Spanish Teacher Podcast: Language Learning Activities

We know how essential the interpretive mode is when acquiring language. In this guest interview, I got a chance to share lots of language learning activities that we can do to engage students in any text at any proficiency level, from native speakers to your Spanish beginner classroom. These language learning activities are flexible and fun, making them perfect for boosting comprehension and confidence. Let’s take a look at reading activities for your language learners!

Meet Our Host

Joshua Cabral is the host of the World Language Classroom podcast. He has done solo and interview episodes on a variety of topics including:

• cultural topics
• using short stories
• grammar lessons and proficiency
• comprehensible input
• listening skills
• and more!!

There are so many interesting topics discussed. His podcast is in English and is great for World Language teachers. You will get a lot out of it you can apply to your Spanish class! It’s a great way to get in some PD while you’re in the car, or taking a walk as he is keeping that in mind with the average length of his episodes. It’s almost like taking an online course by having a cup of coffee and a chat with some teacher friends!

Make sure you subscribe or follow wherever you like to listen to podcasts like Apple Podcasts or Google Play so you don’t miss new episodes! 

And, if you’re looking for more new podcasts for Spanish fluency and Spanish culture, check out this list of the best Spanish podcasts for language learners.

Reading Activities on the World Language Classroom Podcast

In this episode:

• sharing personal stories of literacy
• the Foreign Language Association of North Dakota
• the benefits of reading in the language acquisition process
• simply reading or truly engaging with a text
• activities for any reading:
  • pre-reading
  • during reading
  • after reading and leveraging the content

Why Language Learning Activities Matter in Every Spanish Class

Let’s be honest, no one remembers the grammar worksheets they filled out back in school. What they do remember are the engaging, low-prep, high-impact activities that made Spanish class come alive. That’s exactly what we’re diving into on this podcast episode: how to make your language learning activities meaningful, memorable, and manageable.

In the episode, I share tons of classroom-tested strategies that bring energy and purpose to every reading. Whether you’re using a story from your curriculum or a resource you love, the goal is always the same, engage your students with language learning activities that help them connect, react, and create in Spanish.

You’ll also hear about how these activities work across different levels. Yes, even your Spanish 1 students can dive into real texts with the right supports! From acting out new words to silly prediction games before reading, these techniques help all learners feel successful, no matter where they’re starting from.

​Reading Activities for your Spanish Lessons

These reading activities can be done with your beginner, intermediate learners, and advanced learners in your Spanish class. You can use them with readings on different topics depending on what you’re working on in your classroom. I split them up into pre-reading, while reading, and post-reading activities, but it’s important to note that many of these can mix and match!

It’s also important to note that I learned these activities from all over the place, they’re not all my original ideas.

Pre-Reading Activities

Bunches of Hunches is from Señor Wooly. Students use prompts to attach predictions to stills placed around the room. Use this with reading activities by saving student drawings from year to year. 

PQA or Card Talk – focus on the vocabulary and structures that are coming in the reading that students might need support with to help them build personal connections with. You’ll have students illustrate *something* on the sheet of paper – that something is going to depend on the topic or theme you want to focus on. 

Actions or Gestures – introduce signs from ASL or gestures you’ve made up for new vocabulary, new words or structures. Just make sure you clarify what’s real and what is pretend. Introduce the gestures with vocab chunks, then when you do start reading you can do the gestures along the way.

​During Reading Activities

Parallel Text – use a story that is very similar in structures, NOT the next level of difficulty. Just swap out details, names, etc. Students read and make comparisons, or simply read!

Choral Translation – Teacher reads in the target language, students translate to the shared language of the classroom. Check out the quick video explanation here:

Story Telling or Story Asking – this is a fun way to give the reading to students. So story telling is basically you telling the story out loud, while circling. Story Asking is something like “story madlibs” where students use their language skills to fill in the blanks when you give them the opportunity.

Add Music – while you are reading the story, or telling the story, just add music in the background. Choose the soundtrack based on the story. You can use Youtube videos with instrumental music for a good resource for your students.

Read with Emotion – While Spanish students are reading out loud, call out various emotions and they read with that different emotion. This is a great way to get them using spoken language while reading.

Mentirosa – read something out loud, and make intentional mistakes. When they hear you make a mistake, they call you, Mentirosa! (or whatever word you’d like them to use with you). This is a great way to get students to play with the new language and listening comprehension.

Volleyball Reading – This is basically choral translation, in pairs. 

Speed Date Translate – Take volleyball reading and do it in pairs

After Reading Activities

​Embedded Texts – Students work with expanded or advanced levels of the story you have been reading. You could reinforce Spanish grammar skills by changing the time frame, or just add more details for new words or recycling old words!

Story Retell – out loud, or written

The Most Important Sentence – students choose the X most important sentences, then the (number smaller than X) most important sentences, then find the most important sentence. This is the best way to get your students working on summarization for a Spanish beginner.

Write and Discuss – Students discuss and while the discussion is occurring, the Spanish teacher or students write

Listen, Write, Draw – or any combination thereof!

Marker Grab – students grab a marker if the statement is true, but leave it if it’s false

Lucky Reading Game – from Señora Chase, students answer questions and earn points for their team based on chance.

Mi Lápiz – a great review game that can also be used for re-reading! Use short sentences or simple yes/no, true/false, fill in the blank questions to play with any text

Running Dictation gets students up and moving while they work with a partner or small group. Use it for reading practice by having students play with chunks from a story, or words from a reading you have been working with in class

Reverse Running Dictation – flip Running Dictation and have students say a sentence out loud, then their partner goes to find a corresponding image

New Twists on Reading Tasks for Better Comprehension

You know that pre, during, and post-reading structure? We’re flipping it on its head and making it fresh again with activities your students will ask for by name. I’m talking about reading with emotion, marker grab, and the ever-popular “Mentirosa” game. These language learning activities not only support comprehension but also make your classroom a space where students want to take risks with the language.

So if your reading routines have started to feel a little stale, this episode is full of ideas that are fun for students and easy for you to implement. And the best part? You do not need to reinvent the wheel, you just need a few new tools and a little inspiration.

Be sure to listen in and grab a few new language learning activities to freshen up your next Spanish lesson!

More reading activities: