Spanish Update

I think I can actually say, we are enjoying Rosetta Stone Spanish.  I described our rocky start in Spanish earlier this year.  We are just finishing Unit Two of the Spanish 1: Homeschool Edition. 

Unit One had 12 Lessons (one week each) and Unit Two had 10 Lessons.  We take an additional week after each unit for quizzes, review and unit testing.  Because Rosetta Stone Spanish 1 & 2 has a total of 12 units, this program will take three years to complete.  According to our accredited homeschool high school program, these three years will be identified on our high school transcript s as:

Introduction to Spanish

Spanish 1

Spanish 2

During this first year, we have already been introduced to reflexive verbs, present progressive verbs, present perfect verbs and future tense verbs.  I am confident, after three years of Rosetta Stone, my students will be well-prepared for college level courses in Spanish.

6:59 AM - Mar. 8, 2008 - comments {0} - post comment

Rosetta Stone Spanish

This is the first year we are using  Rosetta Stone Latin American Spanish,  the "Homeschool Edition."   It is a very slick, interactive computer-based curriculum.  The kids have whizzed through the first five lessons completing the various exercises for each lesson.  We don't use the voice recognition feature because we are also in a Spanish co-op with a native speaker and work on correct pronunciation there.  Then I started giving them assignments in the workbook to assess their ability to apply the lessons in written form.  This is where we hit a snag.

Their cumulative ability to write out  vocabulary (with the correct spelling) did not keep pace with their ability to negotiate the ongoing computer comprehension exercises.  Also, the grammar presented in the lessons are in context of each lesson, not systematically introduced as they were in our Latin curriculum.

So we started over.   I now use the Student Study Guide as the basis of our lesson plan.  This is our current Rosetta Stone lesson plan:

Monday: 

 Introduce all new vocabulary.  Write each new word in the vocabulary section of their NEW Spanish notebook;  look up and write the  translation; complete ORIENTATION exercises on the computer.

Tuesday:

Introduce the first grammar concept on the white board with examples.  Students copy this into the grammar section of their Spanish notebook; complete PROGRESS exercises on the computer.

Wednesday:

Introduce the second grammar concept on the white board with examples.  Students copy this into the grammar section of their Spanish notebook; complete the corresponding workbook page for the lesson.

Thursday:

Review the grammar concepts and add the third concept  on the white board with examples.  Students copy this into the grammar section of their Spanish notebook; complete a minimum of two test exercises on the computer and report scores to mom.

Friday:

Do assigned Spanish homework for co-op class (unrelated to Rosetta Stone lesson plans) and attend class with native speaker.  Grammar topics and vocabulary occasionally overlap. 

This system has worked so much better for mastery.  We are now on lesson #9.  If anyone else is attempting to teach Spanish using Rosetta Stone, I recommend using a written notebook, the workbook exercises and the lesson review tests to verify adequate mastery and progress.

10:24 AM - Oct. 10, 2007 - comments {0} - post comment