“Million Peso Listing”Created by Meredith Clark, Ph.D. Spanish I: Novice Mid, TEK II.1 A, B, C, D

LO: I can understand a culturally, authentic real estate ad, identify key words and details about it, infer the meaning of some unfamiliar words and evaluate the cultural aspects inherent to the text.

Step 1: As you are browsing for real estate on the Internet, you find this video about a house in San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDiUyMUWzhI ) . Watch & decide . . .

a) Would you like to live in a place like this? Why or why not?

b) Let’s say you could never afford to live in a place like this, but, if you could make $720,000 in

commission from selling it, would you venture into a career as a real estate agent? Explain your

answer.

Step 2: Watching videos for research is great, but eventually, you’re going to have to read housing descriptions. Since it’s been a while since you studied Spanish, challenge yourself to see if you can remember some housing words. As you watch the video again, write the parts of the house in Spanish. If you don’t know all of the words, that’s ok. You can write some of the ones you don’t know in English in the second column and look them up in the dictionary at www.wordreference.com

words I already know in Spanish

words in English that I want to learn in Spanish

Spanish equivalent for words I want to learn

casa garage garaje

After graduating high school, you decided to go into business as a real estate agent. Over the last 10 years, you’ve built a large clientele that invests in international housing. One of your local buyers, Ms. Marsha Brown, wants to buy a property in Guanajuato, Mexico. The economy is growing there; as a result, more people will move to Guanajuato, the demand for housing will increase, and, in a few years, the prices will also rise. Sounds like a great investment, right? Buy at a low price and sell at a high price. In order to help your client, you’ve got to do some research about available properties in Guanajuato.

Step 3: Now that you’ve prepared yourself linguistically , you are ready to do some research. A Google search produced the real estate website http://www.inmomexico.com. After typing “Guanajuato” in the search bar, you find a lovely house in the southwestern part of the city on Calle Marfil. Take a look at the picture of the house and read the description. Because Spanish is not your first language, you will read the text several times, each to look for different types of information.

1 st time : Read the description and circle the words you know or whose meanings you think you can guess (cognates). Write these words in the chart. Then compare with your partner.

2 nd time : Read the description again and pay close attention to the highlighted words. You don´t know them, but let’s see if you can use your critical thinking skills to figure them out.

1) The word amplio is repeated, so that must mean that it is important. Based on your powers of deduction and the context clues in the text, would you guess that amplio means:

a. ample (big)b. clean (Please explain to your partner why you picked a,

b or c). c. small

2) “m2” is also repeated . . . based on context clues and what you know about math, would you guess that “m2” means:

a. mainly 2b. meters squared (Please explain to your partner why you

picked a, b or c). c. 2 mesas

3) Take a look at the word “pisos”. You know that the word “piso” also means “story”, as in how many levels are in a building. In this text, it has a slightly different meaning. Based on context clues and what you already know, would you guess that “pisos” means:

a. windowsb. floors (Please explain to your partner why you picked a,

b or c). c. curtains

2

words I know in Spanishand words I can guess

meanings in English

casa house

3 rd time : You did a great job hypothesizing the meanings of new words! Now it’s time to synthesize what you know so that you can communicate it to the client. In the chart, write the most important details that you learned from reading the description of the house. You’ll use this information later.

Step 4: Now that you know some important details about this house, you can write Ms. Brown and let her know what you’ve found. Remember, Ms. Brown does not speak Spanish, so she’s counting on you to provide her with the most accurate information. Write an email to her in English about the house on Calle Marfil. Provide as many details as you can. Please include an appropriate greeting and a closing, and don’t forget to use the appropriate business register.

Step 5: Good real estate agents always reflect on every business experience. Think about what you learned by working for Ms. Brown. Place a ✓ next to the statement if you feel like you learned it.

✓ I learned that . . .Guanajuato is a State in central Mexico. San Miguel de Allende is a famous town in that state.There are some very expensive houses in Guanajuato.Mexican architecture can be made of adobe, and there are many tiles and bright colors in the interiors.The house in the ad is similar to houses in the US because _________________________________.The house in the ad is different than houses in the US because______________________________.I learned how to say at least 5 new words about houses in Spanish. They are:________________, ________________, ________________, ________________, ________________Real estate agents help people find houses to buy, and they earn their salaries based on the commissions they receive for selling houses which is a % of the sales price.

3

pricein US dollars

types and quantity of rooms

outside space amenities & extras

Casa bonita en Calle Marfil

4

Casa que cuenta con: 3 recámaras, la principal con baño y vestidor, otros dos baños, cochera para dos autos techada, todo en un piso con desniveles. Los espacios son, vestíbulo de acceso, estancia y comedor amplios, cocina y desayunador, sala de estar y tv, medio baño para visitas, cuarto de servicio y patio de tendido. En la parte alta del terreno se cuenta con terraza y un salón de juegos amplio, una cava chica para vinos, otra recamara con baño, jardín con alberca y una bodega. Ubicada en un terreno de 550m2, con 400m2 de construcción. Toda la casa esta construida tipo colonial, con bóvedas de cuña y techo plano con ladrillo aparente y vigas de madera, pisos de loseta de barro y azulejo de talavera en los baños. Todas las puertas están labradas a mano. La casa tiene bellísimas vistas a jardines interiores y exteriores. Tiene arboles grandes en los jardines. Esta completamente barreada y con protecciones en ventanas.  Sala y Comedor PiscinaCocina Balcón o TerrazaArea para Desayunador Garaje de TechadoArea Social Vista a la Montaña