What a pleasure to talk with Gwen Gaviola in this episode about using authentic resources in teaching a World Language. Gwen teaches Spanish at Ferndale School District and for us at the World of Learning Institute. Using authentic resources is so important for us at the WOLInstitue and Gwen has brought so much knowledge that she shares with her colleagues. I was grateful to spend some time with her and to hear about her experiences in learning a language, being immersed in a community where she was not fluent or confident - and the great confidence it gave her. What a valuable experience she brings to us and to our students at the WOL Institue.
Here are a few key takeaways on the value of authentic and immersive experiences:
Gwen talked about her early experience with learning the language, Tagalog one of the languages of the Philippines. Her early experiences in Tagalog may have primed her to have an affinity for language and culture.
Learning Spanish came easy to Gwen right from the start. She talked about not having the confidence to teach a language, so when she went to college at Pitt she studied anthropology and minored in Latin American Studies (and took Spanish classes). Her experience studying abroad in Argentina gave her the confidence to become a teacher. We are glad - because Gwen is amazing!
While Gwen was in Argentina - it taught her that there are people in every corner of the world with whom you can connect and develop truly meaningful relationships. In Argentina, her host family taught her just how capable she was - sending her out on her own to navigate a place where she was not fluent or confident. She loves providing travel experiences for her community - listen in for her most recent trip to Peru, where her students worked with Andean students who spoke Quechua! And, at first, the communication was difficult because they did not have a language in common - playing soccer, working together, and sharing meals helped to build relationships despite language barriers.
Gwen found that giving students the opportunity to navigate authentic resources could replicate some of the experiences that helped Gwen to be confident in her Spanish. She helps her students navigate sites that are completely in Spanish - we have links to a few of the places below. She believes that navigating the internet is pretty natural to learners - even the students who otherwise don’t love their language class enjoy and stay engaged in these authentic virtual activities.
Try some of these resources:
https://www.elcorteingles.es/#
https://www.farmalisto.com.co/
https://www.las-ventas.com/
https://www.museofridakahlo.org.mx/es/
https://www.parquedelacosta.com.ar/
Using authentic resources for learning can be done in Math, Science, the Arts, Social Studies, and many more content areas.
Do you use authentic resources?? Share a few ideas!
Tips for Using Authentic Resources
Work with students to navigate the sites and keep an eye on what they are doing on the computer. Apps like Learnics make it easy to create lessons and teach students good internet search techniques.
Know what you really want students to accomplish when you send them to the internet to search for information. Check websites before you have students use them.
Set realistic goals for what learning will happen. Have time limits and guidelines for internet searching. Common Sense Media has great resources for teaching and learning using technology.
Test the assignment yourself. And as we talked about in episode #8 - can the assignment be easily googled? Are we asking the right questions? What are we incentivizing in our assignment?
Leadership Corner
What authentic resources are you providing for your teachers? How do they know where to connect with the community and job skills that students need to explore careers and even part-time jobs?
Some Community Colleges and Universities offer Spanish and other language classes for navigating careers such as construction and health care.
Northampton Community College - Command Spanish
Indiana University of PA - Spanish for Safety Sciences
Do your students have opportunities to work with professionals as apprentices? They are valuable experiences that allow students to get hands-on experience while taking classes.
Check out how to get started HERE
We Do This Everyday #10