How to Infuse Spanish Immersion into Your Curriculum
Spanish is the fourth largest spoken language in the world after English, Mandarin, and Hindi. Mandarin and Hindi are on the list for obvious reasons. China has the highest population on the planet and thus mandarin, India has the second-largest population on the planet and so is Hindi. But Spanish has its relevance differently. It is spoken across different regions. It acts as an official language for almost 18 pan American countries along with Puerto Rico and mainland Spain. Thus, a lot of different cultures and demography share a common language, which itself explains the importance of this language. This pretty much explains why there are now so many Spanish immersion schools in the United States. Texas in particular has some world-class institutions. You can find many private schools in Austin running the Spanish immersion program in their curriculum. Before understanding different ways and criteria’s to infuse Spanish immersion programs in curriculum with ease, let us first understand what exactly Spanish immersion programs are.
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Spanish immersion programs
An immersion program in particular is a creative way of designing a curriculum while infusing a second language and maintaining an overall balance. The idea is to explore a new language while maintaining the required flow in our basic studies. The best Spanish immersion preschool in Austin can develop a lot of positive changes in a student-
• It will help you master a foreign language to its native level, something which will help an individual to understand a new culture and develop a sense of respect for their beliefs.
• Being well versed in 2 languages is of great advantage for an individual because that’s what an integrated world demands. It will also help to develop mental flexibility in a child at a very young age.
• Early age learning will give you a precise understanding of how language works and what are the ways to grasp it quickly. This in the future would serve as a base if you wish to learn a whole new language or anything related.
• It is very important to understand and respect people coming from different regions and cultures at a time when the global community is more connected than ever. so an early introduction to a language immersion program will be vital to understand and respect people from all walks of life.
Consideration for starting a Spanish immersion program
Below is the list few things that will be essentials to start a Spanish immersion program-
• Age of the student
Age acts as a very important factor and most of the best preschools in Austin take this as a keynote. It is conceived that the younger the child is, the better this immersion program works. The idea is to make students well versed in a second language at an early age so they are already competent in both languages when they reach a point where they have to concentrate on a more complex subject.
• The ratio of the language speaker
To be able to speak a language with your colleagues while you are in process of learning is important. The Spanish immersion preschool in Austin tries to maintain an appropriate ratio of native speakers and Spanish speakers. It is mostly in the proportion of 2:1 or some cases 1:1.
• The subjects that are taught in Spanish
The goal for most of the students is to eventually crack national or state exams to give the right direction to their dreams. So these comes could be given in their native language, thus it is important to choose your key vocabulary, and limit the choice of subject which will and can be taught in the Spanish language.
• The lack of support from parents at home
When a student goes back to their homes, no one expects the parents to be able to communicate in a foreign language. They will interact in their native language, thus there is no support back at home, so it all comes down to your dedicated learning and communication in your Spanish immersion school.
• The impact on behavior
There are a lot of behavioral changes that a student is bound to experience in an immersion school. If he or she is not able to cope up with the pressure of a new language, they will start feeling frustrated and disengaged. This will make an impact on their overall development. Thus it is important to look after their little issues and points and resolves them to keep their interest intact.
How to incorporate Spanish immersion in full immersion schools
There are many points one need to keep in mind while planning to incorporate Spanish in full immersion school-
• Which subjects would be the best to teach in Spanish?
At an initial stage when students are younger it won’t matter which subjects you opt to choose to teach them Spanish after it would all be about creating the right set of skills, no matter which way they learn. But when they grow older and start acquiring new vocab and different concepts which will be related to specific subjects, they will have to learn them in their native language to pass the various exams. This is where it gets important to choose the right subject to teach Spanish. Private schools in Austin usually choose the following subjects to teach Spanish.
1) Art, drama, or music
The focus of these classes is more on learning different skills rather the perfecting oneself on a key vocabulary. The examining pattern Is often based on fun performances rather than a typical examination setting. Thus it is the best area to communicate a new language, which will also allow learners to explore a whole different world rather than sticking to a particular thing.
2) Physical education
This is often one of the favorite subjects of the students and they tend to love being part of different activates performed under it. Whether it's the sport, gymnastics, or other fun activities, children can relate better while performing them. Thus introducing Spanish would be a great idea, while ensuring that fun learning becomes a reality.
3) Social studies/citizenship
This is often an appealing subject where students can learn about different communities. Spanish is spoken widely will symbolize different cultures most easily. Children feel more integrated and start speaking for the cause of the global community while learning through this subject.
4) History of Spain and Latin America
It is important to go through the history of regions from where a particular language originated or else is spoken. In the case of Spanish, it would be Spain and most of the South American countries. This will not only help you learn a language but will take you closer to the culture and people who are related to the language.
5) Foreign language
This sounds weird but many private schools in Austin have tried this interesting way to teach a language. Learning a new language through Spanish will make you perfect not only in Spanish but will help you learn the basics of a different language too. It is successful in all the cases but in a few cases, it has done wonders.
