Classroom Activities for Spanish Class

When we come across, in the natural progression of our student’s learning, the need to significantly increase their level of vocabulary to reach B1 level, we often encounter the difficulty of giving an overdose of vocabulary, that does not result in being boring, cramped and useless.   

New Vocabulary in Spanish

How can we then make the acquisition of new vocabulary meaningful and at the same time enjoyable?

The other day, while writing a text about the Roman Wall of Lugo, it occurred to me that it could be done in the first person, as if I were the wall that was speaking to the reader, telling its’ story, some anecdotes, characteristics of the monument etc. I did not dislike the idea and thought it a good chance to create a framework in which  the necessary vocabulary learning was related to physical description and not only that of people; it could be making a game in the classroom in which participants have to describe themselves in the role of a monument that had already been given.

For the description of people and their biographies, that not only involve the use of vocabulary but also narrative techniques in the past or present, there is a well known activity which I have always called “Amnesia” because it’s about each participant discovering their own identity. The teacher will have prepared a list of names of well-known celebrities, and will write the names on sticky cards. Every member of the group gets a card placed on their forehead, with the name of a “forgotten identity” (hence the name of the game.) Asking in turns, and only getting Yes or No answers, the person attempts to find out whose name they have on their forehead. When the answer to your question is “yes”, you can ask another one, but if the answer is “no”, the question asking passes on to the next player. The fact that the characters are historical figures forces us to ask questions in the past, of course.

I can guarantee that it is a fun and productive activity that breaks down the barrier of stage fright of speaking in front of a group.

The Monument Game

One variant of this game, which can be started with existing characters (which excludes the need to use the past) from A2 level, is the “monument game": select a number of monuments that relate to the cultural work being done in the classroom or the environment in which you find yourself.  For example, if working in Andalusia, the Alhambra, La Giralda and La Mezquita de Córdoba can be included…Obviously it doesn’t just have to be Hispanic references, but the environment and background of the members of the group: imagine a class consisting of Americans and Canadians, Mount Rushmore, the Empire State Building or the Golden Gate Bridge could be used, for example.

Introduce students to the idea and explain the importance of keeping the identity of the monument they have been assigned a secret, share out the identities between the students and ask them, as homework, to investigate, with the use of the internet, and find the Spanish vocabulary necessary to describe what they have been assigned.  Also ask them, if they come across a particularly complicated lexical item, to explain it to the group to avoid easy translations, rewarding the exclusive use of Spanish.

After this preparation day, the next day each student will present their hidden monument one after the other. Others should take notes, ask questions and comment if they wish, but refrain from disclosing their findings until everyone has finished their presentation. Finally, they will assess the descriptions and use the board to reflect on the findings each student has made, until arriving at a unique group decision for every hidden monument.

It is a good way of undertaking a productive and enjoyable activity that helps us improve the vocabulary of our students.

Naturally, if we are interested in a particular semantic field, we can replace the monuments with organs of the body (if working on a Spanish course applied to medicine) or rooms of a hotel, if you have a group of students who are tourism interns in a hotel center.

As always, the most important thing is to be flexible and adapt to the needs of the group.