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How difficult should my speaking assignments be?
by Austin Meusch | Aug 15, 2022 | Articles, Best Practices, Classroom Culture
This is a common question teachers ask themselves when creating their first assignments. While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer, there are a few guiding principles one can follow to ensure student’s are getting the most out of their Speaking assignments. Aim to...

Speaking Assignments for Getting Used to Words in Spanish
by Mar Clavijo | Aug 11, 2022 | Speakables
Once a student asked me: How do I know whether a word in Spanish starts and ends? After approaching Syllable breaking, his listening skills got strengthened and he was able to pronounce clearly. In other words, if you teach your students how to break words down by...

Speaking assignments for sounds unique to the French language
by Mar Clavijo | Aug 9, 2022 | French, Speakables
In this post you’ll find a list of free resources to help your French students pronounce naturally and get instant feedback. They can practice in class and at home!

Speaking assignments for teaching all Spanish sounds
by Mar Clavijo | Aug 5, 2022 | Pronunciation, Spanish, Speakables
Sounds of target language is something we both listen to and produce. Here’s a list of free resources to help your Spanish students pronounce naturally and get instant feedback. They can practice in class and at home!

Learn Pronunciation of the German UMLATE
by Austin Meusch | Aug 3, 2022 | German, Speakables
In this Speakable students are introduced to the German Umlate. First, they’ll watch a 5 minute video lesson from the popular YouTube channel Learn German with Anja. Then, they’ll complete a speaking exercise that consists of 5 words, each containing an Umlate.

Learn What Not to Pronounce in French
by Austin Meusch | Aug 2, 2022 | French, Speakables
In the video lesson, Alexa Polidoro gives learners great tips on the letters you should NOT pronounce at the end of a French words. The speaking exercise includes 10 words that are covered during the video lesson.

Dive deep into Haber (auxiliary verb)
by Austin Meusch | Jul 31, 2022 | Spanish, Speakables
This Speakable features a video created by Ana of Butterfly Spanish and speaking practice for 15 phrases. Some of the key takeaways from the video are 1) When to use haber (vs tener) 2) How haber and tener evolved from their Latin origins 3) Habers impersonal job and 4) Haber is there to enhance the meaning of the main verb.

Learn how to use “ya” in Spanish + speaking practice
by Austin Meusch | Jul 30, 2022 | Spanish, Speakables
This Speakable features a video created by Ana of Butterfly Spanish and speaking practice for 16 phrases. In the video Ana covers what the word “ya” means in Spanish, where to place it, and why it is used so often. First, she explains the Spanish grammatical point of view of the words “ya”. Then she teach you the scenarios..

Learn to Say Hello and Goodbye in Hindi
by Austin Meusch | Jul 30, 2022 | Speakables
Video Lesson | 4 words/phrases | 2 minutes | Assignable | to use or assign this speakable, open the post and use the buttons below the video.

Songs in Spanish Vol. 3
by Mar Clavijo | Jul 27, 2022 | Spanish, Speakables
https://youtu.be/WBBCZ7Hin5A Here's a song in Spanish about love, or rather broken-hearted 💔 with English translation! 🎶 Name: Nadie sabe (No one knows) 🎤 Artist: Los Elefantes Listen to and look at the lyrics, then pronounce and get instant feedback bellow!👇 [button...
Should I Add Video Lessons to My Speaking Assignments?
by Austin Meusch | Jul 27, 2022 | Lesson Planning, Uncategorized
In this video, we explore one of the biggest reasons world language teachers love adding videos to their Speakables.

How to Create a Safe Place to Practice Speaking
by Austin Meusch | Jun 16, 2022 | Classroom Culture
Speaking a new language can be daunting, especially in front of friends and classmates. Make your language students feel at ease practicing pronunciation. For many students, speaking during a world language class is their most anxiety-inducing classroom experience. ...

