English for teaching Spanish

Based on my personal experience, I think that a Spanish teacher should at least be

able to speak and understand another language. English is currently the language most people use while being overseas. In every country there are many English institutes, so, English should be, at least, this “other” language that every Spanish teacher should know. Moreover, if you understand how other language works, then you will be able to understand yours better.

Children listen first, then they repeat; later on they are more conscious about meanings. But, adults are more aware about meanings, so, if they listen something new in a new language, they will try first to know what that expression means; and, afterwards, they will identify it when listening to it again. What I mean is that during listening you are identifying sounds, then, when someone tells you what does the expression means, the relationship between sound and words is created.

Based on this short explanation, when you help the student to identify the structure using English, they will be able to grasp it easier or, at least, they will have a basic idea about the similarities between the two languages. Of course, there are always exceptions that must be considered.

For me, a good example is the Spanish Pretérito Perfecto (Haber + Participle form of the verb); in English its equivalent is the Present Perfect (Have + Past participle):

-"I have gone to the mountains" ] A says to B what he/she has previously done. A hasn´t seen B for a while.

- "(Yo) he (have) ido (gone) a las montañas" } We use the same structure for the same situation in Spanish.

Both, the English and the Spanish structures are used for the same purpose: to express states or actions started at some point in the past but whose effects are still considered or seen so far.

Another example would be the following:

Luisa has been making a diet for two months. She is thinner. Everybody can see the results and you would say in English "Maria has lost weight."

In Spanish, we would also use the same structure for the same situation: "María ha (has) perdido (lost) peso".

So, if you are able to explain the students these similarities, it might help them to understand Spanish and, of course, his/her own language. So far, it has proven very useful for me, but it doesn´t mean that I speak English the whole session. I use it when I deem it necessary.

There are many ways for teaching languages, but the main idea is to be able to give the students what they need according to their doubts, questions, requirements, etc. The point is to guide them the best possible way. That´s all we have to do.

I hope you find this text interesting and helpful.

Regards from Lima, Perú!

Rosa