This document provides suggestions for making language learning more engaging and relevant for students. It includes links and contact information for Chris Fuller to discuss ideas further or ask questions. Suggested topics include real-world units, an evolution game of rock paper scissors, and assigning inspiring work that challenges students.

1. Adding deeper meaning
- making language learning relevant and
engaging

3. http://bit.ly/PASHOct13
For more ideas
www.chrisfuller.typepad.com
To chat things over
@chrisfullerisms
To discuss and ask questions
Chrisfullerinspain@hotmail.com

4. Rock, paper, scissors
evolution!
1) Introduce yourself- name and
school
2) Describe in a few seconds a unit
which you teach which deals with
“the real world”
3) Rock paper scissors!

6. “It may sound obvious but the first step in
encouraging high-quality student work is to
have assignments that inspire and challenge
students”
Ron Berger, An Ethic of Excellence, pg 65

7. • Could you talk about...
• Would you want to talk
about...
• How creative could you
be when talking about...
items inhealthy?
being a house?
The traditional topics?
- school
- environment
- daily routine
- local area
- weather
- sports and leisure
- house and home
- food / healthy living
- family
- holidays

8. How do we
encourage...
- intercultural understanding?
- linguistic creativity?
- INTEREST?
- spontaneity?
- skill development?

9. Difficulties in dealing with
complex content
- introducing new, complex language
- ensuring language is appropriate moving
forward
- students won’t understand the concepts
- students don’t have opinions on the
subjects

10. What skills do you want your
students to develop...
- by end of KS3?
- by end of KS4?

11. Chilean earthquake
- house and home
(year 8)

12. Use your word mat to match the vocab below.
What do you think we will be learning about?
Querría
Me haría falta
Me gustaría
porque
sería
esencial
útil
inútil
un lujo
I would want
I would need
I would like
because
It would be
essential
useful
useless
a luxury
I would like
because
I would want
It would be
I would need
useless
a luxury
useful
essential

14. Work with a partner
- Note down as many details in the back of your
book as you can from the video

15. ?
Exploiting word mats
• Translation tasks (written)
• Mini whiteboard tasks
• Answering questions (set number of words?)
• Improving model answers
• Peer feedback

16. Dual language texts to add
cultural context

17. Your challenge:
1) Create a list of 10 items that you would
want after an earthquake
2) Rank them 1 to 10- 1 the most important
3) Use the word mat to explain WHY you
would want that item

18. ¿Qué necesitarías después de un
terremoto ?
Me gustaría (I would like)
Necesitaría (I would need)
Have you investigated
No estoy de
Estoy de acuerdo
Group Talk
acuerdo
Sería (it would be) before? (more…than)
más...
QUE
menos… QUE (less…than)
tan… como
Claro
= of
course
Estás loco / a
= you’re
crazy
(as… as)
¡Qué va!
= yeah
right!
¿En serio? =
Seriously?

19. 1) With a partner categorise the objects on the cards into
the 3 columns below
2) Create explanations as to WHY, using your word grid
esencial
útil
un lujo

20. Uruguayan drug legalisation
-healthy living
(year 8)

21. Your end of unit project this half term will
be to create a blog post on your attitude to
addiction and drug legalisation.
Obviously, the best blog posts aren’t just
text- what else might yours include?
Spend 5 minutes with a partner discussing…
a) What your post might include
b) What words you might need?

22. You have 25 minutes to…
Create a vocab list of at least 20 words for yourself on
the topic of “health”- not just drugs!
Write the Spanish and the English
This must include…
• 5 infinitives (AT LEAST)- words that in English
begin “to…” eg “to drink”
Remember: these end in –ar , -er or -ir
• 5 opinions eg “healthy”
I have a list of 9 words- if you get more than 3 of
them you get 2 merits

23. You have 5 minutes to…
Swap words with other pairs
- Get at least 3 more infinitives
- + 1 more opinion

24. My words
fumar
– to
smoke
tomar
– to take
beber
– to drink
comprar
– to buy
prohibir
– to ban
horrible
– horrible
ilegal
– illegal
enfermo
– ill
sano
– healthy

25. My words
fumar
tomar
beber
comprar
prohibir
horrible
ilegal
enfermo
sano

26. Quiero = I want
Voy a= I am going to
se debe = you should
porque = because menos = less
más = more es = it is
te hace = it makes you
fumar
tomar
beber
comprar
prohibir
horrible
ilegal
enfermo
sano

27. 2
Use the grids in front of you to translate the
following phrases
Title= Mis opiniones sobre el salud
(My opinions about health)
1) I am ill and I have a cough- it’s horrible
Estoy enfermo y tengo tos- es horrible
2) Es importante de prohibir las drogas porque son
peligrosas
It’s important to ban drugs as they are dangerous
3) Cuando era joven quería probar un cigarillo pero
ahora prefiero hacer ejercicio porque es sano
When I was young I used to want to try a cigarette
but now I prefer to do exercise because it’s healthy

28. 2
?

29. 2
Writing challenge:
You have 20 minutes to describe your opinions
on health and addiction
1) What was your attitude to smoking when
you were younger
2) What your attitude to smoking is now
3) Do you think we should legalise drugs?
4) What do you think we should do to stay
healthy?
5) What would you do in the future, if you
could, either to stay healthy or to have fun?

30. 2
2 stars and a wish
Writing challenge:
You have 20 minutes to describe your opinions
on health and addiction
1) What was your attitude to smoking when
you were younger
2) What your attitude to smoking is now
3) Do you think we should legalise drugs?
4) What do you think we should do to stay
healthy?
5) What would you do in the future, if you
could, either to stay healthy or to have fun?

