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3. ¿Qué tal?

3. ¿Qué tal?

Asking people how they are This section gives pupils their first opportunity to have a real conversation in Spanish.

It enables them to respond to the question “Hello, how are you?” and be able to reciprocate it in a natural “Spanish” way.

Out and about in the streets of Calahorra people greet each other and ask how they are: “Hola, ¿qué tal?” “Bien.”

“Hola, ¿qué tal? “Bien, ¿y tú?” ”Muy bien ... Hasta luego. Adiós.”

A young woman using a public telephone asks her friend how she is: “Hola, ¿qué tal?” She then tells her friend how she is herself: “Bien, muy bien.” She finishes the call “Hasta luego, adiós.”

NEW WORDS AND PHRASES

¿Qué tal? - how are you? bien - well/good muy bien - very well/ very good ¿Y tú? - and you?

HOW SPANISH WORKS ¿Qué tal? is a very simple but popular way of asking people how they are. Any child visiting Spain is likely to be asked “¿Qué tal?” as it is often used as an extended form of greeting. ¿Y tú? is a simple way of reflecting a question back to someone. Pupils will find it very useful as the phrase can be used in a whole range of situations.

There are, of course, many possible ways of replying to the question ¿Qué tal? The responses “bien” and “muy bien” are probably the most frequently used. They are also very useful words to learn at this early stage as they can be used in other contexts, for example, if you wish to praise someone in a classroom situation. The final video section “En la clase” shows Spanish teachers using these phrases in this way.

Scenes from video section 3: “¿Qué tal?”

The Headteacher greets pupils as they enter the school playground: “Hola, ¿qué tal?”

QUESTION AND ANSWER: Children reply to the question “Hola, ¿qué tal?”

VIDEO section 3

Scenes from video section 3: “Bien.”

ANIMATION :

A cartoon character is walking down the street. Every so often she meets one of her friends and stops to ask how they are: “Hola, ¿qué tal?” The first two friends answer: “Bien.”

The last friend replies: “Muy bien.”

Introducing the written word

The opening cartoon sequence is repeated with the words superimposed over the pictures. You may choose to omit this part when pupils are watching the video for the first time.

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3. ¿Qué tal?

You can show it at a later date when they have practised the new vocabulary orally. They will then be ready to try and build up connections between the written word and pronunciation.

If your puppet's arms can be manipulated, you could match some of his movements to those shown on the video cartoon sequence. He could wave his arms when he says “bien” and jump up and down when he replies “muy bien”. If you are using signifiers like this, it is important to keep them consistent.

Question marks are always written in the way shown in the video and this book. The first word of the actual question starts with an upside down question mark:

❑ Move round the classroom greeting individuals “Hola, ¿qué tal?” The child replies “bien” or “muy bien” - whichever he/she prefers. If a pupil is obviously not sure of how to reply, you (or the puppet) can always help by asking “¿bien?” or “¿muy bien?” as a way of giving the child the answer. The child can then echo it back to you.

Hola, ¿qué tal?

Exclamation marks work in the same way:

¡Hola!

KEY SOUNDS

bien reinforcement of Spanish “i”

❑ Invite a confident pupil to greet you and ask you how you are “Hola, ¿qué tal?” You reply “bien, ¿y tú?” The pupil replies “bien” or “muy bien.” Repeat this with several more pupils so that everyone begins to get the idea of how to reciprocate the question using “¿y tú?” Say “Adiós” or “Adiós, hasta luego” at the end of the conversation.

Alternatively, you could let pupils take it in turns to make the puppet ask “Hola, ¿qué tal?” and reply to the question ”¿y tú?”

Activities Before watching video section 3, it is a good idea to have a brief “warm up” session to remind pupils of the Spanish words and phrases they already know. Many of these are re-visited in this new video section. ❑ Watch video section 3: “¿Qué tal?”

❑ Ask pupils to move around the room. They should greet each other, ask how they are and say goodbye as they move on to talk to someone else. It is a good idea to join in yourself so that you help along the less confident children. To make this into a game rather than a potentially artificial exercise, encourage pupils to talk to as many different people as they can in the time allowed.

You could also add variety to the way you greet the children. For example, you could call across the room to an individual child as if you haven't seen them for a long time e.g. “¡Sarah! ... ¿Qué tal?” There is a good model of this on the video when the young woman greets her friend in the market.

