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The Magic of MnemonicsLearning Spanish Through Mexico
MODULE 3

Spanish Sounds I

Can-DoI can use core Spanish sound-spelling relationships to pronounce familiar and guided unfamiliar words.
0 of 82 Practice Rolls completed
Spanish VowelsH and JÑ and CHLL and Y

What you will learn

You will stabilize the five Spanish vowel sounds, learn how h and j behave, distinguish ñ and ch, and recognize the common Mexican relationship between ll and consonantal y.

Lesson 1

Spanish Vowels

What You'll Learn

What You'll Learn

In English:You will use stable Spanish vowel sounds instead of changing the vowel sound according to English spelling habits.

Spanish vowel letters are much more consistent than English vowel letters.

Sound Pattern

a · e · i · o · u

In English:the five Spanish vowel letters

Each vowel has a stable sound. Listen to the model and keep the vowel quality consistent across familiar words.

Keep in mind:The goal is intelligibility, not an exaggerated accent.

Say it / Notice:Formal vowel sounds; Recall all known words.

Known-Word Example

hola

In English:hello

Use this already-known word to hear and Recall the stable Spanish vowels. No new vocabulary is introduced.

Say it / Notice:Focus only on the vowel sounds.

Known-Word Example

posible

In English:possible

Use this already-known word to hear and Recall the stable Spanish vowels. No new vocabulary is introduced.

Say it / Notice:Focus only on the vowel sounds.

Known-Word Example

nombre

In English:name

Use this already-known word to hear and Recall the stable Spanish vowels. No new vocabulary is introduced.

Say it / Notice:Focus only on the vowel sounds.

Known-Word Example

adiós

In English:goodbye

Use this already-known word to hear and Recall the stable Spanish vowels. No new vocabulary is introduced.

Say it / Notice:Focus only on the vowel sounds.

Spanish ↔ English Comparison

Spanish ↔ English Comparison

In English:English vowel letters can represent many different sounds. Spanish vowel letters are far more consistent.

Do not guess a Spanish vowel from an English word that looks similar. Read the Spanish vowel with its Spanish sound.

Lesson 1 · Practice Roll 1

Stable vowel check

Listen to a · e · i · o · u. Which choice shows the same order? A. a-e-i-o-u B. e-a-o-i-u C. a-i-e-u-o

Lesson 1 · Practice Roll 2

Stable vowel practice

Say the five Spanish vowel sounds aloud in this order: a · e · i · o · u.

Lesson 1 · Practice Roll 3

Vowels in a familiar word

Listen to hola. Which vowel sequence do you hear? A. o-a B. e-o C. a-i

Lesson 1 · Practice Roll 4

Vowels in a familiar word

Listen to nombre. Which vowel sequence belongs to the word? A. o-e B. a-o C. i-a

Lesson 1 · Practice Roll 5

Cognate pronunciation with stable vowels

Read posible aloud using Spanish vowel sounds. Do not pronounce it with English vowel habits.

Lesson 1 · Practice Roll 6

Use the Vowel Pattern in a New Situation

Pronunciation practice only — not vocabulary. Read: ma · me · mi · mo · mu.

Lesson 1 · Practice Roll 7

Known-word vowel practice

Say adiós aloud with clear Spanish vowels. The roll is about sound, not learning accent rules yet.

Lesson 1 · Practice Roll 8

true cognates vowel use in a new situation

A sign is visible. Read visible aloud as Spanish, using the stable vowel sounds.

Lesson 2

H and J

What You'll Learn

What You'll Learn

In English:You will recognize that Spanish h is normally silent and that Spanish j does not use the English J sound.

The course models a contemporary Mexican-Spanish j sound.

Sound Pattern

h

In English:normally silent in Spanish

Do not add an English h sound just because the letter is written.

Say it / Notice:Recall stable vowels around the silent h.

Known-Word Example

hola

In English:hello

The h is written but does not contribute an English-style h sound.

Say it / Notice:Focus on the vowels and the lack of consonant sound from h.

Known-Word Example

hache

In English:name of the letter h

This familiar letter name also begins with written h. The first h is silent.

Say it / Notice:Listen for the remaining sounds rather than pronouncing English h.

Sound Pattern

j

In English:Mexican-Spanish j sound; not English J

Use the audio model. Do not pronounce j as the English sound in 'job'.

Say it / Notice:New j rule; Recall vowel sounds.

Known-Word Example

jota

In English:name of the letter j

Use the already-known letter name to example the Spanish j sound.

Say it / Notice:Focus on the initial j and stable vowels.

Spanish ↔ English Comparison

h / j

In English:Spanish h / Spanish j

English spelling habits are unreliable here: Spanish h is normally silent, and Spanish j is not English J.

