In this guest post by Mr Abel Pérez Abad, a Spanish Lecturer and course coordinator at the Centre for Modern Languages at NTU, he shares about a traditional but refreshing activity that uses tangible and authentic objects – postcards. He is a firm believer that the combination of technologically enhanced learning and successful traditional activities helps educators to create memorable learning experiences that students fondly remember for years after they have been carried out.
According to John Dewey, philosopher and education reformer, we learn by doing as we can only know through action. I couldn’t agree more with this educational belief because as a learner, I like to move when studying, I like to participate in learning, and I enjoy problem-solving through doing.
The way I perceive reality finds an echo in the way I teach. In my classes, I combine technologically enhanced education through apps, digital platforms, and artificial intelligence tools with more traditional methods and materials that I know have a positive impact on the learners’ experience. The aim doesn’t change. The priority is to turn the learning process into a memorable experience that my students can carry to other areas of their lives.
Every semester, I bring postcards to my Level 1 classes for a written interaction activity. Their first reaction is a mix of shock and curiosity. Occasionally, I receive a sceptical look from students who are fully immersed in a technologically enhanced life. Many of them have never written or sent a postcard, and I don’t blame them for that.
Very quickly, their shock turns into enthusiasm and excitement towards this new experience. “Where does the stamp go?” “Where should I write my home address?” Once they complete this task, I shuffle the postcards and redistribute them. In this round, they must write a short text to one of their classmates. They need to introduce themselves and write about their personal background, including information about their friends and pets. They know whom they are addressing, but not who is writing to them. This adds a surprise effect when they receive their postcard from their classmate and pen-pal. Finally, I take them all to the post office.
A couple of days later, the postcards are in their mailbox. The impact of this activity goes beyond the classroom, as their families share the enthusiasm and joy of having received a physical postcard written fully in Spanish, with an exotic image of a beautiful Hispanic landscape. This activity acquires an expansive dimension and a positive footprint in their memory too.
After two weeks, I revisit this activity and remind them that I find as much joy in editing a story on Instagram as I do in choosing a good postcard and writing a personal message to a friend. Sometimes, a postcard in hand is worth two stories on Instagram.
My heart is full when I see my fridge door covered in postcards from friends in different countries. I read them and feel their texture. I can even imagine my friends writing them. I never leave them behind, for they bring along memorable experiences, and that is the same spirit I want to transmit in this activity.
Más vale postal en mano que cien stories volando.
