LP - Introducing Spanish (Lesson)

Introducing Spanish

Did you know that...

  • there are 329 million native Spanish speakers in the world?
  • Spanish is spoken in 44 countries (with at least 3 million native speakers in each)?
  • after Latin, the language that has the largest influence in Spanish is Arabic?
  • Spanish is expected to be the first language of 50% of the population of the United States within 50 years?
  • Spanish is the most popular foreign language to learn in America and Europe?

 

In this course you will begin to join in with those 329 million Spanish speakers as you take your first steps in learning these language skills, by practicing:

  • Pronunciation (Pronunciación) - Why? Because Spanish words have different sounds in their vowels and some letter blends. Knowing the sounds of these vowels and letter blends is the key to good communication.
  • Greetings (Saludos) - Why? Speaking the language is really our main goal.  As you learn to greet people, you can also practice your new sounds. Keep in mind that we write to keep records of what we want to say. Just being able to greet someone is a very basic skill, and you will be very excited to be able to do this- in your first week of Spanish!
  • Goodbyes (Despedidos) - Why? Now that you can greet folks, your next learning focus will be to end a conversation politely. Sometimes you can just say, "Goodbye," but sometimes that will be too brief, and you will want to say "why" you are leaving the other person. Leave-taking (Good-byes) are the next part of your learning.

 

Points to consider and keep in mind as you work through this module:

  • Why is the language sound system and pronunciation important?
  • How do you greet individuals in Spanish?
  • How do you express good-byes [farewells] in Spanish?
  • How do you express yourself in writing in Spanish?
  • What is the difference between the forms tú and Ud.?
  • How do you use correct intonation to communicate orally?
  • Why is listening an important skill?
  • What cultural tidbits are important to know about the country/language?

 

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.