1. There are 51 million Latinos in the US today, and I want my children to be able to talk to any of them. 2. I want my kids to get the job interview that someone else doesn’t. 3. I want them to understand and appreciate other cultures and their own. 4. I want them [...]
I love using story sticks with kids learning Spanish. The pictures reinforce what they hear, and the movement helps them process the language. Children use the stick to order pictures of a story as they listen. These printable templates are free, the sticks are simple to make, and they are based on great books. Also, [...]
Use this photo and the questions that follow to help children learn Spanish. Like the other Learn Spanish with Pictures posts, these activities are ordered to help children master the vocabulary and gain confidence with the language. Start with Describe the photo (1), and be sure to point to the objects in the picture as [...]
Talking about pictures is a great way to speak Spanish with children. The activities in Learn Spanish with Pictures are ordered to help children master the vocabulary and gain confidence with the language. Start with Describe the photo (1), and be sure to point to the objects in the picture as you talk about them. [...]
Picture books in Spanish are one of the best language learning tools you can use with children. Even as kids get older, if you can convince them to listen or to read together, they will learn an amazing amount of Spanish. I love the Spanish-English bilingual book Un gato y un perro/A Cat and a [...]
Teachers and parents teaching Spanish to their children should build Spanish into daily routines as much as possible. Repetition is essential to language learning, and if teachers and parents incorporate a song or a poem into daily activities, they are much more likely to be consistent and repeat the Spanish enough that children can process [...]
It is going to be a little quieter on Spanish Playground for the next few weeks. As quite a few of you know, I am having double jaw surgery tomorrow. I don’t expect it to be much fun, but I am thrilled that my 25-year-old daughter is coming home from Lima, Peru to take care [...]
Stories without words are useful tools for teaching Spanish to children. These wordless picture books engage children actively with the events on the page. Children interpret the drawings and follow the narrative by identifying characters, emotions, actions, and consequences. Simple phrases and questions in Spanish make the most of this connection and of the context [...]
In English, we associate learning vowel sounds with learning to read. However, children who are learning Spanish should learn the vowel sounds early and practice them often, focusing on the sound, not the association with the written letter. The vowel sounds are important for pronunciation first, and for reading later. It is never too early [...]
Children can draw on information they already know to understand new Spanish vocabulary and structures. When teachers and parents talk about familiar subjects in Spanish, children associate concepts they understand with the new language. This way, children learn Spanish vocabulary in context and applied to content, rather than as lists of vocabulary words which are [...]
One of the biggest challenges for Spanish teachers and parents teaching Spanish to their children is providing sufficient input at the appropriate level. Exposing a child to Spanish is not difficult, but exposing a child to Spanish at the right level and in a way that promotes learning is time consuming and a lot of [...]
There are websites that make me marvel at the vision and initiative of the individuals who create them. La biblio de los chicos is an online library from Argentina, and each time I visit, I am amazed at the richness of the content. It was created by the publishers of Imaginaria, an online magazine devoted [...]
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