Sistema de formas en colores

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Sistema de formas en colores

• A symbolic system for teaching grammar in gender
  based languages
• developed by Jim Nailon

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Inspiration

• Student comment I dont get this gender
  stuff.
• Reflected on previous years teaching
• Abstract ? Concrete Manipulative

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Symtalk Language Building System from EMC
Publishing

• Symtalk ignores grammar issues

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Spanish Has New Parameters

• Problem 1 Nouns have gender in addition to
  number
• Problem 2 Articles and adjectives must agree
  with the nouns they modify in both aspects
• Problem 3 Descriptive adjectives follow the
  noun

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Sistema de formas en colores

• 2D Problem ? 2D Solution
• COLOR SHAPE ? COLORSHAPES
• Gender pink or blue
• Number
• Singular circle
• Plural pointy sun

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4 Basic Formas en colores
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Making Gender Concrete ? Dictionary
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Arc of Agreement
Los sustantivos reglan! (Nouns Rule!)
Easy construction of noun phrases
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Los verbos
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Conjugation of ser
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Converting a Noun Phrase to a Sentence
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Becoming a Language System
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(No Transcript)
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Teaching Grammar within a Communicative Context

• Teach isolated grammar topics gender, agreement,
  verbs, phrases, questions, etc.
• Grammar practice station in learning center
  group activity
• As a writing aid or tool
• Short papers in a thematic unit supported by a
  vocabulary set including related nouns, verbs and
  structure words

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Goals and Possibilities

• Incorporate in future lessons for my own teaching
• Share with others through NILA Conference and
  publication in NNELL journal
• Sell the idea to an educational publisher or
  website developer, who could
• Adapt system to other languages