For my beginner classes, I like to start the year off with some authentic examples of cognates between English and Spanish. Not only does a brief lesson on cognates tend to boost learners´ confidence, but it is also a great way to begin talking about roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
What a great quote to motivate us to be creative! Also, the cognates make it pretty easy to understand, even for beginners. I´m thinking I will start the first day of classes with this quote next year! After all, we know that, among seemingly countless other benefits, learning another language supports/increases our capacities for critical and creative thinking. It´s so important that we have fun in Spanish class. When we come to class with an open, creative, and optimistic mind, we really learn and acquire lasting knowledge. Here is a link to a list of the benefits of learning another language that includes a ton of great references. It was published by the National Education Association in 2007.
estudiafeliz 