Important note: these classes are meant to expose students to a new language and culture. One 45 minute class a week will not lead to fluency by itself. It’s important to stress that regular repetition and other activities that involve speaking in and listening to Spanish are important to maintain and build vocabulary and confidence.
Class Overview
Most children and adults trying to learn a foreign language express embarrassment and dismay at not being able to speak perfectly, so they don’t speak. I have discovered from personal experience that waiting until you can speak perfectly leaves the learner frustrated, and severely curtails learning. By fostering an atmosphere of play, creativity and curiosity, I offer the space for children to use their natural enthusiasm to help them learn and want to engage with others – others who are happy to engage with them, whether they speak perfect Spanish or not.
Students will learn correct pronunciation, vocabulary and sentence structure through various types of learning that will appeal and be accessible to all learning styles.
Goals of the Class
My primary goal is to teach Spanish in a way that is fun and interactive, so both kids and adults learn without realizing that they’re doing so as much as possible. My goal is not perfect repetition, rather fostering progressive confidence in the language.
Assessment Methods
- Written work
- Oral questions and answers to gauge comprehension
- Team competitions to test vocabulary and knowledge
- One-on-one checks in with kids about favorite/least favorite/hardest parts of class
Activities – (Kids)
Each class will start with a short game or exercise meant to help kids calm down and focus for the remainder of the class. There will be a single topic for each class, (i.e. days of the week or greetings); games, vocabulary and project work for the day will focus on that topic. Classes will end with either a bilingual book or, later in the year, a children’s book in Spanish.
Other activities:
- Interactive games
- Group activities
- Written work
- Songs to learn/remember vocabulary