Teaching Spanish can be an exciting yet overwhelming time in one’s life. Many teachers are assigned a textbook to use in class and then realize that it isn’t the best book for teaching Spanish.
The following books are some of the best on the market for Spanish learners and offer several approaches that can complement your Spanish textbook.
1. Best Workbook: Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses
Conjugating verbs is one of the most difficult parts of learning a new language; however, proper verb conjugation separates beginner Spanish students from those who become fluent in the language. This is a terrific book for teaching Spanish that covers both beginner and intermediate level Spanish. The reason the book stands above the crowd is because it not only asks you to practice conjugation by memorization, but it explains why verbs should be conjugated in certain ways.
The book also gives many examples of the correct ways to conjugate verbs and the incorrect ways to conjugate them. It uses everyday examples, so you can begin using your newfound skills right away. There are over 250 exercises in this time, plenty of tables and a broad range of topics to choose from.
The book covers present tense, conjugation of regular verbs, personal A, irregular verbs, stem-changing infinitives, the present progressive tense, conditional tenses, imperfect tense, future tense, past perfect tense, imperative subjunctive, compound tenses, passive voice, future perfect, conditional perfect, present perfect subjunctive, and pluperfect subjunctive.
If you order the ebook version, you also get access to an audio answer key that helps with proper pronunciation.
2. Best Textbook: 52 Weeks of Family Spanish: Bite Sized Weekly Lessons to Get You and Children Speaking Spanish Together!
This textbook is extremely popular with families who not only understand the value of learning a second language—they want to instill those values in their children while they are still young.
52 Weeks provides small chunks of information over almost three months, so you can follow along at your own pace. The family Spanish lessons help you learn Spanish while teaching your children some basic grammar and vocabulary. The book uses real life examples and focuses on vocabulary and situations around the home so kids can get an understanding of how a new language fits into their lives.
This textbook also employs the use of fun games and activities to help keep learning fun. It shuns flashcards and heavy grammar practice in lieu of more hands-on methods to help keep the entire family engaged and craving more.
The book also includes an ideas section that helps your family to learn the language even when you don’t have time for an entire lesson. The pronunciation guide keeps everyone sounding as fluent as possible. The cultural notes explain different Spanish speaking countries so your family can learn about the regions and the cultures associated with the language they are learning. Finally, the resources section gives your family access to free or inexpensive resources so you can keep learning Spanish even after you’ve completed the 52-week program. The resources also help to integrate the lessons into your life and the culture into your understanding.
3. Best Vocabulary Book: The Big Red Book of Spanish Vocabulary: 30,000 Words Including Cognates, Roots, and Suffixes
Offering a three-pronged approach to the language, The Big Red Book of Spanish Vocabulary offers a comprehensive look at the language. The book is sorted into three categories: cognates, root families and suffixes. It focuses on creating a familiarity with certain words so memorization becomes a snap.
Instead of memorizing simple words like dog, car or kitchen, students can look at words by grouping and by alphabetical order. The book also has the 130 most common suffixes, so students need not feel overwhelmed by the sheer size of this book; they can simply look at the words that are most used. The book offers over 4,000 examples so understanding the reasoning behind word choice is much easier.
This book for teaching Spanish vocabulary also indexes the 5,000 most used words in Spanish, so students can simply look at this list of words instead of flipping through an entire book to find the exact word they want. The book also makes use of a cross-reference index that notes the root and suffix of every word.
4. Ready-made Lesson Plans: Spanish Teachers Community Membership
Our Spanish Teachers Community service is a valuable resource utilized by numerous Spanish teachers, both with and without textbooks. It offers a complete set of lesson plans for Spanish 1, Spanish 2, and Spanish 3, covering the entire academic year.
The options includes a variety of teaching aids such as cultural activities, songs, presentation slides, exit tickets, and assessments.
One of the key features of the materials is that they are fully editable. This allows teachers the flexibility to tweak them according to the specific needs of their current students, ensuring a personalized and effective learning year after year.
We recommend to get started by downloading the free bundle of Spanish class materials.
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