In Spanish, a lot of words may be altered slightly with diminutives or colloquialisms and still mean more or less the same thing, for example with “galleta” (cookie/cracker) and “galletita” (little cookie/cracker”). Chileans, in particular, are famous for their -itos. It is then understandable that one might confuse the words “caballo” and “caballero” and assume […]
CAGAR vs CARGAR: An Embarrassing Spanish Speaking Lesson
When you are learning a language, it is easy to brush off certain things as unimportant. You simply want to get your point across, so you can’t waste time trying to perfect every aspect of your speech when you need to communicate. Usually, this is fine and with enough context, you will be understood, more […]
10 Funny Product Names from the Supermarket: My Fun Spanish Lesson in Central America
Here is a collection of product names in Spanish I found on a recent trip to the Western Caribbean. Throughout a 10-year career in Marketing, I experienced the importance of establishing a strong brand name. These products names are catchy and funny and now that I am more aware of the differences of Spanish languages […]
Learning Spanish Lessons: The Distinction Between PARECER and PARECERSE
Parecer and parecerse a both mean “to resemble” or “to look like” but they cannot be used interchangeably. Parecer is used to describe the appearance of something, such as “He looks like a teacher” while parecerse is used to compare between items, such as “He looks like my teacher Mr. Sanchez.” or to give an […]
Learning Spanish Lessons: The Difference Between PEDIR and PREGUNTAR
This post is part of the series Warming up for El Día E: Posts to Improve Your Spanish. El Día E is a world-wide celebration of the Spanish Language that will take place on June 23th, 2012. Posts in this series to celebrate El Día E: 1. Join the Celebration of El Día E 2. […]
AHORITA vs HORITA: An Embarrassing Spanish Speaking Lesson
Ahora is a universal word in Spanish that means now. It is simple, easy to remember, extremely useful and one of the first words a Spanish learner picks up. It would be so helpful if there also existed a universal word for right now. Alas, twas not to be. The words ahorita, ahora mismo and […]
Learn Spanish Quiz: Avon’s Basic Spanish Lesson on Accent Rules
After five years working for Avon, I’m definitely hooked on their products. So the other day I went to their store in Miami to stock up with some of my favorites. At the entrance there was this sign with their return and exchange policies. Guessing what’s wrong with this sign is easy. If you don’t […]
3 Spanish Lesson Plan Ideas for Any Teacher
Let’s Teach in Spanish What Doesn’t Exist in English: Key Unique Patterns in Spanish
A Basic Spanish Lesson on Conjugating Verbs Like GUSTAR
The verb GUSTAR and other verbs like GUSTAR confuse many Spanish students because these sort of verbs do not really exist in English. The literal translation of GUSTAR is “to please” which is unfortunate for anyone who has to teach high school Spanish as you will have to tell them the way to say “I […]
Gritty Spanish Listening and Reading Comprehension Audio Program Review
This is the review of the Gritty Spanish audio program to improve listening and reading comprehension. Download a free eBook.
One of Your First Lessons in Spanish: Asking For Directions
My very first Spanish lessons often left something to be desired. While knowing how to tell people your birthday and ask them about theirs is great and all, I didn’t find it all too easy to apply in real world situations. I’d like to give you some first lessons in Spanish that you can use […]
Car Parts: Spanish School Lessons of Different Vocabulary Words For The Same Thing
As with all different areas of languages, vocabulary dedicated to car parts varies from one country to another. In Spanish, the car is el auto in one country, el coche in another, and el carro in a third. Let’s take a look at a couple of simple parts. In countries like Chile the clutch pedal […]
Lesson for Spanish Teachers: 4-Step Activity to Teach Basic Verbs Vocabulary
Learning new vocabulary words in Spanish is an important element in the language acquisition process. Teaching vocabulary should be constantly taught and reviewed during a lesson as a phonological awareness activity, or to pre-teach new vocabulary of a story or text. Teaching vocabulary is also important because it increases the chances to become a better […]
Basic Spanish Lessons: Ordering Food
It’s pretty hard to get around in a Spanish speaking country if you can’t even order something to eat. This basic Spanish lesson will give you the vocabulary and phrases you need to order food in Spanish. First, let’s get your basic food vocabulary out of the way. You have to get past the menu […]
Video Spanish Lessons: Pronouncing the Colors in Spanish
The colors are one of the basic things you can teach your students. Here is a short video Spanish lesson on how to pronounce the colors. Video Spanish Lessons: Pronouncing the Colors in Spanish 1. amarillo: yellow 2. azul: blue 3. negro: black 4. naranja: orange 5. rojo: red 6. rosa: pink 7. café: brown […]
First Spanish Lessons: Talking About Your Spanish Studies
When you are in the process of learning a language, you will generally get a lot a questions related to how you learned the Spanish you already know. Nothing kills your confidence more than not knowing how to respond to a question as simple as “how long have you been studying Spanish?” The phrases I […]
How to Create Fun Spanish Lesson Plans
Creating fun Spanish lesson plans can be a complicated process especially when you are trying to create meaningful lesson plans as well. To make sure you have a complete, and effective lesson plan, it is necessary that you create your objectives for the lesson. What should the students be able to do after the lesson? […]
A Step by Step Spanish Greetings Lesson
A Spanish greetings lesson is usually one of the first things done at the beginning of a novice Spanish class. Spanish greetings are usually taught as vocabulary words, but why not try to create a bit more excitement? Think about this from the viewpoint of a brand-new learner of Spanish. These greetings are the first […]
Spanish Lessons Fast? No way, José!
Doing Spanish lessons fast is not the way to go unless your only goal is to complete a series of lessons in that time frame. Which, by the way, is a bad goal. Learning a language quickly can be detrimental to your comprehension and production of the language. Usually the primary goal of learning a […]
Tips to Create a Spanish Speaking Lesson
In learning a language, there are 4 main components: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. All 4 are of equal importance, however, when developing one’s communicative skills the specific focus will be on listening and speaking. When students are asked at the beginning of the year what their goal is for Spanish class, 9 out of […]
What Makes Great Spanish High School Lessons?
Most school districts offer Spanish in high schools only, so it is important that you know how to make fantastic Spanish high school lessons. Teenagers are hard to please, and yet teachers must be able to find a way to engage them immediately. This especially needs to happen in a language classroom because most teenagers […]
Learning Spanish Lesson: The Difference Between GRATIS and LIBRE
Gratis and libre both translate to “free,” but they have specific meanings. Non-native speakers often mix them up and end up conveying the wrong message. 1. Free means gratis or no charge For example, when I was in university, the Dean of Students wanted to provide a free lunch on Cinco de Mayo for students. […]