Welcome to Footnotes!

Footnotes is a blog in which you can complain, express yourself, scream, or open your heart to whatever feelings you have about learning Spanish. To learn a foreign language is always difficult and it requires practice and a lot of group work. The objective of the blog is to provide a space in which Spanish students can share their learning experience. You can ask a question, complain about a difficult in a grammar point, or give an answer or tip for those same questions and complains. Teachers can also provide new information or guidance to make the process a lot easier. You may also find some websites that may be helpful, or give new ones for the benefit of everybody. I hope you enjoy this experience and that Footnotes will be part of your learning experience. Go ahead! Empieza!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Exams and Final Exams: Ay, Dios mio!!

After some years being teaching Spanish, I've discovered that the best way to review for an exam -specially a final exam- is to play. It relaxes you and provide you with a stress-free environment to apply the vocabulary and grammar you've been working all year long. As a suggestion, try these ideas:

1. For vocab: A Memory game- With a partner, create a list of 20-26 vocab words with its definitions (even numbers, because later you'll need to pair the word with the definition). Just follow the rules of the old game, and you will be practicing your words. To add a little twist, after you finish pairing up the words, try to write sentences with each. This game can also be use with conjugations -specially those hard ones stem-changing or irregular verbs.

2. To practice Direct and Indirect Objects: For this you might need to consult a native speaker or your teacher, just to be sure that you've written a list of correct 5 sentences. These sentences will have all the elements (Subject + Verb + Direct object + Indirect Object + Circumstantial Object). Afterwards, re-write your sentences using the direct and indirect object pronouns. "Break down" each sentence in pieces. The complete sentences in individual bags as group "A", the same with the "pronoun" sentences as group B. With some friends, practice your sentence writing skills and use of direct and indirect object pronouns by trying to put together each sentence in the correct order.

3. To review chapters: Play Jeopardy. This is the best game to review a lot of different categories (grammar, translations, culture, vocab). Along with a friend, plan a Jeopardy session using Power Point -there are a lot of templates for educational purpose that you can download to your computer-. Be creative in your questions and sentences. Use examples from the book to be sure that you have all the correct grammar covered, or look for more examples on the web.

Hope these tips help. The best part of all the game scene is the prep. It will give you time to think the language and practice while having fun.

Que disfruten!!!

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