Spanish pronunciation maze: words containing the sound 'th' in European Spanish
This Spanish pronunciation maze activity makes a great lesson starter and can be either preceded or followed by retrieval practice of the pronunciation ‘rules’. Individually, in pairs or in teams, students make their way through the maze, from cero to cien, by following the words that contain the sound ‘th’ in peninsular Spanish.
The words are ones that students are likely to have encountered already and/or to find useful. When they get to a word that they don’t know, they can either apply the pronunciation rules or else proceed by elimination (if they haven’t reviewed the rules yet).
For bonus points, early finishers can also translate the words into English. All students could translate the remaining words for homework and/or use them in sentences, according to the appropriate level of challenge.
Answers are provided.
The pronunciation 'rules' from the teaching notes:
- The letter Z always makes the sound ‘th’ in Spanish from Spain. In Latin American Spanish, it makes the sound ‘ss’.
- When it is directly followed by the letter E or I, the letter C makes the sound ‘th’ in Spanish from Spain. In Latin American Spanish, it makes the sound ‘ss’.
- When it is followed by the vowels A, O or U, or by a consonant, the letter C makes the sound ‘k’ in Spanish.
