Teaching in the target language might feel challenging at first, but with practice, both you and your students will get used to it, and it will soon feel more natura. Below are some friendly, practical tips to help you boost immersion and keep your elementary world language classroom buzzing in the target language.
1. Use Visuals That Support Language Acquisition
Pictures and Props: A quick glance at a bright photo or a real-life object goes a long way toward clarifying meaning—no translation needed!
Gestures and Body Language: Add some flair to your teaching by using expressive gestures. Point, act things out, and let your body do some of the explaining. A lot of TPR (Total Physical Response)!
2. Build Familiar Routines
Repetitive Phrases: Choose a few go-to phrases—like “Dime” or “Hoy vamos a”—and use them consistently. Hearing the same instructions daily helps students feel comfortable and confident.
Daily Rituals: Whether it’s a greeting, a quick calendar check, or a weather report, these predictable moments give learners a familiar linguistic anchor.
3. Keep Your Language Simple
Step-by-Step Instructions: Break longer directions into bite-sized chunks. Instead of saying, ‘You will hear a story, write about it, and complete the storyboard, try:
Listen to the story.
Write about it.
Complete the storyboard.
High-Frequency Words: Focus on words your students will hear again and again. The more they hear “gracias,” “por favor,” or “¿Cómo estás?” the more natural those words feel.
4. Offer Comprehensible Input
Use Context: Your tone, facial expressions, and the situation itself are powerful clues. If you’re teaching “hot” and “cold,” hold a warm mug in one hand and an ice cube in the other!
Repeat and Reinforce: “For example, hearing the phrase “yo estoy” in your greeting, during your story, and in a song helps reinforce that word in young minds.
5. Try Circling Techniques
Varied Questions: Switch between yes/no (“¿Te gusta el azul?”), either/or (“¿Azul o rojo?”), and open-ended prompts (“¿Cuál es tu color favorito”). This keeps students thinking and engaged.
Reinforce Key Words: Every time you circle, you’re revisiting vocabulary—perfect for helping words stick.
6. Create Chances to Speak
Sentence Starters: Provide frames like “Me gusta…” or “Yo tengo…” as helpful kickoff.
Partner and Group Work: Small-group chats let students practice without the spotlight of the whole class—it’s less scary and more fun! Give them tools for it, such as chat mats or visuals in the classroom.
7. Be a Language Role Model
Think Out Loud: Share your thought process in the target language—“Hmm, ¿cómo digo ‘I need help’? ¡Ah, ‘Necesito ayuda’!” or “Estoy enciendo la computadora, pero tengo un problema. La computadora no enciende.”
Show Your Passion: When you express enthusiasm for the language, your students will feel that energy and get excited too.
8. Celebrate every attempt, big or small
Positive Reinforcement: A simple “¡Excelente!” or a word of encouragement for a great attempt goes a long way. Celebrate risk-taking, not just perfection.
By using these strategies in your daily lessons, you’ll create a fun, engaging space where students feel comfortable and excited to hear and use the target language. Whether you’re an experienced teacher or just beginning, these tips will help turn your classroom into a place for language acquisition.
If you’re curious about using Comprehensible Input (CI) in your classroom but don’t know where to start, you’re not alone. The good news? You don’t need to change everything at once. In fact, some of the best ways to begin are super simple and can be added into your routine right away.
Here are two of my favorite ways to ease into CI: ClipChat and Calendar Talk.
1. ClipChat
ClipChat is one of the easiest and most fun ways to get started with CI. You take a short video—just a minute or two—and use it to build a conversation in the target language. The best clips are wordless or have minimal dialogue, so your students can really focus on the story and the language you’re using to talk about it.
Here’s how it works:
Pick a short, engaging clip. Think funny commercials, Pixar shorts, or animated videos.
Watch the video in small chunks. Pause often to describe what’s happening using simple, high-frequency words.
Ask questions like “¿Quién es?” “¿Qué hace?” “¿Está triste o feliz?” to keep students engaged.
Keep it light and repeat key phrases often—repetition is your friend!
Watch it once all the way through with your class!
Students aren’t memorizing vocab lists—they’re understanding real language in context. And because the video gives them visual support, they can follow along even if they’re just starting out. Want to start with a Clip Chat? Visit this blog post with some ideas. Adriana Ramírez also has some demos on her YouTube channel.
2. Calendar Talk: A Meaningful Daily Routine
Calendar Talk is another easy way to weave CI into your class without needing to prep something new every day. It’s a simple, structured conversation that builds community and gives your students regular exposure to the language.
What it can include:
The date and day of the week: “¿Qué día es hoy?” “¿Qué mes es?”