Keep in mind:Use the written letter plus the Spanish sound rule rather than English guessing.

Lesson 2 · Practice Roll 9

Silent-h check

In hola, what sound does the written h contribute at the beginning? A. English h B. No consonant sound C. English j

Lesson 2 · Practice Roll 10

Silent-h practice

Say hache aloud. Keep the initial written h silent.

Lesson 2 · Practice Roll 11

Sound Practice: Silent h

Pronunciation practice only — not vocabulary. For written ha, which beginning is correct? A. Add an English h sound B. Begin with the vowel a

Lesson 2 · Practice Roll 12

Mexican-Spanish j example

Say jota aloud using the Mexican-Spanish j model, not the English J sound in job.

Lesson 2 · Practice Roll 13

Sound Practice: Spanish j

Pronunciation practice only — not vocabulary. Read: ja · je · ji · jo · ju using the same Spanish j relationship.

Lesson 2 · Practice Roll 14

Choose the correct rule

Which statement is correct for the course's Mexican-Spanish model? A. h and j both use English sounds. B. h is normally silent; j uses the Spanish j sound. C. j is silent; h uses English h.

Lesson 2 · Practice Roll 15

Identify h vs j from known forms

Listen to hola, then jota. Which one begins with an audible consonant sound in the course model? A. hola B. jota

Lesson 2 · Practice Roll 16

h/j sound contrast

Pronunciation practice only — not vocabulary. Read the pair ha · ja so the first has silent h and the second has the Spanish j sound.

Lesson 3

Ñ and CH

What You'll Learn

What You'll Learn

In English:You will recognize and pronounce ñ and ch and remember that ñ is a modern Spanish alphabet letter while ch is a letter combination.

This connects the spelling work from Module 2 to pronunciation.

Sound Pattern

ñ

In English:the Spanish letter eñe / ñ sound

ñ is one letter in the modern Spanish alphabet.

Say it / Notice:New ñ sound; Recall stable vowels.

Known-Word Example

eñe

In English:name of the letter ñ

Use the already-known letter name to example the ñ sound.

Say it / Notice:Focus on ñ plus the surrounding vowels.

Sound Pattern

ch

In English:the ch sound/spelling pattern

ch is an important Spanish sound-spelling pattern, but it is not a separate modern alphabet letter.

Say it / Notice:New ch pattern; Recall stable vowels.

Known-Word Example

hache

In English:name of the letter h

The middle ch in hache gives you a familiar example of the ch sound.

Say it / Notice:Focus on ch and the stable vowels.

Lesson 3 · Practice Roll 17

Ñ example

Say eñe aloud and focus on the ñ sound.

Lesson 3 · Practice Roll 18

Sound Practice: ñ

Pronunciation practice only — not vocabulary. Read: ña · ñe · ñi · ño · ñu.

Lesson 3 · Practice Roll 19

CH example

Say hache aloud and focus on the middle ch sound.

Lesson 3 · Practice Roll 20

Sound Practice: ch

Pronunciation practice only — not vocabulary. Read: cha · che · chi · cho · chu.

Lesson 3 · Practice Roll 21

Alphabet-vs-pattern distinction

Which statement is correct? A. ñ is a modern Spanish alphabet letter; ch is a letter combination. B. ch is a separate modern alphabet letter; ñ is not. C. Neither is used in Spanish.

Lesson 3 · Practice Roll 22

Distinguish ñ from ch

Listen to the guided forms ña and cha. Which one begins with ñ? A. first form B. second form

Lesson 3 · Practice Roll 23

ñ/ch sound contrast

Pronunciation practice only — not vocabulary. Read the pair ñe · che.

Lesson 4

LL and Y

What You'll Learn

What You'll Learn

In English:You will recognize the common Mexican relationship between ll and consonantal y.

Use 'often close to English y' only as an initial bridge, not as an absolute phonetic rule.

Sound Pattern

ll ↔ consonantal y

In English:ll and consonantal y commonly share a closely related sound in Mexican Spanish

Listen to the Mexican-Spanish audio model. The English y comparison is only a starting approximation.

Keep in mind:Regional pronunciation can vary; the course targets a contemporary Mexican model.

Say it / Notice:New ll/y relationship; Recall vowel sounds.

Known-Word Example

me llamo

In English:my name is / I am called

You learned this phrase in Module 2. Now notice the ll sound rather than treating it as new vocabulary.

Say it / Notice:Focus on ll; do not re-Learn the pronominal grammar here.

Known-Word Example

¿Cómo te llamas?

In English:What is your name?

Recall the familiar question and listen for ll with the new sound relationship.

