Spanish L7: Context elaborations
Students are expected to begin to engage in sustained interactions and produce increasingly extended texts, in which they explore the views of others, develop and share personal perspectives and justify, support or challenge ideas and opinions in different situations. Students are expected to begin responding critically to more extended and varied text types on familiar matters.
Context elaborations are examples for teacher guidance only. They should not be used as assessment tools.
Example 1: Letter concerning the environment
Recientemente me he dado cuenta de la cantidad de basura que hay por todo el colegio. He pensado bastante sobre ello y les escribo para compartir algunas de mis ideas con ustedes. Con respecto a la basura creo que deberíamos crear un sistema más efectivo de reciclaje. Por ejemplo, en lugar de tener únicamente dos contenedores en el patio, pienso que sería buena idea colocar dos tipos de contenedores en cada bloque; uno para el papel y otro para el plástico. De esta forma, será más probable que los estudiantes los utilicemos en vez de tirar la basura en cualquier lugar. Me gustaría saber lo que piensan sobre este asunto.
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Context and text type
Tom, a year 12 student, has recently arrived in Argentina on exchange and writes a letter to the school council concerning the rubbish around the school.
Text type
Formal letter (extract). Productive.
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Examples showing how the student is:
Communicating information, ideas and opinions through increasingly extended and varied texts
Tom uses some complex sentence structures, including sequence sentences such as:
He uses a variety of tenses,'conditional sería', to express future consequences:
subjunctive to indicate probability but lack of certainty:
- será más probable que los estudiantes los utilicemos en vez de tirar la basura en cualquier lugar.
He uses a range of linking words and expressions:
- Con respecto a; por ejemplo; de esta forma.
Beginning to explore the views of others
Tom uses 'me gustaría saber' to enquire into the opinions of others.
He uses phrases such as 'creo que' and 'pienso que' to indicate a personal perspective. This serves to invite readers to explore their own views in relation to the topic under discussion: do they agree or disagree with the writer’s opinions?
He gives advice in the sentence beginning:
He invites a response from council members:
- Me gustaría saber lo que piensan sobre este asunto.
Beginning to develop and share personal perspectives
The student announces his intention to share a view that he has formed over time:
- He pensado bastante sobre ello y les escribo para compartir algunas de mis ideas con ustedes.
He expresses a personal opinion:
- creo que deberíamos crear un sistema más efectivo de reciclaje.
Beginning to justify own ideas and opinions
Tom begins by stating the problem so as to provide a foundation for the solutions he will propose:
- Recientemente me he dado cuenta de la cantidad de basura que hay por todo el colegio.
He justifies his ideas by giving reasons:
- De esta forma, será más probable que los estudiantes los utilicemos en vez de tirar la basura en cualquier lugar.
Beginning to support or challenge the ideas and opinions of others
The student challenges the council to think about the issue of rubbish around the school:
- Con respecto a la basura creo que deberíamos crear un sistema más efectivo de reciclaje.
To challenge the council, he explicitly describes the problem based on his own observations:
- Recientemente me he dado cuenta de la cantidad de basura que hay por todo el colegio.
He challenges the council to reply:
- Me gustaría saber lo que piensan sobre este asunto.
Beginning to engage in sustained interactions and produce extended texts
Tom goes to some length to offer his solutions to the rubbish problem:
- En lugar de tener únicamente dos contenedores en el patio, pienso que sería buena idea colocar dos tipos de contenedores en cada bloque; uno para el papel y otro para el plástico.
He uses linking expressions, for example 'de esta forma', to add further information.
Interpreting ways in which the target language is organised in different texts and for different purposes
Tom uses the formal or polite pronoun (ustedes) to address his readers, given that this is a formal letter:
- les escribo para compartir algunas de mis ideas con ustedes.
While this text could be classified as a letter of complaint, the tone is polite and considerate. Not only does Tom state the problem and relate it to his own observations, he also explains that he has reflected on the issues before taking action to write to the council with his proposed solution. Letters of complaint vary in tone and politeness.
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Opportunities for developing intercultural communicative competence
Explore and compare how school issues such as this are resolved in New Zealand and in Hispanic countries.
Compare student roles and responsibilities in schools in New Zealand and in a Hispanic country.
Last updated January 16, 2013
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