After a Nuevo Prisma A1 class, choose one question from the unit your group has just studied. You may understand a greeting or a timetable in the book and still need a moment to give your own detail aloud. This guide follows the expanded 2014 edition from Editorial Edinumen and uses units 1, 7 and 12. Your publisher audio and teacher's assignments remain the main materials. The original HearSay scenes below are optional extra settings.
The three scenes are spread across the volume: checking in at a Camino hostel, asking about a pool's hours and planning a holiday. The Nuevo Prisma A1 companion hub links them with the other original courses. Choose the example nearest your classwork. You can use the same practice idea with a recording from the book.
Quick answer: Choose the unidad your Nuevo Prisma A1 class is studying. Listen to a short exchange from the book or an original companion scene, answer one question aloud using your own details, then check one uncertain phrase. Bring that question to your next class. The three examples below show how to adapt this to different chapter themes.
Start with the chapter you are using
Start with a short passage from the publisher's Nuevo Prisma A1 material or an original scene. Listen once for the situation, then pause at one question and give a true answer of your own. Check a word or form you were unsure of and try again without reading. You do not need a fixed daily schedule for this optional practice.
A between-class routine is to focus on a single, real question from your current unidad. Instead of passively reading through the vocabulary list, you listen to a short audio passage, whether it is from the publisher's official CD or an original companion scene. Listen to a character ask a question, such as asking for a name, a time, or a holiday destination. Then, pause the audio.
If the recording asks where someone is from, answer with your own town rather than copying the character's detail. If you do not know the exact word, say what you can and keep a note of what you wanted to add.
Write down one sentence you tried to say and the part that made you hesitate. Check your chapter, then ask your teacher about anything still unclear. A classmate can ask a follow-up. Alone, you can make a second recording with one detail changed.
Unidad 1: Checking in on the Camino
In Unidad 1 of Nuevo Prisma A1, titled ¿Qué tal?, you learn the absolute basics of Spanish interaction. You cover formal and informal greetings, subject pronouns, the alphabet, and the verbs ser and llamarse. This is where you build your linguistic foundation. To practise these concepts between classes, you can use an original companion course from HearSay called Checking in on the Camino.
This optional scene is set at the front desk of a pilgrims' hostel in Burgos, on the famous Camino de Santiago, at half past eight on a May evening. A tired Irish pilgrim named Kieran arrives on foot, and Begoña, a volunteer at the desk, helps him register before the hostel closes. Because they are on the Camino, they immediately use the informal tú form with each other, which is a perfect way to practise the informal structures you are learning in your textbook.
To use this scene, or any similar introductory dialogue from your Nuevo Prisma A1 audio, try this specific routine. First, listen to the exchange purely for meaning. Focus on how the characters greet each other and how the volunteer asks for the pilgrim's name and surname.
Next, replay the section where the volunteer asks the pilgrim to spell his surname. This is a direct application of the Spanish alphabet you study in Unidad 1. Pause the audio immediately after the question. Now, instead of spelling "Walsh" like Kieran does, spell your own surname aloud in Spanish. If your surname is "Smith", you will say "ese, eme, i, te, hache".
Finally, listen to the volunteer guess where the pilgrim is from. When she guesses incorrectly, the pilgrim corrects her and states his actual nationality. Pause here and practise your own correction. If someone guesses you are Spanish, practice saying, "No, no soy español, soy inglés" or "soy canadiense". This simple variation forces you to retrieve the correct nationality vocabulary and conjugate the verb ser for yourself, turning a passive listening exercise into an active speaking event.
Unidad 7: Opening time at the pool
As you progress to Unidad 7, titled ¡Hoy es mi día!, the textbook introduces daily routines, telling the time, opening hours, and frequency adverbs. You also encounter pronominal verbs and present-tense stem-changing verbs. To bring these grammatical structures to life between your classes, you can explore the HearSay companion course Opening time at the pool.
The setting for this scene is the ticket desk of a municipal outdoor pool in Cáceres, just before ten o'clock on a hot Tuesday morning in July. A local woman named Pilar, who has just retired from her bank job, arrives early for her first weekday swim. She chats with Raúl, a young man who has worked at the pool's ticket desk for three summers. They use the informal tú register, creating a relaxed, conversational atmosphere.
Your listening task for this unit is to focus on how the characters discuss schedules and daily habits. Listen to Pilar ask Raúl about the pool's opening hours on weekdays versus Sundays, and pay attention to how they express the time.
For your speaking variation, focus on the concept of frequency. In the dialogue, Raúl asks Pilar how often she plans to visit the pool now that she is retired. When you hear this question, pause the audio. Instead of repeating Pilar's answer, formulate your own response based on your actual weekly routine. Use the frequency adverbs you are learning in Unidad 7, such as siempre, a menudo, a veces, or nunca.
