Spanish Pronunciation Guide

Hey parents!
One of my goals for my students is that they learn how to correctly pronounce and sound out words in Spanish.  To assist them in their learning, you can learn basic pronunciation of Spanish so that when practicing, you can say the word correctly. (Or your student may correct you because I'm a stickler for pronunciation!)

Spanish letters consistently are pronounced the same. For example, the letter a is always pronounced 'ah' as in father. In contrast, an English a can be pronounced as 'ah', but also as æ as in apple, and 'ay', as in face. English as a whole is complicated, but it certainly doesn't help that some letters have multiple sounds.  

In Spanish, letters (almost) always sound the same.  Even when a letter does have two or more different sounds, the sounds are predictable and follow a pattern. Below are the sounds in Spanish that are different than English. If they are not below, then pronounce them as you already know (i.e. L in Spanish sounds like L in English).

A - ah (as in father) - adiós, azul, papas 
B - beh - Hard "b" sound - bien, bueno
             - Soft "b" sound between vowels; lips barely touch - bebé, bebida, abuela 
C - say - Before e & i like "s" - cinco, cerdo, cebolla 
             - Otherwise, like "k" without puff of air - cuatro, caliente, ¿cómo? 
E - a (sounds like when you say the letter a) - el, estás, empanadas 
H - silent (do not pronounce) - hola, hambre, hasta, ahora
I - ee (as in feet) - iglesia, indio, igual 
J - like the English 'h' jiraffa, ojos, orejas, anaranjado, junio, julio
K - same as English, but without puff of air: put your hand in front of your mouth and try the 'k" sound) - kilo, kilogramo 
Ll - makes the 'y' sound*** - llamo, llamas, silla 
Ñ - sounds like an 'n' and 'y' put together (español would be eh-span-yol) - cumpleaños, niños, años 
O - long o sound: do not pronounce like a Minnesotan: keep it short - oso, ocho, octubre 
P - same as English, but without puff of air - pequeño, pan, pies, policía, sopa 
Q - like "k" as in kit, even when followed by a u - ¿qué?, ¿quién?, queso, quiero, quieres
R - similar to English, but keep it soft - amarillo, color, caramelos, flores, oro 
Rr - roll/trill "r's" like a motor - some say that saying the word butter over and over again kind of sounds like the rr sound in Spanish - perro, perrito, correr, barriga 
T - same a English, but without puff of air - tengo, tomates, piñata, bate 
U - like oo as in boot - uno, usted, tú, uvas 
V - Hard "b" sound like boy when at the beginning of the word - vamos, vámonos, verde, vengan 
   - Soft "b" sound between vowels; lips barely touch - favor 
X x ehkeess - 
    - "ks" like box máximo, expresar 
    - "gs" eggs examen 
    - when between vowels, often English "h" sound; 
Z - "s" as in sun - zapato, manzana, lápiz, azúcar, cabeza 

*** the pronunciation of ll can vary depending on region. In Argentina, for example, it makes a soft 'j' sound, so llamo would be pronounced 'jamo.'

That's it! Let me know if you have questions!

El 16 de septiembre - el 23 de septiembre

¡Hola padres y estudiantes!
Students in grades 1-6 are learning and reviewing greetings, introductions, and farewells. Find your child's grade below to read more about what he/she is learning.  Also, stayed tuned to the bottom of the post to find resources and practice websites your child can use to practice his/her new vocabulary!

Kindergarteners will be learning greetings, introductions, and farewells throughout the year during circle time at the beginning of class, as well as through interspersed singing. This week, kindergarten started learning the colors.  We learned through a song, which we will continue to practice over the next few class periods.  Here's a Youtube video of the song (not made by me, but the same one!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMFzytjFTRA. Practice with your child at home! You can also tell them to "Busca el color..." and they have to touch whatever color you say. Here are the colors (with the pronunciations in parenthesis):

rojo (ro-ho)

verde (vayr-thay)

azul (asool)

negro (nay-gro)

amarillo (ah-mah-ree-yo)

morado (mo-ra-tho)

gris (grease)

café (ca-fay)

anaranjado (a-na-ran-ha-tho)

1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders are currently following the same lesson plans. After this first unit, they will study different topics.  This week, 1st and 2nd graders are learning the following vocabulary.

