Children love having a new name in the new language they are learning. I strongly feel that adopting a new name should be part of early language learning experience. One of the contemporary second language learning methodologies, "Suggestopedia," requires that each student have a new identity so that s/he can become another "person" and enter fully into language acquisition and the culture itself. Surely fantasy is an important part of any child's full development! Hearing names in L2 during class time just increases the auditory and visual L2 input the child receives.
I assign names and try to find a name that is a cognate or begins with the same first letter for my second, third, fourth, and fifth graders so I can associate the English name and Spanish name more easily for record keeping and teacher/parent conferences. Some FLES teachers I know allow the child to choose his/her first/last name(s). I feel this takes up too much time from the little time I have with each class per week. Drawing them from a hat is one option.
I ask the school secretaries for class lists before the beginning of the school year and
have them ready for the first class of the school year. I use the following website to choose names, trying to find cognates when possible:
Second through fourth graders wear a nametag made out of an index card with a colorful adhesive nametag on front; on the back is the English name, and the teacher's name. I laminate them, punch two holes on top for stringing colorful 100% cotton (non-itchy) yarn to go over each child's head easily, and put two reinforcements on the front and back side to make them more resistant to tearing. Their teachers receive nametags also, as does the principal. I recycle them from year to year. My fifth graders in the middle school use plastic conference-like clip on nametags with an index card insert with a flashy nametag attached. (I use these to clip together handouts and homework assignments when a student is absent.) Other teachers use computer-generated name badges. Here is a retail source for attractive, long-lasting nametags:
There are a variety of methods for storing the nametags -- some teachers have the students keep them in the regular Spanish carpetas (folders); others put a bit of Velcro on the backs of the nametags and store them on the sides of the desks; others use a large pocket chart on a wall for whole class storage; still others keep them hung on a metal ring in the classroom (But watch for tangling!).
I collect all the nametags in June and re-sort and recycle them again in September for distribution and make up any necessary new ones (as well as adding the new info on the reverse side). Recycling the nametags is not only ecologically sound but gives continuity to the child's study of a new language.
Of course, repairs are necessary every now and then, but I reward students with nametags in good condition by placing a mini Spanish sticker on those nametags in January and June. We have a ceremony where each child stands on a low stool and receives the awarded sticker to applause. The majority of nametags last three years without any problems; that's great because I meet with my second, third, and fourth graders every day for fifteen minutes.
The award stickers I use are found at:
Use of nametags is a way of preparing the child for Spanish class by getting his/her mind thinking in Spanish. The children are "ready" for Spanish class when their desks are cleared and they are seated facing the front of the class with their nametags on. I also wear the same type of nametag -- which says Señora S. in big letters with a smiling face :).
I have also started to write the birthday date on the righthand corner of each second grader's so we can more easily practice the months of the year and the numbers to 31.
By the way, in the almost ten years of FLES teaching, I have only had two parents who have complained about their child's Spanish name. One was a native-speaking mother who had strong opinions on certain names. She chose another name for her daughter. Another was a child who spoke another language at home and the parents did not like the sound of the Spanish name in their native language. I submitted a list of choices along with English phonetic pronunciation to them and they happily chose one from the list.
I use a wonderful big book in my second grades called ABC ¡Ya Me Lo Sé! by Yanitizia Canetti. ISBN 0395787114, published by Houghton Mifflin. She has used a boy's or girl's name for each letter of the alphabet with accompanying actions done by multicultural children, i.e. Elena estudia. Carlos canta. (Ellen studies, Carl sings.) The children love to act it out, and then we substitute real names from our class for the appropriate verbs.
(To order, click here to go to the URL search engine listed below, go "More Search Options" and enter the ten-digit ISBN number.)
L2 names are a source of all kinds of language activities.
1. During the first thematic unit which relates to school at all levels, the nametags are invaluable in pronunciation introductions; group work; dialogues, vocabulary (Señor vs. Señora vs. Señorita). Learning to read and write their Spanish first names is an essential part of the district curriculum.
2. Integrating math and world language is easy with graphing alphabetic/numeric content of names. ("Who has one/two/more vowel(s)? Who has the vowel "a"?
Who the shortest/longest name? How many consonants are there in his/her name?
How many letters are in this name? What are the first and last letters? Where are there double consonants?).
3. In grades three and up, I ask, "What names are cognates? Which are not?"
4. I use an activity where a monetary value is assigned to each letter in a chart (A=$1, B=$2). Make this more complex by using authentic currency units (pesos, bolivares, etc.) and comparing the amount to US dollars. The children figure out whose name is worth most? We have done it with teachers' names, too.
5. I also like to create cute, catchy rhymes with each child's name: "Siéntate atrás, Tomás."
"Mira la ballena, Elena." This rhyming reinforces the sensory input.
6. Playing "¿Quién es?" [Who Is It?] game at the beginning of the year (after a couple of weeks of class) to help the students learn each other's name is lots of fun. One child sits in the front of the class with his/her back to the class. I drape a large sarape around his back and head to hide the child's eyes. (We cannot use blindfolds in our school because of recurring lice problems. But a blindfold would be ideal; a paper bag over a child's head is another option.)
The teacher or another student silently points to another student seated in the class. That student quietly comes up and says, "Buenos días, ¿quién es?" The student has to guess the name of the student.
Using L2 names in the classroom truly gives teachers more options for increasing comprehensible input.
Lastly, I have created a new hands-on activity for reinforcing of names in the target language. Click here.
