structure of the activity

8/2/2019 STRUCTURE OF THE ACTIVITY

1/13

Main Task

Finding a good Hispanic restaurant in Chicago.

Target Language Spanish.

Language Level Intermediate (or higher)

Estimated timeDuring the semester

SettingMostly outside the classroom (Side class project)


2/13

For this task, students must open a personal account

(or being member) in these websites:

Delicious.com Voxopop.com

Blogger.com Skype Wikispaces.com Weebly.com

Map Quest or Google maps Hot potatoes (Only for instructors)

Tutorial:http://672268693831277066.weebly.com/tutorials.html
http://672268693831277066.weebly.com/tutorials.htmlhttp://672268693831277066.weebly.com/tutorials.html


3/13

Additionally, students have to create a worldfile specifically for this task. In this file, theycan copy and paste selected information fromthe website of the course.

This info selection should be in accordancewith their personal choices for these activities.

Instructor may ask students to turn in this filein order to check students involvement andeffort put on the activity).


4/13

General

To foster L2 learning through these four aspects:a) TL cultural involvement through autonomous/guide online research.

b) Authentic exposure to TL .

c) Blog/wiki TL interaction.

d) Post-test.

Specific objectives.

To identify, process, and produce useful Spanish vocabulary and grammar

structures related to order food in a TL restaurant.

To share personal opinions by interacting and producing L2 output with

peer students through voice and written blog interaction.

To elicit a cultural approach to Hispanic food.


5/13

The main task is divided in 9 subtasks

Activity #1: Finding Information

Instructor have to open/create a course website on

Delicious.com, including online material about Hispanic

restaurants and food in Chicago.

Once this website is created, students have to visit it and:

1. read, watch, listen, select, and process the content from the website.

2. start with their list of useful expressions and vocabulary in a labeled

word document in which students must type/write down vocabulary

and TL expressions related to the topic.

http://delicious.com/stacks/carloscall487
http://delicious.com/stacks/carloscall487http://delicious.com/stacks/carloscall487


6/13

Students have to select one of the restaurants displayed in class

Deliciouswebsite.

It may be necessary that the instructor first agree with the restaurant

personnel, asking/requiring to the waiter staff to try talking Spanish with

the students as much as possible.

Students have to visit the restaurant website, find the menu,

and read the dish descriptions included on this.

Then, each student will have to pick up at least one choice/dish,

and include its description in the personal word file.

http://www.loscomales.com/catering.php
http://www.loscomales.com/catering.phphttp://www.loscomales.com/catering.phphttp://www.loscomales.com/catering.php


7/13

Students has to physically go to this restaurant and try to orderher/his food by using Spanish language as much as possible.

Students are also expected to find directions to the restaurant by usingGoogle maps or any other map searcher: http://672268693831277066.weebly.com/tasks.html

These students should use TL grammar structures to completetheir food order:

http://672268693831277066.weebly.com/grammar.html

Students may obtain these TL structures from the grammar andpodcast tab from Weebly site:

http://672268693831277066.weebly.com/podcasts.html
http://672268693831277066.weebly.com/tasks.htmlhttp://672268693831277066.weebly.com/grammar.htmlhttp://672268693831277066.weebly.com/podcasts.htmlhttp://672268693831277066.weebly.com/podcasts.htmlhttp://672268693831277066.weebly.com/grammar.htmlhttp://672268693831277066.weebly.com/tasks.html


8/13

Students have to list the food items they got in their personal word document.

Then, they have to create a written description of the whole dish they had andpost it on a regular online blog: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3110714392238374369#allposts/postNum=1

After that, students have to orally post this description on an online voice blog: http://www.voxopop.com/group/6f6bbdb2-3734-4cb0-8338-04506483c7a2

In order to create this description, students have to answer these questions:What type of food did the dish contain? How did it look like? Could it be

compared to any dish from the students culture?

Learners have to employ grammar structures such as: sto contiene (It contains), el plato esta hecho/compuesto de (This

dish is made of), los ingredients son (The ingredients are), etc.

