Tongue twisters or trabalenguas are phrases that use repetitive sounds to help you learn Spanish. Those repetitive sounds make them tricky to pronounce at first but when practiced can improve your Spanish pronunciation significantly. Plus it’s one of the most fun ways to practice Spanish!Whether you are looking for simple Spanish tongue twisters for kids […]
Join the Celebration of El Día E: The Day of Spanish Language
The Spanish language has its own day for celebration. And it’s so big that countries such as Japan, Turkey, Australia, Russia, and China have joined. I am talking about El Día E: La fiesta de todos los que hablamos español, a project that the Instituto Cervantes will celebrate for the fourth time on June 23th, […]
Learn Puerto Rican Spanish Slang: Bad Words and Phrases and What to Say Instead
Life is not as simple as we wish. Sometimes things do not work out the way we planned. This is when colorful language flies and we use curse words/phrases to relieve stress. In this post I will teach you some useful Puerto Rican profanities, with a twist. I’m featuring seven swear phrases from my beloved […]
15 Additional Popular English Songs in Spanish
After the success of the first post Singing Latino: 12 Popular English Songs in Spanish, a sequel became mandatory. Here I feature 15 additional English songs with their Spanish versions, plus a Spanglish “bonus track”. To listen to a demo of each version, click on each MP3 link and conclude if it’s a good Spanish […]
Puerto Rican Spanish Slang: The Origin of CANGRIMAN, FOSTRÓ, CHAVOS, ZAFACÓN and LIMBER
Ever stop to think how Spanish slang words develop? It’s a fun experience since their history will often teach you about major historical influences in a culture. These 5 Puerto Rican words do just that. A colony of Spain for 400 years, we Puerto Ricans adopted words that are still alive today. For example, we […]
Impersonal SE and Passive SE Spanish Class Activities
Lesson Plan – Impersonal SE – Carnivals –Students learn about the Carnivals in Spanish speaking countries with text and two videos of the carnivals from Bolivia and Spain. They also learn about the Impersonal SE by completing a grammar chart and a written practice. Finally, students do an oral presentation using the Impersonal SE of […]
Past Perfect Subjunctive Spanish Class Activities
1. Lesson Plan – Past Perfect Subjunctive: Government and Individual Rights [MEMBERS] – With two authentic videos in Spanish, the students will learn about human rights and the government. The Past Perfect Subjunctive is introduced with the achievements of important human rights figures and what they did. Finally, they will do an oral practice with a series […]
Reflexive Verbs Lesson Plan and Spanish Class Activities
Reflexive verbs in Spanish are those that require the use of a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) to indicate that the subject is performing the action on themselves. For example, to indicate that a verb is reflexive, the pronoun “se” is added to the end of the infinitive form of the verb. […]
Conditional Perfect Spanish Class Activities
1. Lesson Plan – Conditional Perfect: Parties and Celebrations Vocabulary Lesson Plan [MEMBERS] – In the lesson, students explore the party and celebrations vocabulary with a scene from a movie. Then, they watch an educational video to learn about the Conditional Perfect and how to form it. They will do an oral practice of the Conditional […]
Outdoor Classroom Day Spanish Activities Ideas
What is the Outdoor Classroom Day or El Día de las Clases al Aire Libre? The Outdoor Classroom Day started in 2012 with a group of schools in London. The benefits of learning outside the classroom gave this initiative traction to become a global movement that is celebrated each year on May 18th. What are […]
Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns Spanish Class Activities
Direct Object Pronouns 1. Lesson Plan – Direct Object Pronouns: Buying and Selling [MEMBERS] – Students will be able to communicate in a store in order to buy or sell. They learn clothing vocabulary and how to ask questions about pricing, size and features of the objects. They also answer questions using direct object pronouns. 2. Lesson […]
Real World Spanish: Street Slang Examples Using the Word TACO
When you hear the Spanish word taco the first thing that comes through your mind is a delicious tortilla with a spicy beef or chicken filling. Mmm yummy! Try to Google images of taco and you will see that 99.9% of the results are this traditional Mexican dish. But this word has a humongous variety […]
6 Earth Day Spanish Class Activities
Do your students enjoy cute animal videos on YouTube? Do they think parks and beaches are fun places to play games and hang out? Are they interested in doing their part to make the world a better place? If your students answer yes to any of these questions, Earth Day just might be an event […]
6 Classic Board Games With Their English Names in Spanish
The other day, I spent some time in a department store in Cozumel, Mexico. While wandering through the shelves, I stopped by the toy section where they had a great selection of board games… in Spanish! But don’t worry if you encounter a situation where you need to buy a game in a Spanish-speaking country, […]
Cinco de Mayo Spanish Class Activities: Vocabulary Builder and Mexican Traditions
Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday that commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. It is celebrated throughout Mexico and in many other parts of the world, both as a patriotic holiday in Mexico and as an international symbol of Mexican culture. While Cinco de […]
Learn Spanish Quiz: Avon’s Basic Spanish Lesson on Accent Rules
After five years working for Avon, I’m definitely hooked on their products. So the other day I went to their store in Miami to stock up with some of my favorites. At the entrance there was this sign with their return and exchange policies. Guessing what’s wrong with this sign is easy. If you don’t […]
Football / Soccer Terms in Spanish from Speaking Chileno Featured at I Love Chile Magazine
A clip from I Love Chile magazine featuring a list of football soccer terms in Spanish used in Chile from the book Speaking Chileno by Jared Romey.
