University of Nebraska Kearney

Spanish Language for Educators

Interested in Spanish pronunciation rules and a comparison of English and Spanish phonetics? It might help you understand difficuties Spanish-speakers are having with phonics in your literacy program. Download the PDF file below. You must have Adobe Reader installed on your machine to view the file.

Spanish Pronunciation and English/Spanish Phonetics

Build on the Spanish you learned during the Level One workshop with the phrases in the Spanish Language for Educators section. The phrases presented will assist you with classroom instructions and family/school relationships. There are also words for common school supplies, school personnel, and places within the school building, in addition to colors and basic body parts. The Suggestions for Working with Interpreters section will help you achieve the best results when using an interpreter in a conference setting. Use the links below to navigate to the section you need.

Spanish Language for Educators

Suggestions for Working with Interpreters

Interested in downloading Conversational Spanish for Educators handouts? If you have Adobe Reader installed on your computer (you should have version 6.0 or higher), you can get the file here.

 Workshop Conversational Spanish for Educators

Spanish Language for Educators

Spanish Pronunciation Review

Vowels

• A sounds like "ah," or what you say when the doctor's examining your throat!
• E sounds like a long "a" in English, as in the word "ate"
• I sounds like a long "e" in English, as in the word "me"
• O sounds like a long "o" in English, as in the word "so"
• U sounds like "oo" in English, as in the word "moo"

Consonants

• B and V are identical in sound, similar to a soft "b" in English
• C and G differ in pronunciation depending on the letter that follows
  • After A, O, or U or a consonant, they have a hard sound
  • After E or I, the C sounds like an English "s" and the G like an English "h"
• H is always silent
• J sounds like an English "h"
• LL and Y both sound like an English "y." The only exception for Y is when it is the word "and" -- then it sounds like the vowel I
• Ñ sounds like "ny" in English, as in "canyon"
• RR is the trilled "r," as is an initial R
• X sounds like a "ks" in English, except in a few words such as "México" and "Texas" when it sounds like J
• Z never has the "buzz" sound that it does in English -- it sounds like an English "s"

Common Social Conventions

The phrases below will help you make Spanish-speaking children and their family members feel welcome in your school. Spanish-speakers greatly appreciate efforts made to speak their language, even the simple phrases shown below.

Phrases to Request Repitition or to Clarify Comprehension

Classroom Instructions

The following list of common classroom instructions will help you work with children with little or no proficiency in English. You'll note that the Spanish command forms will differ depending on how many students you're addressing.

Common Classroom Objects

The Spanish nouns listed below appear with their definite article -- "el" for masculine nouns and "la" for feminine nouns. The examples below combine some of the classroom instructions given above with classroom objects.

Schools and Classrooms

Below you will find some terms for different types of schools and for classrooms and other places within a school.

School Personnel

Be sure to notice the gender distinctions in these terms for school personnel. The first one listed is for males, the second for females. The terms are used below in sentences.

La maestra se llama señora Ruiz. The teacher's name is Mrs. Ruiz.

El director es el señor Alvarez. The principal is Mr. Alvarez.

Colors

This table lists color adjectives in Spanish. Note that sometimes more than one adjective can be used. The slash is followed by the feminine ending for those adjectives that "show" gender -- some examples follow the table.

Most Spanish adjectives have endings that correspond to the gender and number of the nouns they modify. See the examples below, which use nouns from the school supplies list.

el lápiz rojo/la pluma roja

el libro blanco/la caja blanca

los papeles amarillos/las mochilas amarillas

Adjectives of quality, such as color, usually follow the noun in Spanish. Here are some examples of the few adjectives that do not show gender. They will reflect the number of the noun, however.

el diccionario azul/la carpeta azul/los libros azules

el marcador verde/la pared verde/las puertas verdes

Body Parts

Suggestions for Working with Interpreters

For best results when working with interpreters in family conferences or other situations, consider the following:

• Spanish-speakers employed by school districts as aides or interpreters may not have formal education in Spanish, which means that their proficiency in the language may not extend to educational terminology or other more complex vocabulary. This may also be true of speakers of other languages who are serving as interpreters. Take time to go over terms and procedures with the interpreter in advance so that he or she can relay the information to the family accurately.
• Spanish-speakers without education in Spanish may not be able to translate formal documents. Translators need a high degree of skill in both languages, great attention to detail, and writing ability. A person can be a good interpreter and still not be capable of translating.
• When working with an interpreter, consider how much language and information you are asking the interpreter to remember. Be sure to pause after a few sentences to give the interpreter a chance to speak. Asking the interpreter to produce more language is likely to result in omissions and inaccurate information. You and the interpreter can decide on a signal that the interpreter can use to indicate that a pause is needed.
• When working with an interpreter, look at the family member when speaking rather than at the interpreter, and again when the person replies. This is difficult to do at first, as your natural inclination is to look at whoever is speaking.