Seasonal topics
Now it's the autumn term it is useful to teach / learn the Spanish words for items in the pencil case!
Printable activities
World diabetes day - Thursday 14th November 2024
World diabetes day is a good opportunity to discuss in Spanish the importance of eating healthy food and doing physical exercise.
To print the pdf about world diabetes day, click on the arrow in the top right corner of the pdf, then select print. This pdf may be photocopied for class or home use.
Christmas I spy in Spanish
Over the Christmas season it would be fun to do a Spanish I spy!
To print the Christmas pdf click on the arrow in the top right corner of the pdf, then select print. This pdf may be photocopied for class or home use.
Easter Activity sheet
For the Easter activity sheet read the Spanish words and draw the pictures. At the bottom of the page is a useful Spanish - English vocabulary list to help you if you need to check any words.
To print the Easter activity sheet click on the arrow in the top right corner of the pdf, then select print.
This pdf may be photocopied for class or home use.
World Book Day - Thursday 6th March 2025
This year for World book day you could talk about if you like reading. To do this in Spanish it could be fun to complete a questionnaire and ask other people if they like to read.
To print the ¿Te gusta leer? questionnaire click on the arrow in the top right corner of the pdf, then select print.
This pdf may be photocopied for class or home use.
Frequently Asked questions
How do you explain masculine and feminine words to children?
In Spanish some words are feminine, and some words are masculine. There's a simple way of remembering which gender most nouns or adjectives are when they end in an o or an a:
Here are five useful nouns:
una limonada = a lemonade
una galleta = a biscuit
un bocadillo = a sandwich
una manzana = an apple
un helado = an ice cream
The "a" ending of words is usually feminine, and the letter a could look like a face of a girl with a ponytail.
The "o" ending of words is usually masculine, and the letter o could look like a face of a boy.
The nouns una limonada, una galleta and una manzana are all feminine nouns, and they end in an a.
Un bocadillo and un helado are both masculine nouns. They two nouns end in an o.
Why learn Spanish?
The 5 main benefits of learning Spanish include:
1. Travel : If you have holidays in mainland Spain, one of the Spanish islands or in a Spanish speaking country then it is useful to be able to speak some Spanish. Even knowing a few basic words would help you order a drink or a meal in Spanish.
2. Future job prospects : If you can add to your C.V. that you speak Spanish, then many employers will see this as a useful skill and it could help make you more competive in the workplace with regards to getting a better job or a higher paid job.
3. Cultural experience : Speaking Spanish opens the door to the possability of experiencing the Spanish culture by making friends whose native language is Spanish and by fostering an interest in the countries where Spanish is spoken.
4. Second most spoken language globally: With regards to the number of native speakers, Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world and is therefore an important language to know.
5. It's fun to learn Spanish: Spanish is a nice sounding language and is fun to learn.
Is it hard to learn Spanish?
Spanish is one of the easier languages for English speakers to learn. Spanish evolved from Latin and many English words stem from Latin. Also, once you have learnt some basic rules for pronunciation then you will find that the Spanish words sound like they are spelt.
What is the best age to learn a foreign language?
It is widely acknowledged that children acquire languages easier than adults. If your child is under 7 then try to introduce the words gradually for things that are around the home or use one of the books from our Spanish ages 3 - 7 range. Some people find labelling objects around the house helpful. For children over 7 try to include regular language learning opportunities throughout the week and use a mix of activities like an activity book, story in a foreign language or a vocabulary learning game.
Let's make learning Spanish fun!