❑ Echoing: Draw a “smiley face” on the board and say “bien.” The children echo the word.

Then draw a face with a huge smile and say “muy bien.” The children echo the words. Alternatively, you could make transparencies for the OHP. ❑ If you have a “Spanish speaking” puppet, greet him,“Hola, ¿qué tal?” The puppet replies, “bien”. Now greet the class saying “Hola, ¿qué tal?” and point to the first “smiley” face. The children reply “bien.”

Now ask the puppet, “Hola, ¿qué tal?” again.

This time he replies, “muy bien.” Now greet the class saying “Hola, ¿qué tal?” and point to the face with the huge smile. The children reply “muy bien.” Repeat this several times.

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3. ¿Qué tal? ❑ A variation on the previous activity is to play the game using music. You could use any authentic Spanish music or the tunes from the “Tú y yo” video. Pupils move around the room as the music plays. When the music stops, they turn to the nearest person and greet each other “Hola, ¿qué tal?” etc. When the music starts again, they move off to greet someone else.

CROSS CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

❑ Classroom routines: Use “Hola, ¿qué tal?” whenever you meet individual children around the school.

You could also make a habit of asking people how they are at the beginning of the school day.

You could greet the whole class with “Hola” and/or “buenos días” then ask different children “¿Qué tal?”

Cultural awareness ❑ Having practised a little of the language presented on the video, this is a good time to talk with pupils about the images they have seen on the video. See this chapter's “talking point.”

❑ Art and design: Pupils can design and make their own puppets which can be used for practising conversations in the foreign language right from the early stages. It is probably best to steer them away from puppets which represent Spanish stereotypes.

However, a great deal of extra fun can be had by attributing particular characteristics to each puppet.

One puppet, for example, could be “naughty” and always getting into trouble; another could be “shy” or “grumpy.” Some children will find it easier to talk through a puppet rather than to “perform” themselves.

❑ Show video section 3: “¿Qué tal?” again for reinforcement.

EXTRA WORDS AND PHRASES

No muy bien - not very well/good If you are confident with your Spanish you may like to this additional phrase which can easily be included in the activities outlined in the “core“ vocabulary.

Simply add a “sad” looking face to your pictures of “smiley” faces and use your voice and facial expressions to convey the meaning.

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3. ¿Qué tal?

Talking point EVERYDAY LIFE IN SPAIN The school day In video sections 1: “¡Hola! and 3: “¿Qué tal?” pupils see images of children arriving at school in the morning.

Generally the primary school day starts at 0900.

There will be a morning break at about 1100 and a long lunch break, usually between 1300 and 1430. Pupils will either eat at school or go home for lunch. In the afternoon lessons continue until 1630.

The school day can vary from region to region.

In Calahorra’s primary schools, a different timetable operates during September when term begins after the long summer holidays. At this time of year pupils attend school just in the mornings. The idea is that everyone can get back into the school routine gently. The full school day begins in the first week of October.

Spanish children have holidays at Christmas and Easter and a long break from the end of June until the beginning of September when the weather is very hot.

Pupils arriving at school for 0900.

The climate is a key factor which influences Spanish people's daily routines, including school hours. In the summer it can be too hot to work during the middle of the day.

Having a long break in the middle of the day means that school and work go on until later than in cooler countries. Children may have a snack when they return home after school, but generally they join in with the family evening meal which is often taken as late as 2100 or even 2200.

Pupils watching the video may notice that some children appear to be wearing a uniform whilst others are not. In state primary schools there is no obligatory uniform. Most schools have a school T shirt and tracksuit which pupils wear for PE. Many children elect to wear these comfortable clothes as their general school wear.

In Spain there are many Church schools which have a very strict rules about uniform; parents can only buy it from specialist shops.

Cultural awareness ❑ Pupils can compare their own daily routine with that of their Spanish counterparts.

If you are linked with a Spanish primary school you could exchange pictures representing daily routines and aspects of school life. These could be pupils' drawings or photographs.

Pupil wearing a school T shirt.

❑ ICT If your school has a scanner or digital camera and access to the internet, pupils could exchange a selection of their pictures via e-mail.

Pupil wearing a school track suit.

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