A community-based project

Maria Carreira

Background

• Spanish 250: A class for Spanish HL speakers;• Six-units, hybrid. Meets two days a week for a total

of four hours. Online work: 2 hours per week.• Level: Intermediate-mid (typical learner); • Focus: Mechanics (spelling, grammar) with a view

toward laying the groundwork for writing and literature courses. Project-based.

• Program characteristics: Two HL classes, Span 250, 300 (writing course).

Projects

• Community-based project• Career-based project

Projects

• Community-based project• Career-based project

Project goals and objectives

• To think critically about the place of Spanish in these communities, and, more generally, in society at large;

• To learn more about local HL-speaking communities (Interpretive, reading) ;

• To present their findings to the classroom (Presentational, speaking and writing)

Components

• Use demographic tools (U.S. Census, other online sources) to gather data on a community or setting in So. CA (students choose);• Prepare a written report on demographic data that relates to the question of the place of Spanish;• Prepare a PP presentation discussing their findings and their assessment of the place of Spanish in the public domain

Total project time: 7 weeks

• Phase I (two weeks):• Phase II (three weeks);• Phase III (three weeks, overlapping with phases I, II)• Phase IV (two weeks)

Phase I: Gathering data

• Two steps: (a) Week 1: Collecting data (mostly in

English);(b) Week 2: Evaluating the data, preparing

a list of facts about the community (turned in and graded)

Phase II: Preparing a written report

• Three steps:(a) Week 3 (Step I): Accessing reports of

this type written in Spanish for other places (Mexico, Spain, Madrid);(b) Week 4 (Step 2): Studying the format, vocabulary and language of these reports;

(c) Week 5 (Step 3): Preparing report to be turned in (peer editing)

Sample report

Phase III: Studying the linguistic landscape

• Three steps(a) Week 2 (Step 1): Studying signs

(functions, authorship, intended audience); Preparing a hypothesis about signs in Spanish in their community; (b) Week 3-4 (Step 2): Picture gathering; (c) Week 5 (Step 3): Organizing findings, refining hypothesis,

Phase IV: The presentation

• Two steps(a) Week 6 (Step 1): Preparing the PPi. Techniques: what to do and not to do;ii. Elements of the presentation (assessing

original hypothesis, findings, conclusions) (b) Week 7 (Step 2): Present the report in stations

In a mixed class…

• Writing component;• Speaking component;• HL and L2 learners, who has the primary

responsibility for each of these components?

Projects

• Community-based project• Career-based project

Career-based project: Objectives

• Learn to speak about your professional field (vocabulary, structures);

What they already know: Content, how to access sources of information on

vocabulary and organization What they need to know: language

Process: How do they learn the language?

• Locate and read articles on their field of study in the target language;

• Study the vocabulary, structure, expressions…• Prepare a glossary with key vocabulary,

sample sentences

Product

• Glossary (not just a listing of words);• PP presentation

SummarizingThe projects…

• Respond to learners’ desire to connect with local HL communities;

• Respond to learners’ professional goals;• Teach learner autonomy;• Teach vocabulary and professional language;• Teach presentational skills that are

transferable to other courses