Sep. 3, 2009
Una Entrevista con una Maestra de Español - Parte Dos
Posted in grammar and language helps
Join us again as we continue to pick the brain of a Spanish teaching guru... Kathleen: Welcome again Debbie, and thank for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. What would you say parents should keep in mind while teaching Spanish to their children? Debbie: As far as pronunciation, the vowels are the most important part. If the child can pronounce the vowels correctly then they will be more understandable. Also remember the progression of any language learning is as follows: Absorbing and then producing. So a child must hear the language before he/she can speak it. A child must be able to read it before he can write it. Kathleen: That sounds reasonable, but I know as parents we can get impatient with that process. In other words, our first year students will probably not be able to serve as a translators just yet! Digging deeper, how can language instruction be made more multi-sensory? Debbie: Do as much Spanish through games and activities as possible. For example, with my students we play a lot of matching games, Go-Fish with new vocabulary, dice games, battleship to practice verb conjugations, etc. To get ideas for some of my games I have used this book: Games….Tools for Learning. I also try to use commands as much as possible. For example, when we are learning prepositions (on top of, under, beside, etc.), I will tell my kids/students to put an object under the sofa or on top of the piano. Or I may describe where something is located in the house and they have to go find it.  Kathleen: Sounds interesting and fun! Moms take note, you need to be learning the language along with your children in order to do this. What are some common mistakes that you see people make when they start teaching or learning Spanish? Debbie: There are several types of mistakes we make when teaching Spanish or any other language for that matter. First of all, we expect too much too soon and when we don’t see results we give up. Language learning is a long process…it is a marathon, not a sprint. Think about how you learned your native language. You listened to the language for almost two years before you started to say your first words! Give your students time to learn. Keep it up no matter how slow the progress. And above all, if it becomes boring, make it fun!!!  Kathleen: I have long believed that if Spanish is just another workbook, just another subject to check off the to-do list, that it will quickly become boring and low on our priority list. Your ideas to make it more fun are inspiring, and student will learn more if Spanish is woven into daily life. What are some ways that you weave Spanish into your home life?
Debbie: When my youngest was little and I only had one child, I spoke to him only in Spanish Monday-Friday. This soon became not doable when the second child came along. So now we look for opportunities to add in Spanish. Here are some ideas: *Go to the grocery store…can you name the fruits and veggies in Spanish? *Listen to Spanish online. Here’s a site for younger kids. *If you have young kids, check out their Disney DVD’s, sometimes you can switch the language into Spanish and they can absorb some language that way. This works well if your child knows the storyline well. *Post-it notes are our friends! Use post-it notes to label things in your house in Spanish. *By all means, boss your kids around! Learn simple commands in Spanish to tell your kids what to do. Kathleen: Wow, thanks again Debbie! I would add that you can also check your TV listing for your kids' favorite cartoons in Spanish. Last time I checked, you can catch Bob Esponja and Bob el Constructor among other favorites on the Spanish stations. Meanwhile, I'm off to dig out my post-it notes.... Go check out Debbie's beautiful blog and take a look at her homeschool adventures in amazing Alaska!  |
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