Upper School Spanish News - Fall

It's been a wonderful semester so far!

It is a great joy to work at a school for over 20 years and experience the growth of our program.

We’ve added more foreign language options for Upper School after hearing requests from the students. So far we offer German, French, and Spanish, and the children love it!

We started the year by asking the students how they learn best and what they enjoy most during our Spanish lessons. Almost everyone asked for more conversation. Together we created many conversation flash cards. We start and finish our classes with the students choosing their own conversations cards and practicing with another student. The conversations are a fun way for foreign language students to practice without embarrassment.

We still use the Total Physical Response method in our lessons, as well as TPRS (Total Physical Response Storytelling) Reader Theatre, which highly engages students in understanding our stories and lessons. Using this method, we play games like "Simón dice," Simon Says.

Some of our younger Upper School students requested to use a grammar book that had previously been used only with the oldest students. This was another opportunity to follow the child! Once they demonstrated that they were ready to use this book, they started working with it. Their excitement about the lesson helps their learning.

We work with Spanish stories, and students practice listening, translating, understanding, answering questions, personalizing their stories, sequence writing, reading, and finally acting out the play.

We don’t want to miss those tender moments; therefore, we observe. I move around often and see joyful students who are excited to learn. We sing, dance, play, practice handwork, and have lessons, and all activities are in Spanish.

I’ve heard many parents say, “I wish I learned another language using this approach!”

Come be a part of our Spanish lessons!

Mucho amor,

Maria Asunción