Spanish Simulations

Characteristics of the Learners/Players: Students taking beginning and/or intermediate Spanish courses.

Learning Problem: Know the vocabulary and what expressions one person has to use to greet; practice how to greet people of different ages and social status in different situations: at work, supermarket, home, school, etc.

Outline what the virtual world would look like:
A couple of students have just arrived at the airport in a Spanish speaking country and they are meeting the host families whom they have never met. The families are made up of a mother, a father, a grandfather, and a twelve-year old daughter. They are going to interact in different situations: They go out to a restaurant to eat, and there the students meet three other family members, cousins and other friends. The cousins are about the same age as the students. On the following day, the students introduce themselves to their teachers at the university. In the afternoon they go to the supermarket and talk to the lady that sells fish. In the evening, they go to the movies with the cousins and their friends.
Players can choose their characters, their families, the persons whom they want to greet and the different situations. They can create a lot of possibilities in a whole day in a Spanish-speaking country.

What will learners need to do? The students need to greet and respond when meeting new people and will earn points as they perform the appropriate greeting. They are practicing in real situations at their will. They can choose different scenarios (restaurant, cinema, bus, market…).

The learning outcome is the following:
· Students learn in real life situations,
· Students/players will learn and practice vocabulary
· Students/players are involved in real examples they can choose at their will.

Susana