Spanish Tech
I read recently that human intelligence is the ability to adapt; an intelligent and solidary society will only take the good and discard the bad out of these difficult times we are all crossing.
From a learning perspective, there is a lot of good which has come from the lockdown. The current circumstances have forced many educational institutions and platforms to offer free online courses, free access to libraries, virtual museum walks, online concerts … all available to us from the comfort of home.
I still believe learning a foreign language online is not the ideal method; the personal, face to face contact of our daily lessons is irreplaceable, but if we combine both, learning online platforms can be extremely helpful.
My Year 7 and 8’s are currently enrolled in Rockalingua (courtesy of our eager Spanish Primary teacher, Javier Vidal); although some of them prefer Duolingo. These online platforms promote fun and interactive learning through games, pictures, videos, and some form of goal to keep them motivated and engaged.
Another free online platform that has particularly good feedback is called Memrise. It offers lessons from beginner level to advanced Spanish. Memrise also teaches grammar and is particularly helpful in learning specific vocabulary by placing the new words in context. This is a more effective way for the brain to assimilate new knowledge, as it is now a meaningful task to complete, as opposed to having to memorize random lists out of context.
Whatever the choice, let us stay safe, focus on the good and make the best out of our online learning experience.
Elena Berger
Year 7 to Year 13 Spanish Teacher
¡Hola Amigos!
During the last few years I have been thinking about the latest trends in foreign language learning and teaching and how as teachers we can use them to help our students learn Spanish in the future. I have found that one of the most successful ways to teach Spanish to kids is through technology.
I am confident to say that we have found a perfect formula for our students to success: the combination of Spanish videos, catchy songs and interactive games with vibrant images, accompanying worksheets and now also our new Spanish books.
During this year in the Spanish Department we are very excited to announce that all the students at Blouberg International from grade 1 to 6 each have their own access with their own username and password to the learning online resource called Rockalingua.
As many of you already know – Rockalingua is an interactive website where you will find songs, worksheets and games all in Spanish.
You can access Rockalingua by following the below 3 steps:
- Go to the web site https://rockalingua.com/
- On the top right of the page click ‘Login’ in and enter your child’s unique username and password.
Please note this website only works on tablets and laptops, Not on cellphones.
Start to enjoy the videos, songs and the games and complete the assigned tasks.
These videos are designed to combine vocabulary with high frequency structures so that students don’t feel like they’re “learning Spanish”, but instead enjoying it.
Since last year, students have been learning from this online resource in the classroom, and they really enjoyed singing along to the songs.
This year they will have to complete certain assigned tasks every week to progress and gain more vocabulary together with the exercises in their Spanish books.
By customizing the curriculum for each class by blocking and unblocking certain content the students can focus on the topics they are working on in class and complement perfectly the content of their textbooks.
Please allow the students to log in to complete their tasks. To play these games is vital because it takes the pressure off learning the language and provide an opportunity for students to have fun and practice the language at the same time.
In each task you can also view the instructions from the teacher that will indicate all the related content from the Spanish book that the students should complete together with their weekly task, offering in this sense a perfect complement for the Spanish lessons and learning. On the other hand, parents can also easily view their child’s progress during the year.
Rockalingua is a fantastic tool to test their knowledge, and presenting the exam in a more entertaining way, lowering the level of stress, and helping them to increase their vocabulary and knowledge of verbs: essentially to be able to speak Spanish in the future.
The structure is also effective because it promotes repetition by presenting the material in many different formats. Repetition helps students develop the four basic skills of communication—listening, speaking, reading and writing.
In these first weeks I have noticed that the students were very much engaged, working on the tasks I had assigned them, and that differentiated instruction was easily implemented since the program allows me to assign tasks to a whole class or to specific students that might need easier or more challenging assignments.
When I assign tasks the analytics will allow me to see, at a glance, how the class is performing those tasks so I will be able to see which students are already working on the assignments and which students have not yet started make it easier for me to keep track of students’ work and progress.
I will also be able to gauge which concepts each student, and the class, are having trouble with. This data is useful in order to structure the class and for preparing revisions.
Students can immediately see which assignments within the tasks they have already done and which ones they have yet to complete. This interactive learning management system gives students a sense of independence since they can work at their own pace and they can also see their % of right and wrong answers. They can also redo specific interactive games to improve their % of right answers! Keeping them motivated.
To ensure the success of “gamification” in learning a new language, we (teachers and parents) need to work together to capture and retain learner’s attention by allow them to play the games and listen to the songs at home. www.rockalingua.com
Everyone loves games. Albert Einstein himself indicated they are the most elevated form of investigation. He knew games are avenues for something deeper and more meaningful than a childish waste of time. Often times, playing games are the first method children use to explore higher-order thinking skills associated with creating, evaluating, analyzing, and applying new knowledge.
Profesor Javier Vidal
Spanish Teacher Junior School