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Teaching Spanish - Beginner Errors
by Salomé Torres on 4/9/2015
After 25 years working as a teacher, I have had a week full of blunders committing 6 beginner errors. At the end of the day, I have reached the conclusion that having experience does not prevent you from making… more »
Cell Phones in the Classroom?
by Lauris on 3/20/2015
Versión española abajoA few weeks ago we took a look at the decision, the dichotomy, the debate, and the duality between paper books and eBooks. My personal inclinations ended up slipping into the discussion as usual… more »
The Difference between POR and PARA
by Salomé Torres on 3/12/2015
Understanding the difference between por and para can be a constant challenge for students learning Spanish. Even students at high levels continue mixing up the two prepositions that have caused so many headaches for… more »
Explaining Ser and Estar
by Salomé Torres on 3/5/2015
Last week I was talking about how helpful a cognitive grammar approach can be for explaining ser and estar, which later initiated a discussion with my colleagues who put forth examples that seemed to refute the… more »
An Engaging Way to Teach Spanish Grammar
by Salomé Torres on 2/26/2015
It’s been two years since I first read Qué gramática enseñar, qué gramática aprender by Reyes Llopis, José Plácido, and Juan Manuel Real.I’ve reread it three times because I think that the changes it inspires are… more »
Thoughts on this Year's Goya Awards
by Lauris on 2/19/2015
A new mode of writing known as noir fiction emerged in the US during the great depression. Perhaps as a child of the movement, film noir elevated Bogart and his Maltese Falcon to the height of the film genre.The… more »
Can Uppercase Letters be Marked with an Accent?
by Lauris on 2/12/2015
One of the questions that Spanish teachers get asked in class is if the accent mark known in Spanish as the tilde is really necessary (the tilde shouldn’t be confused with the virgulilla [~] which is placed over the… more »
The Subjunctive for the Imperative - Part III
by Lauris on 2/5/2015
We now have a handle on the imperative in both its affirmative and negative forms. We’ve also taken a look with our students at why these forms came to be the way they are. Once we’ve worked a little with exercises and… more »
The Subjunctive for the Imperative - Part II
by Lauris on 1/29/2015
Let’s continue with the imperative and how teaching it can help us make a smooth transition into the present subjunctive, not only in terms of how it’s formed but also as far as the principles of its usages.So how is… more »
The Subjunctive for the Imperative: An Unorthodox Explanation I
by Lauris on 1/22/2015
When we have to introduce the present subjunctive tense to our students, we notice that the lesson is programmed in many manuals to be taught after the imperative has already been introduced. I’ve heard colleagues of… more »