“La escena musical española” is a WebQuest created by Chris Clark at the University of Notre Dame. It is a component of “CivEspan: Recursos para profesores y estudiantes de la civilización española” and is on the WebQuest consortium for WebQuest.org. After being assigned a Spanish musical artist or group, the students fill out an informational form and gather presentation materials about the artist. Following this preparation, the groups present their band to the class and then the class votes on their favorite band/artist. The site provides all of the blank forms needed to complete the activity. The “Recursos” section included on the site has links to online music encyclopedias, music distributors, Spanish radio stations, MTV Europa etc. This activity could be completed by students of Spanish language or culture of many different levels. The site is completely in Spanish.
Type of Material:
Simulation
Recommended Uses:
The site is ideal for educators to create activities for advanced language learners in Spanish. It could be used in culture classes to learn more about the musical traditions of a region.
Technical Requirements:
Microsoft Excel and a pdf reader to access the documents on the site.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
The purpose is to expose students to popular music in Spanish. The students are assigned the task of researching and evaluating various aspects of the Spanish musical world. The research leads one to the music awards, popular song writers and singers from around the world via short musical videos. It is through this research that students learn about popular music.
Target Student Population:
Educators, intermediate and advanced language learners of Spanish. This is not recommended for beginners unless the module is designed with songs that are easy to understand.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
The instructions on the site are completely in Spanish, thus the user should have at least an intermediate reading knowledge of Spanish.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
An important aspect of this site is that it has a template for educators to develop a module to teach language learners about Spanish popular music. The site also provides educators and students with all the tools to do a music critique. They have access to five sheets of outlined material from the developer. For instance, students are given a list of popular artists to guide them in their research. Educators or students have other templates that provide downloadable information that will guide them in their research. The goal is to learn and evaluate Spanish popular music with the questions and guides provided.
Concerns:
The template is to be used by educators or students who want to learn about popular Spanish music. However, as one clicks on the list of resources, many of the links lead to popular music in English instead of Spanish—a potential distraction. Also, some of the links to resources, like MTV Europa, are broken.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
Educators can use this website to develop modules for listening comprehension activities since all the necessary guides, even a worksheet to assess the music, have been developed. Advanced students will benefit by using it as a listening activity to learn more Spanish. Today, many textbooks have lessons that stress popular music but do not have guides, questions, or activities for students to follow. Thus, this is a good resource to have while teaching popular music in Spanish.
Concerns:
• The question stated in the “Introducción” is not guaranteed to be answered by following the steps in the “Proceso” section. The question is as follows, “¿Cómo se parece esta música a la de los EE.UU. y cómo se distingue la música popular española? ¿Por qué será así?” The activity does complete the goal outlined in the "Trabajo" section, but the initial introductory question is left hanging. Students could complete a personal writing assignment at the end to reflect on the introductory question, however this remains unclear on the site.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
• The instructions, steps and materials are very clearly explained and well presented.
• The list of resources provides a good selection that would be adequate for the students to complete the assignment without being overwhelmed.
• The site itself is visually appealing and concise without being overwhelming.
The site is easy to navigate for educators and students and most of the worksheets, resources, and music videos are live links that one can download once the instructor gives directions.
Concerns:
None
Other Issues and Comments:
The links to some resources need to be fixed or removed from the website.
Creative Commons:
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