General Vocabulary and Word Building

What you will find

This unit sits in the Vocabulary and Topics strand of Spanish language. Most of it is flashcard decks, with quizzes, mind maps, notes and a couple of slide sets alongside. Topics are practical and everyday: Spanish Adjectives 1 pairs English words such as tall, kind and boring with alto, simpático and aburrido, while Nations/Nationalities Spanish Flashcards and Spanish Caribbean Nationalities cover countries and the words for people from them.

Where to start

If you are new to the topic, begin with Spanish Vocabulary- Beginner or Los días de la semana (Days of the week in Spanish). Then move to Spanish Vocabulary- Intermediate and Spanish- Advanced. For exam preparation, look at Spanish IGCSE vocabulary (part 1), Important Vocabulary GCSE Spanish and the A2 deck on racism and immigration. Its excerpt covers chores and meals, such as tidying your room, taking the trash out, dinner and spicy.

Word building

Some resources look at how words are made. The quiz PREFIX SUFFIX AND ROOT WORDS asks whether a part such as anthro works as a prefix, suffix or root. The mind map Prefix/Suffix/ roots explains prefixes like uni, semi and auto with examples. Spanish - False Friends is a useful map for words that look familiar but mislead.

Using quizzes and maps together

1. Read a mind map such as Hobbies or rooms in my house to see the words grouped.
2. Run through a flashcard deck on the same theme.
3. Take a quiz, for example Spanish 1: Greetings and Good-byes or the Module 5 quizzes on stores, clothing and food.
4. Note the words you missed and go back to the deck.

Make it yours

The resources come from many contributors, so styles and levels vary. Teachers can pick a deck or quiz that fits a class. Students can choose one theme this week and see how many words they remember by the end.