Newsletter Fall 2007

Queridos Padres, ¡Saludos del Elementary Spanish Program! We are hoping you and your children had a wonderful first semester of Spanish classes and that all of you had a chance to practice the newly acquired skills already! Were you able to attend the fiesta and meet your child's Spanish teacher in person? We are bringing the Fall Newsletter to you online, with updates about our program, various articles regarding second-language acquisition and also suggested home practice for the holiday season. Enjoy! Please mark your calendars: Spanish classes will resume again in the week of January 14th for the spring semester. On behalf of the entire Elementary Spanish Program and its Board of Directors, we wish you wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year and hope to see all of you back in January. ¡Feliz Navidad! Petra Masnicova Director ESP

In this issue: Bienvenidos 2007 – 2008 The Importance of Home Practice Languages Make your Children Smarter Reasonable Expectations Teacher's View Welcome new schools! Why is it Important to Learn a Second Language? Wish List Thank You to our Contributors The ESP's mission is to bridge cultural barriers, educate young children, and prepare them for life in our world community through teaching Spanish.

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Bienvenidos 2006 – 2007

By Astrid Clough McDowell, President

The Elementary Spanish Program would like to welcome you to another exciting year of Spanish! Our organization was started over thirty years ago, when a group of Boulder parents and teachers decided to stand up for early-age secondary language acquisition, after the BVSD cut it out of the standard curriculum (due to budget constraints). Unless your child attends a charter or private school, a foreign language is probably not offered until middle school. ESP exists to provide young children with before- or after-school Spanish classes at their respective schools. We strongly believe that it is vital that children begin to learn a second language at the earliest age possible. We are proud to serve 725 students this year!

We are actively seeking Parent Advocates to be representatives of our organization in their neighborhoods and respective schools. We also invite you to attend one of our monthly meetings of the Board of Directors. If you are interested in becoming involved or even just volunteering a few hours a month, please contact our office at 303-440-7196.

On behalf of the organization, I would like to thank each and every person that has contributed to the existence and success of the program. Your commitment and dedication to the broader education of our children is sincerely appreciated! Please contact me if you have any thoughts for the future of the Elementary Spanish Program or the relationships within the community and the school districts. ¡Gracias!

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The Importance of Home Practice

By Petra Masnicova, Director ESP, and Astrid Clough McDowell, President

An early start at language learning provides a great advantage to second-language learners. The younger a child is when he/she is exposed to a new language, the more likely it is that he or she will become proficient in the language and also acquire native-like pronunciation. While children are expert mimics and absorb new material quickly, we all know that practice, practice, and more practice is needed in order to retain information learned. Ideally, languages should be studied on an everyday basis, doing at least a little bit each day, but we know how hard it is to be able to fit anything like this in our busy schedules. ESP classes meet only twice a week, which is the absolute minimum to ensure retention, but in our experience, it is unfortunately the maximum both parents and children can commit to because of time or cost restraints.

Luckily, that classroom time can be extended two-fold with appropriate home practice! Therefore, here at ESP, we are big proponents of homework and home practice in general. ESP management devotes nearly one teacher-training meeting to the idea of introducing children to fun homework. Teachers learn about the importance of their roles as motivators and as people who are able to spark the love and interest for language and related activities. Homework should therefore never be a tedious or dreaded activity, but something fun and engaging, as well as something that the children can look forward to doing.

We can’t stress enough the importance of your support and encouragement at home. Your help at home and your own enthusiasm for languages will help your children retain what they have been learning in class and will also boost their confidence in Spanish.

Please join your children to celebrate their learning and come to the parent-open class (Fiesta), the last class this semester. They have been working hard to prepare for this and would like to shine in front of you! For details, please contact your Spanish teacher because the dates vary at each school.

