The Challenges of Teaching Spanish Two
Spanish Two is the most difficult level to teach because of the disparity in the students’ proficiency levels. Some can hold conversations with you while others don’t remember how to answer, “¿Cómo te llamas?” or “¿De dónde eres?” So, how do you get everyone on the same page? How do you get your novice learners to an intermediate Spanish level without boring the rest of the class?
Diagnostic Test and Scheduling
The frustration of teaching level two is that you have no control over the students’ education before they come into your class unless they were your previous students. Some learners have heard the target language for a full year while others, in a traditional grammar-based setting, received almost no comprehensible input. Some students transferred into your class after taking a middle school exploratory class. Yikes! What do you do when you have a classroom full of students at different levels of proficiency?
The first thing I do to tackle this challenge is to give my high school students a performance assessment to evaluate their skill levels: a written diagnostic test, written prompts, or reading comprehension tests and listening assessments. I don’t grade the test. Then, I spend almost a month reviewing Spanish One vocabulary and grammar concepts. After that, I give the students the same Spanish One review test I gave them in the beginning, this time, for a grade. I call or email parents of students who earn a C or lower and set them up with a tutor. (My advanced students tutor for minimum wage.)
WORD OF WARNING: The first few weeks will be demanding—you’ll spend your time teaching, calling parents, and trying to catch up on sleep. But don’t think about skipping this step. If you don’t call the parents at the beginning of the year, you will have to deal with them later, and they will be angry.
My daughter got an A in Spanish One!!!
Here is the verbiage I use: Hello. I am Angie Torre, Jane Doe’s Spanish or French teacher. I’m calling to tell you that Jane is lacking the foundation to succeed in the class. She received a D/F on the diagnostic test (your proof). I am providing her with a tutor to help her reach the level needed to succeed in this class. With the tutor’s support, I believe she can catch up and improve her performance.
Where Do You Find Tutors?
I recruit tutors from my upper level Spanish classes and only accept those who have received an A in the course. I invite interested students to a pizza party at lunch or after school. After we enjoy our pizza, I train them, showing them how to use the target language most of the time. I do this by modeling how I would do it, simulating a tutor/student session. I give them the materials they need, the Spanish One vocabulary, concepts, and questions. I instruct them to ask the questions, allowing the learners to use English with the goal of progressing to 100% Spanish. Once the student is able to answer the questions and hold a conversation about a topic without relying on English most of the time, they are permitted to discontinue meeting with the tutor.
Scheduling Solutions
You can also schedule most of your Spanish One and Two classes consecutively if your school is on the block schedule. Teaching a year-long Spanish 1-2 class significantly decreases the time needed to review.
After Review
You weren’t thinking of skipping the review for the sake of time, were you? I know, covering the material in the time allowed is always a stressor. But, here’s the thing: When learning a second language, the mind is incapable of assimilating more than 20 new words a day. Beginners will struggle to learn five a day. If a student is exposed to more French or Spanish words than they can handle, they will not acquire the language and you will be wasting your time. You will feel like a failure and so will they. It’s important to introduce target structures gradually, allowing students to practice and internalize new grammar and vocabulary before moving on to more complex concepts. Set students up for success with adequate review.
Once your Spanish students are able to function at the intermediate level, it is time to take them from basic words and sentences in the present tense to longer reading passages, and the past tense. Now you can introduce new vocabulary and grammar concepts, reinforcing the aforementioned with comprehension-based instruction. Okay, admittedly, a few will limp along for the rest of the year; accept it. You cannot save the world. Sadly, a few may even have to repeat level one.
For those who are ready to move forward, the key is providing ample opportunities for them to internalize the material through varied, engaging practice.
My method is to teach, check for understanding, guide with practice activities, and provide a tsunami of repetition in context with stories, listening activities, songs, games, and other activities: Teach grammar and cement it with tons of comprehensible input in class. And, because there is insufficient class time to provide enough repetition in context of the language, students recycle the vocabulary and concepts during independent work. (Yes, I assign homework. That’s a topic for another blog post.)
Comprehensible Input Strategies
There are infinite ways to provide comprehensible input to students, and I use all of them: commands, visuals, realia, short stories, novels, videos, teacher-talk, games, memes, cartoons, audios, songs and one of my favorites, TPRS (Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling—Thank you, Blaine Ray).
Storytelling is a great way to provide comprehensible input. If you would like to learn some TPRS strategies, click on this link to go to a tutorial: HOW TO TELL GREAT STORIES USING TPR STORYTELLING STRATEGIES.
Another essential method of reinforcing language is close reading. Close reading is a synonym for sheltering language. Simply being immersed in the new language will not produce acquisition; students need to understand what they are hearing. If I stand up and speak pure Spanish or French to my students, they will hear gibberish. The benefit of learning in a classroom setting is that the teacher delivers the written and oral language in ways that make it understandable.
Close Reading
Close reading in second language learning is a teaching strategy that involves examining a text in-depth to better understand its meaning, structure, vocabulary, and cultural context. It helps students not only understand the content but also improve their language skills by focusing on:
1. Vocabulary: Identifying key words, phrases, and idiomatic expressions to build linguistic knowledge.
2. Grammar: Analyzing sentence structures, verb tenses, and grammar patterns used in the text.
3. Cultural and Contextual Understanding: Understanding the cultural references or nuances that shape the meaning of the text.
