Hola, Colombia!

Listening to middle school students talk about school, sports and Fortnite isn’t that unusual. But, doing so as part of an intercontinental, bi-lingual conversation? That’s different. 
 
Students in Mrs. Llaguno’s Spanish class enjoyed that experience, thanks to a video chat with 9th-grade students from Juan de Jesús Narváez Giraldo school, a rural school in Las Pelonas, Colombia. Mrs. Llaguno’s students asked their counterparts questions in Spanish, while the Colombian students spoke English to ask the Windsor students questions. 
 
A smiling girl sitting at a desk in front of a laptop 
 
“I wanted to give (the students) a 100-percent, real-life experience to the fact that Spanish is real and used to communicate. I wanted them to be excited to see kids their age and be able to communicate,” said Mrs. Llaguno.
 
Students took turns sitting by a laptop and asking the Colombian students questions.
 
“I had one student who never volunteers for anything step right up and take part. They were excited,” said Llaguno.
 
Llaguno approached Binghamton University to see if anyone at the school could connect her class with native speakers of Spanish.
 
“The 21st-century skill of communication is real. Using technology to communicate to people around the world is something they’ll have to do at their job,” said Llaguno.
 
A woman standing in front of a group of seated children in a classroom 
 
Windsor students learned many of their Colombian counterparts love soccer and aren’t that interested in American football. One Colombian student said she wasn’t that into the online game Fortnite. That admission elicited a collective, “Whoa” from Mrs. Llaguno’s class. The Colombian students learned where the Windsor students were from and what their school schedule looks like. 
 
“It was fun getting to talk to people we wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to talk to,” said student Jameson McNamee.
 
The communication between the two classes will continue. Mrs. Llaguno’s students will use Google Drive to write letters to their Colombian counterparts on Thursday, then await the responses.      
 

← BACK
Print This Article
View text-based website