Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature Commons^™

Oral Interviews For Testing In The High-School Spanish Classroom, John C. Akers, Casey Calvert, Kalle Davis

Arthur Vining Davis High Impact Fellows Projects

Our project offers strategies and materials for the beginning Spanish classroom to increase oral proficiency of students through an emphasis on individual and small-group interviews with the teacher, which will be an integral part to every classroom test. These interviews will be referred to also as “One-On-One orals,” “OOOs,” or simply “encounters,” inspired by the oral proficiency interviews (OPIs) first developed in the 1980s to measure speaker competence in a second language--as per the proficiency guidelines of the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). (Our project’s classroom materials begin on page 5.)

As we know today, the …

Improving Language Skills And Creating Global Citizens, Begoña Caballero-Garcia, Katie Haney, Savannah Mack

Arthur Vining Davis High Impact Fellows Projects

The focus of this project is to improve oral and written proficiency and enhance cultural awareness of students enrolled in Spanish III Honors. Students will improve and learn effectively through weekly exercises that focus on critical thinking, synthesizing in Spanish and working collaboratively. Emphasis will be placed on reciprocal teaching and cooperative learning. We plan for the students to each choose a Spanish speaking country that they will research based on monthly topics, and then share the information found with their classmates. Students will be assessed at the beginning of the project in October and again in March through taped …

Aprender Con Aventuras (Learning Through Adventures), Camille L. Bethea, Peter Elbaum, Katie Haney

Arthur Vining Davis High Impact Fellows Projects

This project focuses on developing learning modules that combine grammar and culture for beginning and intermediate level high school Spanish classes. The objective of this project is to make grammar more interactive for students, while at the same time highlighting the cultural richness and diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. This approach reflects the current ACTFL standards for foreign language learning (preparing for the 21^st century) and the South Carolina Academic Standards for Modern Languages. Ms. Haney wanted to make learning grammar more enjoyable and accessible to her students. She was also interested in exploring ways of using technology more …

¡Hablemos Con Más Fluidez! Increasing Oral Proficiency, Begona Caballero-Garcia, Benjamin Green, Lindsay Knox

Arthur Vining Davis High Impact Fellows Projects

Students that study a foreign language in high school generally graduate with a solid base in reading and writing the language; however, speaking it remains a struggle. This project was designed to develop a series of activities and a framework on which future activities can be based. The activities are meant to engage students and help them practice speaking so as to increase their oral proficiency. By doing such activities two or three times a week, students can become more accustomed to speaking a foreign language and will gain confidence. They will also have practice using vocabulary relevant to the …