There are five vowels in Spanish: A, E, I, O, U. Each vowel is pronounced only one way. To teach vowels effectively, you need to focus on building basic vocal skills and then do a variety of exercises so that your students can pronounce the vowels correctly.
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Part 1 of 2: Explaining the General Rules
Step 1. Notice that there are only five vowels in Spanish
The vowels are each pronounced the same way. There is a notable difference with regard to the number of vowels in Spanish which is only five compared to the other 14 vowel sounds found in English. By knowing this, the students are sure to be able to pronounce Spanish words in an acceptable manner.
You also need to explain the difference between Spanish and English. In English, the context of a word in a sentence can affect the way it is pronounced (for example, I live in that house vs I saw the band at a live show"), in Spanish the position of the word will not affect the way vowels are pronounced in English. the word
Step 2. Notice that vowels in Spanish are shorter than vowels in English
For example, the vowel sound in the letter "O". When you pronounce the letter “O” in English, it will sound like “Oooohwa”. In Spanish, the sound is much shorter and staccato, so it would sound like: "Oh."
Although this is not a complete explanation of learning pronunciation as a beginner, it is very important to understand and apply these pronunciation rules if you want your students to achieve the abilities of a native Spanish speaker
Step 3. Ask students to write vowel sounds based on English words and then pronounce them aloud
This can provide guidance for students as they try to pronounce vowel sounds correctly and make them sound more natural.
- The vowel sound "A" is the same as the sound "a" in the word father.
- The vowel "E" is the same as the "e" in the word elephant.
- The vowel sound "I" is the same as the sound "e" in the word be. These vowels can be confusing because they sound the same as the English "e" vowel, so explain this to your students.
- The vowel sound "O" is the same as the "o" sound in oh or October. This letter sound is always short with a silent ooh.
- The vowel "U" sounds the same as the "u" sound in the word flute or the word uno in Spanish.
Step 4. Explain the definition and discuss diphthongs
After the students understand the five vowel sounds, then they can pronounce the combination of these vowel sounds.
When two vowels come together, there will be one strong sound (“a”, “e”, “o”) and one weak sound (“i”, “u”), or two weak vowels (“ui”). students need to learn how to combine two vowels into a syllable to form a diphthong
Step 5. Train students to recite the diphthongs
Students must pronounce the first vowel in a word and then pronounce the second vowel in the word. They have to repeat the pronunciation of the vowel faster so that it sounds like a single syllable. For example:
- “ai” or “ay” should sound like eye in English or like aire in Spanish.
- “ei” or “ey” should rhyme like hay in English or like rey in Spanish.
- “oi” or “oy” should sound like oy in English or like voy in Spanish.
- “ui” or “uy” sound like muy or Luis.
- “he” should sound like the word piano in English or like the word media in Spanish.
- The “ie” should sound like the word eh in English or the word cielo in Spanish.
- “io”, as in the Spanish word delicioso.
- “iu”, as in the Spanish word viuda.
- “au” should sound like the word ow in English or the word auto in Spanish.
- "eu", as in the word europa in Spanish.
- “ua”, as in the Spanish word cuadro.
- “ue”, as in cuesta in Spanish.
- “uo”, as in the Spanish word cuota.
Part 2 of 2: Doing Various Activities
Step 1. Demonstrate the movement of your mouth in pronouncing each vowel
Draw a bowl-shaped or smile-like line on a chalkboard. Write the vowels in a row from left to right under the line you have made in this order: “i, e, a, o, u”.
- Mark or draw the end of the line with the letter "i" which is the front of the mouth and the other end with the letter "u" which is the back of the mouth or the entrance to the esophagus. Don't worry too much about the picture as long as it's clear and easy to understand.
- If you can make a sagittal picture, then draw it. Sagittal is an image that includes the head, mouth, nose and neck, much like an image you may have seen in a doctor's office.
- Ask students to listen as you recite the five vowels without pausing or taking a breath. Move your mouth and lips slowly and excessively as you pronounce them. The sound of "i" should be pronounced with lips that spread out like a smile showing teeth. However, you should purse your lips as if you were about to kiss when you pronounce the "u" sound. This can make the students chuckle a little, but that's okay as long as they pay attention to your mouth movements.
- Be sure to emphasize the movement of your tongue when pronouncing the vowel sounds. The tongue should be placed in front when you pronounce the "i" sound, then raised when you pronounce other vowel sounds. Place it in a relaxed position when you pronounce the "a" sound then place it at the back of your mouth towards your throat when you pronounce the "u" sound.
- After you have demonstrated this to the students a few times, then ask them to try it for themselves. Ask them to practice moving their mouths slowly in an exaggerated manner in pronouncing each vowel sound.
Step 2. Use the Taco Bell menu
You can use any restaurant menu you want, but choosing a popular fast food menu like Taco Bell can help students make activities more enjoyable.
- Make a copy of the Taco Bell menu and give it to your students.
- Ask students to read the menu aloud, pronouncing the words you like as they pronounce the words in English.
- Then, ask students to reread your items with an acceptable pronunciation of Spanish vowels.
- Ask the students to circle at least five points of the pronunciation mistakes they made and then discuss the problem with the students. List the problems students face on the board.
- Focus on helping students reread the menu with the correct pronunciation of the Spanish they have circled and the difficulty.
- As a fun follow-up activity, take the students to a typical Spanish restaurant and then ask them to order food with Spanish food names they may not know (with the correct pronunciation, of course).
Step 3. Make a song in Spanish
Use an existing Spanish song online or create your own version using a blackboard and chalk or an erasable pen.
- Write the lyrics of a Spanish song that contains many vowels on the blackboard. Make sure there is enough space between each line of the song lyrics so students can read them clearly.
- As you show each word in the song, ask students to pronounce the word aloud. After that, ask students to string each word together so they can read or sing a line of the song aloud.
- Ask them to continue reciting until they can sing a verse or part of the song. Give suggestions on their pronunciation and on ways to improve the pronunciation of these vowel sounds.
- If your chosen song has a recorded version, then play the song so students can figure out the correct pronunciation of the vowel sound.
