Mejorando su español (improving your Spanish)
In order to make the biggest impact on your students during the trip, it is crucial that you work on your Spanish before the trip. Regularly and strategically working on specific Spanish skills over the next few months will allow you to get so much more out of the trip (and give so much more to your students and fellow teachers).
When assessing your Spanish strengths and weaknesses, you'll want to think of the following skills:
When assessing your Spanish strengths and weaknesses, you'll want to think of the following skills:
- Listening: Am I good at understanding Spanish speakers? When watching a program on Spanish TV, how much am I able to understand?
- Podcasts are great tools for helping your ear pick out more words and phrases that may have previously been too quick for you. There's even a podcast that reads the news in S L O W Spanish. More info below.
- Speaking: So many American students learn how to read Spanish and feel comfortable hearing Spanish being spoken, but when it comes to speaking, they don't feel as comfortable.
- You'll get so much experience, in Guatemala, with speaking in Spanish. However, it's essential to warm these engines before you go. I suggest speaking to yourself in Spanish (in the car, shower, inside your head, etc.) any chance you get. It will get you in the practice of trying to form words and figuring out which types of expressions, phrases, subjects, etc. are difficult for you and require work.
- Pronunciation. We live in the south where we twist and draw out our vowels in very creative ways. This means that an "a" may sound like an "ah" and "uh" or an "aye". In Spanish, an "a" is pronounced "ah" EVERY time. It is crucial that you work on your pronunciation, so that you are not adding English vowel sounds into your Spanish. This requires working your mouth and tongue in different ways. We suggest that you read articles, in Spanish, out loud. It will get your mouth working the right way and will also train your ear to the rhythms and common phrases used in Spanish. CNN has a site en espanol that may be helpful for you.
Podcasts
Podcasts are a great way to learn Spanish while doing other things (walking, driving, working out, cleaning, etc.). You can download a number of free podcasts. Here's a few recommendations:
- Coffee Break Spanish is an award-winning podcast for beginning Spanish speakers. They have extra content (episode guides & worksheets) for a fee. To go directly to their free podcasts, click here.
- Notes in Spanish is a good program that provides specific podcasts for beginner, intermediate, and advanced Spanish speakers. It's format is two people talking in fairly slow Spanish about current events. To directly download their intermediate version, click here.
- Light speed Spanish is very similar to Coffee Break Spanish and includes podcasts that range from beginning to advanced. Pick your level and go with it, here.
Online tutorials
Online tutorials are also helpful in learning Spanish grammar and vocabulary. Here are a few free sites:
- Mango Languages is a tutorial service offered through Lander's Jackson Library. It's free to Lander students, faculty, and staff. Click here.
- freerice.com is a vocabulary building site. Answer vocabulary questions and, for each correct answer, they donate 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program.
Libros y paginas web en español
Books in Spanish. Depending on your level of Spanish, you can find a book to read that will help you with your comprehension. Feel free to start with children's books and work your way up. If you are intermediate, Las Aventuras del Capitan Calzoncillos (Captain Underpants), is a fun "chapter book" with lots of pictures to help you get the point. Harry Potter is also available and lots of people like to give it a try.
News in Spanish. So many news sites offer Spanish versions, as well. Google news can be viewed in Spanish (you just have to change your setting). It allows you to specify the type of news articles you wish to view. It doesn't always have to be serious, either. Huffington Post, for example, shows a lot of pop culture "entertainment" news that is lighthearted and can help you pase el tiempo, like this headline: "Un cerdito, un montón de hojas, un descubrimiento... ¡y llega la locus!" ¡Mira, ahorita!
TV in Spanish. Watch telenovelas, comedies, sports, and the news on Spanish-speaking television. Univision and Telemundo are two of the biggest channels in the US.
News in Spanish. So many news sites offer Spanish versions, as well. Google news can be viewed in Spanish (you just have to change your setting). It allows you to specify the type of news articles you wish to view. It doesn't always have to be serious, either. Huffington Post, for example, shows a lot of pop culture "entertainment" news that is lighthearted and can help you pase el tiempo, like this headline: "Un cerdito, un montón de hojas, un descubrimiento... ¡y llega la locus!" ¡Mira, ahorita!
TV in Spanish. Watch telenovelas, comedies, sports, and the news on Spanish-speaking television. Univision and Telemundo are two of the biggest channels in the US.