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Peer Review

Mis Cositas

Reviewed:
Jan 20, 2011 by World Languages
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Ratings

Overall Rating: 5.0 stars
Content Quality: 5.0 stars
Effectiveness: 5.0 stars
Ease of Use: 5.0 stars
Overview:
This site provides language learning objects and language/multicultural
education links for younger learners in Spanish, English, Chinese and French. The sites
include grammatical concepts and readings using a cultural setting, with
illustrations and geographical locations for each story.
In its present updated version, it includes a blog with reviews of FL books for children, a wiki, a YouTube channel and a presence on Facebook and Twitter. It has a Delicious page with numerous annotated links and a collection of virtual picture books in the target languages.
Type of Material:
The site provides stories with artwork, photos of realia, educational links, and
an area that offers the user other French, Spanish, English, and multicultural
education links. The educational links provide pedagogical instruction for a
variety of audiences, having something for everyone.

Recommended Uses:
This material is useful in providing second-language learners with authentic
language materials and realia. The site also provides some good resources for
both teachers and learners when employing the educational links. The materials
help to enhance grammatical concepts, reading and listening comprehension, and
cultural awareness. More advanced students can explore links to media sites to
hear music and news from around the Spanish-speaking world.
Technical Requirements:
There are no additional technical requirements.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
The goal is to expose younger learners to authentic stories and learning links
that increase their use of the target language. Beginning learners will develop
listening and reading comprehension and acquire vocabulary.

Target Student Population:
The target student population is primarily pre-school and elementary school
children, but some materials could be repurposed and be used in high school and even college classrooms.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
The learners should possess at least high beginner reading skills and/or be
native speakers of the languages addressed by the site.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:
The site is very "colorful and eye-catching." The stories and realia are
authentic and interesting to young children. The short stories deal with some
of the current issues of the Hispanic world, e.g., pollution, the environment,
and the rain forest.

“Mis cositas” includes a variety of links for use in teaching
grammatical concepts, and readings for elementary level students, featuring authentic cultural settings with illustrations and geographical locations for each story.
In the Spanish version, the link to Nelson's “Ojalá que llueva Café” is an
excellent unit to teach the culture of the Dominican Republic. The link to
"Radio Live," uses Omni News which includes many Spanish speaking radio stations
in the Americas.

Students provide very positive comments about the the site. One beginning
Spanish student reported that he enjoyed reading the stories and said they were not too
difficult to understand, even if he did not know all of the vocabulary. This
student also found the Spanish links useful, especially the links to
periodicals. Another student said the educational links turned Spanish "into a
real-life language" for her and would show students how Spanish is used in the
"real world." A French student really liked the French links, which all worked,
especially the link to "Tennessee Bob."

Since the site is geared for a younger audience, it may have a limited appeal.
An adult student did not enjoy the site personally, but her 4-year son enjoyed
her reading the stories to him. The child liked the visual reinforcement of the
photos/artwork that accompanied the written text, as did an adult student.
Concerns:
More interactive activities would enhance
the site. One
student noted that the site itself did not provide interactive games, but that
the "Educational Links" took one to such sites.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:
The content of the stories and the links allow for great variety in developing
language skills, grammar and cultural sensitivity. Language educators can
assign a beginning reader with reading materials that promote comprehension and
a feeling of success. More advance students can explore links to hear music and
news from around the world. Grammatical concepts can be assigned for repetition
and review to enhance accuracy. For example, One student found the stories
taught her how "to use nouns and verbs together to form simple sentences."

Students react very positively to the site. A French student liked being able
to click on some of the unfamiliar words within the stories. Another student
thought that the site provided her with access to language that is not generally
used in a language classroom, while another said that the site went into "more
detail" than a language class can. One student thought the realia section was
"neat" because it demonstrated cultural differences among countries that speak
the same language. Another said that the realia could be presented in class to
teach students "how to read and understand an area's currency, how to read a
menu, what stamps look like." Two of my Spanish students mentioned finding the
link to "Spanish PowerPoint Presentations" under Educational Links and thought
they would like to download and use those as additional study resources.

A parent observed that elementary school teachers could present the stories to
their students in all of the languages and/or let the students read the stories
aloud with them. She also thought that the site would be a good tool for those
who might home-school or teach their children languages at home. One of the
best comments from one of the students was, "I understood the writers of Mis
Cositas want to promote sensitivity in educators and to educate all students in
the different needs and strengths of other cultures," and she expressed that one
"could believe in the truth of how one person or group can make a difference."

The content and diversity in each link allows the educator to find a site that
can be utilized to enhance language learning. It can be used as a general review
for students. For example, many of the themes can be used as a point of
departure for simple in- class conversation. (One of the links has a complete
unit related to literature and culture of the Dominican Republic.)

The "Curricular Suggestions" section provides an instructor with ideas on using
the materials and introducing new vocabulary in the classroom. For example, two
of my students also mentioned this section and said that the pre-reading and
post-reading suggestions and materials would be helpful to teachers.
Concerns:
One of my students recommended more interactive activities to accompany and
reinforce the stories presented. Another recommended audio recordings of the
stories, because she learns French better when she can hear it and practice
repeating what she hears.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:
The site is easy to navigate given the wide variety of resources it contains. The menu choices are
simple, the icons are large, and the layout is colorful. Young users will not have
difficulty navigating the site. This site does not require technical
support beyond basic skills in computers and the use of the Internet.
Concerns:
At first, three of my students and I did not know how to "turn" the pages for
the stories, until we noticed the arrows at the top of the page, instead of
closer to or below the text/photo themselves. Perhaps children would be more
intuitive than adults.
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