domingo, 20 de septiembre de 2026

ACQUIRE & INSPIRE: Immersive Spanish Teacher Workshop Series in Segovia, Spain


ACQUIRE & INSPIRE: Immersive Spanish Teacher Workshop Series in Segovia, Spain

Join Kara Jacobs and AnneMarie Chase on a ten day Professional Development trip in Segovia, Spain from July 1 - July 10, 2027.

Workshops:

You will participate in six morning workshops designed to hone your Acquisition Driven Instruction skills, taught by Kara and AnneMarie. Topics range from Unit Design, Comprehensible Culture, Assessment and you’ll even experience the magic as a student, by getting a taste of acquiring a new language, and participating in a film study.  Our small group (limited to 12 participants) will allow you plenty of time to dig in, ask loads of questions and process your learning along with other motivated, like-minded ADI Spanish teachers from all over the US and beyond. The cherry on top is the location of our workshops: right in the heart of Segovia’s casco histórico, just steps away from the Plaza Mayor. 

AnneMarie, doing her thing

Just out the door from our workshop space and around the corner, you'll find Segovia's beautiful Plaza Mayor, the perfect spot to grab a snack during our morning break.

Kara, doing her thing

Homestay, optional:

You have the opportunity to spend 9 nights with a Spanish host family, right in the city of Segovia, within walking distance from our workshop location. You’ll enjoy a light breakfast, lunch and dinner with your new familia española who is excited to share their city and home with you!   And just to put your mind at ease, our host families are carefully vetted and have been hosting students for years with Centro de Estudios Hispánicos de Segovia, our partner in this trip.When matching you with a host family, we’ll consider dietary preferences, allergies, pets, and other factors that will help make your stay enjoyable. Additionally, you’ll have a private bedroom and shared bathroom during your stay. Please keep in mind that air conditioning is not common in Segovia, and your room will likely not be air conditioned. 


If you prefer to make your own accommodations:

If you’d rather not stay with a host family, this year we’ve added another option. Join us for all the fun: PD sessions, cultural excursions, and evening meet ups, but each evening, head to your own place. Segovia has plenty of AirBnBs and hotels to choose from, and the food options are endless.  When you’re booking, be sure to find something within walking distance from the Plaza Mayor. 

Keeping cool at "La granja", 2025 partcipants

Sunset within the city walls, 2025

Break between workshops, 2025

Cultural Activities:

Segovia has so much to offer and we will take advantage of it! You’ll spend most mornings in professional development workshops, but afternoons and evenings are dedicated to discovering Segovia and its culture. No visit would be complete without exploring the magnificent Alcázar de Segovia. We’ll also learn about the historic acueducto romano that towers over the city and wander through the walled casco histórico. In addition, we’ll take a day trip to the charming town of San Ildefonso to enjoy its magnificent gardens and tour the Palacio Real de La Granja. Saturday is yours to design—whether that means visiting Segovia’s many museums and cafés, strolling its picturesque plazas, or even taking a quick day trip to Madrid or Salamanca with your colegas. We also have a few cultural surprises planned along the way. By the end of the program, you’ll leave Segovia not only steeped in Spanish culture, but also inspired and ready to bring fresh ideas and experiences back to your classroom.

2025 participants

Toasting with a tinto de verano after a walking tour, 2025

Who is this trip designed for?!

Spanish teachers who are interested in developing their Acquisition Driven Instruction/ Comprehensible Input Teaching skills alongside like minded teachers. An adventurous spirit is important too: if public transportation, staying with a Spanish family who won’t have air conditioning and lots of walking, a bit of hiking and climbing many stairs doesn’t sound like a good time, this isn’t the trip for you! If you have questions or concerns, please reach out; we’d love to chat with you! 

Climbing the bell tower of the cathedral

Hiking from the Judería to the cemetery

Sound like the trip of a lifetime? We would love for you to join the adventure! Spots are limited to 12  participants, so don’t wait to sign up!

Total Cost: $2,700 USD

What’s included? 