4. Critical Thinking: Encouraging students to interpret and analyze the author’s intentions, themes, and the message of the text.
Close reading typically involves reading the text multiple times, each with a specific focus—starting with general comprehension and then moving on to more detailed analysis. This technique supports language acquisition by immersing students in authentic language and helping them to engage more deeply with the material.
WHAT ABOUT PACING?
The most stress-producing aspect of teaching on the block schedule is trying to cover all the material while still providing the necessary repetition in context for my students. After much tweaking and painful pruning (Noooo! I can’t omit the travel vocabulary!), I came up a scope and sequence that worked for Spanish Two. Below is the order in which I teach the concepts and the comprehensible input I use to recycle the language. Click on the following link to see my pacing guide and TABLE OF CONTENTS.
- SPANISH STEM-CHANGING VERBS:
PowerPoint with visuals
TPRS story
Stem-changing Verbs video
Interactive PowerPoint Game students play on their MacOS devices
Digital escape room - SABER VS CONOCER:
Saber vs. Conocer Illustrated PowerPoint
Video with comprehension and recycling activities
Google Drive Activity - SPANISH HOUSE AND CHORES:
PowerPoint with captivating visuals
Illustrated TPRS Story PowerPoint
Interactive Video for repetition in context
Digital escape room
La casa y los quehaceres Google Drive Activity - DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBECT PRONOUNS AND DOUBLE-OBJECT PRONOUNS:
Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns Spanish PowerPoint
Spanish video for CI
Illustrated TPRS Story for Double Object Pronouns
TPRS Story
Google Drive Activities; Dice Game - PERSONAL A:
PowerPoint and TPRS Story and activities - PREPOSITIONS AND COMMANDS:
Prepositions Video with native Spanish speakers
Prepositions PowerPoint, Interactive Notebook, and Google Drive Activities
Spanish Prepositions and Tú Commands Video for Comprehensible Input - SPANISH PLACES VOCABULARY:
Places PowerPoint with eye-catching photographs
TPRS Story and activities - SER VS. ESTAR:
TPRS Story, Spanish reading comprehension passages, and activities
Ser vs. Estar Digital Escape Room - GERUND:
Present Progressive PowerPoint
Present Progressive Video with native Spanish speaker - PAST TENSE / REGULAR AND IRREGULAR PRETERITE TENSE
Impossible number of stories
Irregular Preterite Illustrated TPRS Story PowerPoint
Popular Spanish songs
Preterite Jeopardy Game
Spanish Digital Escape Room - DAR Y VER
Dar Ver PowerPoint and TPRS - REFLEXIVE VERBS:
PowerPoint with visuals and illustrations
TPRS Story with activities
Spanish Reflexive Verbs Google Drive Activities - BODY PARTS / THE BODY AND HEALTH / DOLER:
Spanish Body and Health PowerPoint with Visuals
Video for comprehensible input with activities to recycle the vocabulary
Body Parts Digital Escape Room - SPANISH COMPARISONS AND SUPERLATIVE
Comparisons and Superlative PowerPoint
Comparatives and Superlative Videos with Comprehension Activities
Google Drive Activities
Spanish Comparatives Digital Escape Room - SPANISH AND LATIN AMERICAN POWERPONT AND CULTURE LESSONS:
Día de los muertos
Christmas in Latin America and Spanish speaking countries, Las posadas
La sobremesa - Study for final at the end of the year or term: Working in groups, students use the study guide to prepare for the final.
Talking about the Past and One’s Childhood
One of the most enoyable lessons to teach is the unit on one’s childhood using the preterite and imperfect tenses. Unfortunately, because I teach on the block schedule, my intermediate learners of Spanish don’t see the imperfect tenses until level three and miss out on the fun. Click on the following link to learn more about how I teach Spanish Three: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO TEACH SPANISH THREE
Spanish Two Resources
If you need additional resources for your level two Spanish course, the theme pack below may interest you. I have bundled all of my Spanish Two PowerPoints, videos, TPR Stories, Interactive Notebook Activities, Google Drive Activities, tests, handouts, digital versions, and curriculum in one product. Almost everything you would need is in this bundle except the daily lesson plans. However, the PowerPoints are complete lessons and practically teach the vocabulary and concepts themselves. Click on the following link to get the bundle:
Spanish Two PowerPoints and Curriculum Bundle
Ready-Made Resources
Each Spanish PowerPoint has instruction, check-for-understanding, guided practice, and closure. A substitute can teach the lesson in your absence using the PowerPoints. Check it out and let me know if I left something out that you would like to see included!
If you hate doing lesson plans, would like to teach, correct, and go home, but would still like engaging, fun, kid-tested lessons that will lead your students to proficiency and impress your principal, try these: Spanish Two Lesson Plans and Curriculum
The Todos preparados Spanish Curriculum and Lesson plans do everything for you! The curriculum includes the first month of review I talked about above and has everything you need to teach Spanish level two, including tons of videos and comprehensible input. You don’t even need a textbook! Click on the link below for more details:
TODOS PREPARADOS FULL-YEAR SPANISH 2 LESSON PLANS AND CURRICULUM
I hope these tips spark fresh ideas for teaching Spanish Two and give you the tools to make your classroom more engaging and successful.
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