13 Rue del Percebe

One learning resource that we have used occasionally to liven up our Spanish language classrooms is the use of comics, especially Spanish comics or "tebeos". The use of these can be a double-edged sword and failure of teaching success is always a possibility, especially if we don't adapt well the content to our objectives. This can also include not matching the level of Spanish to that of the classroom.  When used properly, the tebeo format is an easy medium for students to use and works well as an escape from the routine of text based exercises (which are fine, as long as we don't abuse them through overuse).

An icon of our visual universe is a pair of characters; two guys that are completely clueless and without hope: Mortadelo y Filamón (Mort and Phil). Who hasn't taken a few minutes free time to sit back and enjoy a laugh while reading about the adventures of these two merluzos? (As El Súper would say)  

Well then, today I would like to talk about another brainchild of Francisco Ibáñez, the creator of these two detectives from the T.I.A.: I'm talking about that community of funny neighbors known as 13, Rue del Percebe. This is a building (more like a theater) where a whole side of the building is open and permits us to snoop around and see what is happening in the interior of each apartment—an excellent source of inspiration and subject matter.

Liven Up Your Spanish Classes

In this building we can find characters like the unscrupulous grocery store owner on the ground floor, the doorman (or doorwoman in this case, who often isn't even there), the man who lives in the sewer, the Veterinarian on the 2^nd floor, and the boarding house next door. On the next floor we have the widow and a mad doctor. On the 4^th floor we'll see the apartment of a thief and next to him is a family of triplets. Finally, on the roof of the building lives a debtor…with bill collectors in tow.

Working with three or four examples of Rue de Percebe, easily accessible on the internet, we can read and discuss it in class. After having done that, we can take the next step. Now, we can have a class discussion on professions. This is an easy topic to use as a starting point in which we can talk about our perceptions of professions as seen through eyes of a Spaniard and how our impressions are shaped by how they are presented in the comic.

Next, we'll ask the students to make a list of the types of people and/or professions that they can imagine as our neighbors living in a building like 13 Rue de Percebe. Once the class has made their list (we should make sure that the number of characters on the list corresponds to the number of students in class) we can assign a character to each student for whom they will have to create an identity (first name and last name) and past for this person—always from a Spanish perspective.

What worked well for me was hanging on the chalkboard a sheet with an amplified image of the building that you can download here. In each apartment you can stick flash card with each student's character name and profession along with a brief background story.

The next thing to do is to organize a homeowners association (comunidad de propietrarios, this is an obligatory association in Spain when you live in a flat). This includes electing a president and officers who will make the decisions to insure a functioning and well maintained building for everyone. Of course, this also includes a organizing a property owner's meeting where all the neighbors will discuss what needs to be done and vote for what changes will or will not occur.

With a deft touch, or mano izquierda, we will be able to dedicate a few minutes a day over the course of a week to working out the problems that our neighbors may encounter. At the same time, we'll be working on improving and adapting their language skills to the grammatical, lexical and intercultural content that we have been working on in the classroom.

Try to incorporate this exercise into your classroom…it's well worth the effort.