Strategies
Pronunciation has been neglected in the second language setting for years, partly because it seems to be more difficult to improve than other skills, and the emphasis has been on intelligibility, which is the ability to make one self clear and understood despite a foreign accent, but sometimes pronunciation gets in the way of intelligibility. The best way to achieve fast results on pronunciation is by constant practicing. That is way I plan to spend the first ten to fifteen minutes of each class on pronunciation activities. My biggest question when I started writing this unit was, how do I start teaching pronunciation?
In the coming school year I will teach Spanish I, Spanish II, with the possibility to also teach Spanish III. Teaching lower levels of a second language class is very similar to teaching first graders how to read in their native language. To teach the phonetic of a language, it is essential to start with the sound of the alphabet letters and the combination of them. To help students not only identify the sound of certain combination of letters when listening to it, as a class will prepare a chart of pronunciation patterns. For example the vowel "a" in Spanish, it's pronounced like "ae" in English or like in the word "cat". The students will be able to look at the chart as their reference for sounds. To reinforce this strategy I will use dictation of words and sentences, by calling out words in the target language, while the students attempt to write them using correct spelling.
Pronunciation instruction includes intonation, stress, and rhythm. The importance of pronunciation is even more distinct when the connection between pronunciation and listening comprehension is considered. As listeners to spoken language, we are used to certain rhythms and intonations. If the patterns of rhythm and intonation are unfamiliar, it can be difficult for the listener to get the meaning. The listener needs to know the pattern of intonation of the language in order to interpret speech accurately.
In Spanish, intonation is highly regular. Words are generally stressed in the syllable before last. Because of that poetry is a good literary genre to use in class when teaching intonation.
Alcemos una muralla
Juntando todas las manos;
Los negros, sus manos negras,
Los blancos, sus blancas manos.
Una muralla que vaya......
Nicolás Guillén.
This poem is named "La Muralla" written by Nicolás Guillén, a Cuban author. I am planning to use this poem as one of the first in class, because of the simplicity of the words used in it, as well as the repetition, alliteration, and rhyming words. This poem will help the class focus on repetitive sounds. The poem should be read by the teacher first to give the students a sense of mood as well as intonation. After that, students will have the opportunity to recite the poem (or part of it) using the strategies learned for correct intonation and pronunciation.
With the pronunciation chart previously created in class, students will be able to self- monitor their pronunciation. To help students self- monitor the intonation, a good strategy is to draw pitch lines/curves over the words, and blacken the stressed syllable. With these visuals, students will be able to hear the intonation more clearly and without the help of the visuals after few practices with them.
Ex. 1) Alcemos una muralla
When practicing pronunciation and intonation with students, it is important to give them many opportunities to listen and to repeat. A good exercise is to clap or play a percussion instrument while saying the words of the poem. On the upbeat, the clapping should be lauder then on the downbeat, and stronger on the stressed syllable.
Pronunciation activities can be enjoyable for students and satisfying to teachers. When my students work in groups, they like to help each other with the assignment. Teachers can take advantage of activities that students enjoy the most, to reinforce the goal of the specific lesson. In my case, I plan to use a group activity to play around a little with the song "Burbujas de Amor" by the Dominican author Juan Luis Guerra. Dividing the class in groups of four, I will give them the lyrics of the song and I will instruct them to give the song their own rhythm and I will also ask them to change the words that they think can be changed while still making sense. After each group finishes the exercise, and we all listen to the different rhythms and word changes, I will play the song to them so they can listen to it. At the end, we will discuss the mood of the song and the feelings they took from the experience. With this strategy, students should be able to brainstorm about sounds, rhyming words, pronunciation, and correct intonation. At the same time they will be exposed to culture and cultural rhythms.
Afuera....
Venimos rendidos
Desde Nazareth
Yo soy carpintero
De nombre José.
Adrento.....
¿Eres tú José?
¿Tu esposa es María?
entren, peregrinos
No los conocía.
In the second language setting, one of the most important aspects of poetry for the students is the rhythm. Students have a tendency to pay more attention, and be more interested in the rhythm than the full meaning of the poem. They are happy with a vague idea of the meaning. This can be very useful for the teacher if he/she is willing to experiment a little. The poem above is recited at church all over Latin America during Christmas. It represents the seeking for lodging of Joseph and Mary before the birth of Jesus. This poem can be recited by two groups of students. One represents Joseph and Mary (afuera) and the other represents the people inside their houses (adentro). This activity can be done in many different ways, but the importance of it is that students will read and identify patterns in pronunciation, intonation and rhythm. They will also learn new words to enhance their vocabulary and they will be exposed again to culture.