Say it / Notice:Question intonation remains active; focus on ll.

Known-Word Example

ye

In English:name of the letter y

Use the known letter name to connect written y with its Spanish name. The sound relationship learned here concerns consonantal y in words.

Keep in mind:Do not assume every y in every position has exactly the same pronunciation.

Say it / Notice:Audio models the distinction.

Spanish ↔ English Comparison

ll / y

In English:Spanish ll / consonantal y

English y can be a helpful first approximation for many English speakers, but the Spanish sound must come from the audio model rather than an English spelling rule.

Keep in mind:The course does not present one English sound as an absolute rule for every speaker or context.

Lesson 4 · Practice Roll 24

LL in a familiar expression

Say me llamo aloud and focus on the ll relationship in the Mexican-Spanish model.

Lesson 4 · Practice Roll 25

LL in a familiar question

Say ¿Cómo te llamas? aloud. Keep the question intonation and focus on ll.

Lesson 4 · Practice Roll 26

Y letter-name versus consonantal-y relationship

Which statement is safest for this lesson? A. ye is the Spanish name of the letter y, and consonantal y in words uses the course audio model. B. Every y in every position must sound exactly like English y. C. y has no sound in Spanish.

Lesson 4 · Practice Roll 27

Sound Practice: ll

Pronunciation practice only — not vocabulary. Read: lla · lle · lli · llo · llu using the course's Mexican ll model.

Lesson 4 · Practice Roll 28

Sound Practice: y

Pronunciation practice only — not vocabulary. Read: ya · ye · yi · yo · yu using the course's consonantal-y model.

Lesson 4 · Practice Roll 29

LL/Y relationship check

Listen to the course models for lla and ya. Which statement best matches this lesson? A. They commonly use closely related consonantal sounds in the Mexican model. B. They must always be completely different. C. Both are silent.

Review & Reuse

Review & Reuse

Recall current and prior Spanish you have learned in different situations.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 30

Greeting + vowel clarity

Ana meets Roberto in the morning. Take Ana's role: greet Roberto, keeping the vowels clear.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 31

Greeting understanding

Roberto greets Ana with audio: Buenas tardes, Ana. Identify the time-of-day meaning, then repeat the Spanish greeting aloud.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 32

Evening greeting

Ana and Luis meet at night. Choose the appropriate greeting, then say it to Luis.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 33

Morning vs afternoon

Roberto hears Buenos días and Buenas tardes in two different meetings. Which one belongs to the morning? Say that Spanish greeting.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 34

Greeting-to-closing

Ana greets Roberto with Hola. Roberto responds. End the short exchange with the learned closing.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 35

Ask/give name + ll/y

Ana asks Roberto ¿Cómo te llamas? Take Roberto's role and answer with his name, keeping the ll sound in llamo consistent with the course model.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 36

Name-question understanding

Luis hears ¿Cómo te llamas? from Ana. Identify what Ana wants, then answer as Luis.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 37

Mi nombre es

Roberto greets Ana, then gives his name using the Mi nombre es… pattern rather than Me llamo…

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 38

Two name patterns

Ana says Me llamo Ana. Roberto says Mi nombre es Roberto. Which Spanish phrase means 'My name is Roberto'? Reproduce it.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 39

Vocative + name

Luis wants to greet Ana directly by name at the beginning. Give the greeting with correct comma placement.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 40

Ask for spelling

Ana does not know how Roberto's name is spelled. Take Ana's role and ask the learned spelling question.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 41

Spell Ana

Roberto asks ¿Cómo se escribe? Ana answers by spelling Ana with Spanish letter names.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 42

Recognize spelled name

Ana spells Luis to Roberto: ele · u · i · ese. Which familiar name did she spell? Say the name.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 43

Fix the spelling order

Roberto wants to spell Ana but says a · a · ene. Identify the correct Spanish letter-name order and say it.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 44

Letter-name recall

Ana asks Roberto for the Spanish letter names of H and J because they are practicing today's sounds. Give both names in order.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 45

Vowels in hola/posible

Ana and Roberto compare hola and posible. Read both aloud with stable Spanish vowels; do not use English vowel shifts.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 46

Vowel stability in nombre

Roberto says nombre. Ana repeats it. Listen and reproduce nombre without changing the vowel quality as English might.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 47

