Furthermore, I have also used Project-Based Learning Units with my Spanish students such as creating a Spanish restaurant skit, where the students were required to develop their own Spanish menu (they chose and researched a Spanish-speaking country), had to develop the prices using the local currency, and use their Spanish skills learned in class to develop a presentation. In the article, “Three Ideas for 21st-Century Global Curriculum”, under the section Leverage the Role of Play, “project-based learning also honors the concept of “play,” where learning is not tightly sequenced and scripted, but organic, and learners begin learning to manage their own time, focus and intellectual and creative output” (Heick, 2012). I believe this project allowed my students to be creative and research the country they wanted to learn more about (such as the specific cuisine items such as desserts, main dishes, appetizers, etc. in the country, the currency, how the phone number is written, etc.). 

 

     As a Spanish teacher, since I have gotten the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica, Perú, la República Dominicana (Dominican Republic), España (Spain), México, Honduras, etc. I believe providing our students endless opportunities to travel to different countries in groups for Spring Break trips or even a Summer Trip because they are trips of a lifetime, and you may never get the chance to return to that country. The trips that the World Language teachers sponsor and take our students on these excursions allow the students and teachers to gain a better understanding (learning experience) of their culture, their native language, cuisine, daily life, etc. Our world is constantly changing, whether that is moving to a certain country for a job, or working with Argentinian men/women on a business task, or in some cases, some people move to a country for a better life. The little things such as learning how to greet someone in their native language (such as Spanish or Portuguese) brings a smile to both of our faces, especially the students that do not speak English very well or at all. In closing, I definitely know that it can be very challenging at times to learn a new language, speak in the language, read and write in the language, but the rewards are even greater to me when I do learn something new such as Quechua (which is spoken in Perú).