Fluent Future Videos
This site is especially useful for learning new grammar points and vocabulary--language skills that are necessary for cultural competence. The site itself is meant to be a language exchange platform. If one signs up, there is access to native speakers as language exchange partners on the web, but for classroom purposes it would be better to stick with the instructional videos as supplements to a class lesson. There is a long list of videos to choose from. I recommend the ones that are rated with four stars. In the best video, a man instructs how to use the command form by giving commands to his dog. It is educational and entertaining, and it has meaningful delivery, so it maintains the attention of the students.
This was an interesting website. I wondered about the subtitles the videos provided. I am of two minds about this. In the context I am in, students have a lot of difficulty reading, so I think that watching videos or movies might be helpful and fun. I do not know much about Spanish classrooms in the U.S., but if reading "fluency" is an issue, I think this would be really helpful. I have heard subtitles criticized many times, but I am starting to see their use.
ReplyDeleteMost of the language exchange forums and sites that I come across offer only paid services. So, it was great to see that there is a resource where people can exchange knowledge for free. I like the idea of interacting with the native speakers of the language.This can be a good resource for helping students find 'e-penpals'!
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