John C. Warner
One of the main goals of a language teacher is to get the students to use the language they are learning. More and more frequently, teachers are being asked to work orally with their students. There is a great need for students to have more exposure to oral language. It is for this reason that this unit has been developed. There is a need for a language curriculum to deal specifically with this type of oral language study.
Through this curriculum unit, students will take an imaginary trip through a Spanishspeaking country. The knowledge gained will allow them to function in this or any other primarily Hispanic community.
Because of a need for students of a language to develop oral/aural proficiency in that language, many of the exercises developed in this unit are listening/speaking exercises. The unit, or course, will therefore act as a supplement to other matters studied in class such as grammar. Grammatical structures per se will not be dealt with in this unit. Some exercises with necessary verb forms such as present tense and commands will appear, however.
Although this unit is initially being used on the Junior High School level, grades 68, it has been prepared for use in any level Spanish class where some oral work is being done. Beginning students of the language as well as those who are more proficient can benefit from this unit.
The shank of this unit is a series of dialogues in Spanish with their English translations which accompany the lesson plans for the: four major objectives of the unit. The dialogues are original, and each set is presented with a list of vocabulary for each given situation. All material is presented in such a way as to allow for easy duplication.
