Top Ten Tips for Learning Spanish hhttp://www



Top Ten Tips for Learning Spanish during the summer

h

1. Don't expect to be perfect! Can you remember when you were learning to ride a bicycle? Did you ride perfectly from the first time you sat on the seat? When learning a new language, expect that you will make mistakes, and don't be embarrassed by them!

1. Work on developing an "ear" for Spanish. Remember that language is first and foremost oral communication. A written alphabet is merely a collection of symbols used to represent the sounds of the language, and cannot be expected to capture every nuance of sound and intonation. Try to develop a "good ear" for Spanish. An easy and fun way to do this is by listening to Spanish music, watching Spanish movies, or watching Spanish cable TV.

1. Practice SPEAKING! The only way to learn to speak a language is by actually SPEAKING. You can study for years, and master all of the grammar rules, but unless you actually practice speaking, you will never speak well. When you are practicing speaking, remember to do it out loud, at normal conversational volume.

1. Be consistent. To really learn a language takes time and commitment. Consistency is by far the most important factor. If you can devote a solid twenty minutes a day, nearly every day, you will be far more successful than if you "cram" for an hour or two, but only sporadically.

1. Talk to yourself. When learning a foreign language, it is common for listening skills to develop more rapidly than speaking skills, leaving the learner in the unfortunate situation of being able to understand, but unable to respond. A good way to surmount this problem is to talk to yourself as much as possible. Because there is no one else around, you won't be weighed down by the inhibition that so frequently burdens the beginning language student.

1. Use flashcards. One of the best tips we can give you is to make and use flashcards. Make cards that are small enough to easily carry with you, and write the English on one side and Spanish on the other. Be sure to ALWAYS have some cards with you. This way, you can capture "wasted" time (standing in line, riding the bus, waiting for class to start, etc.) and turn it into productive study time. Even if you only have a couple of minutes, you can use it to study a few flashcards.

1. Label your surroundings. Make labels for things all over your house. For example: la pared (wall), la puerta (door), el escritorio (desk) etc. Remove the labels only after you have mastered the vocabulary.

1. Be patient. Progress in language learning does not follow a straight-line graph. You cannot expect to make the same amount of progress, day after day, week after week. You may find yourself struggling at times, seeming to make no progress. Don't let this discourage you. It is normal to reach plateaus in your learning progress. If you find yourself "stuck" try spending time going back and reviewing things that you already know well. Often this will help prepare you to break through to the next level.

1. Find a partner. Try to find a native speaker who can be your conversation partner. This can be your greatest asset and perhaps you can also provide assistance to your partner in your native language.

1. Read out loud. Try reading out loud. You will get all of the benefits of reading, plus you'll get really good pronunciation practice. In fact, as a beginner, you should read aloud as much as possible.

Spanish Culture

Languages are neither learned nor spoken in a vacuum. These short essays serve as your window into the people, places and customs that make the Hispanic culture so amazingly rich. Here are some examples:

o The Alamo

o The Cardón Cactus

o The Animal Carvings of Oaxaca

o The Bakeries of Mexico

o The Black Pottery of San Bartolo Coyotepec

o The Bronze Sculptures of Alejandro Colunga

o Canopy Walking

o Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge

o Celestún

o Cenotes of Yucatán

o Cervantes

o Chimborazo

o The Cider of Asturias

o Climbing Cotopaxi

o The Conquistadors

o The Copper Work Of Santa Clara

o Courtyards of Latin America

o Crucifix Art in Latin America

o Cuzco

o Dalí

o Eating Street Food In Mexico

o Ecolodge Pioneers

o Friends of Teacapán

o Giant Domed Tortoise

o El Greco

o Guanajuato

o Guelaguetza

o Huichol Yarn Paintings

o Iguazu Falls

o The Island of Janitzio

o A Jungle Hike Through Shuar Country

o Laguna Quilotoa

o Lima, Perú

o The Llama

o Machu Picchu

o Madrid

o Mangroves of Pacific Mexico

o Mazatlan Aquarium

o The Meat Markets of Mexico

o Meet Minnie

o Mexican Cemetary Walk

o Monarch Butterfly

o Morning in Teacapán

o Mountain Dog

o The Night of the Radishes

o Nopal

o Old Year

o Paella

o Papallacta Hot Springs

o The páramo

o The piñata

o The Plazas of Mexico

o Quetzaltenango

o Ride the Bus in Mexico

o Running with the Tarahumara

o The Ruins of Palenque

o San Blas

o Sculptures In Leather

o The Sloth

o The Spirit of Angangueo

o Spray Paint Art

o Stores

o Studying Spanish in Latin America

o Tango

o Techos de México

o Termites

o The Textile Market of Otavalo

o La tovara

o The Vizcaino Desert

o The Water Boils

o The Yucatan Peninsula

These topics are for All Levels. Beginners gain insight into Spanish culture by reading the English version of the essays and listening carefully to the short version. Intermediate level students expand their vocabulary. Even advanced students will find the audio of the long versions to be quite challenging.

