Bridging Research and Practice
Professional Development Resources for L2 Teaching and Learning
In this lesson, students explore common responders in Spanish used to indicate that one is following and understanding what is being said during a conversation. Attention will also be paid to continuers such as “ah” and “ajá” and responders used
Students are guided to recognize common practices used to indicate that a conversation is winding down and that it is time to conclude it. Specifically, we look at pauses, interjections like bueno or pues (“well”), and phrases such as tengo
Students are guided to analyze and practice: a) how to extend an invitation; b) how to accept an invitation; and c) how to politely refuse an invitation.
Students learn about ways to expand a conversation by asking follow-up questions, making additional comments, and stating opinions. Additionally, they are guided to notice features such as overlaps and interruptions and how they occur in spontaneous (unplanned) conversations.
Students are instructed to write a narrative. They are guided to compare their own grammatical structures used in the narrative with those used by Julio Cortázar in a short story and those used by a native speaker of Spanish.
Students observe, analyze, and practice the use of object pronouns that express possession.
Students compare an authentic consultation at the doctor’s office with a similar recording from a Spanish textbook. They are guided to notice and reflect on the features of a spontaneous doctor-patient interaction in order to develop conversational skills that are
Students examine language use during an authentic doctor-patient interaction. After guided analysis, they compare their findings from the authentic interaction with a role-play. Workshop
Students listen to a phone conversation, work on the content of the dialogue, try to deduce the state of mind of the speakers, and reconstruct the conversation in the context of real-life conversations.
Students are guided to find the different positions and forms of the adjectives used in native speakers’ language samples and determine the rules that govern their use.
Students are guided to determine which forms are acceptable for talking about the future when texting and are asked to compare and contrast their answers with those of native speakers.
Students are guided to determine the difference between form and function when choosing between the preterit and present perfect, and to make verb tense choices according to context (e.g., political biography).