How to Learn Spanish Resources for Children
For many people, learning languages at an early age is far easier than learning them later in life. Teaching Spanish to children can be an enjoyable and fruitful process. Diverse online, print, video, musical, and classroom resources are available to address the needs of all types of learners.
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Instructions
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Espanol Para Ninos
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Clear a good space for learning Spanish. Engaging children in Spanish instruction requires physical movement, lots of interaction, and visual aids, so make sure the children have room to move.
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Determine which materials you wish to incorporate in Spanish activities. For most young children, music and songs are ideal reinforcements for language instruction. The My Libros website (see Resources below) contains several useful songbooks and recordings, including Ana Lomba's "Play and Learn Spanish," a compendium of songs, activities, and conversation starters. Another song-driven curriculum is "Let's Sing and Learn in Spanish" (see Resources below).
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Supplement verbal lessons with total physical response (TPR) activities. The Colorin Colorado website (see Resources below) contains several TPR activities that have children following instructions through actions as opposed to language production. A lesson may begin, for example, by teaching the difference between stand, sit, and lie down. The teacher then gives these commands in succession, with the students following directions. Then students can work in small groups replicating the command structures.
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Integrate technology into the instruction. Many learners benefit from using websites or CD-roms to reinforce learning. The active links at Best Spanish Websites (see Resources below) provide ample resources for children learning Spanish. Sites provide visual reinforcement, keyboard interaction, audio with Spanish pronunciation, and activities geared to grade level as well as ability.
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Use visuals, symbols, key words and text to support verbal activities. Realia is ideal for lessons concerning food, tools, nature, and other concepts from daily life. For more abstract concepts, such as asking directions, you may need to draw a large picture and refer to it through the lesson. Children can copy the drawing or add to your model drawing as part of the lesson.
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Tips & Warnings
Give the children plenty of opportunities to speak in different group sizes and contexts.
Avoid too much corrective feedback in the first lessons. Always model correct Spanish and pronunciation, but allowing the children to speak frequently is more important than ensuring that they always speak correctly.
