As some of our Level 1 students get to the end of their Level 1 course they face a gap of several weeks before Level 2 they don’t want to lose their skills.
Grammar drills, vocabulary tests and online courses are useful but weaving Spanish into your relaxation time is important for creating long-term habits. We recommend planning fun tasks to practise the four skills: listening, reading, writing, speaking and a mix of active and passive challenges. Here are some examples of fun listening practice.
Eat, listen, repeat: the passive bit
I’m listening to some of my favourite tracks as I write this blog and the choruses are hardwired into my brain. By listening to songs you focus on the chorus and a few new words that you might look up later as you sing through the chorus. Sentences may sound like a blur but catchy tunes will help you build your experience of the sound of the language. Passively listening to songs is easy background pratice.
Mind the gap: The active bit
When you’ve got 15 minutes to put to it you’ll want a fun but active challenge to stretch your ear.
- Print and chop up song lyrics line by line and re-order them as you listen. By listening out for the beginnings of the new lines you'll get better at catching words.
- Fill missing words. I love lyricstraining which makes a game of it! It’s super addictive and has beginner to advanced modes. You can also create your own gap fill activity with webpages like this site. Start with slow, rhythmic songs like ballads if you are a beginner before upping the tempo.
These fun challenges will get you to re-play songs, listen carefully and pick out specific words to broaden your vocabulary and tune your ear.
So, the next time you you plan a Spanish based task think about which skill you are engaging and get a mix between active and passive approaches.
- Carla
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