TAPAS and MUSIC.

Spanish executives in Madrid fully appreciate time management in the work scenario,
but this is often unfortunately neglected outside the controlled learning environment when it
comes to language acquisition.

TAPAS anyone?

This is designed to get students To Authentically Practice Actual Speaking tasks outside
class. It can involve talking to a partner, family member or friend; doing a language
exchange; preparing a one minute talk etc. This helps to overcome shyness and facilitates
tongue rolling and jaw movement to improve ease in rhythmical delivery in tone, stress etc.
Perceived inaccuracy should not be a hindrance as developing fluency is the real goal and
experiencing actual communication. With the rapid advances in telecommunication and
technology everyone is advised to record themselves and learn/improve on what they hear.

And MUSIC.

These simple exercises are designed for vocabulary building and reading with purpose to
enhance receptive and productive skills. As students encounter new words they can be
encouraged to follow these simple memory aids to ensure retention rather than just simple
understanding at the time they studied.

Meaning (Definition). Translations into own language; antonyms and synonyms; its range and
connotations.
Usage (Verb, noun, etc.). Word order, collocations and function.
Say it (Making individual sounds and combining them). This is designed to use different parts
of the mouth and body from those needed in their own language. This aids practice in
appropriate rhythm, pace and intonation; producing correct stress.
Inscribe it (Spelling and transformations). Capitalizations, hyphens, etc.
Change it (dog, dogged, doggy, dog-eared, etc.). Prefixes, suffixes and pluralization.

This encourages ownership of the language by personalizing it the stimulus gives a

meaningful and interesting link, but students also see that word manipulation is a requisite
skill and that one must think beyond just the example sentence given.

IMPACT OF THESE LEARNING TOOLS.

Teaching adults involves building upon their learning/life experiences, but not forgetting that
language acquisition/development should also be fun.

Initially I facilitate their growth by giving assigned choices for 'outwork' as opposed to
terming it as traditional styled homework. This can entail reading their own or competitor's
websites, mission statements or financial reports. Skimming or scanning a quality newspaper
to consolidate news they already may be aware of in their own language (El Pas in English);
browsing through horoscopes to practice imperatives and alternatives for describing
personalities.

Writing can involve creating a favourite recipe with the ingredients and instructions for
cooking; the steps in a process e.g. how to drive a car, use an ATM; assuming the role of an
unreal or real living/dead person and describing a day she/he spent or will experience in the
future.

Invariably after some time no-one ever reports to have 'done zero' since their last class when
there are so many activities imaginable and students realize it's enjoyable to be active in
their second language. They soon decide on their own activities as student empowerment is
also vital for lesson dynamics.

Listening can be as simple as tuning into the BBC 6 minute English; checking the lyrics and
interpreting the meaning of a song; or even eavesdropping on the conversations of foreign
strangers in an international setting e.g. bar, hotel lobby.
A class with TAPAS and MUSIC is likely to be never dull and it may well enhance language
productivity after these elements are introduced.