Using Improv in the Classroom: Counting to 20

Your language-teaching mission, should you choose to accept it, is to use an improv counting game to reinforce numbers, build community, and practice improv skills.

Photo: Black Ice/pexels.com

Numbers are one of the first things that students are introduced to in language classes: they are concrete (no translation errors!) and useful (textbook pages, sharing ages, telling time).

I use this game with beginner students to reinforce numbers, but also with advanced learners to help build community and connection. This is also a game that I do minutes before every improv show with my troupe; we don’t go on stage until we make it to 21 (our chosen end number)!

The way it works is simple, but it is deceptively hard! A group gets in a circle (with my friends we huddle together like a football team, but that is likely too much touching for classmates) and closes their eyes. (The bigger the group, the harder this exercise is). Without consulting each other, and in no set order, the group must count consecutively. A first brave soul will say “one”. Another will say “two”. If two people say the same number at the same time, they need to start again at one. (If you’re afraid a group might default to a circle, you can make a rule that the next person who speaks can’t be to either side of the person who just said a number.)

The reason I do this before shows is that it forces a sense of togetherness and awareness of others. You start to really pay attention to the people around you and get into sync with them. You start listening hard to their breathing, to any minute movements you can sense. This is a game with winners and losers, but you all win or lose together, so you feel incredibly invested in getting this right. The feeling you get when you finally hear that final number is indescribable! If you want to build feelings of team togetherness, this would be a great way to start a class! This is also a great game for introducing improv as a concept, as you can talk about the importance of listening to others, working as a team, and building on what others contribute.

Adaptations:

• You can choose any number as your end number (though go too high and it gets waaaaaaay to difficult).

• You can also choose to go up by 2s, 3s, 5s, 10s to practice bigger numbers

• You can count down from twenty back to one

NOTE: Although this is only tangentially related, I wanted to share my absolute favorite counting video for French. The director of the video found 100 French people of ages 0 through 100 and had them say their age’s number (young kids got some help).

Have you played this game or a variation of it? Share in the comments!

Celebrating Hispanic/Latinx/Chicanx Heritage Month in the Non-Spanish Language Classroom

Your language-teaching mission, should you choose to accept it, is to incorporate activities that highlight Hispanic, Latinx, Chicanx, Indigenous and Afro-Latinx culture into your non-Spanish classroom.

As I’ve mentioned before, each month of the school year I create a curriculum packet for the Edmonds School District for staff and/or parents to use. The goal is to focus on a different national month of celebrating diversity, with activities for a variety of core academic subject areas and some fun stuff (crafts, art, cooking). However, for my blog, I like to pull out some activities that would work well in a language classroom to share with you!

Starting on September 15 and ending on October 15, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month. You’ll notice the title of this post includes more than just Hispanic… and there’s a reason for this! Since 1988, when President Reagan began this tradition, our understanding of identity has greatly expanded. Dr. Sally Guzmán, Marina Espinoza, and Karla Reyes-Sanchez from ESD have developed this great graphic (see below) to illustrate the many ways to explain and celebrate “Hispanic” identity. I also highly recommend this PDF from Exploratorium.edu as well.

Even if you’re not a Spanish teacher, there are some fun ways to celebrate Hispanic/Latinx/Chicanx Heritage Month in the language classroom:

Using art to explore using adjectives:

• You can put up a piece of art on a projector, or have prints posted around the room for a jigsaw exercise. Students use their adjectives (great for beginners, but equally challenging for advanced learners!) For example, I would start with this painting by Los Angeles artist Gilbert "Magu" Luján, which has some great material for adjectives of color and texture, not to mention simple vocabulary of the subject. This can also be a gateway for discussing the various identities that many people inhabit and the choices they make when choosing identity markers. For example, using the above identiy graphic, I would say that Luján might have chosen to describe himself as Chicano or Indigenous, because he was born in the United States and has Mexican and Indigenous ancestry. He could also describe himself as Latino, since Mexico is part of Latin-America, or Hispanic, since Mexico is a Spanish-speaking country. In the 1960s, Luján chose Chicano as a way to identify himself, saying that by drawing attention to his community’s roots in Mexico, “it is clear to all that the Chicano culture is a real and identifiable body”. This is a great transition to talking about the power of language!

• If you want to get a bit more complex, the Smithsonian American Art Museum had a wonderful web exhibit for Latino American Art, which is no longer available on their website but can be still found in some curriculum docs. Personally, I’d love to do an activity with Cocina Jaiteca by Larry Yañez (1988), maybe even have student draw out their own kitchens in a symbolic way. I’m definitely a sucker for word play (check out page 18 of the linked document to see how clever the painting title is!)

Practicing numbers using dominos!

• Playing dominos can be a great way to celebrate Hispanic/Latinx/Chicanx Heritage Month while using any target language to reinforce number vocabulary! In doing some research I learned that dominos is a very popular game in many Latinx communities. In Puerto Rico it is, as this quote by Leah Carrillo shows, a huge deal: “¡ Los dominos son para los boricuas, como los tostones y el mofongo, parte de nuestra herencia cultural ! ” (“Dominos are for Puerto Ricans, like tostones and mofongo, part of their cultural heritage!’) According to José Carrillo, for Puerto  Ricans “el domino” is more than just a game: it is also a way for a community to build relationships while sharing information, and for children to learn from their parents and grandparents. Kelly Thompson observes that dominos, which are heavy and waterproof, are perfect for windy island living! You can watch this video from the Lobby of Hobbies, where the host, Jazz, talks about his Puerto Rican heritage as well as the staple game Dominoes. Check out how Puerto Ricans play their dominoes, how it may differ in different parts of the island, and overall, just how fun and strategic it is.

Reading bilingual books

• Find books that are in your target language and Spanish for some exposure to a different language and culture! For example, “Little Maria (La Pequeña María)” is a bilingual book series written by Luz Maria Mack and illustrated by Vanessa Ballez. Victor M. Colón animates Maria’s life as little Afro-Latina girl in the Dominican Republic using illustrations from the books. ELL students or younger students can fill out this simple worksheet while watching the video. RESOURCE: Little Maria (La Pequeña María)

Playing around with gender-neutral forms of Spanish (and other languages!)

• As I’ve discussed before, there is a big movement in gendered languages to become more inclusive. The Gender in Languages Project has an amazing interactive website where  you can play around with the various forms of inclusive language in languages from English, to Irish, to Mandarin Chinese. Why not explore the Spanish page and make connections to your target language?

Share in the comments how you celebrate Hispanic/Latinx/Chicanx Heritage Month in your classroom!