Spanish 4 You Blog

Why is the Spanish immersion method so difficult yet so important?

Spanish-4-You uses the Spanish immersion method exclusively with our little clients. I instruct teachers to speak Spanish at all times, from day one. This requires great effort, patience and discipline because kids do not understand at first. Some get a kick out of it and love it while others become frustrated. Almost always the kids repeat what they are not supposed to repeat. For instance, if I say, in Spanish: Repite: El perrito es bonito (Repeat-The doggie is pretty) while holding a stuffed dog, they would say: Repeat: The doggie is pretty. In other words, they repeat the word "repeat". Or, if I say: Qué es esto? (What is this?) while holding an object, they would say: Qué es esto? instead of the name of the object. It is incredibly hard to hold a one hour class entirely in Spanish for the first 3 sessions. By the fourth session, the kids start getting the hang of it and they start realizing how much fun it is to call familiar objects in a different way. Small children are like sponges and they are able to reproduce sounds and remember words effortlessly. When they finish our short 8 week program (one hour per week), this is what they know really well in Spanish: Simple Commands like Come here/Sit down/Stand Up/Listen/Look/Write/Sing/Repeat/Give me, basic greetings like Hello/GoodBye and how to say their names, where they live and how they are feeling, basic colors, basic pets and farm animals and how to describe them and how to say which ones they like/don't like and finally numbers 1-10. 

The power of Bingo in Spanish classes

I always knew Bingo was fun but I never realized what a powerful teaching tool it is. I created fun bingo games for each one of our Spanish-4-You lessons and asked the teachers to incorporate them into their teaching. The reason I created them initially was to "break" the routine not thinking too much about it. However, the teachers are raving about how much their kids love it. The students study the vocabulary ahead of time just to be ready and look forward to playing at the end of each lesson. Their behavior is of course excellent because they know what a "privilege" playing bingo is.

I have been playing Bingo with my own students for a while now and I am also very happy with the results. Just this morning, I used Bingo at the end of a normally not-so-interesting lesson, School Objects. Knowing that they would be playing bingo at the end, my 10 year old students finished the written exercises in record time. They were even rushing and helping each other...super cute! We spent the last 15 minutes playing and they were thrilled. It was also great for me because I was able to determine which words they needed extra help with.

Bingo can be played in a variety of ways. I prefer not to use translations, only pictures. I say the word twice and the student needs to place the chip on top of the picture. The same picture can be presented twice on the card so they need to pay close attention. They know that if they do not know the vocabulary well, they might miss a chance to win (we give out great little prizes) so they study a lot. The first one to win, gets the best prize (can be candy) but we continue playing until everybody wins something. I encourage all language teachers to use Bingo as part of their curriculum.

 

 

Spanish-4-You Kids lesson with Mr. PotatoHead

Lucinda Moore is an adorable 5 year old who is home-schooled. I teach her and her 7 siblings once a week at their home in Long Beach, CA. I divide the class up in two sections: the little kids have a different curriculum than the older kids. Since the older kids were learning the Body Parts, I brought Mr. Potato Head. We were videotaping some of the older kids when Lucinda expressed interest in playing with Mr. Potato head. I asked her father to shoot a spontaneous video even though Lucinda had never learned the Body parts vocabulary. She is a very fast learner and picked up the words very easily through visual cues and constant repetition. Lucinda is a delightful child and her great personality is evident in this short video. Notice how the lesson is conducted entirely in Spanish. I encourage Spanish teachers and Spanish-speaking parents to adopt the Spanish only immersion program. I know it is easier to just switch to English when children do not understand but that is the wrong thing to do. Kids are like sponges and can learn Spanish in record time if the instructor or parent puts in the effort.

Spanish class for home-schooled children in Los Angeles

Couple of weeks ago I gave a Spanish demo to an amazing group of moms & kids in Long Beach, CA. I was impressed by the Great Educational Experiences MeetUp Group in Long Beach, CA. This is a place that offers exceptional classes for home-schooled children. I am honored that our Spanish class will be offered on Mondays, starting on September 13th from 10-11AM (K-3rd graders) and 11-12PM (4-6th graders) at Paint & Glaze, 3960 N. Studebaker Rd. #101, Long Beach, CA. Anyone can sign in. This is the GEE blog. Check it out!