When you access a topic such as the example below, follow the instructions.

The Cardón Cactus: Two versions are available. The short version is one paragraph; the long version is four paragraphs. Both have photos and audio. The long version also has comprehension questions and links to other resources about the Mazatlan Aquarium.

Method of Study: An effective way to study is to read and listen to the short version first. Depending upon your level, you may need to do this several times. Then, after you become familiar with the topic, read and listen to the longer version.

Don't be discouraged! The audio has not been slowed down, so don't be discouraged if you find these to be challenging – most students do. But, if you want to eventually be able to understand real conversations, you need to practice listening to material that is recorded at normal speed. Motivated students listen to each version a number of times. First they follow along on the transcript, and later they just listen and try to pick out as many words and phrases as they can.

These are for All Levels: Beginners gain insight into Spanish culture by reading the English version of the essays and listening carefully to the short version. Intermediate level students expand their vocabulary. Even advanced students will find the audio of the long versions to be quite challenging.

NSE 2015 Summer practice activities for all Spanish students:

These are the steps to practice and get ready for your new class:

1. Go to:

2. Under the tab EXAM PREPARATION, select ONLINE PRACTICE EXERCISES

3. You will see a screen with choices for vocabulary and grammar according to levels 1-4

4. Select the level you will take during the 2010-11 SY, as follows:

Spanish I : Level 1

Spanish II: Level 2

Spanish III/ IB1: Level 3

Spanish IV /IB2: Level 4

5. Make sure that you select the activities appropriate for your level. For example, if you select Vocabulary for Spanish I, you will see a screen that look like this

|Vocabulary Practice Exercises - Level 1 | | |

|Cultural Context Area 1 - The World |

| |

|     |

|• simple geographical divisions and cardinal points |

|games |

| |

|  |

|• names of Spanish-speaking countries |

|quiz |

| |

|     |

|• capitals of the Spanish-speaking countries |

|games |

| |

|  |

|• nature and the environment (basic plants and animals) |

|games |

| |

| |

| |

|Cultural Context Area 2 - Leisure Time |

| |

|     |

|? days of the week |

|games |

| |

|  |

|? months of the year and dates |

|games |

| |

|     |

|? basic weather expressions |

|games |

| |

|  |

|• telling time |

|games |

| |

|     |

|• basic time divisions |

|games |

| |

|  |

|• simple pastimes |

|games |

|quiz |

| |

|     |

|• basic sports |

|games |

| |

| |

| |

6. When you go to Cultural Context Area 1 - The World, the first item- Simple Geographical Divisions and Cardinal Points, and select Games, you will be offered a variety of activities: Flashcards, Matching, Concentration, and Word search. You may try all the games or continue with your favorite format. Practice until you get not less than 90% accuracy.

7. When you submit your answers, the computer will give you the results for each time. Please keep a detailed log with the following information:

Date: Level: Vocabulary

Cultural Content area #: Objective:

Activity selected: Time spend:

Results:

By the end of the summer, you should have finished all items in all vocabulary cultural content areas.

Your logs will be presented to your teachers when you comeback to school.

You will be tested using the format of the National Spanish Exam as your baseline to be use to be compared with the benchmarks assessment in January.

For extra credit, after you have finished the vocabulary section, you may do the same for the grammar section. Here is an example for level 1

|Grammar Practice Exercises - Level 1 |[pic|[pic|

| |] |] |

|Nouns and articles |

|• gender of nouns ending in -o, -a |

|• number of nouns (making nouns plural) |

|• diminutive ending -ito |

|• possession of nouns (use of de + noun to express 's) |

|• definite articles (el, la, los, las) |

|• use of definite article with a title |

|• use of definite article with days of the week to express "on" |

|• contractions with "al" and "del" |

|• indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas) |

| |

 

12 When you submit your answers, the computer will give you the results for each time. Please keep a detailed log with the following information:

Date: Level: Vocabulary

Cultural Content area #: Objective:

Activity selected: Time spend on each attempt: Results:

You may need to work on the same exercise several times until you get a mastery level of 90% or higher. You must document every attempt and each time you worked on it.

Spanish Summer Work Log Sheet

|Exercise |Date Attempted | Attempt # |Time started |Time Ended |Score |

|NSE Grammar/Vocab |06/20/16 |1st |9:30am |10:20 am |40 |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

Spanish Summer Work Log Sheet

|Exercise |Date Attempted | Attempt # |Time started |Time Ended |Score |

|NSE Reading/Listening |06/20/16 |1st |9:30am |10:20 am |40 |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

Spanish Summer Work Log Sheet

|Exercise |Topic |Date Attempted | Attempt # |Time started |Time Ended |

|Games | |06/20/16 |1st - time |9:30am |10:20 am |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download