Here are a few tips and ideas for home practice:

1. Practice together: After class, ask your children to teach you 2 or 3 new words learned in class.
2. Encourage your child's efforts and any amount of progress. If they feel successful, they will be inspired to learn and practice Spanish outside of the classroom. Stay in touch with your child’s Spanish teacher for additional resources.
3. At the grocery store or at meal times, ask your child to name a few objects in Spanish.
4. When counting, adding, or subtracting, always encourage your child to answer in Spanish.
5. Sing with your child at home! You can learn all those songs your children are learning in classes on our ESP CD. For parents and children enrolled in the program, copies are available in the office (and can be delivered to you) for a suggested $5 donation.
6. Read Spanish stories at home. Libraries and book stores have foreign language sections for all ages of children.
7. Try labeling your household objects in Spanish or have your children teach you what certain objects are called in Spanish. For example, if they are learning clothing, have them go through their closet and describe to you what they have using adjectives and nouns, e.g. una camisa blanca.
8. Buy your child a Spanish dictionary or Picture dictionary and establish a game called "Palabra del día" (word of the day). Each day, your child looks up a new Spanish word and you learn the word together; you can test each other throughout the day.
9. Visit a Mexican restaurant and ask your child to order in Spanish or practice reading and pronouncing the word and items on the menu.
10. Encourage your child to watch Spanish programs, cartoons, or movies in Spanish of stories that they already know in English. Animated DVDs almost always have a language option. So, if your child enjoys films by DreamWorks Animation like Shrek, Madagascar, SharkTales, Bee Movie, Wallace & Grommit, and others, well, all of those can be played in Spanish. PIXAR films also do a wonderful job of mastering the voices in Spanish; some notable films include Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, and Ratatouille.
11. And finally, the best one of all: Take a trip to a Spanish-speaking country! Immersion is one of the best ways to accustom the ear to the natural sounds of the language and the normal rate of speech spoken, while noting cultural influences and other dynamics not always noted at home and in the U.S.

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Languages Make your Children Smarter

By Ana Cecilia Carballo

Theories have been developed to investigate the optimal age to undertake the study of a second language. The younger the individual is when he/she is exposed to a new language, the greater the probability of acquiring native pronunciation as well as proficiency in that language. In addition, studies on second-language learning show that it provides children with many benefits in the following different areas:

Linguistic: Foreign language learning helps children to understand their native language system better; they become conscious of language as a phenomenon.

Psychological/emotional: Foreign language learning supports the growth of individual qualities of character, giving children greater mental flexibility.

Socio-cultural: Children who speak foreign languages tend to have a broader cultural outlook.

Furthermore, bilingual children have increased self-esteem, improved understanding and acceptance of other cultures, and improved abilities in learning English. Scientists also observe a connection to better performance in math and logic skills. Some evidence also suggests that children who receive second-language instruction are more creative and better at solving complex problems. Foreign-language study during the early grades is associated with students' higher performance in basic skills.

Students of foreign languages score statistically higher on standardized tests conducted in English. In the 1992 report "College Bound Seniors – the 1992 Profile of SAT and Achievement Test Takers," the College Entrance Examination Board reported that students who averaged 4 or more years of foreign language study scored higher on the verbal section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) than those who had studied 4 or more years in any other subject area.

The benefits to society are many. Americans fluent in other languages enhance our economic competitiveness abroad, improve global communication, and maintain our political and security interests. Foreign language learning can be the inexhaustible resource that makes this possible. That is why we emphasize that second-language learning is increasingly important. It is amazing how people are overcoming language barriers, and windows of opportunity are increasingly opening to so many different areas. Nowadays, modern societies place a great importance on proficiency in one or more foreign languages as a tool that will help attain a successful future in one’s professional life.

For this reason, we should by no means discount the importance of learning a second language early. We encourage you to continue supporting your child’s learning and to help them practice as much as possible, taking advantage of all the resources available to achieve second-language acquisition.

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Reasonable Expectations

By Petra Masnicova, Executive Director, ESP

Before you signed your children up for Spanish class, you probably asked yourself:

"How much Spanish will they learn? How much will my daughter/son get out of it? Is it worth the money?"

