Casi Casi

Teachers-- watch it first. I DO show this movie in my classroom, but I also know exactly when to stand in front of the screen "by mistake". There are only a few moments that I block (almost all involving swears except for one scene in which the main character refers to a girl as the "root of his sexual frustrations"... I just don't want to open up THAT conversation in class ). However, this is a very enjoyable film that makes my students laugh and opens up a discussion comparing our school community in California with the school portrayed in Puerto Rico. The actors portraying teenagers ACTUALLY ARE teenagers :) and my students warm up to them.

I ordered this item based on some of the reviews, but won't be showing it in my Spanish 1 classes. It would probably be o.k. for juniors and seniors, but my freshmen are not ready for this. After previewing it myself and not being sure about its classroom potential, I asked two of my seniors to preview it. They thought it was a fun movie, but felt that it wasn't appropriate for my freshmen or even the sophomores. They thought it would be o.k. for the juniors and seniors since they'd be a little bit more mature.

I ordered the film Casi Casi for use in my Spanish class for Non-heritage speakers, as another means of incorporating culture into my classroom. I watch all films beforehand, and I am so glad that I did, as there are several words (common amongst teenagers) that absolutely disqualify this film for classroom use. Unless you have a means of editing the film, I don't recommend it for the classroom.

In a foreign language classroom, nothing seems to bring the language into context like a good foreign film. The challenge for a high school language teacher such as myself, is to find films that are relevant, appropriate, and culturally affirmative for my classroom.

"Casi, Casi" is a delightful film that captures the wacky misadventures of painfully self-conscious and joyfully social teenagers at a Puerto Rican high school. The spirit of this film and its story connect with students drawing them into the language and culture without force. Students actually care what happens to the characters. Instead of showing students some "weird" different culture, it humanizes spanish-speakers, showing kids just like them, dealing with problems just like them, in a school just like theirs.

I loved the "accento puertorriqueño" and the inside view of life in a high school where they speak Spanish. My students had great discussions comparing their own group of friends to those of Emilio and wondering what crazy things they would get themselves into just because they like a girl.

Watching this movie brought back so many memories of the one semester I spent attending a public school in Rio Piedras. So many of the school dynamics don't change from one generation to the next.
I show this movie to my 8th grade Spanish class as part of our end of the year celebration and they love it. The kids enjoy the premise, the slapstick, suspense and the occasional gross joke. My one concern for this age group was the use of the word "bitch" in the English subtitles but it's part of a scene that can be easily fastforwarded (no captions show this way)for the 'sake of time'.