Global Communication in AP Spanish

❝If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.❞

‒Nelson Mandela

Before this school year I was often frustrated in planning my lessons; how much grammar was too much? Was I introducing enough vocabulary? How do I get them to speak more? Why isn't their grammar perfect after focusing on the same concept for two weeks? Why are they apprehensive and afraid of making mistakes while speaking Spanish?

Once I took a step back and realized that my AP students just needed to use the language everyday (exactly like they do in learning English) was when the lightbulb turned on. After 12 years of teaching, I realized exactly what I needed to do and that's how this project developed. I would have students take a topic they are interested in, research it, and find an expert in the field that can peak their interest a little bit more, all while communicating in Spanish. But I still had questions: How would it work without having a focus on grammar and vocabulary but instead communication? Will we even find "real people" to talk to? Will my students embrace being thrown into an uncomfortable situation? As our district is moving towards making our students more "global" in a PBL learning environment, what better time to try this project!?

Throughout the 2017-2018 school year AP Spanish students were introduced to the following themes:

Las Familias y Las Comunidades
La Ciencia y La Tecnología
La Belleza y La Estética
La Vida Contemporánea
Los Desafíos Mundiales
Las Identidades Personales y Públicas

After delving deeper into the themes, students were tasked with choosing the theme that interested them the most from the year. They then wrote an essential question that they wanted to know more information about (two examples are below). After writing their question they began to dive into research.

A required element of the project was collaborating with someone from the Spanish-speaking world (hence, the Global Communication title) that could help answer their question. It is so important at this level of high school Spanish that students realize that they ACTUALLY can speak Spanish. They know that they can speak in class with their classmates and with their teachers but they always doubt the fact that a native Spanish speaker would be able to understand them. They sent hundreds of emails and made "cold calls" in hopes of finding an expert in their field.

The final task was a Q &A interview (think Today Show-ish) in which they had to: explain why they chose the theme, answer specific questions about their research, and listen to questions that were developed by my other AP class about their question (to practice listening skills).