Español 3A – Tri. 1, 2016/17
Hoja de Participación – Semana 1
Nombre: _______________________________
Fecha: _________________________________
Introduction
I really believe in this quote: Participation is essential in a language course. In order to successfully
communicate in the target language, students must practice their skills every day. This practice will
usually take place in the target language. Students are expected to use as much Spanish in the classroom
as possible, even when asking questions about a new concept.
As you know, my goal as the teacher is to use Spanish at a 90% rate, so that you can get the necessary
input to make connections, to reinforce what you already know, and to give you a little more than you
know, so that when new material comes up, it’s not completely new to you.
The other side of that 90% target-language rate is you, the listener, the recipient of this input.
Remember, I don’t expect that you will know everything I say in Spanish. I am very careful and strategic
with what I give you in the language, and how complicated I make my input. Having said that, how do
you think you did on your reception of the language? In technical terms, did you convert the input into
intake? Meaning, did you try to learn new structures or make any connections with previously-learned
material? These are questions to think about, as we spend the next eleven weeks together.
Language use
This is our first Participation Grade Sheet, so it’s important to note that not all participation sheets will
look the same. They will all be out of ten total points, but the questions I ask and the things I will ask you
to think about will vary from week to week.
This week, I want to know how you would grade yourself in terms of language use. If you had a question
for me, did you ask it in Spanish? Did you ask in Spanish if your question was for a friend? If you needed
me to repeat a question or to explain something in a different way, did you make your request in the
target language? You see, learning a language, and becoming a proficient speaker of that language,
requires that you “dive in,” that you “live” in the language, that you take every opportunity to use the
very same language you are trying to learn. So, how many points would you give yourself for language
use this week?
0 points
1 point
2 points
3 points
4 points
5 points
Participation
In this section you want to think about actual participation. This means your engagement in the
activities we did in class. Completing class activities is one thing, but completing them with energy, with
a real goal of learning is actually something else. When in groups, did you contribute to the
conversation? Did you speed through the activity, just so you could be done? Did you try to make a
personal connection with the material, like when we talked about household chores? Did you “live” in
the language during the activities? So, how many points would you give yourself for participation this
week?
0 points
1 point
2 points
3 points
4 points
5 points
Remember that the teacher will review your self-assessment and make point adjustments, if
necessary.