¡BIENVENIDAS! - Welcome!

Welcome! BIENVENIDAS! We will have a very successful year learning Spanish. This introductory course focuses on the basic structure, pronunciation, listening, reading, and writing of the Spanish language. You will explore grammatical structures as well as proper punctuation.

I encourage you to check this blog everyday, as well as EDMODO. I have an Edmodo Group for our class (ESPAÑOL I). I will give you a handout on how to join this group. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me (Señora Feld).

We will work using the ¡Aventura! Texbook and the ¡Aventura! Workbook. Learning a foreign language takes time, dedication and practice. There are well over 35 million Spanish speakers in the United States alone; so learning Spanish sounds like a great idea! It can increase your chances of getting a good job. In Europe, Spanish is also the second most popular second language, after English. Spanish is the fourth most commonly spoken language in the world. Spanish is an official language on four continents and is the mother tongue in 21 countries. The sheer number of Spanish speakers and their rate of growth makes learning Spanish a smart choice. Learning Spanish will (truly) expand your universe. Spanish is what we call a "Romance" language, meaning that it is based on Latin, the language of the ancient Roman Empire.
 
Many English words are also of Latin origin, and so when you learn vocabulary in Spanish you will simultaneously be expanding your English vocabulary. You will also find that your understanding of the deep meaning of these Latin based English words is greatly enhanced. Also, as you study the grammar of Spanish, you will notice how it is similar to English, as well as how it is different. This will raise your awareness of the grammar of your native language. Because Spanish is very nearly phonetically perfect, you can look at almost any word and immediately know exactly how to pronounce it- because Spanish is very consistent in its spelling and pronunciation rules. This characteristic makes Spanish one of the easiest languages to learn. And, when it comes to learning a third language, such as French or Italian, already knowing Spanish will be a huge advantage because these languages, too, are Romance Languages.

Also, learning Spanish will allow you to better appreciate Hispanic cultural contributions.
 Learning Spanish is fun! Check: http://www.studyspanish.com/topten_reasons.htm.

We will start learning the vowels: A E I O U (how to pronounce them in Spanish) and the alphabet (el alfabeto or abecedario): A B C CH D E F G H I J K L LL M N Ñ O P Q R RR S T U V W X Y Z (and how to pronounce these letters). The letters that I underlined are no longer considered separate Spanish letters per the latest recommendations by the Academia Real Española, but I added them because you will find them as part of the Spanish alphabet in many websites and books. Just keep in mind that officially the Spanish Alphabet consists of 27 letters. We will also work on Capítulo 1 ("¿Cómo te llamas?") and Capítulo 2 ("En mi colegio") during our First Quarter, starting with greetings and farewells and "¿Cómo te llamas?" (what is your name?). You will also learn the verbs "Ser" and "Estar" (verb "to be" in English), many interrogative pronouns (question words) and the location of all the Spanish-speaking countries and important information about these countries. You will also learn how to tell time in Spanish, and which are the definite and indefinite articles (that accompany nouns) and a lot of Spanish vocabulary!

Any questions, please feel free to ask Señora Feld. Advice: write all the words and expressions (from Chapters 1 and 2) on index cards (3" x 5" index cards cut in half) with the definition on the back and study them, memorize them, understand them! At the end of each Lesson and at the end of each Chapter you will find the words and expressions learned ("Palabras y expresiones") and the Vocabulary ("Vocabulario"). You should also write the information regarding Capítulo 1 above in your notebook. Feel free to review Capítulo 1 in your textbook, pages 1 - 17 (Lección A). Try to understand. It's up to you to become proficient in speaking and writing Spanish! YOU CAN DO IT! ("¡Lo puedes hacer!")

IMPORTANT ADVICE:
Take advantage of the ¡Aventura! Internet Resource Center and other websites -CHECK THE LINKS ON THE RIGHT SIDE UNDER "Fave" Links- to learn Spanish. I need you to listen to the mp3's on the section "Textbook Audio Program" in the ¡Aventura! site - just click on them (you can also download them in your computer, if you wish, pressing Download Chapter 1A and Download Chapter 1B). You can start with El Alfabeto (página 2). Then move to Vocabulario 1 (página 2), Activity 1 (página 3), and Diálogo (página 4). Also watch Basic Conversation 1 and Basic Conversation 2 (You Tube Videos with Señor Jordan) - under "Fave" Links.

You will learn the following words and expressions from Capítulo 1:
¡Hola! (Hi!) ¡Hola! ¿Cómo te llamas? Me llamo… (your name). Also, ¿Cómo estás? Bien gracias, ¿y tú? Other responses: Muy bien (very well), gracias; or muy mal (if you’re not feeling well); or regular (you can also say más o menos). If asking a person you don’t know, or a teacher or older person, you want to use “usted” instead of “tú.” ¿Cómo te llamas? Is when you ask a younger person, or another classmate, or someone your same age: What’s your name? or ¿Cómo estás? - How are you? (also using the second person “tú”). If using “usted” - use ¿Cómo se llama usted?

Conjugation of "Estar" - an irregular verb
Present indicative (presente del indicativo): 

Yo estoy, tú estás, usted/él/ella está, nosotros/as estamos, vosotros estáis, ustedes/ellos/ellas están. Watch the Present Tense of "Estar" link with Señor Jordan - under Favorite Links or click "Estar".

Uses of "Estar": 
Estar is used to talk about location (location of a person or an object): Example: María está en la biblioteca (María is in the library). Another example: El libro está debajo de la mesa (The book is under the table). It's also used to express conditions and opinions (including impressions, feelings or emotions). Examples using conditions: Marcos y Elena están nerviosos (Marcos and Elena are nervous) or Marisa está siempre contenta (Marisa is always happy). Examples of opinions: El pescado está muy bueno (The fish is very good).

Quiz: Thursday, September 19, 2013. (If I follow the new Test Schedule, I should only give you quizzes and tests on Days 3 and 6). Including whatever we cover up to this date and "Greetings!" Handout - all the vocabulary words (greetings and farewells). Review Workbook pages 1-3 and Textbook pages 1-20.

Test: Thursday, September 26, 2013 (I want to keep the test on this day - but if you are loaded with other work, please let me know in advance and I'll move it to Friday, Sept. 27). Quiz material plus whatever we cover up to this date. Also Subject Pronouns handout and the "Verbo Estar." Check Edmodo too. You should learn the names of at least eight (8) Spanish-speaking countries (no capitals). I won't ask you the numbers this time, but start learning them! Check the Numbers (Números) links on "Fave" Links - on the right.