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 […]
The Argentina Spanish Street Slang Phrase MANDAR FRUTA
Sometimes, even native Spanish speakers can get tripped up by words and phrases used in other countries. A good friend of mine, Jorge is from Colombia but moved to Argentina to go to school. His Spanish and English are both impeccable, so I take great joy in any of his minor slip ups. It just […]
The Harshest Argentina Spanish Street Slang Insult: AALRPMQTRP
AALRPMQTRP Try saying that three times fast. I bet you didn’t learn the pronunciation rules for that many consonants in a row! Okay, okay, I’ll come clean. This is not a Spanish word, it is actually an acronym for the worst Argentine insult you can dish out: Andáte a la re puta madre que te re […]
4 Names in Spanish for SANTA CLAUS: Infographic
The legendary figure of Santa Claus is well recognized all over the world. The story around this character was inspired by the Christian Bishop Saint Nicholas from the 4th century that lived in Lycia (Turkey today). Legends said that he was recognized for his generosity as a secret gift-giver, putting coins in the shoes or […]
Ir a + Infinitive: Talking About Places and Future Plans Spanish Class Activities
Lesson Plan – Ir + A + Infinitive to Talk About Places and Future Plans – By reviewing visual material and an authentic song in Spanish, students learn the vocabulary about actions and places to describe future actions and plans; they also ask and answer about future plans. They create a video about their and […]
Making Comparisons and Superlatives Spanish Class Activities
Lesson Plan Making Comparisons, Superlatives – After School Activities – Students learn vocabulary related to after-school activities through real documents (after school activities handout from several schools) and videos. They will learn about adjectives too. Later, they learn the rules to form a comparative and the ones with an irregular comparative grade. With these resources, […]
7 Must-Have Books for Spanish Learners
In bookstores, I just drool over the foreign language reference section (as my recent visit to Powell’s books proves). Any visit requires me to pass through the language learning materials, peruse and dream of my next language. Chinese, Arabic, Italian all interest me. As do Catalan, Basque, Korean, and several others. I plan on tackling […]
Subjunctive Irregular Verbs Spanish Class Activities
1. Lesson Plan – Subjunctive Irregular Verbs – Feelings and Emotions – Using a song, students learn vocabulary related to feelings, desires, and emotions. They’ll be able to see the most common irregular verbs and how to conjugate them in the present tense of the subjunctive mood. Students will learn the topic in context, interacting […]
Family and Relatives Vocabulary Spanish Class Activities
Lesson Plan – Family and Relatives Vocabulary – Physical Traits, Relationships, Age and Names – By the end of this activity, students will have learned the family vocabulary, how to describe people, and to ask and answer name and age. Students will have practiced the vocabulary orally and written in context. They will be able […]
Argentina Spanish Lesson: How to Conjugate the Vos Form
If you have never been to Argentina, chances are you have never even heard of the vos form. It is not to be confused with the vosotros form, which is native to Spain and also frequently ignored in the classroom. The vos form is native to Argentina and is interchangeable with tú. While Argentinians will understand […]
Learning Argentina Spanish: ¿ME TENÉS?
The first time my Argentine friend asked me ¿me tenés? I was a little confused. By that time, I was at least used to the vos form conjugation of “tener,” but the direct translation “You have me?” left me drawing a blank. Luckily, I was able to figure this out through context because she was shoving […]
Food Vocabulary Spanish Class Activities
Lesson Plan – Verbs TENER, COMER, ESTAR and HAY to Talk About Food – Food Vocabulary – While reviewing a series of videos, students take note of the food they see and hear. Then, the verbs tener, comer, estar and hay will be presented or reviewed in this context. Finally, they apply what they have […]
Spanish Punctuation and Capitalization Spanish Class Activities
1. Lesson Plan – Capitalization and Accents – At the end of the module, students will be able to define, pronounce and correctly spell vocabulary words and apply the rules of capitalization for: days of the week, names of months, the pronoun yo (“I”), proper nouns and proper adjectives, proper names, people’s titles and book titles. They will also describe the reasons for using […]
Diminutives and Augmentatives Spanish Class Activities
1. Activities – Juego para enseñar aumentativos y diminutivos a los niños – A simple game to teach the students how to use diminutives and augmentatives in Spanish. Students pretend to be magicians and use their powers to transform words into diminutive or augmentative according to their desire. 2. Lesson – Aumentativo / Diminutivo – This lesson includes […]
12 Popular English Songs in Spanish (Part 1)
There are many songs that become popular and then make a crossover to other languages. Some turn out to be good, but others are a complete disaster. I assume that translating a hit song to a different language is difficult. Think about the challenge of keeping the essence of the original lyrics yet finding the […]
