Learning or Brushing up on Spanish

Tres chicas en la playa

The girls used to have real challenge communicating with us. They used to think we were deaf, so would repeat themselves loudly and slowly. Now they understand the situation better. They are great with charades, props, Spanish/English dictionaries etc. If none of this works, they grab a bilingual interpreter who resolves the situation!

Here are some ideas on how to learn the basics of Spanish or how to brush up on Spanish. Please use the “Comments” section for your recommendations.

Spanish for Dummies – The book includes a CD that you can listen to while driving around.

Coffee Break Spanish – 20 minute or so lessons on podcasts. You can listen on your iPod or computer. http://radiolingua.com/shows/spanish/coffee-break-spanish/ The format is a (Scottish) college professor with a college student who’s studied French. I guess that’s why I get a kick out of it. She has similar questions that I do.

Check out these free websites, some are all free, some give a free demo enticing you to buy more.

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/ 
• http://livemocha.com/pages/languages/learn-spanish/
• http://www.learn10.com/
• http://www.mangolanguages.com/store/try-mango/

The library has books and audiobooks to help you learn Spanish basics.

Community ed classes are a great opportunity to learn if you prefer interactive learning.

Bring your own Spanish/English Dictionary. Use it with the girls to figure things out.

The translation apps on our smartphones are so cool! But, we can’t count on 4G connections when we’re in Azua!

Take some time to study these Campamento Vocabulary and Phrases. Practice with a Spanish speaker while you’re here. To hear how to pronounce a phrase, copy and paste the phrase into http://translate.google.com 

Must know phrases

Please/por favor
Thank you/gracias
Greetings – Buenos dias, Buenas tardes, Buenas noches, Hola
My name is/me llamo <name>
What is your name?/Cómo se llama usted? Cómo te llamas?
Nice to meet you/ mucho gusto

Classroom & craft vocab

Salón de clase/ Taller de clase – classroom
Tijeras –Scissors
Lapicero- writing utensil
Lápiz- pencil
Saca puntas- pencil sharpener
Barro- clay
Hilo- string
Pucas- beads
Diario- journal
Papel- paper
Crayones- crayons
Drama- skit/ play
Pretty/Lindo or linda, bonito or bonita
How many? / Cuántos? or Cuántas?

Colors

Red/ roja
orange/ naranja
yellow/ amarilla
green/ verde
blue/azul
purple/ morado
Pink/ rosa
white/blanco

Household Chores

hacer los quehaceres – do the chores
lavar los platos – wash the dishes
barrer el piso – sweep the floor
fregar el piso – mop the floor
lavar la ropa – do the laundry
planchar la ropa – iron the clothes
aspirar el piso – vacuum the floor
sacudir los muebles – dust the furniture
sacar la basura – take out the trash
arreglar – neaten, straighten up
hacer la cama – make the bed
poner la mesa – set the table
quitar la mesa – clear the table
tender la ropa – hang out the clothes to dry

Helpful verbs

Escucha- listen (singular)
Escuchen- listen (plural)
(No) tengo- I (don’t) have
Necesito – I need
Tengo que – I have to
Tienes?- Do you have?
Vámanos- let’s go
Llegar- arrive
Llegamos/ Llegaron- we arrive/ they arrived
Espérate- Wait
Dame- give me
Dámelo- give it to me
Préstame- give it to me
Quiero- I want
Quiere- she wants
Peinar- to brush
Péiname- brush my hair
Listo/ a- ready
Están listos/ as? Are you ready?
Jugar- to play
Pintar- to paint
Hace calor- it’s hot
Lo siento- I’m sorry
Siéntate- sit down (one person)
Siéntense- sit down (many people)
Silencio por favor- quiet please
I understand/Entiendo (no entiendo)
I have/Tengo (no tengo)
We make/ hacemos,
We will make/haremos
Ready/Listo/a
I found/ Encontré
I lost/ Perdí

Other vocab

Fondo- background
(Un) chin- a little bit
Guagua- bus
Cosa- thing
Basura- trash
Hogar- home
Casa- house
Trenzas- braids
Pelo- hair
Biblia- Bible
Maleta- suitcase
Small (shoes)/ pequeños  (zapatos) Medium/ medios,  large/grandes
Children’s small/ niños pequeños,  Ladies small/ señoros pequeños
I have one/three son/sons daughter/daughters. Tengo un/tres hijo/hijos hija/hijas.

Meals

Desayuno- breakfast
Merienda- snack
Jugo- juice
Galletas- cookies
Almuerzo- lunch
Cena- dinner
Comemos- let’s eat

Day/week

hoy -today
mañana – tomorrow
ayer – yesterday
el contorno para la semana – the outline of the week
esta semana – This week
la semana pasada – Last week

Beach Vocab

Playa- beach
Olas- waves
Honda- deep
Flotar- to float
Arena- sand
Suéltame- let me go (when floating)
Vidrio del mar- sea glass    vidrio = glass
Concha(s)- shells