At the end, each student must have at least one spoken post on Voxopop.com,and one written post on Blogger.com
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3110714392238374369http://www.voxopop.com/group/6f6bbdb2-3734-4cb0-8338-04506483c7a2http://www.voxopop.com/group/6f6bbdb2-3734-4cb0-8338-04506483c7a2http://www.voxopop.com/group/6f6bbdb2-3734-4cb0-8338-04506483c7a2http://www.voxopop.com/group/6f6bbdb2-3734-4cb0-8338-04506483c7a2http://www.voxopop.com/group/6f6bbdb2-3734-4cb0-8338-04506483c7a2http://www.voxopop.com/group/6f6bbdb2-3734-4cb0-8338-04506483c7a2http://www.voxopop.com/group/6f6bbdb2-3734-4cb0-8338-04506483c7a2http://www.voxopop.com/group/6f6bbdb2-3734-4cb0-8338-04506483c7a2http://www.voxopop.com/group/6f6bbdb2-3734-4cb0-8338-04506483c7a2http://www.voxopop.com/group/6f6bbdb2-3734-4cb0-8338-04506483c7a2http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3110714392238374369


9/13

After posting their comments on the course blogs, each student has to selectone oral and one written post/review from one of their classmates.

Then, students have to look at the restaurant website selected by theclassmate: before students can comment about another students post/review, she/he has to do

little research about the restaurant that was visited by the classmate.

After this, learners have to comment/discuss on the two written and oralcomments that they selected from Bloggerand Voxopop.

Students have to agree or disagree with others reviews and opinions by usinggrammar structures such as:

estoy de acuerdo/en desacuerdo con (I agree/disagree with), me gusta/no megusta tu opinin porque (I like/dislike your opinion since ), es interesante/impotante que (It is interesting/important that), etc.

At the end, each student must have at least one spoken reaction to the selectedpeers comments on Voxopop.com, and one written reaction/comment on

Blogger.com.


10/13

Each learner has to select one of their classmates to hold asynchronous online-discussion via Skype. It is recommended that students choose the same partner with whom they had

engaged in conversation during the blog interaction Students have to open an account in Skype: http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/home

This discussion must be about the restaurants that the two

students personally visited.

Students are supposed to ask and answer questions such as: Cmo te pareco el restaurante? (How did you like the restaurant?), Que tal la

comida all? (How about the food?), Que tal el servicio all? (How about the

costumer service?), S est bien ubicado? (How about the restaurant location?), etc.

During the interaction, the two students are supposed to: ask for language clarification when it is necessary, provide/receive corrected feedback between them.Be engaged in negotiation of meaning with the partner.
http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/homehttp://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/homehttp://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/homehttp://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/home


11/13

Each students lists of words and grammar expressions must

be posted on the course wikispace created by the instructor. Each individual word must have a definition. http://hispanicrestaurantsinchicago.wikispaces.com/Bienvenidos

Students have to post any language expression they found

recurrent or useful for interaction in a restaurant context.

It is expected that students post words such as:Arepa (a sort of corn cake), Chorizo (pork sausage), etc;

And grammar expressions such as:Dnde queda el bao? (Where is the restroom?), Me podra dar otra

servilleta, (Could I have a another napkin), Me puede dar otracerveza/gaseosa (Can I have another beer/soda), etc.
http://hispanicrestaurantsinchicago.wikispaces.com/Bienvenidoshttp://hispanicrestaurantsinchicago.wikispaces.com/Bienvenidos


12/13

Students must post their own conclusions about the activity andtheir language experience.

Composition-like task

They should get these conclusions by answering the next twoquestions:What was the most interesting thing that you learnt in this activity?

What is now your opinion about Latino restaurants and food in Chicago?What did you learn about the Hispanic culture? How was your cross-cultural experience?

This posting must also be done on the course wikispace before

the testing day. http://hispanicrestaurantsinchicago.wikispaces.com/Bienvenidos

The instructor have to provide online feedback to students fromtheir conclusions/compositions through the wiki site: It can be done just by writing observations and comments on the

students document/text in the same wikispace.
http://hispanicrestaurantsinchicago.wikispaces.com/Bienvenidoshttp://hispanicrestaurantsinchicago.wikispaces.com/Bienvenidos


13/13

Students must take a review quiz about the vocabulary

and grammar structures that they all posted on thecourse wikispace.

This test will be posted on the course Weebly site.

http://672268693831277066.weebly.com/quizes.html

The instructor also have to collect the word documentcreated by each student in order to evaluate students

evolution during the task.

Corrected feedback is expected by the instructor forboth the quiz and the word document.
http://672268693831277066.weebly.com/quizes.htmlhttp://672268693831277066.weebly.com/quizes.html

structure of the activity

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