31. 3
What can you work
out from this
government
campaign?

32. 3

33. 3 A) Find the following phrases in the text
1. The regulated and controlled legalisation
La legalización regulada y controlada
2. At the moment the situation provokes
En este momento la situación provoca
3. It is an impossible fight
Es una lucha imposible
4. More problems than the drugs themselves
Más problemas que las drogas sí mismas
5. Drug trafficking causes a “dramatic situation”
El narcotráfico causa una “situación drámatica”
6. Owing to their strong addiction
Debido a su fuerte addición

34. 3
Can you think on your feet?
Tell your partner how you’d say the
following words and phrases…

35. 3
In my opinion
you should
try drugs
because
they don’t cause
problems
of memory
En mi opinión
Se debe
probar drogas
porque
no causan
problemas
de memoria

36. 3
I believe that
drugs
are
Creo que
las drogas
son
a part of growing up
una parte de la juventud
but
they are
harmful
and
boring
pero
son
nocivas
y
aburridas

37. 3
From my point of
view
drugs
they are
stupid
and
you should not
legalise them
Desde mi punto de
vista
las drogas
son
estúpidas
y
no se debe
legalizarlas

38. 3
Now practise this with your partner1 says the English, the other says the Spanish
- Who can build the longest sentence?
- Use…
y = and
Sin embargo = however
Pero = but
También = also
No obstante = nevertheless
Además = furthermore

39. 3
¿Cuál es tu opinión de las
drogas?
Estoy de
acuerdo
No estoy
de
acuerdo

40. 3
Homework:
1) Type up your response to ¿Cuál
es tu opinión de las drogas?
2) Add it to the Wallwisher wall

41. 4
¿Cuál es tu opinión de las
drogas?
Estoy de acuerdo
Claro
= of
course
Estás loco / a
= you’re
crazy
No estoy de acuerdo
¡Qué va!
= yeah
right!
¿En serio? =
Seriously?

42. 4
¿Cuál es tu opinión del
alcohol?
Estoy de acuerdo
Claro
= of
course
Estás loco / a
= you’re
crazy
No estoy de acuerdo
¡Qué va!
= yeah
right!
¿En serio? =
Seriously?

43. 4
¿Cuál es tu opinión del
tabaco?
Estoy de acuerdo
Claro
= of
course
Estás loco / a
= you’re
crazy
No estoy de acuerdo
¡Qué va!
= yeah
right!
¿En serio? =
Seriously?

44. 4
I want
Quiero

45. 4
To smoke
fumar

46. 4
To drink
beber

47. 4
¿Se debe legalizar las drogas?
DEBATE
Drug dealer
Parent
Anti-drugs
campaigner
Teacher
Drug user
17 year old

48. 1) Create a creative description of the picture
2)
4 Add your description to the Voicethread at
http://bit.ly/drogasopinion
3) Leave follow-up 2 stars and a wish comments on other
descriptions
Things to describe
• Who he is
• Who he is with and
what they’re like
• What he does for
exercise
• Is he healthy or not?
• What he wants to do in
the future to be healthy

49. Pamplona: bull-running,
tourism, local area,
cruelty

50. En grupos de
3 decide si
Marta está a
favor o en
contra de
San Fermin

52. A few other useful, simple
ideas...

53. www.wordle.net
www.tagxedo.com

54. Deberíamos... No deberíamos...
+
infinitivo
Verbos importantes:
ahorrar
apagar
cambiar
comprar consumir malgastar
mantener mejorar
plantar
proteger reciclar
reducir
salvar
tirar
usar
utilizar

55. Running dictations
En mi opinión soy muy simpática, y
probablemente soy un poco aburrida.
Pero antes, en la escuela primaria, tenía
más confianza. Mi mejor amigo es muy
divertido pero era tímido
Exploitation
• Peer mark + provide advice
• Find phrases
• Translate
• Use structures in different ways

56. bit.lyMFLintros

57. 1.
2.
3.
4.
TASK:
Reflect on your units.
How many “real world” elements
does it include?
Who is doing the work?
What skills are being delivered?
How can that unit be rethought?

58. TASK:
5 minutes to:
• steal as many ideas as possible
• talk to people about how you can share
ideas / collaborate

59. The “traditional” topics
- school
- sports and leisure
- environment
- house and home
- daily routine
- food / healthy living
- local area
- family
- weather

61. www.ridgewaylanguages.typepad.com

62. www.roydslanguagesdepartment.typepad.com
Creating an audience for
work

63. Departmental Twitter accounts
@longsladeMFL
Possible uses
• Share links
• Reminders
• Highlight great work
• New blog posts
• Building audience

64. Podcasting
By students
• Provides audience for speaking tasks
• Immediate (grammar) revision tool
• Editing process = repeated exposure
• Easy to access anytime, anywhere
For students
• Immediate (grammar) revision tool
• Easy to access anytime, anywhere

65. QR code displays
http://bit.ly/QRcodedisplay

67. A few of my ideas...
- Cinema and speed dating discussions
- Shelterbox competition
- Environment debates with the
Geographical Association
- European Day of Languages project
- Spelling Bee

68. My ideas are ONLY my ideas...
What topics do we really need
to spice up?
- project ideas
- what concrete steps can we / I take?
- numbers of students?
- cost?

69. Support for teachers
#MFLTwitterati
#MFLDevon

70. Keep on
Stop
Do less
Do more
Start