How to incorporate Spanish into your school without affecting the curriculum
Let’s discuss what steps the best preschools in Austin follows to incorporate Spanish without really affecting the curriculum.
• Use Spanish in the lunchroom
A very successful way is to introduce it to the children in their lunchroom. It will need changes to make this move a success. Change the appearance of the room by righting slogans about delicious food in Spanish and creating a food menu chart with Spanish food items. Make all the staff and teachers look after the students during the lunch hour speak in Spanish. The right set of the atmosphere will make a huge impact on children. It’s important to make them love the language in the first place before moving to make them learn it in depth.
• Watch or perform Spanish plays and music
Every student loves music and if it’s a theatre company going to perform in the school with all its instruments and bands, who would afford to miss it. Children are attracted to such events and this will help them introduce to an attractive side of the language which they can choose to stick to and learn through it in the process. Organizing a play or a drama, plotting an interesting story, and making students play the role and all this happening in the Spanish language would be wonderful for their development.
• Have Spanish assemblies
Many private schools in Austin that run a Spanish immersion program have a specific day of a week where they host the assembly in Spanish. This helps students to create a habit of listening to Spanish regularly and thus learning in the process. There are times when the school celebrates a cultural festival from Latin America and make sure student narrate about the festival in Spanish and all the rituals are conducted to create a sense of inclusivity among the student for a different culture.
• Create a Spanish newspaper
This is a wonderful activity being conducted by the best preschools in Austin which helps students in enhancing their writing skills in the Spanish language. Students can discuss and write about different topics of national or international importance while interpreting all of them in the Spanish language. This will not only help the students who are engaged in the activity but to all those students too who will read the paper once it is compiled. It Is also one of those great ways where you successfully incorporate the Spanish language without really affecting the curriculum.
• Cover your school with Spanish artifacts
Try to cover every part of the school with Spanish instructions, boards, charts, and whatnot. Make sure the rooms numbers, chart presentations, and other instructions are all written or displayed in Spanish. Creating an atmosphere is a very important part of giving the right learning to the students from the very starting.
How to incorporate Spanish immersion when a full school immersion is not possible
So in case if it is not allowed or for some given reason full school immersion is not possible, we can discuss how exactly one should incorporate Spanish in regular Spanish lessons.
• Go to a tapas restaurant
Organizing a small trip to a nearby tapas restaurant once in a while will make your students enjoy their time while learning about Spanish cuisine. Make sure they interact in Spanish while enjoying their fun time. A food competition could also be conducted within the school premises where students get to choose a Spanish cuisine to cook the same meal and give a vivid description about it to everyone in Spanish. Now, this would not only be interesting but will also help students to learn with a lot of fun.
• Experience Spanish cinema
It is often not viable possible to take students out for a movie, but one could rather set up the movie experience in the school itself. Set up and choose a Spanish film, set up a ticket booth asking students to rehearse buying a ticket while introducing everything about you in Spanish, and then move in to have a good time watching a movie. Later conduct an activity asking students to explain whatever thoughts they have about the movie in Spanish.
• Watch a soccer tournament
Spanish and Latin America have one of the best football leagues in the world. La Liga is one such league in Spain that is very popular and has clubs with a fan base from around the world. Clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona are religiously followed and have the best footballers on the planet. Thus organizing a watch day event with snacks and soft drinks will crave any student. The commentary is in Spanish and thus will help students listen and learn from it.
• Have a Spanish market
Ask the students to be a part of an activity where they have to create stalls and sell anything related to Spanish culture. It could be souvenirs, hand-made articles, crockery items, and a lot more. This will help to integrate with the Spanish culture most easily.
• Plan a fashion week
Plan a fashion fiesta for your student where you introduce them to different ethnic wears from the Spanish-speaking nation. Plan a debate in Spanish where they talk about anyone type of ethnic wear and give a detailed description of it.
• Visit a Spanish school or the Instituto Cervantes
If you organize a visit to a Spanish school for your students, it will turn out to be a surreal experience. It will be something like directly landing into one of that Spanish-speaking nations and getting yourself surrounded by Spanish-speaking people who start briefing you about themselves, about their people, about the Spanish language, about the culture, tradition, and making you feel like one of them. This will be a very crucial experience that will be appreciated by every student who is learning the language.
• Set up a language exchange
There are now a lot of websites and platforms where you can connect your student with a teacher from a Spanish-speaking nation and give a wonderful learning session to your students through the experience of this native teacher. Most of the private schools in Austin also create collaborative projects where students from different nations get to work on a project together and meanwhile get a chance to interact in a foreign language.
• Organize a trip abroad
What better than getting a chance to experience a Spanish language in the Mecca of it? A trip to a Spanish-speaking nation would be a rewarding experience for someone who is toiling hard to learn it in the right way. The cultural events one will be allowed to experience will help the students to rightfully integrate with the locals and learn the crucial basics of this wonderful language.
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