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 time that they will be able to use the language accurately, so this lesson should embrace the excitement and trepidation that the students are feeling. Guide them along so they feel secure and confident all the while excited that they are producing the language on their own.
Step by Step Spanish Greetings Lesson
STEP 1
Typically the first part of a Spanish greetings lesson is to decide which greetings and farewells you feel are appropriate for the students. Come up with a selection, and include some colloquial ways as well. This will make the students feel they could communicate with someone their own age without seeming too formal. Let’s say we are teaching hola, ¿qué tal?, buenos días, adiós, chao, and hasta luego. Of course you could add more.
STEP 2
With this set of six words for your Spanish greetings lesson, model the salutations as the students come into the classroom. Change up the words as they enter so that when they arrive to their desks they are talking about who got what word. Greet the class as a whole, and wait for the students to greet you back. Repeat this a few times with each salutation. At this point, you may want to instruct your class on how to ask “What is your name?” and to respond with “My name is….” In order to do this quickly, write the phrases on the board in Spanish, and introduce yourself while pointing at the words Me llamo… Go up to a student who you have identified as self-confident, and ask them ¿Cómo te llamas? As they are eating up the attention, go back to the board and point at Me llamo… Model this dialog a few more times with a variety of students, always going back to the board to point to the correct response.
STEP 3
Upon completion of this mini-dialog, go back to the beginning of the conversation with a new volunteer. Have a couple of students volunteer practice the “greetings, what’s your name, my name is…” dialogue in front of the class so that everyone is on the same page as to how the conversation goes. Have them practice with one person sitting close to them. After this practice, go over the farewells similar to how you practiced the greetings. They now have a complete mini-dialogue.
STEP 4
Give instruction that they are to go through the entire conversation, and both people in the conversation must complete a ‘greeting,’ ‘what’s your name?,’ ‘my name is…’ and a ‘farewell.’ It would be beneficial for you to create a small checklist with word reminders for each student. If at any point they feel insecure, they can reference the checklist. Now you have a complete Spanish greetings lesson that involves a large amount of instant communication for beginning students.
What other salutations and goodbye phrases would you include in your Spanish greetings lesson?
Check out these other articles about Spanish Lessons.
