Publication Date

2008

Abstract

Spanish grammar can be presented in a memorable way by using a system of color-coding and storytelling. This materials development project includes three stories written or adapted by the author to present the gender of nouns, noun/adjective agreement and verb inflection. Images of the sun and the moon, and the colors purple and orange are used to illustrate masculine and feminine gender of nouns. Chameleons and the color green exemplify adjectives. Additionally, patterns of verb conjugation charts are presented using color to show how verbs inflect to agree with the subject pronoun and tense. While learning Spanish grammar, these colors and images create an underlying framework that assists students to visually notice linguistic aspects of Spanish. As a way of exploring the theoretical basis of the materials this paper investigates topics of acquisition and learning, implicit and explicit instruction, positive and negative transfer.

Disciplines

Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Curriculum and Instruction | Instructional Media Design

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