these verb forms makes sure that the students do more than memorize a list of endings, and that they are able to make the connections to communicate effectively.  

These activities keep material fresh in their minds, even when we are concentrating on a different verb tense. It also allows us to target tricky verbs with irregular forms or spelling changes across tenses, and helps to keep the third person forms from getting mixed up. Already, I am seeing faster recall of the verbs and greater accuracy.  

Vocabulary is important, but the structure of Spanish is what allows our students to frame their ideas and build effective communication.  I am so pleased with their progress!

Speaking Tests

For some people, the fear of public speaking is worse than death.  Imagine having a spoken exam in another language!  That is exactly what our elementary and middle school Spanish students do on a regular basis, and they pass with flying colors.

Every semester I have college students tell me that they studied Spanish in high school, but that they couldn't actually speak it if their lives depended on it.  That is such a tragic waste of time!  Many universities and colleges are moving to oral proficiency exams, with good reason.  Most of the time when you use Spanish outside of the classroom, you will be speaking it.

In our middle school Spanish classes, Tuesdays are speaking practice.  We try to make sure that a good portion of our class time is spent speaking, whether in small groups or to the entire class.

For every chapter test, the students came out in the hall one by one, and I asked them a series of questions in Spanish.  They do not know in advance what questions I will be asking, and there is no paper to look at.  They are graded on their comprehension of the question, grammar and pronunciation. Although it is brief, it is excellent practice with "real life" Spanish.

It isn't just our middle school kids.  Mrs. Stafford's second graders are tested each year on speaking some of the prayers that they learn in Spanish (check out these pictures of their ice cream party!).  My third and fourth graders also get spoken quizzes to practice both their listening comprehension and their speaking skills.

Regardless of what career paths our kids eventually choose, the ability to express themselves with confidence and clarity while speaking before an audience will be an asset.  And Spanish is definitely not the only class where they practice--Ms. Copsey does outstanding work teaching them to give presentations, Mrs. Stafford's Speech and Debate teams are amazing, and many other classes also emphasize speaking skills.

It is fascinating to see how different learning styles shine with different forms of assessment.  Some of the students who struggle more with the written exams excel at speaking Spanish.   I love seeing our students developing communicative competence!