Students need to learn sounds correctly and keep repeating the sounds to create good pronunciation habits. Through the use of poetry and poems like "Yuntas" by César Vallejo, students can use repetition to record in their memory the sound and patterns of words.
Students gain an appreciation for reading, listening, writing, and analyzing poetry. It is my opinion that teachers should incorporate all the above areas of literacy to help the students develop their knowledge of the second language as well as their native language. By writing in a poetic way, students will explore rhythm, rhyme, and vocabulary in general. Their creativity will be enhanced. When analyzing poems, students have to use critical thinking which is beneficial for the second- language learner. Studies show that students that develop critical thinking skills retain information for a longer period of time and are better at solving problems.
Not all students have the ability to express themselves in writing. Writing is one of the least favorite areas of language arts for students. The second language class is even more challenging to students. I like to use two main activities with my students to help them develop their writing skills while acquiring vocabulary. In the first activity I provide a word to the students and they have to write a rhyming word to go with it. After they have their sets of rhyming words, they get to write sentences using the pair of words. The sentences can be silly, funny, nonsense or serious. The other activity demands even more creativity from the students. I asked them to close their eyes and draw on a piece of paper the first image they get while closing their eyes. After students finish drawing, I instruct them to write a free verse poem about their drawing. With this activities my goal is to help the students develop writing skills in the target language, skills that will transfer and be very useful in their native language. Also it helps their creativity to flow, and to guide their writing, and it gives them practice in use of the target language. The students will use new and old vocabulary, which help them to achieve the goal of mastering the language.
An important part of second language acquisition is to develop cultural awareness. Second language learners will not fully embrace the target language if they can comprehend the cultural background. Nowadays it is more common to see students looking for information about other cultures and also having more diverse group of friends. This makes the situation better for the second- language teacher, but nevertheless it is the responsibility of the teacher to expose the students to all aspects of the culture as possible. Poems like "Amor con Amor se paga" by José Martí and "No te quiero Sino porque te Quiero" by Pablo Neruda, display sensual way that Hispanic men court women. In each poem you can almost feel the love in the air, and Hispanic women expect and like to be court by gentlemen. Parents are an essential part of any child's life, but in Hispanic culture, it goes beyond childhood, into adulthood. In the Hispanic culture older members of the family are seen as the ones with wisdom, and full of life experiences that we can learn from. Also it is common that younger members of the family are care givers for the elderly in the family. Jaime Sabines in his poem "Padre towards their parent. Songs also are good poems that can be used to teach certain aspects of the culture. Juan Luis Guerra is a Dominican song writer, in his song "Buscando Visa para un SueÑo", the author talks about the reality of the Dominican immigration. What Dominicans are willing to do to come to the United States, seeking a dream of a better life and opportunities. A song brilliantly written by Ricardo Arjona, an author from Guatemala wrote "El Mojado" a song that talks about the wet back immigrants who cross the river between Mexico and the United States in hope to achieve the American dream.
Spanish is a vast language with intensity and soul, with variations along its frontiers and surprising mixed of flavor and rhythm. So much to offer to the world, so much to teach. Where should I start?...
This unit will meet the following competency goals of the North Carolina Standard Course of Studies:
- Competency goal #1, 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 1.05, and 1.06. The learner will engage in conversation and exchange information and opinions, orally and in writing in the target language.
- Competency goal #2, 2.01, 2.02, 2.03, 2.04, and 2.06. The learner will understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics in the target language.
- Competency goal #3, 3.02. The learner will present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics in the target language.
- Competency goal #4, 4.01, 4.02, 4.05, and 4.07. The learner will gain knowledge and demonstrate understanding of the relationship among practices, products, and perspectives, of cultures other than his/her own.
- Competency goal #5, 5.01, 5.02, 5.03, 5.04, 5.06, and 5.10. The learner will develop insight into the nature of language and culture by comparing his/her own language (s) and culture (s) to others.
- Competency goal #6, 6.01, 6.02, 6.03, and 6.04. The learner will acquire, reinforce, and further his/her knowledge of other discipline through the foreign language.
- Competency goal #7, 7.02, 7.03, 7.04, 7.05, and 7.06. The learner will use language and/or demonstrate culture knowledge and understanding within and beyond the school setting for personal, educational, and professional growth and enrichment.
Activities
Tell students that want to know which alphabet they use to write in English. They will say, the Roman alphabet. Next tell them that Spanish also uses the Roman alphabet, but the letters are pronounced somewhat different from English. Now write the letter "A" on the board and ask someone to name the letter. Probably they will say ey-ee (English pronunciation saying the ABCs). Then ask them to pronounce the words cat and bat. Tell students that the letter A in Spanish has the sound as the letter A has in cat and bat, and that the sound and the name of the letter are the same. Then pronounce the letter in Spanish and let the students repeat after you. Continue with the letter "B", as Spanish teachers know, it is pronounced equal to the letter "V" and both can be pronounce hard or soft, depend on where are located on the word. Ask the students to pronounce the letter B in English and name it as well. Then name it in Spanish and pronounce it for them, let them repeat after you. You might hear, Spanish is pronounce as it is written, you can tell them yes it is pronounce as written and that is the main reason why learning correct pronunciation is very important. If you can pronounce the letters correctly you will spell words correctly.
