About this activity
Sixteen Spanish items with /s/ at the end of a syllable or a word: mes, más, tres, seis, gas, dos, las casas, los niños, dos flores, es mío, nos vamos, adiós, después, ¿cómo estás?, buenos días, los lápices. Coda /s/ is where the sound weakens or aspirates in many Spanish varieties, which makes it a context worth distinguishing carefully from an error.
How to use it in a session
Know the family's variety before you start. In Caribbean and coastal varieties, aspirating or dropping a final /s/ is a normal regional feature and not a speech difficulty — a child who says los niño may be speaking their community's Spanish accurately. Once that is settled, work the plural items — las casas, dos flores, los lápices — since a dropped /s/ there carries grammatical information as well as phonetic.
What to listen for
Listen for the difference between a weakened /s/ and an absent one. Aspiration produces a breathy sound in place of the /s/ and is a regional feature; complete omission across all contexts is a different pattern. Watch the plural phrases, where losing the /s/ removes the plural marker as well as the sound, which has consequences the single words do not.
Carrying it home
These are everyday phrases in a Spanish-speaking home: buenos días, adiós, ¿cómo estás? Asking a family to notice one phrase rather than the sound in general is a task somebody can actually keep up.
Questions
- Is this board in Spanish?
- Yes, all sixteen items are Spanish. This page is in English so an English-speaking clinician can find and evaluate it.
- Is it free?
- Yes, no account and no card needed.
- Is dropping a final /s/ an error in Spanish?
- Not necessarily. In several Spanish varieties, weakening or aspirating coda /s/ is a normal regional feature. Knowing how the family speaks matters before deciding whether it is a difference or a difficulty.