Term
Summer 2022
Capstone
Capstone Project
Degree Name
MAEd
Facilitator(s)
Jana Lo Bello Miller
Content Expert
Anne Sawyer Beach
Abstract
My primary research question for my capstone project is: What are the ways in which interaction, collaboration, and dialogue impact students’ Spanish language acquisition? More specifically, my research and project aim to answer: How can an interactive word wall affect Spanish language acquisition in an urban classroom? I have created an interactive word wall curriculum. This was specifically designed to fit my context as a middle school Spanish teacher, grades 6-8. However, this interactive word wall curriculum can be utilized effectively in any content area. Through considering culturally and linguistically responsive teaching (Hollie, 2018) as well as how to best provide comprehensible input (Krashen, 1989) within my classroom, this word wall has been created. I considered how to best lower students’ affective filters and reduce their anxiety within my classroom (Lin et al., 2010) when designing these activities. The interactive word wall has sixteen specifically designed activities: four reading activities, four writing activities, four speaking activities, and four listening activities. These are meant to be in the four modalities of language learning. Loyola (2016) discusses the importance of speaking within a language classroom and how to best utilize speaking, collaborative activities, and vocabulary use. In noticing a need for collaboration, dialogue, and discussion, these activities are designed to be collaborative in nature, with high amounts of support so that all students will succeed (Hammond, 2015). This project proves the importance of collaboration and vocabulary use in the secondary age classroom, and how important this can be for students, future jobs they will have, and even families who support them at home. Students will have manageable ways to use, practice, and remember content-specific vocabulary. In all, this interactive word wall seeks to engage and excite students about learning and using new vocabulary in any content area, but specifically when learning a new language in an increasingly multilingual world.
Project Type
Curriculum
Keywords
Curriculum, Foreign Language, Literacy, Vocabulary Instruction
Recommended Citation
Schuneman, Jordan, "Using an Interactive Word Wall to Increase Spanish Language Acquisition for Urban Middle School Learners" (2022). School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects. 814.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_cp/814
dc_type
text
dc_publisher
DigitalCommons@Hamline
dc_format
application/pdf
dc_source
School of Education Student Capstone Projects