
A Guide to Extempore Commons
Extempore Commons, our robust library of importable practice and assessment content for both ESL and…
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As I’m planning a potentially-rich, definitely-logistically-challenging activity in my university-level Spanish classes, I’m realizing how much easier this could be with Extempore.
Let me explain. I’m an assistant professor of Spanish language and linguistics at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. If you’re familiar with San Antonio, you know that this is a city in which the majority of the population is of Mexican descent. At my university, a Hispanic-Serving Institution, there is a lot of Spanish spoken all over campus. This is a fantastic environment in which to teach the language!
Most semesters, I teach two different courses: intermediate Spanish language and an advanced course on topics in Spanish linguistics. My advanced students all speak Spanish proficiently, but most of my intermediate students struggle. Last year, I came up with an activity that combined the two classes. I wanted my intermediate students to practice speaking with fluent speakers. What better resource than all of the fluent speakers already on campus? Even better, these speakers were fellow students, peers and friends, alleviating somewhat the pressure of speaking in Spanish and providing a more relaxed atmosphere than there would be in an oral exam with a professor. Don’t imagine that the advanced students didn’t get anything out of it, either. They, in turn, used the recorded conversations for analysis and did an assignment comparing oral production and linguistic attitudes.
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