Talking About Languages

Overview

Lesson 6 of 18 in ¡Hola! Spanish Foundations. Students build on greetings and basic personal language by using hablar to say which languages people speak. Through narrow listening, structured questioning and scaffolded pair talk, they practise accurate pronunciation and the first- and second-person forms hablo and hablas.

Learning intentions

• WALT use hablar to say which languages people speak.
• WALT form and pronounce hablo and hablas accurately.
• WALT ask and answer a simple question about languages.
• WALT listen for familiar language patterns and respond spontaneously.

Success criteria

• I can form hablo and hablas accurately.
• I can pronounce the two forms clearly.
• I can use each form in a spoken sentence.
• I can ask and answer a question about which language someone speaks.

Curriculum links

• Languages – key stage 3: speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, including through discussion and asking questions.
• Languages – key stage 3: continually improve the accuracy of pronunciation and intonation.
• Languages – key stage 3: know, apply and understand the specified language skills and processes.
• Languages – key stage 3: provide suitable preparation for further study.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Retrieval hook. Open with the visual hook and retrieval questions: display speech bubbles showing familiar greetings and the question “¿Qué idiomas hablas?” without translation. Teacher uses gesture and questioning to elicit any known words; students answer with a greeting, a language they recognise, or an educated guess. Reinforce the class values of Enjoy, Respect and Achieve by celebrating risk-taking.

2. 5–12 min · Narrow listening and noticing. Play the short, repeated listening sequence in the narrow-listening sequence three times. Use a clear, slow model containing: “Hablo inglés”, “Hablo español”, “¿Qué idiomas hablas?” and “Hablo inglés y español”. First, students indicate whether they hear hablo or hablas; second, they identify the language; third, they write or point to the form they hear. Keep teacher explanation brief and use structured questions such as “Who is speaking?”, “Which ending changes?” and “What stays the same?”

3. 12–20 min · Form, meaning and pronunciation. Display the colour-coded verb forms in the colour-coded grammar and pronunciation slides. Teacher models hablo and hablas, highlighting the different endings and using choral repetition, backchaining and silent mouth rehearsal. Students complete the first section of the dyslexia-friendly language practice worksheet, matching each form to its meaning and highlighting the endings. Check understanding with mini whiteboards or fingers: 1 for hablo, 2 for hablas.

4. 20–29 min · Guided sentence building. Teacher demonstrates how to build and say two sentences using the verb frames on the guided sentence-building slides: “Hablo ___” and “¿Qué idiomas hablas?” / “Hablo ___.” Students complete the worksheet sentence frames, selecting suitable languages from the word bank, then rehearse each sentence quietly, with a partner and finally to the teacher or another pair. Insist on accurate vowel sounds and the final -s in hablas.

5. 29–38 min · Scaffolded pair talk. Display the question-and-answer routine in the pair-talk instructions. In pairs, Student A asks “¿Qué idiomas hablas?” and Student B answers “Hablo ___”; then they swap roles. Students repeat with new language choices and aim to speak without reading every word. Partners use the worksheet checklist to listen for the correct form, pronunciation and a complete sentence. Circulate, praise effective communication and briefly recast errors rather than interrupting fluency.

6. 38–45 min · Challenge and exit check. Invite confident pairs to perform a short exchange about several people, using y or también, following the model on the challenge and plenary slides. All students complete the final worksheet box: write one sentence with hablo, one with hablas in a question or answer, and self-rate confidence from 1–5. Select a few students to say one sentence aloud; collect responses to identify who needs further rehearsal.

Resources

• the complete introduction, modelling, listening and plenary slide deck
• the dyslexia-friendly language practice worksheet
• Audio recording or teacher-read narrow-listening script
• Mini whiteboards and pens
• Visualiser or board
• Coloured pens or highlighters
• Seating arranged for pairs

Assessment

• During narrow listening, check whether students distinguish hablo from hablas and understand the changing endings.
• Listen during pair talk for accurate verb formation, pronunciation, question formation and willingness to respond spontaneously.
• Use the final worksheet responses and confidence rating as an exit assessment; group students for targeted pronunciation or verb-ending practice next lesson.

Differentiation

• Support learners with colour-coded verb endings, a language word bank, bilingual visuals, gesture, repetition and sentence frames: “Hablo ___” and “¿Qué idiomas hablas?”
• Provide dyslexia-friendly worksheet text: clear sans-serif font, generous spacing, short lines, minimal visual clutter and highlighted key endings. Allow students to listen to or rehearse the transcript before reading independently.
• For pupils needing additional processing time, provide a pronunciation rehearsal partner and permit them to point to a prompt before speaking. Do not require public performance without rehearsal.
• Extend advanced learners by asking and answering about several people, combining languages with y or también, and sustaining a short exchange with reduced prompts.

Extension

• Create a three-person mini-dialogue in which each person says which languages they speak; include y or también.
• Ask a follow-up question to a partner and report one answer to the class using a complete sentence.