Spanish Teaching Tips

Updated June 18, 2008.                     See TIP #13 for Summer Vacation Help!

Teaching Tip #1

Make a simple schedule.

When your student (or you!) get overwhelmed or bogged down-  and it's bound to happen, learning a language is time-intensive, and seems to never end! - Try to set out a short-term time line. Decide to learn ONE WORD EACH DAY for a few days.back cover detail 1back cover detail 2
Lessons will be quick, fun, and your confidence will boost!

You CAN accomplish this goal! You simply must make the goal reachable! The above picture is a sample of the month of March from our newest Product, released April 21, 2008.

To help with this system, you can find our new Spanish Fun Activity Calendar in our Shop.

Teaching Tip #2

BINGO! 

If you meet with resistance with reviewing colors, numbers, or any number of vocabulary words. Play BINGO.

Go to the games page and print out a blank BINGO sheet. Fill it in with pictures (or have your child draw them if he's an older student) of the vocabulary words. Write the list on scraps of paper and use pennies to cover each picture.

Be sure to SAY the Spanish words, not the English, with each turn.

Teaching Tip #3

Bring it down a notch

When struggling to keep your student engaged, take a step back and think - Is he having fun? Is this easy?

Review concepts he already knows like colors, or numbers through something like telling time!

To say: 

It's one o'clock = Es la una. 1:00

It's two o'clock = Son las dos. 2:00

It's three o'clock = Son las tres. 3:00

Draw boxes with the : in them, and let your child write the numbers in as you tell the time.

At four o'clock = A las cuatro.... 4:00

At five o'clock = A las cinco... 5:00

We're going to use = Vamos a usar...

Suddenly, you can say: At four o'clock we're going to use blue and the book. (A las cuatro, vamos a usar azul y el libro.) Your child will watch for 4:00 to come around on the kitchen microwave time, and can pick up his blue Crayon, ready to work through another page of his Flip Flop Spanish Workbook!

Teaching Tip #4

Actively Interact

Instead of TELLING your child the words, ask him to choose!
Use Felt Boards, dolls, clothing, even blocks, or Matchbox cars, and ask him:

     Quieres el carro rojo o azul? (Do you want the red car, or blue?)
     Tienes el juguete nuevo o viejo? (Do you have the old toy, or the new one?)

Point or touch the item as you describe it, and if your son or daughter doesn't respond in Spanish, that's okay! Say, "Oh, tienes el carro rojo. Muy bien."

A helpful supplement is:Flip Flop Felt Friends - which comes with an instruction pamphlet to use and play with in ANY language! - Sra. Gose uses this with her students from ages 3 to 46 (that's the age of my eldest student right now) , and the set has lasted for more than four years in weekly classes, four hours a day. VERY durable!

Teaching Tip #5

Repeat and review. 
The old adage, “Use it or Lose it” applies here.
Review workbook pages by talking through them: talk about what the weather was like when you did that page, or what day it was, or what you ate for dinner. Recalling the learning situation often helps the child to recall the lesson.
Make a habit of using Spanish once a day, even for a few seconds. Perhaps when you get ready for dinner, you practice with por favor (please) and gracias (thank you). Your child can name colors of and count the plastic cups as you set them out on the table.
Use Flashcards: Cut the ones from the back of the book, but make your own as well. Even after your student has mastered the words, add them back in to the pile.
Use other books! When a child sees the words he has learned in another venue, they become more meaningful to him. These three of Sandra Boynton's line of Spanish Board Books are WONDERFUL additions to your Spanish Library at home:

Teaching Tip #6

Extend and challenge:
After mastering flashcards, ask questions about the pictures, causing Spanish phrases to come from your student, instead of just single words:
Do you like it?    (¿Te gusta?)
How many?       (¿Cuánto?)

What color?       (¿Cuál color?)
What is it like?   (¿Cómo es?)
Surprise your child with a Spanish phrase or command when he doesn’t expect it. Say gracias more often, and de nada to his “thank you.” Even without correction, hearing Spanish helps him to be more comfortable when it comes time to say it.
   

Teaching Tip #7

Labeling:
If your student is able to read, label household items in the house with post-it notes in Spanish. If you touch it, you have to say it! Or use the flashcards Sra. Gose uses with her students, and place them word-side up around the house - Use five a day, and change them out often!
This is VERY helpful at dinner time - when you ask for a fork, you can use the phrase "¿Puedo tener el tenedor, por favor?" (May I have the fork, please?)
Puedo tener (pweh-doh-teh-nehr) can be used to ask your child to bring you ANYTHING in Spanish. 

Teaching Tip #8

Puedo tener... (pweh-doh-teh-nehr) May I have?:
Use "Spanglish" to practice colors and other adjectives- 
        Puedo tener the ball rojo...
        Puedo tener the shirt grande....
        
This method will allow you to see how many adjectives your child has actually absorbed in long term memory, and not just to fill in the pages of his Flip Flop Spanish Workbook.

Teaching Tip #9

Improve your own Spanish and surprise your student with a new word! 
To teach the word, use charades or draw it to allow them to guess what it means. Just click the link below!

One new word every day, seven words a week. Grouped by topic and showing their origin, real life examples and pronunciation.

Teaching Tip #10

Give simple instructions in Spanish:
All these can be found in the Easy Spanish Phrase Book - GREAT price, and LOTS of help for non-Spanish speakers! 
Espera un momento    eh-speh-rah-oon-moh-mehn-toh     Wait a moment
Cuidado                         kwee-dah-doh                                       Look out, Careful!   
Oye                                 oh-yeh                                                    Listen

Teaching Tip #11

Change it up!
Simply changing the location or manner in which you teach a lesson can create  interest and motivation for your child.  If sitting in his parents' bed is a real treat, have his Flip Flop Spanish Workbook waiting for him there, and take advantage of his excitement!
Change HOW you teach him as well! Use the link below to introduce new words and listen to them and repeat to expand his vocabulary:
Computer-Linked Spanish Flashcards

Teaching Tip #12

Don't just sit there!
With any new word, say it at least three times while DOING SOMETHING. In class, we shake a maraca for each syllable of a new word, or to cheer when a word is remembered correctly (it's quieter than clapping!) 
To use the same maracas Sra. Gose uses, check out the Order Page
Colors: Have your student color circles (or anything) and repeat the color three times while coloring.
Animals (a): touch a picture of the animal, say it three times as you tap the picture with each repetition.
Animals (b): acting out animals (flying around the room and “singing” pájaro, pájaro, pájaro works wonders!) also will solidify the vocabulary.
Adjectives: act out the words and say it three times

Teaching Tip #13

Languages on the go!
For those summer vacations, instead of getting frustrated with the phrases you hear again and again, practice your Spanish!

I'm hungry: .......... ...  ..Tengo hambre.                                      tehn-goh-ahm-breh

I'm bored: ............   ...  Estoy aburrido (aburrida for girls)     eh-stoy-ah-boo-ree-doh

How much longer?.. ¿Cuánto tiempo más?                           kwahn-toh-tee-ehm-poh-mahs

Are we there yet?..... ¿Ya llegamos?                                        yah-yeh-gah-mohs

I have to go! ...............¡Tengo que ir!                                          tehn-goh-keh-eer

I want to get out. . ...... Quiero salir.                                            kee-eh-roh-sah-leer




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