SLiP FAQ

Classes are mixed age and mixed levels. How do you make sure that each child gets what she needs? That the class isn't too fast for some or too slow for others?

Mixed level classes provide a natural opportunity for children to raise awareness of their own skills, learn from communicating with a variety of speakers, and step into leadership roles by being "líder" (leader) for target activities when ready.

Because our classes are small, our teachers know what each individual child is ready for. Being that we focus on speaking to one another, it's quite natural for a more advance student to be working on longer phrases and answer the question, "Do you want a red ball or a green ball?" with multiple words ("I want a red ball, please."), while a less advance student may simply say "Red, please."

In our elementary classes, we talk about topics such as gender, how to figure out if a word is masculine or feminine, and then choose the proper adjective to go with the word. Younger or less advanced students learn that there are several different ways to say "red" or even "the" (how intriguing!), but when speaking, they may not focus on which gender to use because they are simply trying to connect syllables and words. More advanced students will spend less energy on "getting the words out," which frees up their mind to focus on the grammatical details.

What does "immersion" mean?

Our instructors speak a minimum of 90% in Spanish. Times where your child may hear Engilsh are:

When discussing culture.

To establish ground rules.

We may use "English sandwiches" to establish ground rules and expectations. We will say it in Spanish - English - Spanish the first few times, and then only in Spanish (including gestures, facial expression, and body language!).

At the start of a new unit.

We may use English Sandwiches so that students know the exact translation of a grammatical phrase (Vocabulary is always presented in picture and real object form, so no need for English there). We want children to know exactly what "Yo quiero" (I want it/one/some) means so that they recognize opportunities to use it outside of class in a variety of contexts (not only with their Spanish teacher!).

During snack (before class). Because we see most students only once a week, we need to quickly build a trusting relationship in the beginning of the year and then briefly reinforce that trust at the start of each class. We do this so our students feel cared for, which increases their self-confidence and willingness to try new things. During snack, we allow a few children to tell about an event they might want to share (lost tooth, visit from grandma, etc). Teachers might use an English Sandwich to ask a question or make a positive comment to foster a caring bond with the children. This trust goes a LONG way in maintaining a positive learning environment where lots of communication is done by gesture, facial expression, tone of voice, and body language!

In emergencies or situations that threaten the health or safety of any child.

I noticed my child's class is repeating a unit from last year. Why?

After a year, your child is a new learner in many ways. He's grown, matured, acquired new skills, all of which make his experience and participation in this year's class different than last year. Being even vaguely familiar with any vocabulary or grammar will allow him to focus on more than just the basics. He may be ready to use longer phrases and more complex grammar the second time around. Having played a few of the games and/or seen some of the props once a year at most, it's exciting to see them again, and we often hear "OH! I've seen these before!" which can boost your child's confidence and willingness to challenge himself, as well as take a leadership role in the games and activities.

Will my child be too tired to take a class after school?

We understand that every child is different, and we take several steps to ensure that classes at any time of day are a successful and confidence-building experience for all children. Most of our after school classes allow for 15min of snack time (brought from home) before class starts. In addition, our classes are very active, as we are constantly communicating back-and-forth with one another while moving our bodies. We incorporate all learning styles into our format and include seeing, listening, speaking and motion in everything we do. We change activities every few minutes in order to keep children's attention fresh and engaged. Our teachers are well-trained and perceptive of students' behavior and are skilled at modifying activities to accommodate children's needs.

How much Spanish should I expect to hear from my child outside of class?

The most true (and honest) answer is:

Any and all ways your child is experiencing Spanish (whether he be very verbal about it or very quiet) is exactly where your child should be.

Children vary incredibly in how they learn, what skills they master and in what order, and how quickly we can "see" that learning in the form of speaking the language.

Learning and Performing: Naturally, parents want some insight into what their children are learning or how they're doing, and the challenge with asking the common question, "What did you learn today?" or "What does ___ mean?" is several-fold. Questions like these are not truly about what a child is learning so much as her ability to perform on command. In our traditional schooling systems, we are trained to look primarily at performance as proof of what a child is learning. While performance can certainly give us some solid information on what a child has mastered, it provides only a portion of what a child might actually "know" or be developing on the inside.

Context - Developing skills and Mastering skills. Speaking newly learned vocabulary or grammar, outside the context of class, is challenging and shows the highest level of mastery. The Spanish class (seeing the teacher, being in a particular room, using toys or props, seeing or reading from cue cards, etc.) makes learning very concrete. When your child moves into a different setting (car, home, the hallway outside the class), the cues that help activate the language skills she may use consistently in class are no longer available. Practicing, learning, mastering, manipulating, and then speaking Spanish in a variety of situations takes time. Knowing this, we put intense focus on speaking as much as possible in class via interactive communication games in order to maximize the practice time we have together.

The time it takes. In an immersion school setting, where a child speaks and listens to Spanish for 6+ hours a day, it can take more than seven years to gain true, native-like proficiency. During this process, typically at the beginning, a child may go through a "Silent Period" where he does not speak the newer language and/or his own native language for weeks, months, or even a year; and ALL of that is considered normal along the vast continuum of learning. Given our students are participating in Spanish less than that, how long it takes your child to bring language from class into other settings depends on a myriad of things, and the mix is truly unique to each individual. Just a few things to consider are your child's personality type (extroverted? introverted?), learning style (visual, verbal, auditory, kinesthetic - we use ALL of these in class, but is your child's preferred learning style easily adaptable to what's available outside of class?), repeated exposure and practice outside of class... And the list goes on.

What can I do to better understand my child's learning?

Open door policy. We welcome parents of currently enrolled children whenever you want to come to class! No notice necessary to come see what's going on class! As long as your presence does not interfere with any child's participation in class, you are always welcome!

¡Adelante! Try these few ideas using the editions of ¡Adelante! that summarize what your child has been doing in class (emailed to you at the start of each unit). BE CURIOUS! Try to keep your expectations aside and just see what happens! (¡Adelante! is provided to enrolled students only.)

Ask your child specific questions about the activities we do in class, which are described in ¡Adelante!. For example, "It says there's is an activity about green & orange pompoms. Did you play that one today? What was it like?" Asking him to describe the activity alone may activate some Spanish from class. Even if target words or phrases in Spanish don't come up in his description, do they come up in English? That can be a window into her understanding of what happened in class.

Read the listed phrases and/or vocabulary words aloud in Spanish, and ask your child which ones sound familiar. This can give you an idea of what words we've practiced in class already and which ones your child is most comfortable with. After hearing it in Spanish, he might spontaneously tell you what it means in English (But no need to push this! We are just being curious!).

Take a guess. Cover the Spanish vocabulary words with a piece of paper. Look at the English words together and hypothesize what their Spanish "friend" (translation) could be. This might not only reveal some about your child's ability to find, retrieve, and speak some Spanish - it's great practice and raises your child's awareness of similarities and differences between English and Spanish!