Anna Sebaly
The Charger
H. H. Dow HS
1st Place
Division 1, Yearbook
Academic Writing
Juan and Natalia stood at the altar, about to get married. Out of nowhere, three old friends of the couple drunkenly crashed the wedding, and were about to reveal a shocking secret about Juan. It sounds like something out of a Spanish soap opera, but it’s actually a brief summary of a wedding skit, put on by Lisa Bonotto’s Spanish III class.
Learning another language was a demanding and exciting process. However, it’s often bogged down by copious amounts of workbooks, vocabulary packets, and book activities. As a result, it left many foreign language students able to write and read sufficiently, but not speak with fluency or ease.
Every teacher combats this problem differently. Listening activities, speaking projects, and watching films in the topic language were all good ideas, but never seem to be enough. Bonotto decided to take matters into her own hands and took a alternative route to fixing this issue.
“I wanted to create an experience for them that they were invested in,” Bonotto said.
The first project of the year was with her Spanish 2 class. In an effort to connect foodvocabulary to sounds and smells they could relate to, her three Spanish II classes set up minirestaurants. Students were put in groups, and served authentic Spanish dishes. Food included chili, enchiladas, tamales, etc. Faculty, students, and other adults were invited to come. There was only one rule: the students could only talk in Spanish.
“The whole class really came together and put in a good effort to keep using Spanish,” freshman Maia Donahue said.
The restaurant project was held on Feb. 20, and consisted of three classes, five minutes of prep time, and fifty minutes of solid Spanish. Students could combat the language barrier by using hand signals and drawings, but never any English.
“One of my students said at one point ‘That was the most intense 50 minutes of my life.’ That was what I wanted,” Bonotto said.
Similarly, her Spanish 3 class did something along the same lines, bringing vocab to life. Wedding vocab was a bit harder to apply in real life, but a fake wedding put on by Spanish III students make it work. Each student had a particular ‘role’. Roles included a bride, groom, best man & maid of honor, a priest, and even a few wedding crashers.
The wedding was held in the little theater, during second hour on Feb. 28. Three other classes were invited to watch the event.
“It’s more hands on, which gives you more of a part and also helps you with your oral skills,” freshman Varun Shanker said.
It’s impossible to find a method of teaching that any student can learn from. But creative projects, such as a wedding skit or a restaurant helped students learn, and encourage students to further their education in the foreign language field.
“Seeing these kids taking something and bringing it to life, out of the textbook, and they’re owning it. That’s the moment where when my heart smiled,” Bonotto said.