Never underestimate the importance of flashcards. Whether your student is 13 or 33, flashcards create word associations which will increase your student's vocabulary.
While most flashcards have a word in English on one side and Spanish on the other, try to create flashcards with a picture on one side and the Spanish word on the other.
With this type of flashcard, your student will connect a Spanish word with its image rather than its English translation. Rather than the thought process, "book - libro," your student will see a book and immediately think, "libro."
Although you should make Spanish interesting to your student, some of the grammar lessons are quite tedious. However, they are necessary to her mastery of the Spanish language.
When you teach your student a new verb or verb tense, give her blank verb tables to fill out throughout the week. Some students are frustrated with the very idea of drawing a verb table, so create a blank table in Microsoft Word or Excel and print out multiple copies for your student.
Writing out the words, although repetitive, will improve your student's ability to conjugate the verbs correctly.
After your lesson, give your student homework to complete before the next study session.
Drill the student in all of the aspects of your lesson. Include exercises that call for an English to Spanish translation as well as a Spanish to English translation.
Come up with some interesting drills. Draw a picture of a house with people in it and ask your student to write a story about the picture. Create two columns of words in Spanish and English and ask your student to match the correct words.
If you are using a textbook that comes with a CD, tell your student to listen to a portion of the CD throughout the week. Orally test him on the material during the next session.
If you have a beginner-level Spanish student, you might not be able to have a conversation hour. However, you can set aside as little as three minutes in each session and devote it to conversation.
Practice greetings and common conversational phrases with your student. Once the student is more advanced in her studies, inform her which subject you will be discussing in the next session so she can prepare some answers and questions ahead of time. Regardless of her preparation, the conversation period will encourage your student to think on her feet and listen as well as speak in Spanish.
Once your student knows a few basic verbs, ask him to create a Spanish diary. Instruct him to write anywhere from three to ten sentences for each entry. If your student is studying at a higher level, you can designate a specific subject for each week's entry.
During each study session, ask your student to read his entry out loud so he can practice his pronunciation. Go over the entry with your student and point out his grammatical or vocabulary mistakes. If you want your student to have a better "ear" for Spanish, write your own entry corresponding to your student's level. Read the entry at a moderate speed and ask him to translate your words into English.