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ESL Resources for Spanish Speakers

Recursos de inglés diseñados específicamente para hispanohablantes

460+ million native speakers
21 Spanish-speaking countries

Common Challenges for Spanish Speakers

False Friends (Falsos Amigos)

Words that look similar but have different meanings can cause confusion.

Embarrassed ≠ Embarazada(Pregnant)
Actually ≠ Actualmente(Currently)
Success ≠ Suceso(Event)
Pronunciation Difficulties

Sounds that don't exist in Spanish require special attention.

  • Initial consonant clusters: sp-, st-, sc- (español → "espanish")
  • Vowel distinctions: ship/sheep, bit/beat
  • Final consonants: tendency to add vowel sounds
Grammar Contrasts

Key grammatical differences that need explicit teaching.

  • Subject pronouns: Often omitted in Spanish but required in English
  • Double negatives: Acceptable in Spanish, incorrect in English
  • Adjective placement: After noun in Spanish, before in English
Verb Tense Usage

Different conceptualization of time and aspect.

  • Present Perfect: Often confused with preterite
  • Progressive tenses: Overuse due to Spanish gerund
  • Will vs. Going to: Single future tense in Spanish

Skill-Specific Resources

Initial Consonant Cluster Practice
Master sp-, st-, sc- sounds without adding initial 'e'

Practice Words:

Spain (not eSpain)student (not estudent)school (not eschool)specialstationscience
Includes audio recordings by native speakers
Vowel Sound Discrimination
Distinguish between similar English vowel sounds
Minimal Pairs Practice
  • • ship / sheep
  • • bit / beat
  • • full / fool
  • • cat / cut

Teaching Tips for Spanish-Speaking Students

Leverage Similarities
  • • Many cognates exist (hospital, animal, natural)
  • • Similar alphabet and left-to-right writing
  • • Shared Latin roots for academic vocabulary
  • • Similar sentence structure in simple sentences
Cultural Considerations
  • • Use examples from Spanish-speaking cultures
  • • Acknowledge linguistic diversity within Spanish
  • • Respect formal/informal distinctions (tú/usted)
  • • Include Latin American and Spanish perspectives

Additional Resources