logo
  • Programs
    • Preschool
    • Elementary School
    • Middle School
    • High School
    • Adults
    • School Solutions
  • School Solutions
  • Pricing
  • How it Works
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • My Cart
  • Login
  • Try a Free Class

855-997-4652LoginTry a Free Class

  • Programs
    • Preschool
    • Elementary School
    • Middle School
    • High School
    • Adults
    • School Solutions
  • School Solutions
  • Pricing
  • How it Works
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • My Cart
  • Login
  • Try a Free Class
logo
  • Programs
    • Preschool
    • Elementary School
    • Middle School
    • High School
    • Adults
    • School Solutions
  • School Solutions
  • Pricing
  • How it Works
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • My Cart
  • Login
  • Try a Free Class

855-997-4652LoginTry a Free Class

  • Programs
    • Preschool
    • Elementary School
    • Middle School
    • High School
    • Adults
    • School Solutions
  • School Solutions
  • Pricing
  • How it Works
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • My Cart
  • Login
  • Try a Free Class
June 5, 2021 by Michelle Margaret Fajkus Learning Strategies 0 comments

Which Pre-Teaching Strategies Work Best for Students Learning Spanish?

What is pre-teaching? Pre-teaching refers to teaching the vocabulary that learners need to know before a lesson or activity.

Pre-teaching is a useful technique to help students draw on their previous knowledge and lay the foundation for future learning. It activates and primes students for the new Spanish vocabulary (or any subject) they’re learning. 

Why Spanish?

Young children have an incredible ability to pronounce sounds that are foreign and unfamiliar. They’re also capable of understanding complex grammar rules. The earlier they begin, the easier it will be for them to learn—although any age is a great time to start!

Currently, Spanish ranks among the top five most commonly spoken languages in the world! Due to its popularity, there’s a strong chance your child will encounter people who speak the language at school, on the playground, or around the community. With even a basic understanding, they can start and carry conversations that enrich their lives.

pre-teaching

Spanish is a primary subject that most students begin studying when they’re still in elementary school. When they reach high school, they’ll find that Spanish is available as both an Advanced Placement (AP) test, as well as an SAT II subject test. 

It’s infinitely easier when they already enter the course with a strong knowledge of the language. Learning to speak Spanish at an early age can make these courses less stressful, more enjoyable, and ultimately, more rewarding.

Lastly, learning Spanish opens your child’s eyes to a world beyond their front door. It encourages conversations around diversity, culture, and respecting others. It also opens the door to a gold mine of Spanish music, film, and literature!

The Importance of Pre-teaching

Pre-learning is a key introduction to a lesson that involves brainstorming and making connections to previously taught material. It helps make new material not feel so “foreign,” even when it is in a world language class! 

Pre-learning helps teachers gauge students’ grasp of previous material and lay the groundwork on which future learning will be constructed. Although it is most often used in language arts classes, pre-teaching activities are also helpful in math classes and other subject areas.

Many teachers find that effective pre-teaching is a valuable attention grabber. Ideally, it motivates students to want to learn the new content. Some teachers even see it as a trailer or hook that gets young minds excited to learn. Activating personal connections or background knowledge to engage learners is key.

8 Pre-teaching Strategies to Improve Student Learning

Infographic

Pre-teaching is a priming activity that involves implicit exposure to new material. To do it, a teacher introduces their students to keywords from a text before the students read (or hear) it. Check out these handy strategies for pre-teaching Spanish vocab!

1. Select Essential Vocabulary

The teacher needs to read through the text in advance and select keywords that are essential to understanding the text.

Focus on words that appear repeatedly in the text. Without knowing what these words mean, students may have difficulty understanding it.

The number of words selected depends on the length of the text and the student’s level of Spanish. It’s best to limit your selection to just five or six words to avoid overwhelming your students.

See also: 100 Easy Spanish Words for True Beginners

2. Pretesting

How well do your students know the key vocabulary they’ll come across in the text you’re about to read in class? Pretesting can provide the answer.

After selecting the essential words, give your students a quick pretest to assess their current knowledge of the selected words. Keep it simple—using matching or multiple choice questions—so you can score your pretests quickly. The students’ scores indicate which words you need to focus on teaching.

3. Present Each Word

Explicitly present essential vocabulary to your students, using PowerPoint, Word, or old-fashioned posters. When choosing images to present with the new vocabulary, remember that photographs are generally more powerful than illustrations.

  • Write the vocabulary word in large, bold print
  • Include a brief, age-appropriate definition
  • Add a large visual that clearly represents the word
  • Provide an example sentence using the word in context

Ask students to repeat the word and meaning after you. Engage your students in a discussion about the word. Allow them to share their personal experiences and connections to the keyword.

Reinforce the meaning of new vocabulary words by teaching a specific gesture along with each word you introduce!

For example, for the word el techo (roof), the gesture may be touching the tips of the fingers on both of their hands together to create the shape of a roof. Kinesthetic approaches such as this are effective in helping language learners remember new words.

4. Word Study

Incorporate word study strategies when you present each word.

For younger students, point out blends, digraphs, and vowel patterns. Ask your students to break each word into syllables and clap once per syllable. 