The weather and how students feel: “¿Hace sol o hace frío?” “¿Cómo te sientes hoy?”
Upcoming holidays and school events: “¿Hay una celebración esta semana?” “¿Tenemos una asamblea o excursión?” “¿Es un día especial?”
Birthdays or anything fun happening in your students’ lives.
You can do this with a paper calendar, a pocket chart, or even slides. The key is to keep it interactive and repeat those phrases daily. Over time, your students will start using them too—without even realizing they’re doing it! Adriana Ramírez also has some demos on her YouTube channel.
Why it works: It’s low-prep, easy to personalize, and super consistent. Even just 5 minutes a day adds up to a lot of meaningful input over the course of the year.
Keep it Simple
If you’re just getting started with CI, these two strategies are a great way to dip your toes in without feeling overwhelmed. Start with one, give it a few weeks, and go from there. You don’t need to do everything all at once. Just focus on giving your students language they can understand, enjoy, and use.
Earth Day is a fantastic opportunity to bring awareness and language learning together in your elementary Spanish classroom. It’s a chance to teach your students about the planet while expanding their vocabulary and comprehension skills in Spanish. Here are some resources and ideas to make Earth Day engaging and educational!
Engaging Resources for Earth Day
Spanish Earth Day Story:This engaging story, told through a song, is a great way to introduce the life cycle of a plant in Spanish! Perfect for reinforcing science concepts or as a standalone activity, it helps students learn about plant growth and its different parts in a fun and interactive way.
Authentic Earth Day Song: This authentic Earth Day song is a fun Salsa tune that will make your students want to dance while learning about an important topic: climate change in Spanish. This resource is based on a campaign aired on a regional TV channel in Colombia a few years ago. The main character is a glass frog who is complaining and wondering what’s happening on its planet because nothing feels or seems right.
Global Warming Resources: This is lesson to empower novice-level students to learn about climate change in the target language. Students will be given the opportunity to connect with this topic in the target language through the support of visuals and cognates.
Plant Life Cycle Story:This engaging story, told through a song, is a great way to introduce the life cycle of a plant in Spanish! Perfect for reinforcing science concepts or as a standalone activity, it helps students learn about plant growth and its different parts in a fun and interactive way.
Take a Spanish Nature Walk
If possible, get your students outdoors for a fun and educational activity. Simple activities like talking about colors, animals, counting objects in nature or just reading a story outdoors. Talk to your students as they walk and point out things they see or may not have noticed before. It is an opportunity that really helps to clear your mind and relax. Read more here!
Teach a Song: Andean Music and Pachamama
This song, deeply rooted in Andean musical traditions, expresses a profound reverence for Pachamama (Mother Earth). The group, Takiwaska—though I’m not sure if they’re still active—is from Colombia, and their music has a way of resonating deep within the soul. The song itself is quite long, but I’m focusing on just one part.
Simplify and Focus: If the song is too long, break it into digestible sections. For example, use the following excerpt from your chosen lyrics:
Madre hermosa, Pachamama (Beautiful mother, Mother Earth) Canto a sus selvas (I sing to its forests) Y al azul de sus montañas (And the blue mountains) Canto al amor (I sing to the love) Y canto al aire que respiro (And I sing to the air I breathe) Canto al amor (I sing to the love) y al espíritu del río (And the spirit of the river)
How to Teach It:
Cultural Background Information: Introduce students to the meaning of Pachamama and where this concept is embraced. Use a map to locate the South American countries where Pachamama is celebrated.
Introduce Vocabulary: Pre-teach key words like tierra (Earth), selvas (forests), montañas (mountains), and río (river) using visuals or gestures.
Clap the Rhythm: Have students clap or stomp to the beat while repeating each line.
Add Movement and Use TPR: Assign motions for each phrase (e.g., sway arms for “río,” mimic breathing for “aire”).
Madre hermosa, Pachamama: Students can mimic embracing or hugging to represent love for Mother Earth.
Canto a sus selvas: Students can mimic tree movements or sway their arms like branches.
Y al azul de sus montañas: Students can stretch their arms upwards to represent mountains.
Canto al amor: Students can make heart shapes with their hands.
Y canto al aire que respiro: Students can mimic breathing deeply.
Y al espíritu del río: Students can mimic flowing water with their arms.
Sing Together: Gradually layer verses, emphasizing pronunciation and emotional expression.
Discuss Meaning: Ask simple questions like “¿Por qué cantamos a la Tierra?” (Why do we sing to the Earth?) to connect lyrics to Earth Day values.
March is the perfect time to bring some excitement into your Spanish class with Madness Brackets! I first heard about this idea from Spanish Plans years ago. This activity combines music, competition, and student choice — all while reinforcing listening skills.
