It’s always a good idea to get students practicing using language for practical purposes. I found a site by Harry G. Tuttle that includes links to different menus from various Spanish speaking countries to help students practice conversation. The teacher could use this site in the classroom (as long as she has access to a computer and a projector because most of the links are to photographs) to have the students practice ordering food. The class could be put in groups and given an imaginary budget and take turns being clients or waiter. One link has a menu with a pretty bad English translation and could be used to promote some funny discussions about the risk of directly translating (check out the trout section).The teacher could check for comprehension of food words by asking the students about why they chose to order the dish they did and get them to talk about where the food might come from (beef comes from a cow, tortillas are made with corn, wheat, etc.) or how someone might go about preparing it.
Teachers can arrange to have sets of the Ahora Sí publication sent to their classrooms in Austin. Current, local events are always a great motivator for discussions. Check out the website:
The source (in case the link above doesn't work) is "Newspapers in Education- Ahora Sí"
http://orlandokelm.wordpress.com/spanish-language/
Orlando Kelm's website, contains some good links and lots of good advice on language teaching.
http://zachary-jones.com/zambombazo/clozeline/
Zachary Jones' Zambombazo: contains worksheets and activities that utilize TONS of real-world, authentic materials (current events, popular culture, etc.)
http://orlandokelm.wordpress.com/spanish-language/
Orlando Kelm's website, contains some good links and lots of good advice on language teaching.
http://zachary-jones.com/zambombazo/clozeline/
Zachary Jones' Zambombazo: contains worksheets and activities that utilize TONS of real-world, authentic materials (current events, popular culture, etc.)
