Are you new to comprehensible input? How to begin now!

So I hear you’ve been thinking about teaching with comprehensible input but you’re scared, right? It completely turns your teaching upside down and seems to be completely different from how you have always taught. I hear you loud and clear. For me it felt like trying to join in the middle of a basketball game without ever warming up (or even having shoes).  I was terrified to try it, to jump in head first. However, I am SO glad that I decided to take the plunge (and by plunge I mean tiny baby steps in the CI direction). Keep reading to find out how I did it and an easy first activity that you can try. 

When I was teaching out of the textbook, I would reach these two pages that had weather and seasons. The students and I will look at these, repeat them out loud, and then what? How can I spend more than just a few minutes in class talking about weather? It seems so incredibly boring to me. (And you know, if it’s boring to us, it’s super boring for the students!) 

So I set off on a mission to create a multitude of activities that would give them the repetitions they need in order to truly acquire the words. You’re going to love this!

One of my favorite in-class activities is using task cards for speaking. It gives the students an opportunity to practice interpersonal speaking. Also, it helps the students that are a little less confident to feel like they can produce the language. It is a low stress activity to help them to feel more confident in the language! Students ask one another the questions on their cards and they have the start of the answer printed below in case they get stuck. After, they trade cards and then find a new partner. Meanwhile, the teacher can circulate, listen in, and provide support.

I believe in these speaking task cards so much that I want you to have them too! Subscribe to my email for monthly tips on teaching Spanish, activities, and general classroom advice and I will send you a set of weather task cards to get you started on the path to proficiency. They are ready to print, cut, and pass out! I know you’ll love them as much as I do!