Buenos días - Good morning

Buenas tardes - Good afternoon

Buenas noches - Good night

¿cómo estás? - How are you?

muy bien - very good

bien - good

muy mal - very bad

mal - bad

más o menos - ok

¿Cómo te llamas? - What's your name?

Me llamo... - My name is...

¡Mucho gusto! - Nice to meet you!

Hola - Hello

Adiós - Goodbye

¡Hasta luego! - See you later!

To teach vocabulary, I use actions to accompany my words. Students began the unit by learning these actions and learning how to ask for someone's name and say their own name in Spanish. This week, students will review the words and actions, learn a new song (http://www.rockalingua.com/songs/greetings-and-daily-routines), practice with a few games, and use the phrases to have dialogues with one another.

4th, 5th, and 6th graders are also following the same lessons during the first unit. The vocabulary they are learning is all of the above greeting and farewell words, in addition to the following:

¿Cómo está usted? - How are you? 

(This is used formally and used when you want to show respect to someone)

¿Qué pasa? ¿Qué tal? - What's up (very informal, slang)

¡Hasta mañana! - See you tomorrow!

Students in these grades learn vocabulary through actions as well, but are also expected to be proficient in writing them. They will practice through quick conversations, writing their own dialogue with a partner and presenting it, fun games, and song. We will also continue to practice these words and phrases throughout the year.

And now the part you've all been waiting for. :)

How to practice? Here are some good resources from the internet I found. Some of them do use vocabulary we aren't necessarily using in class, but it's good to learn more too!

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27PqTadLJx0 - Good video to learn and review what we've talked about in class.
• http://www.purposegames.com/game/ea69181208 - click on the circle of the corresponding phrase.
• http://www.quia.com/ba/246897.html - Battleship. Sink your opponent's ships before he sinks yours. Upon finding a ship, you must answer a question to successfully hit it.

That's all for now! Check back soon to read more!

Welcome to the 2014-15 School Ye

Dear parents and students,
¡Hola! Me llamo Amie Chamberlain y soy la nueva maestra de español de Parkview Center. Hello! My name is Amie Chamberlain and I am the new Spanish teacher at Parkview Center. I am excited to work with all of you as your student learns Spanish!

First, I wanted to tell you a little about me. This is my 5th year teaching. I taught one year at a charter school, one year in White Bear Lake and two years in Richfield, and am hoping to finally make Parkview my permanent home as we’ve finally settled into a new home in the Como Park area. I studied at St. Olaf College, majored in Spanish, and have both a Spanish and ESL (English as a Second Language) teaching licenses. During college, I spent a semester living and taking classes in Seville, Spain, and have also traveled to Mexico and Costa Rica. Some of my hobbies are running, pole vaulting, reading, spending time with my family, writing and, of course, speaking Spanish! I am married to a wonderful husband and have a great son, Samuel, who was born this past January.

Second, I wanted to write about how students learn language the best. They will learn Spanish most efficiently when they hear it often and have many opportunities to practice it at their level. Because of this, I use a communicative approach to language learning – students use what they know and apply it to communicate in authentic and active classroom activities.

Studies show that it takes 3-5 years, immersed fully in the language, to become conversationally proficient. This year, your child will have Spanish for forty-five minutes per week. The goals of Parkview elementary Spanish classes are for students to become interested in learning another language and to prepare them for more intense study in middle school and high school. Because we meet for such a short time, that they will need to study and use their Spanish outside of the classroom to work toward Spanish proficiency. I will offer many extra learning activities throughout the year, which you can follow on this blog. I will also keep you updated on what your child is learning in class.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to email or call me. Email is the most efficient way to contact me as I check it often: amie.chamberlain@isd623.org. You can also call me via the office at 651-487-4360.

I’m looking forward to this year! Here we go!