The Bilingual Baby DVD is a wonderful collection of images to support a voice-over narration of basic Spanish words and phrases. There is no story, but this DVD is surprisingly engaging and entertaining. The live action video of people and animals has wonderful colors and the pacing is just right. It holds a child’s attention and yet it is never too busy or overwhelming.
This make-your-own online puppet show is a great way to get kids speaking Spanish or any language. Start by choosing scenery and characters. Then you can move the characters around and have them talk to each other. They automatically turn toward each other, and you can move them below the level of the stage. There are four scenes to choose from and four pairs of characters. This activity is on UpToTen – one of the [...]
This is a collection of videos to use in the classroom, and many of them are short and appropriate for children learning Spanish. The government of Chile makes these videos available on the education portal Educarchile. You can download the videos to use with children learning Spanish. You can also watch them on the site, but they sometimes load slowly. Downloading them is easy and then they play really well. You can find the Spanish [...]
OnlineFreeSpanish has added a section of activities on Spanish syllables and the first one is ready to go! I am excited to use these with students of all ages who are beginning to read in Spanish. If my students can already read in English, I delay reading in Spanish until they have a good sense of the sound of the language and a range of vocabulary and structures. This is because children who already read [...]
Ana Lomba’s guide to teaching preschool Spanish has been updated and is now available. This guide is for anyone teaching children Spanish in a school or private program, and it addresses preschool and school-age children. Spanish for Preschoolers explains how to create effective lessons based on an understanding of how children learn language. All of us know that it is impossible to find perfect, ready-to-use lesson plans. I am sure you create your own materials [...]
A text-rich environment is very important for children learning Spanish. One of the difficulties of teaching Spanish as a minority language is that children are not exposed to the written language the way they constantly see signs, labels and advertisements in English. It is important to keep an interesting, changing flood of Spanish text at home and in classrooms. Here are 15 ways to create a world of Spanish words in your home. 1. Make [...]
Teaching Spanish to kids is amazing fun, but it can be taxing. We all need materials to draw on and to motivate us. One of the best resources available is Ana Lomba’s Spanish for Preschoolers and there is a new edition on the way! Ana is a recognized authority on teaching language to children and teaching preschool Spanish in particular. Her new teacher’s guide offers educators the best of her expertise and experience. Spanish for [...]
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 to have another perspective on history. 5. I want them to test out of the language requirement in college. 6. [...]
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 Dog by Claire Masurel. Although it is hard to define what exactly makes a picture book fun, in this case, [...]
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 created by the illustrations. In addition, teachers and parents can use Spanish at an appropriate level so that reading is [...]
I recently wrote about a song to teach children the vowel sounds in Spanish. The song A,E,I,O,U is by Carolina Gómez, and she was kind enough to send me the CD. I always enjoy making connections with people who are creating quality Spanish-language materials for children. Hands on Spanish has 20 songs and comes with the Spanish lyrics and an English translation of all the tracks. The lyrics and the translations are printed in alternating [...]
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 work. Working with familiar information is one way to make the process easier. Children acquire language when there is comprehensible [...]