104 Para terminar… Conversemos

¡Conversemos! 5: Mi vida diaria

Do you remember ¡Conversemos! 2 and the new friends you made, while talking about UT and its campus with fellow students at a party? After a few busy weeks of classes, you’ve decided to meet up with one or two of them at a coffeeshop. What a great opportunity to get to know them much better. There’s so much to talk about now! During this in-class ¡Conversemos! activity, you will share information about your favorite places and activities (e.g., sports, hobbies, etc.), as well as places and activities you like more than others or you like the same amount (use superlatives, and comparatives of equality and inequality). In addition, talk about your daily routines during the week and on the weekend (use reflexive verbs), as well as activities in the near future (use ir + a + infinitive). Only 2-3 people per group are permitted for this activity. Before this in-class activity, please complete Pasos 1 through 5 below.

[Copy pre-activity Google doc here]

Paso 1. Start this pre-activity by preparing a list of questions you will use in class. Use the vocabulary in the current section of our textbook, as well as previous sections. In addition, use present tense verbs (both regular and irregular). You could ask about their favorite hobbies and activities, which ones they like more than others, where they go to do these activities, and why they like them so much. Furthermore, you ask questions related to daily routines (i.e., during the school week and on the weekends), the frequency with which they do certain things (e.g., frequently, everyday, sometimes, almost never), who they do these activities with, where they take place, and what the places are like. Remember that these questions and their answers are only the beginning of a conversation. What do you and your friends have or don’t have in common? What do you find interesting about what was shared? What do you agree or disagree with?

Paso 2. Now prepare a list of useful vocabulary words and phrases from previous sections of our textbook (and beyond) to share information about your own favorite places and leisure activities (e.g., sports, hobbies, etc.) and to talk about your daily routines and activities in the near future. Importantly, do not write complete sentences here. You will lose points during the in-class ¡Conversemos! activity if you are simply reading your answers to your classmate’s questions.

Paso 3. Remember, cognates are a great tool for communication. Have you included any in sections (1) or (2) above? Go ahead and copy all the cognates you used above into the columns below. If possible, group the words by association and label the column category (e.g., hobbies, routines, words of frequency, places). Practice pronouncing these words and make sure you are familiar with both the singular/plural and masculine/feminine forms when relevant.

Paso 4. At some point during the natural flow of the in-class conversation, get your phone out and share a couple of photos, one that shows your favorite place in the world and another that shows your favorite activity. Describe the images below:

Paso 5. Finally, prepare a list of fillers (to hold the floor), expressions that show interest in the conversation (so that your new friends don’t mistake silence with disinterest), and helpful expressions for sharing your opinion, expressing (dis) agreement, and getting others involved.

Paso 6. Upload this pre-activity to Canvas before the in-class ¡Conversemos! activity.

Proyecto Digital (opcional):

Introducción al proyecto del Volumen II

The objective of this assignment is for your class to develop a digital magazine that will provide information about the members of the class in relation to the topics discussed in class to Spanish speakers in this country and abroad. Each student in your class will work on his/her personal profile throughout the semester. The work will be divided into 3 different parts (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3). You will also collaborate with your classmates in the revision and improvement of the work produced.

The instructions offered in these sections will be complemented with those provided by your instructor.

Primera parte: En mi tiempo libre 

In this module you will talk about your favorite activities and hobbies.

I. Antes de escribir

Use the questions that follow to organize your ideas. Your instructor can help you with words or constructions that are unfamiliar to you.

1. ¿Qué actividades haces en tu tiempo libre? Escribe al menos cuatro actividades.
2. ¿Con quién pasas tu tiempo libre?
3. ¿Por qué te gustan estas actividades? ¿Con quién haces estas actividades?
4. ¿Cuáles son tus lugares favoritos para pasar tu tiempo libre?
5. Usando los adjetivos en este módulo, describe los lugares. Usa comparativos y superlativos en tu descripción.
6. ¿Por qué vas allí? ¿Qué actividad haces allí?
7. ¿Con quién vas a esos lugares? ¿Por qué?
8. ¿Qué haces los fines de semana?

II. A escribir

Now write your paragraph and…

• Pay attention to gender and number when you use articles, adjectives (including comparatives and superlatives), and nouns and to the correct verb conjugations.
• Use connectors and conjunctions to connect your ideas. For example, use y, también (also), además (also), pero (but), aunque (even though), ya que (because), entonces (so), etc. Your instructor can help you to use these words correctly.
• Complement your paragraph with:
  • At least one photo that shows you doing your favorite activity.
  • Additional photos (a maximum of two) of: 1. Your favorite place; 2. You and your friends enjoying your free time.
  • If you use photos that you have not taken, please do not forget to cite the source. We recommend that you use Creative Common photos (CC, CC BY, CC BY-SA). You can search for this type of photos on https://search.creativecommons.org/.

III. Después de escribir

Now read your paragraph, and focus on the following:

• Content: Have you included all the information required? Are your photos big and clear enough to convey your message?
• Grammar:
  • Articles, adjectives, and nouns: Do they agree in gender and number?
  • Verbs: Have you conjugated your verbs correctly?
  • Reflexive verbs: Have you used the correct reflexive pronoun and conjugation?
  • Cohesion: Have you connected your ideas with the suggested connectors and conjunctions?

Go over your text, improve it, and write a new, polished version.