Span1 ch14

14. ¿Tienes hermanos?

14. ¿Tienes hermanos?

Brothers and sisters This section introduces some new words and phrases to help pupils exchange information about their immediate families.

For young learners the emphasis in conversation is likely to be on how many siblings they have and so the focus here is on brothers and sisters rather than covering the vocabulary for parents and other close relatives.

To make sure that pupils have the opportunity to practise language that is wider than that relating specifically to their own circumstances, many of the activities revolve around “imaginary” families.

However, teachers will still need to be sensitive to individual pupils' circumstances.

In this section pupils will start hearing the plural form of nouns - unless you have already introduced some in relation to pets.

HOW SPANISH WORKS The most common way of asking if a person has any brothers and sisters is simply to say “¿Tienes hermanos?” Although the word hermanos literally means “brothers”, it is used in this context to include both brothers and sisters.

Similarly, the children who say “No tengo hermanos” are saying that they do not have any brothers and sisters. No tengo is a very useful phrase that can be used in a whole range of situations whenever you want to say that you do not have something.

Saying that you have more than one brother or sister: To say that you have more than one brother, you add “-s” to the word hermano Tengo dos hermanos. It is exactly the same when you want to say that you have more than one sister - Tengo dos hermanas.

The general rule for plurals is that you add “-s” to words ending with a vowel and “-es” to words ending with a consonant.

NEW WORDS AND PHRASES

un hermano una hermana dos hermanos dos hermanas

a/one brother a/one sister two brothers two sisters

VIDEO section 14 The video sequences alternate between graphic representations of different combinations of brothers and sisters and Spanish children talking about how many brothers and sisters they have.

¿Tienes hermanos?

Have you got any brothers or sisters?

GRAPHICS

No tengo hermanos

Tengo un hermano Un hermano

I haven't got any brothers or sisters

Scenes from video section 14: “Tengo un hermano.”

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Tengo una hermana Una hermana

Scenes from video section 14: “Tengo una hermana.”

14. ¿Tienes hermanos?

CHILDREN

Tengo un hermano Tengo un hermano

Introducing the written word

Tengo un hermana Yo tengo una hermana

Each of the key words and phrases are heard again. This time the words are superimposed over the picture. You may choose not to show this when first presenting the video to pupils.

You can show it at a later date when they have had plenty of opportunities to practise the new words and phrases orally. They will then be ready to make more connections between the written word and pronunciation.

GRAPHICS

Dos hermanos

Dos hermanas

CHILDREN

Tengo dos hermanos Tengo dos hermanas GRAPHICS

Tengo un hermano y dos hermanas Tengo tres hermanas y dos hermanos Yo no tengo hermanos No tengo hermanos CHILDREN

KEY SOUNDS

No tengo hermanos No tengo hermanos Yo tengo una hermana Tengo un hermano Tengo dos hermanos Tengo dos hermanas

hermano / hermana reinforcement of silent“h”

Activities Before watching video section 14, it is a good idea to have a brief “warm up” session to remind pupils of all the key words and phrases they now have at their command for talking about themselves and finding out about other people. You could, for example, ask several pupils their names, ages, birthdays and whether they have any pets. It is also a good idea to play one or two quick games which reinforce this vocabulary.

Scenes from video section 14: “Tengo dos hermanos.”

QUESTION & ANSWER:

Children answer the question ¿Tienes hermanos? “¿Tienes hermanos?”

“No.” “¿No?” “No.” “¿Tienes hermanos?”

“Sí, una hermana.” “¿Tienes hermanos?”

“Sí, un hermano.” “¿Tienes hermanos?”

“Sí, tengo un hermano.”

❑ Watch video section 14: “¿Tienes hermanos?” ❑ Echoing: Draw a stick figure of a boy on the board or use the cut out figures from the activity sheet on the OHP. Say “Tengo un hermano.”

Pupils echo the phrase.

Now draw a representation of a girl and say “Tengo una hermana.” Pupils echo the phrase.

Then go on to add another “boy” figure and say “Tengo dos hermanos.” Pupils echo the phrase.

Repeat this with two girls, three boys, etc.

Scenes from video section 14: “Tengo dos hermanas.”

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14. ¿Tienes hermanos? ❑ Now move round the room asking different pupils “¿Tienes hermanos?” Pupils reply according to the picture they hold, e.g. “Sí, dos hermanos”. On another occasion you can ask pupils to respond to the question according to their real circumstances.

It is not always easy for beginners to hear the difference between the sound of the words hermano and hermana, and hermanos and hermanas, particularly in natural, authentic speech.

When pupils are first taking part in the games and activities outlined below, you may find it helpful to use enlarged photocopies or OHP transparencies of the “brother” and “sister” representations on the activity sheet to act as visual prompts. You could also colour in the figures so that they match those on the video to help pupils see at a glance which are brothers and sisters.

When you are playing the games in later sessions, after pupils have had time to get used to the sounds of the new words, you can gradually withdraw the use of these cards as pupils' listening skills develop.

Cultural awareness ❑ When pupils have had the opportunity to practise the words and phrases they need to talk about their brothers and sisters, you could talk with them about aspects of family life in Spain. See this chapter's “talking point”. ❑ Working in pairs: play “snap” Give each pupil a copy of the activity sheet and ask them to cut out the groups of brothers and sisters. In pairs, pupils use two sets to play“snap”. When two identical cards appear one after the other, the first child to correctly call out what is on the card collects the pile.