So You Want to Learn A New Language But Don’t Know Where to Start?
by Austin Meusch | Jun 10, 2022 | Articles, Inspiration
It’s impossible to become fluent in a language within only one month--anyone that promises to do so is lying to you! Trust me, I've tried to do this and failed three times. What I learned, is that it takes time and self-discipline to create a learning module, develop...

Teaching with intention! (otherwise known as learning with intention)
by profematthew | Jun 9, 2022 | Articles, Classroom Culture
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”― Friedrich Nietzsche Have you ever been sitting in a class as a student and wondered, “why are we doing this?” or “what is the point?” Have you ever been teaching a class or tutoring someone and thought “I wonder...
Spanish Vowel U Hack (⏳ in 2 minutes)
by Mar Clavijo | May 28, 2022 | Pronunciation, Spanish, Speakables
🔗 🗣 Click here so you can practice Speaking now: https://app.speakableapp.com/playlist/I6arVRn0HtgJBULs6xYZ 🤓 More about Profe Mar https://app.speakableapp.com/profile/PRjvYWtOQHWaenPki0ifVjRTRiB2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MBTI...
Spanish Vowel O (⏳ in less than 3 minutes)
by Mar Clavijo | May 28, 2022 | Pronunciation, Spanish, Speakables
🔗 🗣 Click here so you can practice Speaking now: https://app.speakableapp.com/playlist/MOuneHxp0qUyoYK8FfJs 🤓 More about Profe Mar https://app.speakableapp.com/profile/PRjvYWtOQHWaenPki0ifVjRTRiB2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...
Spanish Vowel I Hack (⏳ in 2 minutes)
by Mar Clavijo | May 28, 2022 | Pronunciation, Spanish, Speakables
🔗 🗣 Click here so you can practice Speaking now: https://app.speakableapp.com/playlist/fUO2aXTPP9UsdRGJKrAh 🤓 More about Profe Mar https://app.speakableapp.com/profile/PRjvYWtOQHWaenPki0ifVjRTRiB2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...
Spanish Vowel E Hack (⏳ in less than 2 minutes)
by Mar Clavijo | May 28, 2022 | Pronunciation, Spanish, Speakables
🔗 🗣 Click here so you can practice Speaking now: https://app.speakableapp.com/playlist/kZn5Ibz5OmibozgRTElQ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 🤓 More about Profe...
Spanish Vowel A Hack (⏳ in less than 2 minutes)
by Mar Clavijo | May 28, 2022 | Pronunciation, Spanish, Speakables
🔗 🗣 Click here so you can practice Speaking now: https://app.speakableapp.com/playlist/HhVHKu6NkaRqP8FrLfDf ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 🤓 More about Profe Mar https://app.speakableapp.com/profile/PRjvYWtOQHWaenPki0ifVjRTRiB2...
How to Create Your First Speakable Course
by Austin Meusch | May 22, 2022 | Videos
In this video, we walk through how to create a course on Speakable and add an auto-graded speaking assignment to it.
AP Spanish Prep. Crash Course Tour
by Mar Clavijo | May 22, 2022 | Lesson Planning, Spanish, Speakables
How to Turn a Quizlet Set into a Speaking Exercise or Assignment
by Austin Meusch | May 22, 2022 | Lesson Planning, Videos
In this video, we demonstrate how to a set you have on Quizlet, import it into Speakable, and turn in into a Speaking assignment.

Build Speaking Confidence with Daily Exercises
by Austin Meusch | Mar 16, 2022 | Classroom Culture
Daily speaking exercises help students become confident using their second language. The discover search makes it easy to find and share speaking exercises with your students. With a public library, it's easy to keep your students engaged even when you don't have...

How I Learned Portuegese
by Nick Meusch | Nov 18, 2021 | Articles, Inspiration
I wanted to make the most of my summer after sophomore year of college, and thought it would be a great opportunity to travel and start learning a new language. I knew it would be a great opportunity to learn about a different culture and I knew it would be valuable...

