About this activity
Twenty-five Spanish words grouped by target sound: sol, sopa, silla, sapo and sal for /s/; ratón, rojo, rueda, río and rosa for /r/; luna, lápiz, leche, libro and lobo for /l/; chico, coche, chaqueta, mochila and noche for /ch/; niño, araña, uña, montaña and piña for /ñ/. The /ñ/ group is the one with no English equivalent and the reason a Spanish board is needed rather than a translated one.
How to use it in a session
Call one sound group at a time until you know where the student is. Twenty-five mixed words spends most of a session on sounds that are already fine. Ask for the word before the square is covered, and for a phrase before the second — a lotería board is a lot of repetitions dressed up as a game, and requiring the phrase doubles them. Fifteen minutes is a full board.
What to listen for
Listen for the /ñ/ words specifically. It is a palatal nasal with no English counterpart, and a bilingual student may produce it as /n/ plus /y/ — niño as ninio — which is worth distinguishing from a genuine difficulty. Watch the /r/ group, where a single tap and a trill are different sounds in Spanish and substituting one for the other changes words.
Carrying it home
Sol, luna, leche and noche are everyday words in a Spanish-speaking home. Asking the family to notice one word rather than a sound gives them something concrete, and it works in the language they actually use.
Questions
- Is this board in Spanish?
- Yes, all twenty-five words are Spanish. This page is in English so an English-speaking clinician can find and evaluate it.
- Do I need an account?
- No, it plays free with no login.
- Which sounds here do not exist in English?
- The /ñ/ as in niño, and the trilled r. Neither has an English equivalent, which is why they need Spanish practice material rather than a translated English deck.