March 25, 2020

Distance Learning During COVID-19 (and a Free Spanish Quick Start Guide)

Distance learning is becoming the new norm across the United States. Many families are at home learning with their children as schools remain closed due to COVID-19.

There are so many resources coming out to support parents, teachers and students during this time.

Supporting Spanish language skills at home is important so that students don’t lose out on time being exposed to the target language.

If you aren’t a Spanish teacher or a Spanish speaker, it can be hard to support your child’s distance learning.

If you’re relying on home learning, here is a quick start guide to help you get started with some Spanish phrases everyday.

There’s no better way to start the day than to get up and ask each other how you’re feeling!

Here’s a way that you could start out:

“¡Buenos días! ¿Cómo sientes hoy? ¿Cómo estás? or “Good Morning! How do you feel today? How are you?”

Tell your child that they can respond with “Estoy” or “Me siento” (“I am” or “I feel”)

Even if they don’t know the Spanish word for their feelings , they can practice using the phrasing, “Estoy tired!” If the word that they want to use is on the quick start guide, help them to find it, “Estoy cansado”.

Once you start using these phrases daily, they’ll come more naturally and you and your child will start to memorize them. As you become more proficient you can research more Spanish vocabulary to support your talk about feelings.

In order to boost your Spanish language time, it’s important to hear and engage with as much Spanish language as possible. If you stick with the feelings theme there are several songs and websites that can support your vocabulary and learning.

Songs:

Rockalingua has several Spanish songs that you can listen to and sing a long with.

Websites:

Spanish Playground – There is a whole category of activities that you can look at that deal with feelings and emotions.

Brain Pop Espanol – this site has tons of informational videos on a variety of topics. It includes games and extension activities as well. During the COVID-19 school closures, the site is free to use.

More Quick Start Guides

Quick Start Guides– There are several other guides that you can use for various parts of the day to build Spanish vocabulary.

Through constant immersion from a variety of resources, I was able to bring native Spanish language to my daughter. If you’re looking to start your own language-learning journey, check out some of these great resources to get started.