Spell and pronounce hola

Ana says hola to Roberto. Now spell hola with Spanish letter names, then pronounce hola again.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 48

posible with -ble

Roberto says Es posible. Ana repeats only posible, using Spanish vowels and the already-introduced -ble relationship.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 49

adiós

Ana closes with adiós. Listen, repeat it, and keep both Spanish vowels clear.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 50

hola

Ana greets Roberto with hola. Say hola without adding an English h sound.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 51

hache

Roberto says the Spanish letter name hache while Ana also uses hola. Which one names the letter H? Say it.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 52

jota

Ana asks Roberto for the Spanish name of J. Say jota using the course's Mexican j sound, not English J.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 53

hache vs jota

Roberto reads hache and jota. Listen and identify which word contains the Mexican j sound, then repeat it.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 54

hola + jota

Ana says hola; Roberto says jota. Give both, keeping h silent in hola and using the Mexican j sound in jota.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 55

eñe

Ana asks Roberto for the Spanish name of Ñ. Give the letter name and pronounce the ñ sound clearly.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 56

hache

Roberto says hache. Ana listens for ch. Repeat hache and make the ch relationship clear.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 57

cha

Pronunciation practice only — not vocabulary. Ana and Roberto are practicing sounds. Read cha after Ana says hola.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 58

eñe vs hache

Ana says eñe; Roberto says hache. Which one is the modern Spanish alphabet letter Ñ? Say that word, then say the ch-containing word.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 59

Ñ and CH concept

Roberto asks Ana about the alphabet. Respond in English to the concept check, then pronounce the Spanish examples eñe and hache.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 60

me llamo

Ana answers Roberto's name question. Give Me llamo Ana with the course's common Mexican ll/y relationship.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 61

¿Cómo te llamas?

Roberto asks Ana her name. Say the complete learned question, keeping ll aligned with the course Mexican model.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 62

ye

Ana spells a name and Roberto asks for the Spanish name of Y. Give the letter name learned in Module 2.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 63

me llamo + ye

Listen to Me llamo and ye. Reproduce both, noticing the common Mexican relationship between ll and consonantal y.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 64

ll/y conversation

Ana asks ¿Cómo te llamas? Roberto answers Me llamo Roberto. Take both roles aloud, keeping the ll/y relationship consistent.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 65

later review

Ana asks Roberto whether something is possible with ¿Es posible? Roberto answers Sí. Repeat the key cognate word.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 66

later review

Ana and Roberto are checking whether two things work together. Use the true cognates in Es compatible.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 67

later review

Roberto describes a process that can be undone. Give the Spanish cognate after Es.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 68

later review

Ana points to something that can be seen. Give Es visible and pronounce v with the Spanish b/v relationship.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 69

later review

Roberto reacts to a very bad situation. Give Es terrible, keeping Spanish vowels clear.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 70

Positive answer

Ana asks Roberto ¿Es posible? Listen and give the shortest positive answer.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 71

Negative answer

Roberto asks Ana ¿Es posible? Take Ana's role and give the shortest negative answer.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 72

No es posible

Ana states Es posible. Roberto needs the learned negative version. Give it.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 73

Es muy posible

Roberto wants to strengthen Es posible. Use the learned word muy to build the stronger statement.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 74

Adiós after yes/no

Ana asks ¿Es posible? Roberto answers Sí. Now take Ana's role and close the exchange.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 75

Conversation Review

Ana and Roberto meet in the morning. Give: greeting → ask name → answer as Roberto.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 76

Conversation Review

Ana greets Luis in the afternoon, then asks how his name is spelled. Give the greeting and spelling question.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 77

Conversation Review

Roberto meets Ana at night. Give the evening greeting, say Mi nombre es Roberto, then close.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 78

Conversation Review

Ana greets a man respectfully in the morning. Use the learned title señor, then close.

Review & Reuse · Practice Roll 79

Conversation Review

Ana and Roberto practice names and pronunciation. Give: Hola, Roberto. / ¿Cómo te llamas? / Me llamo Ana. / Adiós.

Combined Practice

Combined Practice

Use Spanish you have already learned together; no new Spanish is required.

Combined Practice · Practice Roll 80

Work Out True Cognates

A process can be undone. Read reversible aloud as Spanish, using the vowel and consonant habits you have learned.

Combined Practice · Practice Roll 81

Combined sound-rule matching

Match each familiar form to the sound relationship being highlighted: 1. hola 2. jota 3. eñe 4. hache 5. me llamo A. ll relationship B. silent h C. Spanish j D. ñ E. ch

Apply & Communicate

Apply & Communicate

Show the module Can-Do in a new situation.

Apply & Communicate · Practice Roll 82

Put Pronunciation and Reading Together

Read this short set aloud using the Spanish sound rules, then identify the highlighted relationship for each item: hola · jota · eñe · hache · me llamo · compatible. The last item is true cognates, not a new vocabulary card.

Extra Practice

Extra Practice

These extra practices appear only when you used Hint or Reveal on an earlier Practice Roll.

Keep going.

Complete the Apply practice and any extra practice that appears.

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