Teaching a second language is a very difficult thing to do. Teachers have to communicate in different ways with their students. Sometimes they have to draw. Other times they have to use body language. Their last resource should be the students first language. Of course, we always have to take in consideration things such as  the age of the students and the amount of years the students have been studying the second language.

Let’s talk about high school students. Imagine, that in your Spanish One class, you have a group of thirty five teenagers. Half of them took one year of Spanish in middle school. The other half did not. This is a situation that many Spanish teachers encounter at the beginning of the school year. Nothing new if you have been in this profession at least one year.

During the first week of school, I would recommend starting with the basics. Yes, it is true that half of the class took one year of Spanish in middle school. Now think about the amount of time that these teenagers spend studying Spanish during summer. Probably they did not study at all. This means that every single teenager will benefit if you start with the basics. If the book assigned by the school district has a preliminary chapter that is great. If it does not have a preliminary chapter you will have to create one.

After the first week, you will know your students better. Now it is the time to make sure they understand that they need to speak Spanish in your classroom. I would recommend that during the first week, you teach them and practice with them what I call general questions. For example, ask questions about the time your class begins, the date, the weather, the title of the book and the topic they are going to be studying. Do this every single day they come to your class for the rest of the year. As time goes by, add more questions or change  some of the questions. It all depends on your style. Just make sure they understand that, during the first ten or fifteen minutes of your class, they can only speak Spanish.

Good luck and have a great school year!

T.B.F 

Image via Wikipedia