EduBlog Language Learning Experiences with technology

Quick & Cool Guide for Acing IB Spanish (For Teens) Know Your Stuff • The Basics: Get a grip on what your IB Spanish course (ab initio, B, or A) is about. What are the exams like? What kind of projects will you do? • Syllabus Sneak-Peek: Dive into the syllabus. Knowing what’s ahead gives you an edge. Gear Up with the Right Tools. • Past Exam Papers : Your crystal ball into the exams. Find them, use them, love them. Check out the IBO Store. • Apps & Websites: Use Quizlet for flashcards, Khan Academy for grammar, and switch your Spotify to Spanish jams. • Textbooks: Not just any book, but the one that comes with online codes and extra practice. Build a Study Strategy That Doesn’t Suck • Routine Over Random: Set a study schedule that doesn’t feel like a prison sentence. Short, daily sessions > Last-minute marathons. • Keep Skills Sharp: Rotate through reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities. Don’t let any skill get rusty. • Mock Exams: Practice with...

As a brief introduction, my name is Lorena Zurbano and I am an educator (originally from Madrid) based in London, with a background in research in language learning. A decade ago, when I first started this edublog, I was intending to switch my work as a school-based teacher/teacher trainer to language online tuition. Perhaps my studies as an online learner (MA in teaching Spanish as a foreign language) helped me to feel immediately comfortable in the new environment. More recently, 3 years ago, we were informed of the sudden closure of  my daughters’ school, and after some discussions we decided to give her a choice between all the options available locally and she opted for Home Education (not so much Home-based learning though!) alongside most of her school friends. I kept working online supporting Alevels and GCSE tests taking learners and in the system. One thing I learnt is that if you wish to pass a test then tutors or school may help, but if you want to become a pro...

I think the ideal way of starting this blog entry is by showing a sample of work of a DELE student. She recorded a presentation (task 3) where she describes an ideal school. I really loved the outcome and after asking for permission I am sharing this here as a good sample of the level required for the DELE escolar. If you can't view the video follow this  link The most fascinating thing about DELE escolar is that there is no way to train for it. Also, once the exams are performed and assessed all papers are destroyed so any textbook will need to 'guess' what the papers may look like! However, what we know is that the junior version of a B1 exam provides more time and probably fewer tasks. Oral test. Students will not know the exact questions before hand. They will know though that the main areas of interest are: experiences and aspects of their everyday life in relation to a certain topic: i.e. environment, social media, food, holidays, etc. The advanta...

The DELE junior has been designed for the needs of younger learners (11-17) wishing to have an official recognition of their ability to communicate in Spanish, granted by Instituto Cervantes on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport in Spain. There are many similarities with an IGCSE exam although the requirements for the Speaking and interaction test are much more challenging with just 20 min preparation time. This part of the test requires careful preparation.   Intro and first task Description of a photo (20 min preparation time).  The candidate will be asked a few questions often related to their experience as language learners as well as their family life that will help them relax and be prepared for the first task (this intro will not be assessed). For more details watch this youtube video that shows an example of the intro and first task: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25qbBChwOQ0&t=64s This Mind map shows possib...

I am particularly proud of this sample of work. It comes from a learner that has only started the lessons in September, one hour per week. The learner is 15 years old, bilingual (Portuguese/English), and currently home educating and preparing for taking GCSEs in June 2018. It is the first time the student is taking Spanish lessons and started as a  complete beginner. What I really like in the letter shown below is the accuracy. The language is appropriate for the situation and purpose of communication. The learner uses what learns in other subjects (i.e. English lessons) and applies this confidently.  Tarea: Completa la carta. Paco, un estudiante de español, va a pasar unos días en tu casa.  Tú le escribes un carta y le hablas de tu familia.  Puedes usar este diccionario. Ej. http://www.rae.es !Hola, Paco! Muchas gracias por tu carta. Me alegra saber que vienes a mi casa el próximo verano. Mi familia es peque ñ a...

Este es uno de los trabajos más bonitos del curso pasado. Lo realizó una estudiante trilingüe de 10 años y grabó la letra improvisando una música. No he conseguido subir el video, así que comparto las imágenes. ¡Disfrutadlo!

Introducción: Hola, me llamo ... y tengo unas preguntas. 1.¿Cuántos clientes trata por día? 2.¿Cuál es su horario? 3.¿Cómo son sus compañeros de trabajo? 4.¿Cuánto tiempo has estado trabajando como veterinario? 5.¿Qué tipos de animales puede t ​ ratar? ​ ¿cuál es el animal más exótico que ha tratado?  6. ¿Qué tipo de animal es más popular (en España)? 7.¿Tienes alguna mascota? 8.¿Cuál es tu animal favorito? ¿Por qué? ¿Y tu animal menos favorito? ¿Por qué? 9. ¿Qué tipo de animal es más popular (en España)? 10. ¿Qué es lo mejor de tu trabajo? ¿Y lo peor? Extensión: ¿Hay animales abandonados por la crisis económica en España? ¿Hay personas que ayudan a la protección de animales abandonados? Un placer conocerle y gracias por su tiempo 