For instance, say aloud how often you go to the gym, study Spanish, or visit your local library. You might say, "Voy al gimnasio tres veces por semana" or "Estudio español todos los días". By applying these frequency expressions to your own life, you move away from abstract textbook exercises and begin to describe your actual world in Spanish.
Unidad 12: Planning a holiday
The final chapter, Unidad 12, Viaja con nosotros, uses past events, time markers and travel vocabulary. To practise a conversation on that theme, you can use the original scene Planning a holiday.
This scene takes place in a busy travel agency in the centre of Zaragoza on a Monday morning in October. Fernando Gil, a recently retired man, wants to book a November beach holiday for himself and his wife. He speaks with Esther, an experienced travel agent who has worked there for two decades. Because this is a professional interaction between an agent and an older customer, they use the formal usted register throughout, and Esther addresses him as señor Gil. This provides an excellent contrast to the informal tú used in earlier units.
Your listening task here is to track how the past tense is used to describe previous trips. Listen to Esther ask Fernando where they went on holiday last year, and notice how Fernando describes the rainy weather they experienced in Galicia.
To practise this yourself, pause the audio after the agent's question about last year's holiday. Now, describe your own last holiday using the pretérito indefinido. State where you went, when you went, and what the weather was like.
For example, you might say, "El año pasado fui a Italia en agosto. Hizo mucho calor." If you stayed at home, you can say, "El año pasado no viajé, me quedé en casa." This exercise forces you to conjugate regular and irregular past-tense verbs, such as ir, hacer, and estar, in a highly practical context. Check any uncertain past-tense form in Unidad 12 before you try the answer again.
Change the question, not just the answer
After one answer, ask a follow-up question. The three scenes offer different reasons to ask: checking a spelling, confirming a closing time or finding out what someone wants from a trip. Practise with a classmate or imagine the next reply yourself.
You can practise this by reversing the roles in the three scenes we have discussed. If you are studying Unidad 1, do not just practice spelling your name. Imagine you are Begoña at the Camino hostel desk. Practice asking a classmate or yourself, "¿Cómo se escribe tu apellido?" (How do you spell your surname?).
If you are in Unidad 7, do not just state your swimming routine. Imagine you are visiting the pool and practise asking, "¿A qué hora abrís los domingos?" (What time do you open on Sundays?).
In Unidad 12, switch to the formal register of the travel agency. Practice asking, "¿Qué tiempo hizo en Galicia?" (What was the weather like in Galicia?).
If you miss a detail in the audio or encounter an unfamiliar word, do not panic. Use these moments as opportunities to practise clarification phrases. Instead of switching back to English, say aloud, "¿Cómo?" or "¿Puede repetir, por favor?".
Changing the question keeps you listening to the other person's answer. If you miss it, replay just the part that carries the important detail and check what you heard.
Take one useful question back to class
The goal of your between-class practice is not to achieve flawless fluency in isolation. It is to identify a question you can bring to your next class. When you practise speaking at home, you will inevitably run into doubts. You might wonder why Fernando Gil uses estuvieron instead of fueron, or why Pilar uses nosotros in a certain context.
Instead of letting these doubts stall your progress, write down exactly one specific question. Open your Nuevo Prisma A1 textbook and check the grammar summaries at the back of the unidad. If the explanation is still unclear, leave it there. Do not spend your evening falling down internet rabbit holes.
Bring the sentence and your question to class. Your teacher can help you choose the form you need, and you can use it in another short exchange afterwards.
The publisher's audio and your class assignments work for this routine. The Nuevo Prisma A1 companion courses are optional original conversations on related themes.
Disclaimer: HearSay is not affiliated with or endorsed by Editorial Edinumen. Nuevo Prisma A1 is a trademark of its owner. These are our own conversations, written around each chapter's themes.
FAQ
Which edition and chapters of Nuevo Prisma A1 does this guide use?
This guide is designed for the edición ampliada (2014) of Nuevo Prisma A1, published by Editorial Edinumen. It specifically references the themes and grammar of Unidad 1, Unidad 7, and Unidad 12. If you are using a different edition, check your table of contents to match these topics.
Can I use the practice idea without HearSay?
Yes, absolutely. The core routine of listening, pausing, personalising your answer, and noting down a question works perfectly with the publisher's official audio CDs, workbook exercises, or when practising with a classmate. HearSay's companion courses are entirely optional resources.
What if I cannot answer without reading?
If you struggle to answer aloud, check the textbook's vocabulary list for the specific word you need. Try to give a shorter, simpler answer first, even if it is just two words. Note down the grammatical form that confused you and ask your teacher in class.