Alejandro Múnera

Listening activity
Lesson Plan 1

Activity overview: During this activity students will engage with a news report in which diverse
social movements that have recently been taking place in different Latin American countries are
analyzed in detail. Students will use some of their previously acquired knowledge to talk about
cities in order to understand the political scenarios and social demands that have shaped the
popular unrest in the region. After answering a few questions on the content of the report,
students will be asked to compare and contrast the cases of Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador first
by discussing with one another and then by writing sentences using comparative and superlative
forms. The objective of this activity is to allow students to critically expand their cultural
knowledge through a real-time news report while simultaneously acquiring new vocabulary and
practicing grammatical structures which are pertinent to their level. An additional macro-
objective would be to promote the use of Spanish for accessing first-hand knowledge that
informs (yet, in a certain way) about local realities.

Lesson Activity Modes of

phase comm.
1. Pre- Introduction to concepts and vocabulary: Students will be Listening,
activity shown the first image of the report, as well as the title of the speaking,
video and the headline: “se respira lucha”. The instructor will class activity
prompt reflection on what type of content the class is about to
5-10min watch (informative), and also on the particularities of the
“medium” or genre: in this case, the news. The instructor will
proceed by promoting some of the basic vocabulary to
understand what is being meant in the headline and title by
using synonyms and cognates (marcha-manifestación-protesta)
(descontento, incertidumbre). He/she will then ask students to
anticipate questions and/or voice their current knowledge about
the possible causes of the protests in these countries. A list of
key words to facilitate this purpose can also be provided.

Rationale: This activity will prepare students to access the

content of the video more easily with a critical outlook on how
“news” can be deceitful, yet informative. It will also allow
students to understand some of the language around protests as
a preparation for what will be discussed in the video later. For
those who do not have any knowledge about what is
happening, it is an opportunity to learn useful vocabulary
before accessing more abstract levels of understanding.

2. Input Listening activity: Students will watch a three-minute excerpt Collective

from the video “Latinoamérica en pie” twice and will be asked viewing and
12-15min to take notes of information they consider to be relevant and listening,
unknown vocabulary words. Depending on the group and speaking
because of the length of the video, the instructor can make one
or several pauses to let students process the information and
finish writing their notes. The instructor will clear doubts on
vocabulary or expressions used during the video. He/she will
ask the students about the video to confirm their
comprehension.

Rationale: Students will gather some of the vocabulary they

need to understand the news report. They will also confirm or
prove wrong their initial predictions and will obtain relevant
information to understand the causes of major causes of these
diverse social movements, as well as which countries are
involved.

3. Communicative activity: Students will be given a set of Speaking,

Assimilation questions and written activities to discuss in groups of three in listening,
order to confirm their comprehension of the video. The writing,
4-5 min instructor circulates around facilitating comprehension. group

Rationale: This activity allows students to practice their newly

acquired words and negotiate meaning with their classmates.
They also understand and discuss bigger concepts associated to
social unrest, making it more difficult.

4. Writing activity: The students will have to use comparative Reading,

Assimilation and superlative structures and write at least 4 sentences. They writing,
will have to discuss which countries are similar and which are group work
15-20min not. For this purpose, the instructor can focus on the last part of
the excerpt, where the cases of Chile, Colombia and Ecuador
are compared, and the case of Colombia is explicitly made
different from that of Bolivia.

Rationale: Students will explicitly work on

5. Extension Discussion activity: How can news be deceitful? The Speaking,

instructor will raise the concern for fake news and let students listening,
5min watch the video again paying special attention to how collective
information is being conveyed. The instructor can discuss with thinking
students the limits of “news” as a genre for understanding
social reality. A homework could be assigned where students
look for fake news that have gone viral. They could also reflect
on possible solutions for this issue.

Rationale: This activity is intended to give students a critical

 view of the news genre. This could also have a positive impact
on what the are learning in class, leading to cognitive
satisfaction and enhanced learning.

Comprehension check

1. Which of these countries is not protesting for the rise in gas?

A. Chile
B. Colombia
C. Bolivia
D. Argentina

2. What is a “golpe de estado”? Discuss in your own words.

3. What could “se respira lucha” mean?

4. What are some of the measures taken by the governments to counter the protests?

5. What does “toque de queda” mean? You can use technology to answer this question.

Link to video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9mBU2JK5JU