Truthfully, how much they can realistically learn greatly depends upon their level of motivation, the enthusiasm of their teacher, the support and interest of family members, and what they are reviewing at home or out of class with their family and friends.

To be completely honest, we cannot expect our children to become completely fluent after taking 40 after-school Spanish classes, twice-a-week for 45 minutes. Our realistic goal is to build a large and lasting foundation; one that children can build on for the rest of their lives.

One of our main goals, however, is to spark their love for languages and show them the real need and place for languages in today’s global society. We want to make them feel comfortable using Spanish in their every day lives, to be able to get by while they are in Mexico traveling, to order food in Spanish in any restaurant, or to play with a Hispanic child on the playground. We want them to enthusiastically ask you to book a trip to a Spanish-speaking country so that they can practice what they have learned! Overall, we want to provide them with a lasting platform of basic listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills that they will be able to expand upon for the remainder of their lives.

After completing the first year of Auditory 1 Level, where all skills are strictly auditory, we can expect the children to know all the basics building blocks of the Spanish language. The following is a list of such items: Numbers 1-20, Colors, Vocabulary [La Familia (Family), Los Partes del Cuerpo (Body Parts), El Tiempo (Weather), La Ropa (Clothing) La Casa (House), La Comida (Food)] simple verbs, expressions, and greetings [gracias (thank you), de nada (you’re welcome), por favor (please), perdón (excuse me), Salud! (Bless you!), Buenos días (Good day), etc.]. They will also be exposed to ongoing cultural commentary.

Auditory 2 Level is for young students who have completed the first level, but who may not yet read or write in their native language. They learn more Spanish with lessons about emotions, conditions, transportation, shopping, cooking, time, days of the week, and descriptive adjectives. This level builds more vocabulary and serves to establish a deeper level of comfort in using the Spanish language in everyday life situations.

Reading and Writing Level will introduce written Spanish for the first time. Students will learn how to read and write in Spanish after they feel comfortable enough reading and writing in English. Many new structures will be introduced, and students will begin conjugating verbs. They learn correspondence with friends, more about the family, numbers to 1000, exclamatory sentences, sports, weather, months, seasons, animals, time, professions, directions, and more cultural traditions. Dictionaries and vocabulary notebooks, as well as frequent homework assignments, are necessary components of this level. Reading books along with the teacher, hand-outs, game pieces, and words on the board are elements of this class as well.

Spanish Literature Level is the culmination of all previous levels and combines the skills acquired in the auditory, and reading and writing levels. Students expand upon this base and are challenged to utilize and apply their knowledge while reading Spanish books. This method allows students to greatly expand their vocabulary, as well as develop a more sophisticated level of sentence structure. Students work on thematic projects in this level and engage in culturally appropriate discussions.

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Teacher's View

By Taliza Mizrahi

¡Hola familias! My name is Taliza Mizrahi and it is my honor to work for the Elementary Spanish Program as a teacher and also as a Director’s Assistant in the office. I am fortunate to be able to speak with many of you each day and I adore hearing about your children and doing whatever I can to ensure that they have a positive experience with our program. I hope you always feel free to contact us with any questions that you may have regarding our program or any special accommodations that we can make for you children. That's what we are here for! We want your children to fall in love with the Spanish language and culture and inspire them to keep on learning beyond our classes.

I would like to share with you a bit about what it's like to teach your children from a teacher's perspective. Firstly, I want to express how absolutely wonderful and rewarding it is to give the gift of a second language to your young children. At the elementary school age, they are so pure and open, wholeheartedly ready to expand their lives and minds. Their purity is so enriching to be around, as their thirst for learning and life is so contagious, and it helps us to remember what that youthful spirit of wonder is all about! Playing with them is also a definite highlight. For some of us, it's one of the only times in our busy lives where we really get to let loose and freely play! It is mutually beneficial for both teachers and students to teach and learn through fun, educational activities. The more we interact with your kids, the more we can tap into their playful consciousness and the better we become at creating new games and creative activities to serve their optimal learning.

