Spanish Program in Lower School

Soledad Villagomez

Goals of the program

• Communication: develop and enhance the language skills through listening comprehension, speaking, writing and reading opportunities.
• Expose the students to the culture of the Spanish-speaking world and foster appreciation of these cultures.
• To develop high levels of proficiency in Spanish at the beginning stage of language acquisition (FLES source https://barcroft.apsva.us/programs/)

Teaching philosophy and overview of the program

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• Provide an enjoyable learning environment so the students feel secure in their learning, and are not afraid of taking risks and participating in class
• As global citizens, students will learn to appreciate other cultures.
• Provide a challenging and engaging environment for each child.
• The curriculum addresses a variety of learning styles.
• The class is taught using 90 % in Spanish (ACTFL recommendation)

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Methods of Teaching

• Hands-on activity.
• TPR (Total Physical Response)
• Music
• Drama
• Puppets
• Games
• Books
• Videos
• Pair and group activities.
• Computer games and lab.

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JK Themes

• -Nos Conocemos: Greeting, goodbyes, Family-friends and Community.
• Cómo Vivimos: House, Places in the community, Clothes and Professions.
• Vamos Aprender: School, Calendar and Activities at school.
• Animales: Pets animals, Farm animals, Body and Movements from animals

SK Themes

• -Nos Cuidamos: Body parts, Food-Nutrition and Healthy Habits.
• Nuestro Ambiente: Calendar, Seasons and Places to visit.
• Los Aparatos Electrónicos: Professions, Tools and Mean of Transportation.
• Celebrations: Hispanic Celebrations, Hispanic Music Musical instruments, Dances and games.

Modes of Communication:

Interpersonal

• Two ways of communication (conversation)
• Students engage in direct oral and/or written communication with others by exchanging information in a meaningful and appropriate way.

Presentational

• Is one way of communication.
• Students present different information about themselves and others using posters, brochures or speeches.

Interpretive

• One way communication
• Students understand the main idea and relevant details in a variety of videos, and written texts such as books, magazines or messages.

Examples of activities in the three modes of communication

Laura Terrill

12

Presentational

Interpretive

Interpersonal

Interpersonal

Interpretive

Presentational

Cultural understanding of the Spanish Speaking world

After finishing Fourth Grade the students who have been attending Beasley for six years, are expected to reach the Novice-Middle to Novice-High range level of proficiency. This proficiency target is determined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

What is the level of proficiency for Beasley students after completing Elementary with around 40 hours of instruction in a school year?

https://www.actfl.org/

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ACTFL Profeciency Targets

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These include modern alphabetic languages taught via elementary school/middle school FLES programs at a minimum of 3 times per week and a minimum of 90 minutes of instruction per week�

Assessment

• Two types of assessment: formative and summative.
• Summative is provided by the book we are using at the end of each unit.
• Formative: observation, participation in class, one on one assessment, short retrieval quizzes.

Some facts:�

• Practice and repetition are important. Time and intensity are key in determining the proficiency level in language.
• Children need regular exposures to concepts in order to truly master them (some research suggests 1,500 to 6,000 exposures)
• Children learn a second language the same way that they learn their native language.
• Research shows that children acquire a second language more efficiently if exposed to the second language as much as possible before the age of eight.
• Starting a foreign language before the age of eight (during the ages of 1-7) influences whether or not the Language Student will speak with an accent or not later on in life.
• Learning a world language in early years, develops problem-solving skills that help students in all subjects, including mathematics and their own language.
• Students who have learned another language for many years, show a higher score in their SAT.

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Common Questions:

• Will my child be fluent after fourth grade?
• The goal of our program is to provide the students with a strong communicative language foundation to continue the learning of the language in Middle School. The expectation is that our students graduate from Beasley equipped with a solid beginning level of functional proficiency (strong level of listening comprehension, be able to have a simple conversation answering questions in familiar topic areas using words and short sentences).

• My child said that he/she I studying the same as last year, why is the teacher repeating topics?
• The same as Math or English, the instruction in Spanish is cyclical, that means we build on past lessons to go further with the complexity in language what, at the same time, increases fluency.

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Help at Home

• Resources listed on the student resource webpage.
• Different websites found on the portal, such as Raz-Kids, Rockalingua, Quizlet.
• Books and e-books found through our school library website.
• Songs
• Videos dubbed in Spanish.
• All of these help to reinforce the vocabulary and expressions at home.