Learning Spanish Slang: 4 Ways to Say FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS
Sex, love and everything in between can be tricky to describe in any language and Spanish is no exception. Each country seems to have its own slang for that gray area that in English is referred to as “friends with benefits” or, if you are feeling crass, fuck-buddies. Here are a few Spanish synonyms from […]
Por Vs Para Spanish Class Activities
Lesson Plan Por vs Para – Friendship – Students learn vocabulary related to friendship and personal relationships as well as the similarities and differences between the prepositions POR y PARA. They put into practice the new vocabulary, exchanging information and checking their pronunciation through spoken and written activities. What’s included: Lesson Plan in Spanish Lesson Slides […]
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 […]
A Slice of the Spanish Pie: 8 Spanish Language Words for SLICE
You would think a word as simple as slice would have only one translation. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The noun SLICE in Spanish has seemingly countless translations, each one is specific to whatever you are slicing. Here are a few of the more common translations: 1. Trozo Used for slices of cake or […]
SUBÍS: Learning Argentina Spanish for Going Up and Getting On
Just like in any language, Spanish has many words that have multiple meanings. The word “SUBIR” has several different meanings such as to go up, to get on, to climb up, to raise and many others along the same lines. Usually, you can figure it out from context, but the other day I came across […]
6 Spanish Language Words for TURKEY: Infographic
Soon we will be celebrating Thanksgiving, one of my favorites holidays. The special thing about Thanksgiving is the true meaning of being grateful for what you have. This is not a holiday about Christians or any religion; you can be thankful to God, life, destiny or whatever you want. Even though this holiday is not […]
A Funny Story About the Spanish Language Word BOMBA
Now, if you are looking at the word BOMBA in Spanish for the first time or even as someone who has studied Spanish for years, you are probably thinking it means “bomb”. Well, that is correct. Most of the time. I studied Spanish for several years before I headed to Mexico. I was pretty confident […]
Learn Spanish: 4 Ways to Say STRAIGHT AHEAD in Spanish
Straight ahead, go straight, forward. They all mean keep going in the same direction you are currently facing. What about recto, directo, de frente, p’alante, t’o tieso and derecho? Any guess as to their meaning? These are some Spanish synonyms for… You got it: Straight ahead. Good guess. Was it the title of the post […]
Subjunctive Regular Verbs Spanish Class Activities
Lesson Plan – Subjunctive Regular Verbs – Exercise and Staying in Shape : Students learn about regular verbs and how to conjugate them in the subjunctive mode. After the lesson, students will have learned vocabulary related to exercise and staying in shape, and also, regular verbs in the subjunctive mode through different spoken and written […]
Verb ESTAR in the Present to Express Location Spanish Class Activities
Lesson Plan – Verb ESTAR in the Present Indicative to Express Location – Prepositions of Places : Students learn how to conjugate the verb ‘estar’ in the present indicative using a song video. Then, they practice with a game that introduces the names of continents and countries, using real maps. Finally, they learn prepositions of […]
VIDEO: List of Spanish Slang Expressions About Money Used in Puerto Rico
Before you even step into a new country, money is one of the first topics you will become involved in. How much does my trip cost? How much money should I take? Will my ATM (otherwise known as ATH in Puerto Rico) card work? This video will have you prepped and ready to go for […]
Acabar de + Infinitive Spanish Class Activities
Lesson Plan – GUSTAR and similar verbs, Acabar de + Infinitive – Movie Genres –Students learn about movie genres, their characteristics and how to identify them. They learn to use the verb gustar and similar verbs to express their opinion about movies. They also learn to use acabo de + infinitive to talk about something that […]
Verb GUSTAR and Similar Verbs Spanish Class Activities
Lesson Plan GUSTAR and similar verbs, Acabar de + Infinitive – Movie Genres – Students learn about movie genres, their characteristics and how to identify them. They learn to use the verb gustar and similar verbs to express their opinion about movies. They also learn to use acabo de + infinitive to talk about something […]
Sports and Hobbies Spanish Class Activities
Lesson Plan – Likes and Dislikes – Sports and Hobbies Objectives At the end of the activity, students will have reviewed and used orally and in writing, the vocabulary about sports and hobbies, likes and dislikes according to the different degrees. Students can state hobbies and sports that they like and dislike in Spanish. Students […]
ESTAMPILLA or SELLO? Spanish Language Words for STAMP
STAMP. This simple word becomes complex when translated into Spanish. Spanish differences give us two possible words. Spanish Language Words for STAMP I remember learning estampilla in my early studies for STAMP. Only when I began to travel did I learn that another option exists. The other option I know of is sello. Generally estampilla […]