The most rewarding aspect of teaching is watching your children’s growth over time. To witness children as young as 5 and 6 coming into class not knowing a single word of Spanish and not long afterwards being able to identify objects or even formulate whole sentences in Spanish is beyond gratifying. While they may not necessarily be carrying on elaborate conversations in Spanish by the end of the year, they are recognizing phrases, comprehending directions and questions, and are able to use basic vocabulary and phrases. To me, that is so exciting! Some children are even developing beautiful native accents due to their early exposure and because they are learning both Spanish and English pronunciation of words and vocabulary simultaneously. Their brains are still so flexible and they are still able to acquire a myriad of sounds and language patterns into their speech repertoire. It is absolutely wonderful to see their confidence grow throughout the year; how proud they are of some of their homework and arts and crafts, and how much they want to shine at the fiestas. It all makes some of the teacher challenges so well worth it; to aid the self esteem of any child in itself is such a gift.

Of course there are always children that are not immediately enamored with the idea of staying after school and learning longer than they technically have to! Especially something that requires the kind of attention that second-language learning does. But you know what? Working with these children is often the most rewarding of all.  To watch them get excited about an activity that really turns them on, or seeing them participate willingly for the first time, feels so victorious and heartwarming for us, your teachers. By learning how to meet the needs of every different kind of student with varying learning styles and attitudes, we are challenged to stretch our creative capacity beyond what we ever could imagine, thus becoming more skilled, versatile and capable educators.

Linguists see the earliest years of childhood as a "critical period," after which the brain loses much of its facility for assimilating new languages. So I hope you will trust that your child is absorbing Spanish even if he/she seems to speak only a little at first. Research shows that children almost always begin their second-language acquisition process with a "silent period," in which they speak very little at all. However, many "silent learners" are actually engaging in "private speech," sometimes called "self talk." While appearing silent, they may actually be rehearsing important key phrases and lexical chunks in their minds.  So please don’t be discouraged if your child isn’t rattling away "en español" just yet! Whether your child is taking every opportunity to count or point out pets and foods in Spanish or whether you wonder if they’ve absorbed anything at all, they are in fact soaking it up like little sponges. If their comprehension isn’t exactly apparent now, it will certainly be in future years. Their exposure now will undoubtedly give them an enormous advantage when beginning their Spanish studies in middle or junior high school.

Please be confident that every ESP teacher sincerely wants your child to learn Spanish. If there is anything your teacher can do to improve, we want to help them do just that. Never hesitate to communicate with us so that we can better serve your precious ones. Constructive feedback is always welcome! Praise and gratitude for jobs well done are also always appreciated. The smiles and hugs we receive from your children are a blessing to each and every one of us. The adorable things they say to make us laugh or the classic faces they make letting us know they are lost and need clarification are priceless. On behalf of all the ESP teachers, we thank you, parents, for the opportunity to teach your vibrant little ones and for enrolling them in our program. It is a joy and an honor to touch their lives. We learn so much from them – they are the true teachers! Rest assured that by giving your children the gift of Spanish at this young age you can be confident that you are preparing them for a rich, cultured and well-rounded life in years to come. ¡Muchas gracias a todos!!

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Welcome new schools!

This year we are happy to welcome 4 new schools to our ESP family!