Continue by telling students that the letters "B" and "V" are pronounced equal and that they can have a hard or soft sound. Pronounce the verb Beber in Spanish and ask them to repeat after you. Then tell them that the first B is hard and the second B is soft. Instruct students to pronounce the verb Beber again, this time to put a pencil under upper and incisors before they pronounce it. If they can feel that air scape around the pencil when they pronounce the second "B", they have just learned that "B" can have a soft or hard sound depend where is locate in the word.
Introduce each letter of the alphabet showing the students that even though we use the same symbols in Spanish and in English, the pronunciation can be very different. After naming and pronouncing all the letters of the alphabet, tell students that they are going to help you create a pronunciation chart that is going to help them remember how to pronounce each letter. Using a poster board create a pronunciation chart with two words per alphabet letter. The Spanish words on the chart will also be rhyming words. For example "A"- mama, dama
"B"- beber, deber
When the pronunciation chart is completed, place it in a visible area in the classroom. This will allow students to refer back to it each time they need it. Also the chart should be use on the first ten minutes of the class everyday, to reinforce correct pronunciation regularly.
Lesson Plan #2
Objectives: The students will apply prior knowledge of correct pronunciation and intonation on Spanish language. Students will also be able to sound words and phrases out to help them read unfamiliar words, developing reading skills associated with poetry. Students will explore the target culture through well-known poems.
Activities
As a warm up ask students what they can tell you about poetry, and list all the characteristics of poetry mentioned (rhyme, rhythm, repetition, intonation, recitation.) Ask students how they feel after reading a poem, and go over each feeling and ask why. Then ask them what about when you don't understand some words. Does that make you feel different about poetry? Next tell them that poetry is a wonderful tool to learn new words and to practice correct pronunciation and intonation even if we do not know the meaning of a word.
Write an unfamiliar word on the board and ask students to pronounce it out loud. Repeat this about three to four times and ask if anyone knows the meaning of this word. Go over the meaning given and then tell students that by pronouncing words out loud and working with groups, you can often guess what the word means. Next distribute short reading poem to students. I would use a poem like, Amor con Amor se Paga by Jose Marti. Any other short poem that has unfamiliar words to the students will work as well.
Divide the class in groups of three or four students. Then instruct them to read the poem in their group one at a time, practicing different highlighted words in the poem. Encourage the students to cooperate with each other by working together on pronunciation and to decipher the meaning of words. After students worked with the poem on pronunciation and word meanings, ask them to translate the poem using common words and writing structure in English.
For the closing activity have students reading the poem out loud to compete for best intonation of the poem. The students that have better pronunciation and have learned and applied the rules can serve as judges. Have the students that want to compete read out loud the poem and wait for their scores. The student with the higher score will be the winner and you can also have second and third place. At the end of the class tell students that they can acquire extra credit points by memorizing the poem and reciting it to the class the following day.
Lesson Plan #3
Objectives: The students will have the opportunity to listen, to read, to write and to speak on a variety of topics using the target language. The students will engage with authentic materials which will allow them to foster respect and appreciation for the target culture.
Activities
As a warm up review the vocabulary given to students in a prior class in preparation for this activity. Words such as arroz, café, queso, yuca, mapuey, and pitisale. Then instruct students to listen to the song Ojala que llueva café en el campo, by Juan Luis Guerra. Play the song for the students and ask them to write the words that they do not understand or are unfamiliar to them. After listening to the song, go over the unfamiliar words that students wrote while listening to the song.
Next put the lyrics of the song over the overhead projector and go over the meaning of each sentence of the song. Ask students to give their interpretation of the song. When finished going over the song, ask the students the following questions:
- What does Juan Luis Guerra wants to symbolize with the title of the song?
- What is the meaning of the produce and images mentioned in the song?
- What does Juan Luis Guerra wants for his country?
- What is the tone of the song?
- Who are going to sing and Why?
- What type of person do you think is the author of the song?
After the students answered the questions, tell them that they are going to research about the author. Provide them with a mini biography of Juan Luis Guerra and instruct them to expand on the biography. With all the researched data create a biography made in class of Juan Luis Guerra. Then tell students to go to www.dominicanrepublic.com.do and research about the country of the author. As a final activity teach students how to dance merengue, national dance of the Dominican Republic.
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