In this post, I’ll share how to use Madness Brackets in your Spanish class, why they work so well, and how you can adapt them for different types of content all year long.
What Are Madness Brackets?
Madness Brackets are inspired by the excitement of sports brackets during March Madness — but with a language twist! Here’s how it works:
Create a bracket with different Spanish-language songs.
Students listen to the songs in pairs or small groups.
Vote for their favorites, and advance the winning songs to the next round.
Keep going until you have a class favorite!
It’s easy to set up and creates a ton of excitement in the classroom. Students get exposed to authentic Spanish-language music while improving their listening skills and cultural understanding. Plus, the element of competition keeps them motivated and engaged.
Why Madness Brackets Work So Well
Student choice – Letting students vote makes them feel involved and invested.
Repetition with purpose – Students listen to songs multiple times as they advance, reinforcing vocabulary and comprehension.
Not Just for Music – Use Brackets All Year Long
One of the best things about this idea is that it’s not limited to music or March. You can adapt the bracket format for all kinds of content and use it throughout the school year:
Animated shorts – Let students vote for their favorite animated short in Spanish.
Animals – Create a bracket featuring different animals and let students decide which one wins based on descriptive clues.
Books – Compare different picture books or short stories.
Brackets are easy tool that can be used to introduce vocabulary, practice listening and speaking skills, and build classroom community.
How to Get Started with Brackets in Spanish Class
Choose your theme (music, animals, movies, etc.).
Create a simple bracket (you can use free online tools like Canva or Google Slides).
Introduce the content and explain the voting process.
Let students listen, watch, or explore — and then vote.
Continue until you have a winner.
Madness Brackets with Animals
In this example, students will learn about eight endangered animals through readings and comprehension activities, which will take about eight classes. Introduce one animal per class. After every two readings, have students choose a winner to advance to the next round. Continue until only two animals remain, then have students pick the final winner. You can enhance the activity by showing a short YouTube video about each animal. It’s a great opportunity to use a map to explore each animal’s origin.
Example of what the Madness Bracket will look with animals! Find the readings on Teachers Pay Teachers!
Ready to Try Madness Brackets in Your Spanish Class?
Madness Brackets (or any type of bracket) are an easy and engaging way to bring excitement into your Spanish class while reinforcing language skills. Whether you use music, animated shorts, or another theme, brackets are a great tool for increasing student engagement and building cultural connections.
Have you tried Madness Brackets or another type of bracket in your class? Let me know in the comments — I’d love to hear about your experience.
I attended the NECTFL25 conference and was lucky to see Christina Margiore‘s presentation, “Keep the Conversation Going with Chat Mats.” It made me aware of all the benefits of bringing them into the classroom. I feel that Chat Mats have been an underrated teaching tool! After attending her session, I’m inspired to incorporate them more into my class. These simple yet powerful resources help create a low-stress environment where students feel more confident using the target language. Whether you teach elementary or older students, Chat Mats can be a game-changer for encouraging communication and keeping conversations flowing.
What Are Chat Mats?
Chat Mats are visual supports that provide students with key phrases, sentence starters, and vocabulary related to a specific topic or conversation structure. They can be laminated sheets, paper printouts, or even digital versions for interactive activities. The goal is to give students a scaffolded way to engage in meaningful conversations without feeling overwhelmed.
Why Use Chat Mats?
Chat Mats help reduce anxiety by giving students a safety net when speaking in the target language, making them feel more comfortable and less afraid of making mistakes. They also encourage authentic conversations by allowing students to mix and match sentence stems rather than relying on memorized dialogues. Additionally, they provide structured support, especially for younger learners who benefit from visuals and key phrases to help them communicate their thoughts. Best of all, Chat Mats are highly adaptable—you can use them for different themes, grammar structures, or cultural discussions, making them a versatile tool for any language class.
How to Use Chat Mats in Class
Here are a few easy ways to incorporate them into your lessons:
Partner Conversations – Give each student a Chat Mat and have them take turns asking and answering questions.
Role-Playing Activities – Assign students different roles and scenarios, using the Chat Mats as a guide.
Exit Tickets – Before leaving class, students can use their Chat Mats to share something they learned or a sentence they created.
Small-Group Discussions – Use Chat Mats to guide students through a structured discussion related to your lesson’s theme.
Storytelling – Have students use their Chat Mats to describe characters, settings, or events in a story.
Weekend Chat Mat
Ready to give it a try? Download this weekend Chat Mat to start using it with your elementary or novice level students right away!
Chat Mats are one of those tools that help students feel successful while making your job easier. They support language production, build confidence, and keep students engaged in conversation. If you haven’t tried using them yet, give them a go and see how well they work!
