Want to know the quickest way to increase student’s willingness to speak in Spanish during class? Boost their confidence by teaching them how to read and pronounce the words they see!
Part of my introductory unit is teaching the alphabet in Spanish. I know this can be controversial among CI teachers, but I think it can be a valuable tool for helping students become better readers in Spanish. My primary reason for teaching the alphabet in Spanish is to teach students the few phonetic sounds that are different between the English and Spanish language. In my opinion, when we teach students pronunciation in Spanish, they feel more confident to take risks such as reading aloud or speaking in front of their classmates. I care less that students know the names of the letters in Spanish, but rather that they know how to pronounce new words when they come across them.
When I introduce the alphabet in Spanish to my students, we start with this video.
We listen the first time and then sing along. Students love it and can be heard singing it in the hall after class! It’s really useful for teaching the vowel sounds. I tell my students that the fastest way to improve your pronunciation is to learn how to pronounce the vowels in Spanish. Especially since we are from Chicago, where we have our own accents. =)
After some fun singing, we focus on the key letters or combinations that sound different:
I put a list of words on the board that use those letters, and we practice the Spanish pronunciation. It’s amazing to see how excited students get when they discover they know how to read aloud in Spanish confidently!
Using stories to introduce sounds in Spanish
This year, during a unit on comparisons, my students were really struggling with the word “mejor.” Deciding they needed more input of the J sound, I wrote this story:
The students liked it so much that I decided to write stories for the other letters that have a different pronunciation in Spanish.
Each story begins with a vocabulary page and audio so students can hear the correct pronunciation in Spanish.
Next they include a video read-aloud of a story, followed by extension activities to assess comprehension.
These stories to practice pronunciation in Spanish are great for reinforcing the alphabet, using as fun filler activities, or leaving as sub plans when the sub doesn’t speak Spanish. Because the activity includes the audio, students will still receive input even if you are absent. Also, because the stories are ridiculous and funny, students will remember what they have read. It’s a win-win!
