Novice-Level Novels to Enhance Communication in the Spanish Classroom

For communication in L2 to exist, students need something to talk about. Reading short novels crafted especially for the novice learner not only provides characters and a plot, but also the feeling of accomplishment once the novel has been read. In this course, we will discuss the theory of comprehensible input and then go on to use the theory while exploring how to reach novice learners through three novice-level novels in Spanish: Feliz cumpleaños, La chica nueva and El viaje difícil, learning how to incorporate what is already embedded in the novel to further pique students' interest and get the most out of the reading, including culture, geography, food, social issues and even politics. Within each module, participants will examine the online content, read the books, engage in discussion, prepare and share activities for use in the classroom. The course is a forum to collaborate, share ideas and best practices for involving the comprehensible novel in the novice-level classroom. (Open to teachers of all languages at every level but designed for teachers of the Novice Level. Course conducted in Spanish by the author of two of the novels, Jennifer Degenhardt.)

ADDITIONAL NOTES: 

All Idioma courses receive letter grades. 

HOW TO ACCESS YOUR COURSE MATERIALS: 

Within 1-2 business days of your Ashland registration, you will receive an email from your course content provider, Idioma, containing instructions on how to access your course materials. A note, their emails are sometimes forwarded to junk or spam folders. 

You will be working with Idioma, through their Learning Management System, to complete the course, after which, your instructor will record your grade on your AU transcript. We will notify you by email once this is done, with instructions on how to view and order transcripts. 

Ashland Professional Development: pds@ashland.edu