Spanish Teachers Unite Newsletter: November 4, 2021
by Austin Meusch | Nov 4, 2021 | Inspiration
This week in the STU: Student story: how learning Spanish impacted one student's life Teaching internationally: a path you could never have imagined Around the web: Florencia’s list of language teaching podcasts and more Student Story We asked non-native...

How International Teaching Led me to be a Startup Founder
by Andrew Platt | Oct 25, 2021 | Articles, Inspiration
Teaching internationally isn’t just a “nice thing” to do for a year: it can fundamentally change who you are and what you inevitably do in the future. I’m going to tell you my story – not for the sake of telling you, but as an example to see how taking the first step...

Spanish Teachers Unite Newsletter: October 21, 2021
by Austin Meusch | Oct 21, 2021 | Inspiration
Spanish Teacher’s Unite Newsletter October 21, 2021. In this issue you’ll find Día de Muertos content, an easy to share pronunciation activity, and more.

Spanish Teachers Unite Newsletter: October 14, 2021
by Austin Meusch | Oct 14, 2021 | Inspiration
This week in STU: A PhD in Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education answers common questions by unpacking research articles. Mar shares her tips for students that want to use music to learn pronunciation Download Kaneesha's music & pronunciation worksheet...

Spanish Teachers Unite Newsletter: October 7, 2021
by Austin Meusch | Oct 7, 2021 | Inspiration
This week in STU: Panel Responses: Can teachers use music to help students learn new vocabulary? New on Youtube: Practicing the diphthong "IE" & Using “haber” to ask and answer questions Pronunciation Practice: A resource from Mar to help students learn correct...

Spanish Teachers Unite Newsletter: October 1, 2021
by Austin Meusch | Oct 1, 2021 | Inspiration
We asked three teacher how they use music be to improve students reading skills. Read their responses here.
Opportunism, Execution, and Madness: The Context behind Cinco de Mayo
by Hans Janke | Sep 23, 2021 | Articles, Lesson Planning
Cultural literacy for the Latin American history and language student is essential, especially if you plan on spending time in Latin America. Holidays, festivals, and official days to commemorate a battle or a saint fill the Spanish world’s calendar. In fact, I...

Spanish Teachers Unite Newsletter: September 23, 2021
by Austin Meusch | Sep 23, 2021 | Inspiration
Teachers face an uphill for their student's attention in 2021. Competing with addictive social media platforms, video games, and, unfortunately, mental health challenges spurred on by COVID/lockdowns. That hasn't discouraged “Casa Spanish” from creating engaging video...
The Virgin of the Descamisados
by Hans Janke | Sep 16, 2021 | Articles, Lesson Planning
Utilizing great speeches can lead to effective and engaging lessons for the language teacher. From Pericles in Ancient Athens to Martin Luther King in Washington DC, powerful orators still inspire and have changed the course of history. However, a casual perusal of a...

Spanish Teachers Unite Newsletter: September 16, 2021
by Austin Meusch | Sep 16, 2021 | Inspiration
Forty-five years after Susan B. Anthony’s death, one women’s fight against the patriarchal establishment for legitimacy was reaching its peak. Hans shares how he uses famous speeches to inspire students.

Spanish Teachers Unite Newsletter: September 9, 2021
by Austin Meusch | Sep 9, 2021 | Inspiration
Searching for ideas for your next lesson? Grab a guitar and indulge your students with some aceitunas and albaricoques, and settle down on an alfombra and set up an ajedrez tournament all the while knowing you might as well be in Al-Andalus.

The Moors Got the Last Word
by Hans Janke | Sep 9, 2021 | Lesson Planning
A romantic rendition of the dramatic events of the late 15th century that culminated in the fall of the last Muslim King of Iberia claims that a young Emir Muhammad XII, upon leaving his beloved Granada, released such a resounding and meloancholic sigh that his...