This has been a fascinating year and end of Summer. During the Summer holidays I spent the first 2 weeks of July taking a course in Ireland, learning among Irish teachers interested in the  Learn Together’s Ethical education framework-learning about equality in Irish schools. And, I have just arrived from Toledo, Spain, after spending a few days taking part in a gathering about alternative education. Among some speakers and guests I had the chance to meet Michael Newman, former teacher in Summer hill and  Peter and Christel Hartkamp  (Pedagogy of trust) from Holland. During this time I had the chance to take part in debates and discussions with many people and families (about 450 people coming from many part of Europe) about the problems and possible solutions to our current challenges in education in Europe. If i had to choose one aspect of the gathering i would definitely say that the highlight of the gathering was to meet Home educated kids living in Spain- who ...

The new international Spanish exam  SIELE  is being compared with IELTS but for Spanish. Find more details on the link and a sample of the Writing test (Expresiones e interacciones escritas) below: http://www.woodwardspanish.com/siele-international-spanish-exam/ Samples: Option 1: Usted ha recibido un mensaje de una amiga y va a responderlo. En el mensaje a su amiga usted debe: saludarla y contar cómo ha sido su vida en el extranjero; ofrecer disculpas por no haberle contado sus planes; rechazar la invitación de quedarse en su casa porque ya ha buscado una;  describir cómo será su nueva casa, qué medios de transporte hay y cómo es la zona donde está; despedirse.   Hola, ¿qué tal? Me ha dicho Miguel que, después de tantos años en el extranjero, te vienes a vivir a Granada porque has encontrado un trabajo estupendo. Me alegro, ¡por fin vamos a vivir en la misma ciudad y podremos vernos a menudo! Me imagino que tendrás muchas ...

This academic year my students have made good use of google tools.  One of the best tool for preparing test has been google docs, but also useful has been mindmaps, wordle and also padlet. I have noticed that some schools have decided to increase testing time during the Autumn and Spring term, leaving students with not enough proper learning time. As a result my tutoring work has been challenging and demanding at times as it felt like teaching a complete scheme of work in just 60 min a week. Sometimes these in-house tests included material and topics that learners hadn't properly covered in school. Luckily I have had very able and resilient students this year, and hopefully they will not be discouraged by so much school testing and will carry on next year with modern languages.

I have been a part of TES community for some time now. This a space for teachers to network and share useful resources. There are plenty of high quality resources shared for free on the site, crafted by experienced and hands-on teachers. I remember I downloaded loads of good resources while teaching in the classroom.  On TES resources website I share two resources ( downloadable for free when creating an account): Chocolate (KS4 IB)  and Futbol en español (for KS2/KS3) Clipartbest.com In the Summer 2014 I was contacted by TES resources with a proposal to create high quality resources for sale: Premium Resources. This seemed like a very good learning opportunity.  During half-term I devised the resources agreed. If everything goes well my resources will be published in Jan 2015. I though I would post an entry about my learning journey so far: Copyright issues I learnt about: you can't directly copy across exam questions, many public domain ...

During 2013/14 academic year I have been supporting students with their Spanish GCSE, A-Levels and IB ab initio exams. In addition, I am now accredited as an examiner for DELE levels B1/B2 by Instituto Cervantes to prepare and assess students for their DELE exams. There are so many differences on the way these exams are set and assessed and the resources available for tutors for preparing that it is imperative for all teachers to get know in great detail what is at stake. DELE It seems clear that DELE exams are the hardest for a tutor to help preparing mainly because there are no past papers available. This material is being destroyed after every entry.  Also, time restrictions, for the speaking test the students have only a few minutes before the exam to prepare the answers for the questions. No material is allowed in the room and students have no access to the questions until the exam starts. IB ab initio This is very similar to DELE on terms of mate...

Last week I was asked what logistical questions students taking tests for Spanish always ask? These are my answers for the faq asked by students taking Higher tier papers. 1. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA. Understand assessment criteria for reaching best results. For instance, the information a student generates must be relevant to the topic or task they are performing in Spanish. Students tend to provide information that is not relevant. The reason for this is that students feel they need to keep talking/writing: more words more marks. The criteria for assessment makes it clear: more irrelevant information lower marks. 2. TIME RESTRICTIONS: Understanding that you do have time to perform the task. Because students feel under pressure there is no detailed planning when writing a piece of work. Therefore, the language usually is very poor in the first paragraphs. This doesnt give a good impression to the examiner. I encourage to use mind maps to explore accurate vocabulary before approach...

My next post is about my experience on using the website courseSites for teacher training. This website is user friendly and free. Here is a tutorial . It works very well with adult learners and for language upskill courses. Here is a screenshot of one of the tasks posted at this free website. The task involved texting with a mobile phone. This task created enough content to build a unit of work. It was very motivating. My aim was to find a task that would provide authentic learning This is the story  the student and I created. Each colour refers to a single message.