How to teach the differences between ser and estar
The reason
The first thing we need to avoid is giving a list of uses for each verb, or acronyms which conveniently summarize that list. Why? It is very simple. We must prevent students from stopping to think in the middle of a sentence if the verb they need is ser or estar based on that list. If they stop, it is to review the list that they have memorized in order to find the appropriate use, and then decide on one of the two verbs. This situation is not recommended during a conversation because it is an unnatural pause. Furthermore, from a pedagogical point of view, we should ask ourselves what we have achieved by causing this situation.
My personal recommendation, based on my many years of experience, is to give just a few basic uses that are easy to remember and use, which, by the way, won’t cause that unwanted pause mid sentence.
Ser and estar
I recommend explaining that ser is used to describe (people, animals or things), and estar is used to express temporary states, location, and for the formation of the present progressive. If the students are beginners, the use of the present progressive can be discarded in order to further simplify the explanation. By providing several examples, I think these uses can be illustrated. As students progress, they will be able to refine all these uses more and more.
Examples and uses of ser and estar
As an example of the verb ser for describing (people, animals or things):
Mi prima es alta, arquitecta, chilena, generosa...
These adjectives could be discussed with the students so as to see what they describe. Of course, there are endless possibilities. The recommendation is that the chosen adjectives describe different realities in order to generate a productive discussion with the students.
Estar is used to express temporary states, location and to form the present progressive.
Mi prima está contenta, cansada, ocupada, enferma, en su casa, en el parque, trabajando, comiendo.
Again, we could proceed to do the same exercise of commenting on the adjectives and see with what use of estar they correspond.
The challenge
Once the differences between the two verbs have been explored, as a final challenge, these two verbs can be put in pairs of sentences whose only difference is the verb itself. The purpose is to see if the students can explain the difference between the pairs of sentences based on the meanings and uses of ser and estar they just talked about.
Antonio es aburrido / Antonio está aburrido
La fruta es verde / La fruta está verde
The exception
Depending on the level of the group, we can decide if we are going to mention an exception when expressing the location of events, for which it is necessary to use ser (and not the expected estar).
La fiesta / el concierto /el cumpleaños… es en mi casa.
