Mexican Independence Day, September 15, 1810: 5/18-5/20

5/18- Review our compiled vocabulary lists and put them together in a recipe. TAREA- go to QUIA and practice the new vocabulary lists and do the exercises online. Also, do the first 4 pages of the workbook, Chapter 13.
:-)

5/20- Review workbook. Vocabulary competitions/games. Watch the videos of Ian, Lizzy and Advah. Vocabulary quiz. TAREA- Please do the rest of the workbook. It will give you great practice for the scavenger hunt on our field trip (competition!!) and will also help a lot for understanding cooking day which will be ALL IN SPANISH!! Not to mention, it will help with the final. The second tarea is to write up 20 questions that review concepts, grammar and vocabulary that we have learned throughout the year. Include at least 5 questions that you know are important, but were kind of challenging, and 5 that you know are important but you really got down. Vary the question format. If you have questions, please email me. I want you to bring these 20 questions to school on Tuesday. You will pass them around so everybody gets someone else's test. Taking this practice quiz will be your homework next week. This is an honor system situation. PLEASE, DON'T USE THE BOOK OR EACH OTHER!!! You WANT to quiz yourself to know if you KNOW the stuff!!! You will turn it into me on Thursday, Cocina Con Carmen day. Bonus points will be given if you can make grammatical corrections to the person who wrote up the test.

These are due on TUESDAY, FIELD TRIP DAY!!!!!!!!! If you do not turn them in, someone is without a test, and you are without 15 homework points!!!!! This is a biggie, okay? E-mail me with questions.

Prep for the final:

*Have one tongue-twister (traba-lenguas) ready and memorized.

*Be able to discuss a recipe that you loved, or something else from your past that you have rehearsed (and sent the idea to me.)

*Be able to sit and take a test that covers the general concepts of reflexive, preterit, imperfect, command form, and vocabulary.

**************THE FINAL WILL BE ON JUNE 1ST!! ************

Tuesday is the FIELD TRIP!!! Remember to get your permission slips signed and bring them in on Tuesday. I don't have ANYONE's as of yet, so please give them to Linda Suhr so I can pick them up, take care of the paperwork, and get us out of school by 12:45.

Gracias.

I am already getting sad because I love your class. It will always be special to me....

(*sniff sniff*)

TOP TEN TIPS FOR LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE

Don't expect to be perfect!

Can you remember when learned to ride a bicycle? Did you ride perfectly from the first time you sat on the seat? When learning a new language, expect that you will make mistakes, and don't be embarrassed by them!

Work on developing an "ear" for Spanish.

Remember that language is first and foremost oral communication. A written alphabet is merely a collection of symbols used to represent the sounds of the language, and cannot be expected to capture every nuance of sound and intonation. Try to develop a "good ear" for Spanish. An easy and fun way to do this is by listening to Spanish music, watching Spanish movies, or watching Spanish cable TV.

Practice SPEAKING!

The only way to learn to speak a language, is by actually SPEAKING. You can study for years, and master all of the grammar rules, but unless you actually practice speaking, you will never speak well. When you are practicing speaking, remember to do it out loud, at normal conversational volume.

Be consistent.

To really learn a language takes time and committment. Consistency is by far the most important factor. If you can devote a solid twenty minutes a day, nearly every day, you will be far more successful than if you "cram" for an hour or two, but only sporadically.

Talk to yourself.

When learning a foreign language, it is common for listening skills to develop more rapidly than speaking skills, leaving the learner in the unfortunate situation of being able to understand, but unable to respond. A good way to surmount this problem is to talk to yourself as much as possible. Because there is no one else around, you won't be weighed down by the inhibition that so frequently burdens the beginning language student.

Use flashcards.

One of the best tips we can give you is to make and use flashcards. Make cards that are small enough to easily carry with you, and write the English on one side and Spanish on the other. Be sure to ALWAYS have some cards with you. This way, you can capture "wasted" time (standing in line, riding the bus, waiting for class to start, etc.) and turn it into productive study time. Even if you only have a couple of minutes, you can use it to study a few flashcards.

Label your surroundings.

Make labels for things all over your house. For example: la pared (wall), la puerta (door), el escritorio (desk) etc. Remove the labels only after you have mastered the vocabulary.

Be patient.

Progress in language learning does not follow a straight-line graph. You cannot expect to make the same amount of progress, day after day, week after week. You may find yourself struggling at times, seeming to make no progress. Don't let this discourage you. It is normal to reach plateaus in your learning progress. If you find yourself "stuck" try spending time going back and reviewing things that you already know well. Often this will help prepare you to break through to the next level.

Find a partner.

Try to find a native speaker who can be your conversation partner. This can be your greatest asset and perhaps you can also provide assistance to your partner in your native language.

Read out loud.

Try reading out loud. You will get all of the benefits of reading, plus you'll get really good pronunciation practice. In fact, as a beginner, you should read aloud as much as possible.

Mexican Independence Day, September 15, 1810

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Amigos for learning SPANISH

5/18-5/20

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TOP TEN TIPS FOR LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE