Not all grammatical styles in Spanish are allowed in English, such as omitting the subject of the sentence. However, the basic SVP (subject, verb, predicate) does work in both. Using this prior knowledge can help students build sentences from the beginning instead of just piecing words together. Given this shared style and a grammatical example for asking questions, even if students do not remember all of the vocabulary they can build basic sentences and carry on basic conversations.
Try translating what the students would say in Spanish into English using this pattern. For example, they may normally say "Yo necesito agua." Knowing the equivalent English terms they could use the same structure to say "I need water."
The easiest way to teach Spanish-speakers English vocabulary is to take advantage of the huge number of cognates, or words that are nearly the same in both languages. A few examples would be "carro/car," "computadora/computer" and "adulto/adult" (Spanish/English equivalents). Students can play matching games or create lists that they can memorize quickly in order to move on to more complex English skills.
To help Spanish speakers with pronunciation try deciphering English pronunciation for them by using Spanish pronunciation clues. Spanish and English share essentially the same alphabet, but letters are pronounced differently in each language. Let the students know that "A" in English is not pronounced often as "ah" as it is in Spanish, but more like "ei."
You can create a list for the entire alphabet this way and even branch out into words. Tell students that the word "people," for example, would be pronounced in their alphabet as if it were spelled "pipl,'' or "TV" as "tivi." Moreover, emphasize the difference between similar sounds such as "V" and "B" as well as "E" and "I," which are hardly differentiated in Spanish but distinctly different in English. Doing so will make the students more understandable to English speakers and enhance their listening skills as well.