For older students, point out prefixes and suffixes connected to root words and demonstrate how their individual meanings help us determine the meaning of the word as a whole.

For more ideas, check out 200+ Beginner Spanish Vocabulary Words PDF.

5. Practice Frequently

According to scientific research, students need 10-15 exposures to a word before it becomes a permanent part of their word bank. To help them retain new words, provide them with many opportunities to actively use their new words in cooperative activities as well as independently. 

Make sure to integrate speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. To ensure that their sentences are grammatically correct, model oral and written sentences using the new vocabulary and provide your learners with Spanish sentence starters.

pre-teaching

6. Vocab Maps

Visual organizers are great tools for helping Spanish students learn, retain, and review new vocabulary!

Encourage students to use a language journal to fill in for each new word they learn. They should write the keyword, as well as its definition—in their own words. Include an illustration and a sentence using the word. For beginner students, provide sentence starters.

Challenge higher-level students with word maps that also include a synonym, antonym, part of speech, root word, prefix, and suffix.

7. Post-test

After you’ve taught the essential words—and your students have had numerous opportunities to apply them—give them a post-test identical to the pretest.

Compare each student’s post-test score to their pretest score. Students can be encouraged to record their own scores on bar graphs to track their improvement. This usually serves as a strong incentive for them to continue learning new words.

8. Word Walls

To help keep new vocabulary words fresh in your students’ minds after you’ve presented them, print out and post your word presentations on a word wall. 

Post words in the general order in which they appear in the text. This makes it easy to locate them on the word wall if you choose to review them as you read the text. Sort words by parts of speech, such as nouns, adjectives, and verbs. 

Check out The First 99 Basic Spanish Words to Teach Your Child!

Try Out a Spanish Class for Your Child

Sign your student up for a free Spanish class with our kid-friendly, certified teachers who provide 1-on-1, fun Spanish instruction in real-time. Homeschool Spanish Academy teaches more than 24,000 actively enrolled students every month. We’ve been providing reliable service to Spanish learners for more than 10 years! HSA provides flexible scheduling, tailored Spanish packages, and high school Spanish credit with transcripts. Check it out today to see if we’re a good fit for your Spanish learner!

learn spanish online
Sign up for your FREE TRIAL CLASS today!

Want more free Spanish lessons, fun content, and easy learning strategies? Check these out!

  • Are Online Spanish Classes the Future of Language Learning?
  • Which Spanish Dialect Should You Learn?
  • 12 Easy Ways To Memorize Spanish Conjugations
  • 9 Tips for Learning How to Learn Two or More Languages at Once
  • What’s the Best Age for Kids To Learn Spanish?
  • 21 Unschooling Activities You Haven’t Tried Yet
  • Homeschooling, Unschooling, or Deschooling: Which Is Right for Your Family?
  • 10 Ways to Learn How to Think in Spanish
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Michelle Margaret Fajkus
Follow on FB
Michelle Margaret Fajkus
Editor & Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy
Michelle Margaret Fajkus is a bilingual writer and longtime yoga teacher. A former advertising copywriter turned bilingual elementary school teacher, she is now a freelance writer, editor and translator. A native Texan, Michelle has Mexican roots and learned Spanish in middle and high school. She has become more fluent thanks to living as an expat in Guatemala. She lives with her family on beautiful Lake Atitlan.
Michelle Margaret Fajkus
Follow on FB
Latest posts by Michelle Margaret Fajkus (see all)
  • 10 Innovative Contemporary Latin American Artists Who Broke the Mold - February 16, 2023
  • The Sweetest Guide to Valentine’s Day Vocabulary in Spanish - February 14, 2023
  • 10 Famous Afro-Latinas Who’ve Made a Powerful Impact - February 9, 2023
learn Spanish learning strategies
0

Related Posts

teach your child spanish

3 Quick Tips to Teach Your Child Spanish Faster, Guaranteed!

January 20, 2018
Read More
8 Brain Benefits to Learning a Second Language

8 Brain Benefits to Learning a Second Language

January 20, 2022
Read More
Spanish curriculum

4 Essential Elements of an Effective Homeschool Spanish Curriculum

January 27, 2018
Read More
Homeschool Spanish Program

Which Online Spanish Program is Best for my Child? Three Great Options to Consider

February 13, 2018
Read More

Leave a Comment! Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

A Vocabulary Guide to Photography in SpanishPrevious Post
Top 5 Reading Apps to Improve Your Reading Skills in SpanishNext Post

About Us

With over 10 years of experience, HSA is where your goals merge with our teachers’ passion: to improve your Spanish fluency. Custom-tailored to fit your needs, you choose your program, schedule, favorite teachers, pace of learning, and more.. Learn More

Resources

  • About
  • Get a Transcript
  • FAQs
  • How it Works
  • Partners

Recent Posts

  • Are Online Spanish Classes the Future of Language Learning?
    Are Online Spanish Classes the Future of Language Learning?
    March 1, 2023
    Have you ever wondered about the future of...
  • Which Languages Do They Speak in Brazil?
    Which Languages Do They Speak in Brazil?
    February 27, 2023
    Today, we invite you to travel with us and...

Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Contact Us© 2022 HSA. All rights reserved.