  • Homestay experience (private bedroom, shared bathroom) including a light breakfast, lunch and dinner each day

  • 6 Professional Development Workshops (divided into 14 sessions) taught by Kara Jacobs and AnneMarie Chase

  • Cultural activities in the afternoons/evenings

  • Farewell dinner

  • Certificate of completion for 50 hours of Professional Development

OR: $2,300 USD

Total Cost: $2,700 USD

What’s included? 

  • 6 Professional Development Workshops (divided into 14 sessions) taught by Kara Jacobs and AnneMarie Chase

  • Cultural activities in the afternoons/evenings

  • Farewell dinner

  • Certificate of completion for 50 hours of Professional Development


What’s not included?

  • Flight to and from Madrid

  • Transportation to and from Segovia  (Bus or Taxi, we will provide detailed recommendations)

  • Travel Insurance, optional but recommended

  • Snacks, souvenirs and spending money (our participants enjoy going out for a quick bite during our morning break, since Spanish breakfasts are much lighter than typical American ones.)

  • Optional graduate credits through Southern New Hampshire University, if this interests you, please inquire!

2

025 participants enjoying a cafecito during our morning break on the Plaza mayor

Ready to join us?! Next steps and important dates:

ASAP: Sign up here and pay $700 deposit to reserve your spot, limited to the first 12 registrations!

  • Deposits can be paid by check, made out to “Spanish Teacher PD Abroad LLC” and mailed to:  Kara Jacobs PO Box 500, Andover, NH 03216, Checks must be received within 10 days of completing the form to hold your space. 

  • If you prefer to pay by credit card, you can pay via PayPal paypal.me/SegoviaADI, however PayPal charges a 3% processing fee so the deposit total is $721

January 31st - 2nd payment of $1000 

($1030 if you pay by credit card through paypal.me/SegoviaADI)

May 1st - final payment of $1000 ($600, if you choose the No Homestay option)

             ($1030 / $618  if you pay by credit card through paypal.me/SegoviaADI)

TBD: Zoom meeting for participants, to learn more details regarding schedule, packing, etc. 

A few more things:

We need a minimum of 12 participants for this trip to move forward. In addition, given current economic uncertainty and fluctuations in the USD-Euro exchange rate, we are monitoring costs closely to ensure the trip remains feasible. With this in mind, we ask that you wait until January 15th before purchasing plane tickets or making final travel arrangements. On that date, we will confirm that the trip is officially on—at which point you can book your flights, start packing, and get excited! If we are unable to move forward with this trip, your $700 deposit will be fully refunded.

Cancellation & Refund Policy

We understand that plans can change, and we want to be as fair as possible while also ensuring that we can meet our commitments in Spain. Please review the following cancellation policy before reserving your spot:

  • Deposit ($700 / $721 via PayPal): Fully refundable if the trip is canceled by organizers. If you withdraw, deposits, less PayPal fees (if applicable), are refundable until January 15, 2026. After January 15, the  deposit is non-refundable, unless we can fill your spot.
  • Second Payment ($1000 / $1030 via PayPal, due January 31, 2026): Refundable, less PayPal fees (if applicable), until March 1, 2026. After March 1st, this payment is non-refundable, unless we can fill your spot.
  • Final Payment ($1000 / $1030 via PayPal, due May 1, 2026 or $600 /$618 if arranging own accommodations): Refundable, less PayPal fees (if applicable), until June 1, 2026. After June 1st, this payment is non-refundable, unless we can fill your spot.

If the trip is canceled by organizers (e.g., not reaching 12 participants, extreme circumstances): All payments and deposit, less PayPal fees (if applicable), will be refunded in full.

If the trip is canceled by organizers (e.g., not reaching 12 participants, extreme circumstances): All payments and deposit, less PayPal fees (if applicable), will be refunded in full.

If you have any questions, email AnneMarie (senorachase@gmail.com) or Kara (kjacobs147@gmail.com). We hope you can join us!


lunes, 13 de abril de 2026

New movie ---> Kayara

I'm always looking for good movies to use in the classroom and currently, in my Advanced Spanish class, I am using the Peruvian/Spanish (see article here) movie Kayara:

To get the movie, I use my VPN and bought it on YouTube. I am using it in my advanced class, but it would also be excellent for ANY level.

