Monday, February 13, 2012 9:52 AM
Using Hand Gestures for Conversation in Spain
Written by Lisa Escolar
NETC Educational Travel Tour Director in Spain (See NETC's educational tours to Spain)
Most people are familiar with the stereotype of passionate Spaniards having animated conversations at top volume, while punctuating their every word with a movement of the hands. It’s not uncommon to see groups of people gesticulating wildly while in conversation. And while some of it can be classified as general hand-waving used for emphasis, there is a whole array of particularly Spanish hand signals with very specific meanings.
Everyone has given a good job the thumbs-up before, or maybe had their coach assign them “time out” or even “I’ve got my eye on you.” Here are examples of some of the most common Spanish gestures to add to your repertoire:
Classroom Activity
Along with this brief guide to Spanish hand gestures, here are some ideas to incorporate in class:
- Which gestures could you teach a Spanish exchange student for use in your school?
- Split into teams, have one team sign a message and the other win points for knowing the verbal equivalent (in Spanish).
- Have each team pick three or more gestures, opposing teams are challenged to make up a narrative/skit (in Spanish), which is to include the gestures picked.
- Make up your own dictionary of gestures to go with other expressions.
I hope you learned something new about Spanish forms of communication and enjoy using these suggestions in your class!
-Lisa
By Lisa Escolar on Monday, February 13, 2012 9:52 AM
Categories:Spanish Language Learning, Spain, Experiential Learning, Education, Tour Directors, Travel