Sep. 1, 2009
Interview with a Spanish Teacher/Una Entrevista con una Maestra de Español
Posted in grammar and language helps
 I'd like to introduce you to Debbie, and amazing homeschool Mom who lives and teaches her children in Alaska. You can find her blog and learn more about her life here. If this blog looks familiar to you, it is because this is the same lady who graciously brought us the Spanish Lapbook. (Learn more about it here).
Prior to homeschooling her two boys, Debbie worked as a public school Spanish teacher. She puts her knowledge and experience to work teaching Spanish to her own children, and we are fortunate today that she is willing to share some of her wisdom with us. What follows is Parte Uno of a recent conversation Debbie and I had about teaching Spanish at home:  Kathleen: Hi Debbie! Thanks for taking your time to answer a few questions. First, what inspired your interest in Spanish, and what made you decide to become a Spanish teacher? Debbie: I can't even remember what inspired me to want to learn Spanish. Subjects that involve language (i.e. language arts, grammar, reading, etc.) have always been so much easier for me than say, math. Don't ask me to multiply and divide, that is for sure! So I guess because of my strength with words as opposed to numbers I gravitated towards learning other languages. Spanish seemed like a natural choice way back when I was in high school living in Colorado. There were many Spanish speakers in my area. Another reason for learning Spanish was I loved the sound of it! Truth be told though, I have always wanted to learn Italian (also because I loved its sound), but Italian wasn't offered at my high school. So my choice became Spanish. It has served me well...better than Italian would have. Since the United States is the 5th largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, I have had plenty of opportunities to use it. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to become a teacher... so I guess it was just a natural for me to follow that path. Combining Spanish and teaching seemed like a great choice for a career path! Kathleen: I confess to a fascination with Italian as well! I find that having studied Portuguese and Latin as well as Spanish, that I can understand a lot of it. Moving on, what would you say is the main difference between teaching Spanish in a classroom and teaching it at home? Debbie: I have taught Spanish in a public school, as a private tutor, and to my own kids. Teaching Spanish in a large group setting (i.e. public school) was far more difficult. When there are about 30 kids in a class I couldn't give every kid enough opportunities to speak the language. A smaller group or private lessons help kids go farther and faster when learning a language. Actually, a small group setting is by far the best. The student gets enough practice time and yet has a few people to interact with. When I was teaching in a classroom I had to be more structured in my approach... teaching at home has allowed me to branch off and do fun things with my kids that I would never be able to do with a big group.  Kathleen: So it sounds like the homeschool teacher has a big advantage over the large classroom situation. But what is a parent supposed to do if they haven't studied Spanish, and want to use a prepackaged curriculum? What do they look for, and how do they compare programs? Debbie: It is tough to choose a program especially if you don't know the language. The other hard part is that no program is perfect. But here are some things to conisder and do when looking into a program: *Read reviews about other programs. Here are some options: Homeschool Reviews The Curriculum Choice TOS (This Old Schoolhouse) Crew Reviews The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Reviews *Does the program use these five aspects of language in its teaching of Spanish: listening, reading, speaking, writing, and culture? *Is it kid friendly and user friendly for the parent? *Will it fit your child’s learning style? *At home, we use Rosetta Stone. Although it isn’t perfect, I have liked it so far. For me, I love the fact that it is completely in Spanish! Here is a short review I wrote for another website. |
Comments