• Alpine Elementary (Longmont)
• Flagstaff Academy (Longmont)
• Landmark Academy (Denver)
• Rooney Ranch Elementary (Lakewood)

This year has been a wonderful year so far with our record-breaking enrollment of 724, the highest in ESP’s 35-year history! The numbers are growing mostly because of new schools joining our program every year. We have been working within four school districts (BVSD, St. Vrain, Jeffco, and DPS) and both private and public school systems. Many parents and/or principals have been calling our office to find out how they can start our Spanish program at their schools. The process itself is easy! The first thing that is needed is a number of enthusiastic parents and children who want to learn Spanish, followed by a phone call by an interested parent or from the school (secretary, principal, teacher, etc.). ESP and the school administration work together on all steps in setting it up. All we need is an invitation from the principal, the school’s help in distributing the registration materials to the students, and lastly, but importantly, the room(s) availability to hold a class either before or after school. As soon as the minimum enrollment (10) is reached, we can open a class! With sufficient interest, ESP gladly brings our program to any new school, with well-trained and qualified teachers. We also provide year-long teacher training and supervision, as well as monitor class progress.

If we don’t already offer a program at your school and you would like to see either before- or after-school Spanish classes available at your school, please call us at 303-440-7196.

2007-2008 ESP school-year statistics

• 724 students
• 53 teachers
• 31 schools (in 4 school districts)
• 77 classes
• 16 scholarships awarded

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Why is it Important to Learn a Second Language?

By Hanne Brondum, ESP Director's Assistant

There was a time when we rocked on the same front porch and dealt with the same people through an entire lifetime. Whether we like it or not, times have changed. Communication is the new word. We have to adjust to fast changes and communicate with new people in a variety of unknown environments. Our jobs get outsourced and we are asked to pack-up our families and move to areas where the culture and values differ from what we know. The number of Spanish-speaking people living in the United States increases at a higher rate every year. We have to prepare to live in the Global Village. People all over the world watch the same television, listen to the same news, and communicate across continents. To some extent, we interact on the same stage, but at the same time there is the need to preserve cultural differences and languages.

In most parts of the world, children start studying foreign languages in first or second grade. In Scandinavia, the part of the world I know best, students are required to have studied at least three foreign languages to graduate from high school! The American school system seems to have fallen behind the rest of the world, as foreign languages are normally not introduced to our children until middle school. The argument could be that most people all over the world speak English, and Americans don’t need to know other languages to interact internationally. I believe this to be a very outdated view, one that doesn’t help Americans move around in an increasingly more complex world – a world that doesn’t always seem to agree with the American viewpoint.

In order to assimilate or integrate in different places around the world, we have to know current values and spoken languages. Whether we travel as tourists or move to other countries for work, our experiences are completely different depending upon the level at which we can communicate and understand the locally spoken language and how much knowledge and appreciation we have of the culture in which we are traveling or live. Communication is a must for the cultivation of a deeper and clearer understanding and respect among the people of the world.

When we ask our kids in the ESP program why they study Spanish, the answers always tie into wanting to communicate. Some students want to speak Spanish with their friends from Mexico, and others may want to be able to speak the language when they travel to Spanish-speaking countries. We have some students of Latin descent who want to learn more Spanish in order to connect with their roots and communicate with family members who may not speak English. Most students are certainly intrigued with how vast the world is and how many different countries and cultures exist, and they thoroughly enjoy the cultural activities presented in class.

Language learning is more important than ever. ESP is so happy to fill this gap and help prepare the future generation to interact in an everyday more connected world. Spanish is (as you know) the second-most spoken language in the world!

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Wish List

If you can donate any of the following, please call our office at (303)440-7196.

• Office printer
• Copy machine
• Stuffed toys or animals
• Twister game
• Any movies or cartoons in Spanish on VCR/DVD
• Books in Spanish
• Spanish/English Dictionaries

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We appreciate your support

In an effort to keep tuition as low as possible, we accept donations of goods and services from businesses and organizations, as well as individuals. ESP thanks the following individuals and companies for their generous support:

• Classroom Parent Volunteers: All of them!
• ESP Website design and maintenance, as well as the ESP newsletter: Dean Garyet
• ESP computer maintenance & repair: Joe Barger
• ESP parent advocates and all Board members

If you know of local groups that might be interested in donating services or directly funding ESP classes, please contact us at 303-440-7196. If you would like to learn more about joining the ESP board, please do call us at the number above, we would love if more parents joined in!