Of Love Letters and the Usefulness of Second Languages
by Hans Janke | Sep 3, 2021 | Articles, Classroom Culture
Although Manuela Saenz recently won official recognition as a true heroine of the South American Wars for Independence, she is still in many ways considered just a footnote in history compared to her paramour Simon Bolivar. Both Manuela and Simon lived extraordinary...

Revolutionary Art for the Language Classroom
by Hans Janke | Sep 3, 2021 | Articles, Lesson Planning
Effective teachers are always trying to stimulate and inspire their students. Over the years I have found that utilizing visuals can help motivate students. By using art and placing that art in historical context, the teacher can more easily ignite students’...

Spanish Teachers Unite Newsletter: August 26, 2021
by Austin Meusch | Aug 26, 2021 | Spanish Teachers Unite
Fortunately, many of Simon and Manuela’s love letters are preserved, which make for great reading activities for language and history students! Having taught history and occasionally ESL for over twenty years, I have learned that one of the essential starting points for effective teaching and learning is first to engage the student.

A Practical Approach to Teaching Vocabulary
by Mar Clavijo | Aug 23, 2021 | Lesson Planning
Feel like it’s time to rethink how you teach vocabulary? Take some ideas from my focused-in-life approach.

Spanish Teachers Unite Newsletter: August 19, 2021
by Austin Meusch | Aug 19, 2021 | Spanish Teachers Unite
The Korean dictionary contains over 1.1 million words. Spanish? About 90,000 (with ~190,000 meanings). Aren’t you glad you’re teaching español? This week in STU: 🏰 The Kingdom of vocabulary 🚀 Approach strategies 🤓 Set & stats: Pronunciation 📓 Commonly used Spanish...

¿Qué Vocabulario debería empezar a enseñar?
by Mar Clavijo | Aug 19, 2021 | Articles, Lesson Planning
Esta es una de las preguntas que nosotros, los profesores de Español (tanto tutores privados como de escuela) naturalmente nos hacemos, sobretodo al iniciar el proceso de aprendizaje de este idioma en nuestros estudiantes. Puede que, instintivamente tendamos a darle...

Spanish Teachers Unite Newsletter: August 12, 2021
by Austin Meusch | Aug 12, 2021 | Spanish Teachers Unite
Can you believe the biggest motivator driving 18-22-year-olds to travel is a desire to learn history and experience culture? That’s ahead of partying. Everyone else? Rest and relaxation. Does this reflect a growing trend amongst young Americans to seek out a more...

Travel Projects that Inspire
by Señora UP | Aug 12, 2021 | Lesson Planning
Looking for new ways to have your students explore the Spanish-speaking world? Send them on a trip! Projects are a great way to provide students with a real-life application of the vocabulary, phrases, and skills they are learning in your class. When it comes to...

Five Pronunciation Activities for Your Spanish Class
by Darvin Uicab | Aug 7, 2021 | Pronunciation
Looking to add more speaking activities to your Spanish classroom? In this article you’ll find four practical, easy to implement activities.

The Present Perfect Tense in Spanish
by Austin Meusch | Jul 26, 2021 | Lesson Planning
What Is The Present Perfect Tense in Spanish? The Spanish present perfect tense is generally used for descriptions of completed events or actions with a specific endpoint in time that are relevant or have taken place immediately before the present moment. Use the...

Introduction to Spanish Idioms with Links to Speakables
by Austin Meusch | Jul 23, 2021 | Articles, Lesson Planning
What is an Idiom? An idiom is a common phrase which means something different from its literal meaning but can be understood because of their popular use. Idioms are made of normal words that have a special meaning known to almost everyone." Source: Wikipedia ...

How to Overcome Foreign Language Anxiety
by Austin Meusch | Jul 6, 2021 | Articles, Classroom Culture
You’ve probably heard other teachers, professors, and business professionals discuss the advantages of knowing a second language in the work world. Students are often advised that even if you’re not fluent, putting a second language on your resume will help you stand...