I’ve been a teacher for a long time, and I’ve made every mistake in the book when it comes to presentations in Spanish class. This blog post will give you all the tips and tricks I’ve learned to help you and your students avoid these errors and get the most out of presentations!
Consider Student Proficiency Level
The biggest of all the mistakes I’ve made is asking students in the Novice range to do presentations in front of the whole class. I hope I won’t be hurting anyone’s feelings…. but students who can’t say much yet don’t need to present.
What I mean is: you don’t need a class of 20 or more students each standing up to say what they like or don’t like, or explain their family tree or house set up. What you end up with are 3 things you really don’t want! 1) anxious presenters 2) bored listeners 3) mediocre (at best) Spanish.
In the end, what are the 19 listeners getting out of this?
Consider the Timing of Presentations in Spanish Class
I don’t mean to imply that there is never a time for presentation. My year 4 and AP Spanish students do presentations frequently. But after you’ve considered if their Spanish has progressed enough to make a decent presentation, the next consideration is how much class time you want to take.
Again, if every student is presenting individually, it can take multiple class days depending on the number of students you have. In my experience, the rest of the class is rarely engaged.
But I have a lot of work-arounds! Keep reading!
Present To Small Groups
One way that I ask my students to do presentations in Spanish class is in small groups. For example, everyone might be assigned an article. Usually I will have 3 or 4 different articles. I make sure that when I form the small groups, each article is represented. Students sit together and each of the members will summarize their article.
The speaker is allowed to have a note card with bullet points. The listeners are given note-taking sheets. This process works well for many reasons. 1) it reduces anxiety for the presenter 2) the note-taking sheets are collected. I enter a participation grade. Therefore, the listeners are engaged. 3) We can accomplish this in one class period rather than a week straight of presentations.
But What If I Want To Grade the Presentations?
If you choose to do presentations in Spanish class in small groups, there are 2 ways I use to grade them. One way is to make sure you ask students to make presentations in Spanish class in small groups multiple times per marking period. Each time they present, sit with a different group. Use your rubric to grade the speakers in that group. Next time, sit with another group. By the end of the marking period, everyone should have a grade.
Another way I do this is to let students present in their groups without me in any of them. I float around and give compliments, ask questions, etc. But after each member has presented, I ask students to record their presentation. This also works well, because they have already given their “speech” and had a warm-up. This practice run gives them confidence before they record for a grade.
Big Presentations To the Whole Class
In the 2nd semester of my AP/Dual Enrollment Spanish class, there are occasions when students present to the whole class. Their Spanish is really good by now, and what they’re talking about is interesting, understandable and personal.
Still, I almost always create presentations that are done in groups. This cuts down on the amount of time/days we spend presenting them. I also work a category into the rubric for audience participation. Students in the audience must ask relevant questions at the end of the presentations, and that keeps those students engaged.
The big benefit to whole class presentations is that the teacher can grade them on the spot! That’s a huge time-saver!
But beware! Many students have not yet developed good presentation skills. You will see them create slides that list every single thing they want to say, and face the SmartBoard while they read! They may not project their voice, or use a monotone voice because they’re nervous.
If you have not read this post, give it a click! It’s all about how to teach students the right way to present to others, and it includes a freebie hand-out for students on the Do’s and Don’ts of presenting!
And, if you are looking for some good presentation ideas, click on the resources below!
Resources
AP Spanish Language and Culture 10 Projects with Rubrics for All 6 Units
Don Quijote: Group Projects Don Quijote’s Prom skit and “The Next Chapter”
AP Spanish End-of-Year Oral Presentation A Student Favorite!