A Virtual Field Trip: Spanish Class
Running an Adobe Connect Synchronous Session
Passport to Learning: Virtual Field Trips Enrich Online Classes
Immersion is critical to any language learning. This could pose a unique challenge to students in an online learning environment if instructors don't have creative and interactive plans in place for students to get good experience conversing and learning the culture with others.
I have created an environment that I hope helps students better experience the richness of the Spanish language and culture of the many Spanish speaking countries using Adobe Connect synchronous sessions.
Since hosting these sessions, overall attendance and participation has increased, students regularly comment that they learned something new, and most, if not all, are eager to use the language, either spoken or written.
5 Keys to Highlight in A Synchronous Session
Introduction/Welcome - While students are following my synchronous protocol and waiting for class to start, I pull music from the featured country. A pop singer, folkloric singer, etc. My instructions are simply-what words do you recognize or are familiar with by listening? By listening, what do you think the artist's message is? Stay within the content of our course.
Culture - Show a featured country...general tour of the country...these are my general instructions: watch and see if you can make "heads or tails"of the narration. Jot down what you think you understand----no translations. What did you understand?
Listening Comprehension - I have sound bytes of native speaker interviews [try to get speakers of the featured country] and ask the students to do the same: What did you understand? Did this country's citizens speak faster, slower than last week's? After just audio, they listen a second time, and this time with the script to see if this will enhance understanding more.
Content - This is the time I go over the grammar of graded items and focus on their mistakes: videos, ppts and hands on practice of their errors.
Conversations - I take this opportunity to have them practice within the module.
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