Online Listening Activities {Free Printable}

There are so many more opportunities for students these days to listen to Spanish as the internet and podcasts have opened up a whole new world. When I was learning Spanish (oh, so long ago!), your options were to go to a language lab or use tapes! So I would like to share with you two options (among the many) that I use with my students and a free printable to use with them.

Veinte Mundos is an online magazine for language learners. There are a plethora of articles (close to 200) categorized for students by intermediate and advanced levels. These articles include audio, the transcript of what was being said, comprehension questions, defined words, and other videos related to the article. I love that culture is taught through the articles. Students can learn about dulce de leche, biblioburro, tapas, and so much more!

Duolingo has just introduced a new podcast! These stories are for intermediate students and are bilingual. My understanding is that they are real life stories. The Spanish is a bit slower and English is injected throughout the story. These podcasts are definitely for high schoolers and up who are still struggling in their listening skills. My favorite podcast so far has been Memorias y Milanesas which touches on a compelling story of the Falklands War in 1982.

If you would like a follow-up activity, see the printable below. It can be used with the podcasts from Duolingo or with the Veinte Mundos articles. Students need to identify the places that are mentioned on the world map, make a list of vocabulary they don't know, and write a summary of what they listened to in Spanish.

You can download the free printable HERE.

Bananagrams, Dígame, and More

{Affiliate links used.}

I love adding games into my language teaching. Games break up the monotony and give students an alternate way to learn. Over the past few weeks, I have been buying some new games to add some spice to my lessons. Here's a quick look at the ones I am using...

I am looking forward to using Spanish Bananagrams  with my students today. I bought it because I read about it at Spanish Playground. {I LOVE her teaching tips and ideas!} I am not going to re-invent the wheel in trying to figure out how to use this with my students when she has written this stellar post with ideas on how to incorporate it into your lessons. You just have to check out this post! You can find it here.

For about two weeks now some of my students and I have been playing KLOO. {Here is my post about these games.} I am loving how these teach kids vocabulary as they play. Students don't need to have an extensive background in the language to enjoy this game. They need to be able to read well in English and sound out the Spanish words. I actually played this game yesterday with two girls who have only been studying Spanish for a couple of months! There are two different sets you can buy (each set has two decks).

KLOO's Learn to Speak Spanish Language Card Games Pack 1 (Decks 1 & 2) {Food and Clothing}

KLOO's Learn to Speak Spanish Language Card Games Pack 2 (Decks 3 & 4) {Everyday Objects and Places}

KLOO's Learn to Speak Spanish Language Board Game - Race to Madrid {The board game version with all four decks}

Finally, I have one more game waiting in the wings to figure out. I hope to "test drive" it with my husband and son (both speak some Spanish) this weekend. It is called ¡Dígame! . It looks like a lot of fun, and I love the idea that it is all done in Spanish! Here is a video about it. I will post more about it as I get more experience with how the game works.

Have fun playing and learning!

Teaching Spanish in Your Homeschool

Are you a homeschool mom that wants to introduce your kids to Spanish? Are you unsure where to start or how to go about it? For about two decades I have taught my own sons Spanish in our home and other homeschoolers. I started out as a high school Spanish teacher in the early nineties, but came home in 2001 to be with my boys. A few years after that I started an in-home business teaching other homeschool kids the language.

In 2013, I started the blog, Debbie's Spanish Learning, to collect all my resources and ideas for teaching the language to young kids. So if you are looking to teach Spanish in your home I would love to share with you all the resources available to you on my blog. Here is a quick look at some of the ideas you can use as you introduce Spanish to your children...

Join me over at Paradise Praises to see all the resources available to you if you would like to introduce Spanish to your kids.