Reading & Listening Comprehension
Aligned to ACTFL Interpretive — ACTFL World-Readiness Standards.
What this lesson teaches
When you read or watch something in a new language, you do not need to know every word to understand it. You can use pictures, clues, and words that look like English (called cognates) to figure out the main idea. Good readers and listeners are comfortable guessing from clues.
Worked example
If you read 'El elefante es un animal grande,' the words 'elefante' and 'animal' look like English, so you can guess it means 'The elephant is a big animal' even before learning 'grande.'
Practice questions
- What is a cognate, and why does it help?
- How can a picture help you understand a story you cannot fully read?
- Why is it okay not to understand every word?
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Comprensión de Lectura y Escucha
Cuando lees o ves algo en un idioma nuevo, no necesitas conocer cada palabra para entenderlo. Puedes usar imágenes, pistas y palabras que se parecen al inglés (llamadas cognados) para descubrir la idea principal. Los buenos lectores y oyentes se sienten cómodos deduciendo información a partir de pistas.
Ejemplo: Si lees 'El elefante es un animal grande,' las palabras 'elefante' y 'animal' se parecen al inglés, así que puedes adivinar que significa 'The elephant is a big animal' incluso antes de aprender la palabra 'grande.'
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