It is a simple, appropriate movie, but has LOTS of culture in it. Before starting the movie, students learned some basic information about Perú and Renata Flores. Here is the unit packet.

Here are some of the videos that students saw as we got ready to watch the movie:







We also used some Garbanzo readings and some excellent Dreaming Spanish videos (premium), so I can't share. 

Here is the assessment that students took BEFORE starting the movie:
  • Interpretive Listening and Intercultural Competence: Preguntas sobre Perú, Renata Flores, Francisca Pizarro, Francisco Pizarro y los Incas
  • Presentational/Interpersonal Speaking and Intercultural Competence: Hablarás sobre estas preguntas con un grupo de compañeros. 
    • ¿Qué piensas de Renata Flores y la canción "Francisca Pizarro"?  ¿Cómo conecta su música con lo que has aprendido de Perú - hoy en el pasado? ¡Haz conexiones!
    • ¿Con quién - de tu cultura u otra cultura que hemos estudiado - puedes comparar y contrastar Renata Flores y su música? 
I will be sharing more soon as we continue with the movie! 

And after this movie, I think we are going to watch this one, produced by the same film company:





martes, 25 de noviembre de 2025

This year's Lotería de Navidad plan

If you search "Lotería" on my blog, you will see A LOT of resources (maybe too many!). I have been teaching about and creating resources about la Lotería de Navidad for ten years now. It is one of my favorite things to teach and I always do something new and/or different.

I haven't created anything to go along with this year's add (the one above), but I'm sure if there isn't already, someone will make something to go along with it! 

This year, in Spanish 3, I will be using the 2018 commercial titled "22 otra vez" (free resources here). I have done that unit several times and students (and I) always enjoy it.

This year, I am also teaching a an advanced, post-AP, film class. It is a phenomenal group of very strong students, so I am going to try something new with them. They're interpretive listening skills are very strong and they don't need as much input, so they are going to create their own anuncio or cuento para la Lotería de Navidad that combines elements of some of the 16 anuncios that we will watch. You can find a rubric (created with ChatGPT's help) in the unit packet.

Crea un anuncio o un cuento para la Lotería de Navidad que combina elementos de varios anuncios que hemos visto. Debes incluir los siguiente:

  • Personajes, lugares, citas, temas y/o cultura de 4 (o más) de los anuncios

  • El lema: El mayor premio es compartirlo y/o El sorteo que nos une

Some of these students just did a similar assessment, but they had they had to combine elements from: Diario de Motocicletas, El libro de la vida y Lorena. The stories were super creative and so fun to listen to (and grade!).

First, they will review (or learn) a bit about la Lotería de Navidad. Some of these students have seen Pablo's video (Dreaming Spanish) 1-3 times, so I found a new video (see below) and created these questions.

To learn about the history of the anuncios, students will also read this article, "Del Calvo de Navidad a Rufino, todos los anuncios de la Lotería de Navidad desde 1998" and they will have to do a short Interpretive Reading activity.

After that, this is the plan:

  1. En clase, todos juntos, miramos los 16 anuncios de lotería

  2. En clase y/o para tarea, escriben sobre seis de los anuncios (Un resumen breve, citas, lugares (investiga), personajes, cultura, y temas)

  3. En clase, con los grupos, miran todas sus notas de los varios anuncios y escogen cosas que les gustaría incluir.

  4. Escriben el guión/cuento.

  5. Repasn el guión/cuento con Kara.

  6. Graban el anuncio o crea una representación visual.

  7. Presentan el anuncio o el cuento con la representación visual.


  • 1 día para explicar la lotería y lo que vamos a hacer

  • 3 días para ver varios anuncios de lotería 

  • 3 días para escribir el guión/cuento (script) y para filmar O para escribir un cuento y crear una representación visual 

  • 1 día para tener un “festival de anuncios”


I can't wait to see what they produce!