Why do students get stuck in third person, and how can I help them move through it?

There are a few reasons why students get stuck in the third person, and there are specific things in the curriculum—and things you can add—that can help move them through it.

Why students get stuck in third person

• The “bare” verb is often closest to the 3rd person singular in Spanish, like corre (runs) or camina (walks). This is usually the first form of a verb to appear (reference: Ordered Development; see VanPatten, The Nature of Language: A Short Guide to What’s in Our Heads, ACTFL Publications, 2019). For example, the nosotros (we) form shows up for students much later in their language development than 3rd person singular or 1st person singular.
  
  
• Students tend to hear the third person form more often. It’s easier to link to meaning as it usually just means one thing (e.g. corre (runs) = runs).
  

• Ask questions using the tú (you) form, and restate student responses using the yo (I) and nosotros (we) forms. This is one reason why dice (says) is introduced right away.
•  See this article on PQA
  

• Use or add dialogue to stories.
  
  
• After finishing a story, try a Write and Discuss written as if you are the main character. This extends the story and makes great use of como si fueras (as if you were).
  
  
• Instead of adding one character, add twins. The characters must use nosotros (we), and others must refer to them in plural.

3. Horizontal conjugation activities

• These start to appear in Unit 3. The idea is to change the perspective of the sentence (paragraph, story). 
• Read more here
  

• This game provides more robust exposure to the yo (I) form.
• See this activity