Class information
SPN 107 – SPN 107 Elementary Spanish I for Speakers of Spanish
15-25 students
Spanish 107 is an elementary Spanish course for students who can speak Spanish but have no formal training in the language. It is a course for speakers of Spanish interested in gaining confidence in their language abilities while writing and discussing topics about their family and their community. Students create projects in which they a) reflect on their family history and their relation to bilingualism, b) identify and discuss current affairs and needs in their neighborhoods, and c) write open letters and proposals to improve the welfare of their communities.
Project overview
A Spanish language project too.
Open letter to my community is a project that encourages students to conduct research in their local community –reading news, conducting interviews, analyzing information, writing proposals. It focuses on identifying the salient characteristics of their neighborhoods, describing the ways in which their inhabitants have created community, and proposing changes and improvements that would benefit to all.
Why did you select this project? How does it relate to identity and purpose?
This project touches on both, their Spanish-speaking identity and their New Yorker one. On the one hand, this project creates spaces for students to use Spanish – their home or family language – to discuss economic, social, environmental, and health related concerns that impact their lives and those of their community. On the other hand, it requires students to know more about their local community, establish contact with others, and listen to what they have to say regarding the improvements they wish to see. In the classroom, students find that issues such as gentrification, affordable housing, and access to services, for example, concern all.
What advice do you have for other faculty who would like to implement a similar project?
It is important to consider the suggested order of the scaffolding activities. Provide students with a wide variety of texts about the same topics in order for them to decide the tone, structures and vocabulary they will use in their interviews and open letter. Make sure students discuss and familiarize with the format and content of formal letters in Spanish, and to provide exercises to practice the linguistic structures needed for such texts.
Related materials
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If you would like to access to the activities in Spanish, request to become a member in our OpenLab Course: https://openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu/groups/spn108-spanish-for-speakers-of-spanish-ii-fall-2021-prof-darwich/