❑ Play “how many brothers and sisters? 1” Say “Tengo un hermano”. Pupils who have one brother jump up. Then say “Tengo dos hermanos”, pupils who have two brothers jump up. Repeat this with three, four, brothers etc. in sequence.

Then do the same with sisters.

❑ Talking about pets and families: Many of the activities described above can be used for practising the language pupils need to talk about their pets as well as their brothers and sisters.

The plural forms of the pets introduced in section 13: ¿Tienes alguna mascota? are included in “extra words and phrases” at the end of chapter 13.

❑ Play “how many brothers and sisters? 2” You can now move on to vary the order in which you say different combinations of brothers and sisters. You can also include “No tengo hermanos”. Pupils jump up when they recognise the statement that fits their own families.

If your pupils are quick to respond to this, you can follow the examples given on the video and make statements like, “Tengo un hermano y dos hermanas”; “Tengo dos hermanos y tres hermanas”.

❑ Watch video section 14: “¿Tienes hermanos?” again for reinforcement.

CROSS CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

❑ Art and design: Pupils can draw pictures of their brothers and sisters. They can then present their pictures to the rest of the class e.g.

“Tengo un hermano, John y una hermana, Emily.”

Alternatively they could say, “Éste es mi hermano, John; ésta es mi hermana, Emily” and so on.

❑ Play “how many brothers and sisters? 3” Make enlarged photocopies of the activity sheet then colour and cut out the pictures. If these are going to be handled regularly, it is worth mounting them on card.

Give everyone one of the pictures. When you call out, for example, “Tengo dos hermanos y tres hermanas”, the pupils with cards showing two brothers and three sisters hold up their cards.

You could divide the class into two for this activity and make it into a game to see who can be first to hold up their picture.

❑ ICT: Pupils can word process labels for their pictures.

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14. ¿Tienes hermanos? ❑ Drama: Pupils can use their puppets to develop conversations which include the new words and phrases they have learnt for talking about their brothers and sisters. This will give them practice in asking questions as well as responding to them.

Talking point EVERYDAY LIFE IN SPAIN Family life

❑ Drama: Pupils who enjoy role-playing can develop extended conversations which involve talking about and introducing their brothers and sisters and pets. Children could make up names for themselves and pretend to be groups of brothers and sisters meeting in a particular context such as moving into a new house or flat. This will give pupils the opportunity to practise the structure éste es e.g. “Éste es mi hermano Carlos.”

In recent years the birthrate in Spanish families has been falling rapidly and Spain now has the lowest birthrate in Europe. Most families have just one or two children. This is actually causing a real problem for some schools. The numbers of pupils starting school are decreasing so much that class sizes have dropped and teachers' jobs are at risk. In primary schools class sizes are smaller than in Britain and in the country some schools have classes which contain a range of pupils of different ages.

Fifty years ago, three out of four people lived in rural areas. Towns and cities have grown so much that now it is the cities that contain three out of four people.

Football and television viewing are claimed to be the most popular pastimes for Spanish families. People enjoy a wide range of programmes; foreign soap operas dubbed into Spanish have huge audiences.

Many Spanish families still enjoy meeting friends in the evenings after work, particularly in the warm summer evenings. All cities, towns and villages have at least one “square“ or high street and these are usually full of people of all ages relaxing before going home for the evening meal. This includes very young children who often bring their bicycles and balls to play with while the adults talk.

However, the tradition of the entire family taking an evening stroll together before dinner is dying out in many places as more and more people are tempted to stay in and watch television!

Although families are getting a lot smaller, contact with the extended family ( uncles, aunts and cousins as well as grandparents) is still very strong. Birthdays and other celebrations usually involve relatives as well as friends.

❑ Data handling and ICT: Pupils can do a class survey to find out how many people have different numbers of brothers and sisters. The survey can be conducted in Spanish and the results presented in a graph.

See the Early Start website for: ideas for suitable software

www.earlystart.co.uk

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14. ¿Tienes hermanos?

Cultural awareness ❑ If you are linked with a school in Spain, you could arrange to exchange the pictures your pupils have drawn of themselves and their brothers and sisters for similar pictures from their Spanish counterparts.

Without being prompted, many children will include aspects of their own cultures within the drawings.

The pictures we received from our class of 10 and 11 year olds from Calahorra showed a range of interesting features. For example, most of them showed members of their family watching television; several children drew their brothers and themselves in football clothes; one child showed his brother in full cycling kit, another drew his sister and brothers looking out of the window of their house which had shutters on the outside. All this can provide stimulating starting points for discussion

Spanish pupil's drawing of his family.

Cultural awareness ❑ Creative writing: Ask pupils to imagine that they are Spanish children living in a town like Calahorra. Drawing on everything they have found out about what it is like to live in Spain, they can write (in English) about a typical day or week.

EXTRA WORDS AND PHRASES

Mi familia - my family mi madre - my mother mamá - mummy/mum mi abuela - my grandmother mi tía - my auntie mi prima - my cousin (female)

mi padre - my father papá - daddy/dad mi abuelo - my grandfather mi tío - my uncle mi primo - my cousin (male)

Some pupils may be keen to know the words for other members of their family as well as their brothers and sisters, for example when they are drawing pictures of their families and talking about them to the rest of the class, e.g. Ésta es mi madre. If a child draws a family member who does not have an official title, it is perfectly correct to say simply “Éste es Michael” or “Ésta es Susan” as appropriate.

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NOMBRE:

Me llamo

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¿ Tienes hermanos ?

This page may be photocopied for classroom use.

Early Start Spanish “Tú y yo”