Cosmo Test: How Much Do You Know About Spanish Slang?
Face it. Don’t deny that at least once in your life you have done a quiz from Cosmopolitan magazine. I used to work for a beauty company that places regular ads in Cosmopolitan, and they gave us complementary magazines every month. So in every issue they featured a Cosmo Test, a quiz or personality test […]
Friday the 13th or Martes 13: Your Bad Luck Day Depends On the Language
Today is Tuesday March 13th, 2012 and it is a common day to most English speakers. But if you live in a Spanish speaking country today is Martes 13, día de la mala suerte or the equivalent to Friday the 13th. It is curious that this “bad luck day” superstition changes depending on the country. […]
The Most Complete List of Spanish Slang Words for MONEY: Infographic
Well, it is that time of the year again: we are into tax season! On April 17th all United States residents are supposed to turn in their tax forms. The same drill will happen in Puerto Rico for our local income tax or what we call planillas and often la dolorosa (that translates to “the […]
101 Spanish Word Meanings I Learned Watching El Chavo del 8: Mexican Spanish vs Puerto Rican Spanish
You wouldn’t think that a Spanish-speaking girl, watching a television program in Spanish would learn more Spanish. At the time I didn’t realize that watching El Chavo del 8 would expand my Spanish vocabulary and make me understand that there was regional or country differences within the same language. In this case I am talking […]
Puerto Rican Baby Names: Trendy, Creative and Unique Names from the Island of Enchantment
This is the introduction of the book Baby Names from Puerto Rico: Trendy, Creative and Unique Names from the Island of Enchantment. Puerto Rican Baby Names If you visit the Island of Enchantment, you may notice that many young people’s names are unknown to you. Apparently the tradition of naming the children to preserve the […]
Spanish Word for Grammar
According to RAE, grammar is the part of linguistics that studies the elements of a language, as well as the way in which these are organized and combined. In other words, grammar is the set of rules and principles that govern the use of a specific language. The Spanish word for grammar is gramática. There are other […]
How to Say TEACHER in Spanish
In the Spanish language, various terms are employed to describe teachers. These terms change from one country to the next as well as the level of education being taught. El maestro (male teacher) or la maestra (female teacher) is commonly used in elementary school settings. These roles entail providing fundamental education to younger students. In […]
3 Spanish Lesson Plan Ideas for Any Teacher
Let’s Teach in Spanish What Doesn’t Exist in English: Key Unique Patterns in Spanish
76 Classic Cartoon Character Names in Spanish
Pitufina, Robotina, Mandibulín, Pablo Mármol and Tío Rico McPato… do you recognize any of those names? They were some of the cartoon characters I grew up with. Before VHS recorders, computers, 24-hour television programming and the Cartoon Network, I grew up watching animated programs after school and on Saturday mornings. What we call in Puerto […]
Spanish NFL Infographic: English Names in Spanish of The NFL Teams
Last weekend I was trapped in a Sunday Football get-together. All the Americans were hypnotized watching the game and between commercial breaks, I was able to chat with a friend from Mexico. She asked me if I have ever heard the names of the NFL teams in Spanish. I was completely puzzled, because for me […]
LOS COLORES DE MI TIERRA: Video and Song to Learn Colors in Spanish Plus 7 Other Words
Before YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, a famous house paint commercial from Puerto Rico became viral locally during the 1990’s. To promote their company, Harris Paints created a song with Caribbean rhythms and a patriotic lyric coupled with images of colorful splashes of paints. Frequency and a captive audience ensured this song stuck in the minds […]
15 Spanish Words and Phrases to Understand Three Kings Day
For Latin America, Christmas Holidays does not end on December 25th with the celebration of the birth of Baby Jesus and Santa Claus bringing gifts to children. In fact, this is just the beginning because twelve days after Christmas, we celebrate El Día de Reyes on January 6th. This day is also known as the […]
5 Curious Facts About Cinco de Mayo
Click here to get these printable posters in Spanish and English in different sizes. 5 Curious Facts About Cinco de Mayo The Cinco de Mayo (5th of May) celebration commemorates the victory of the Mexican army over France in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. It is a festivity from Mexico that in the United […]