Southern CA English-Speaking Students Learn Spanish – Kindergarten to Middle School

This Fall, hundreds of Kindergarten to 8^th grade students will start school and will be learning Spanish as part of their education.  Many fortunate children in private schools will be studying Spanish during the school day with a program offered by Conversa – Spanish for Life

One example is Hephatha Lutheran School in Anaheim Hills.  Conversa will begin its 7^th year of Spanish instruction to every student K-8.  This year’s 8^th graders will present their European Language Portfolios at the end of the school year in front of a member of the school Board of Directors, Mrs. Kim Voelker, school principal, and other panelists including directors from other schools.  The ELP consists of a 250-word essay written entirely in Spanish, a visual presentation that can include a video, a slide show or models in Spanish, and a school-wide “fair” where the 8^th graders present their Portfolio in Spanish to their schoolmates from Kinder to 7^th grade.  Mrs. Voelker shared, “Conversa provides school administrators an opportunity to offer a comprehensive foreign language program to all ages by providing teachers and instructional materials that can meet the needs of each grade level.  Learning to speak a second language will help students compete in the global world of today.”

Throughout Orange County, hundreds of public schools students will also be joining Conversa’s after-school enrichment Spanish classes. Tustin Memorial Academy in the Tustin Unified School District has worked hard over the years to offer its students a wide selection of after school enrichment programs. TMA, arguably, has the largest most extensive after-school foreign language program in Orange County, possibly in the state.  Last year TMA offered 3 different languages, with Spanish having 5 different levels (Kinder, Beginning, Continuing, Intermediate & Advanced), reaching 80 – 100 students per year on the TMA campus!  This is absolutely amazing for a public elementary school. Conversa is the main provider for this program.

Gretchen Reynoso, a parent volunteer who has been one of the program coordinators for the past six years stated, “Aside from the large selection and different levels being offered, what also sets us apart from other programs is that we have a 24-week consecutive course, rather than an 8-week cycle that repeats.  This allows for a greater variety of vocabulary to be introduced and a more in depth introduction of grammar to be explored.  The result is a continuity for the students that cannot be achieved in an 8-week program in which new students are introduced each cycle, some students drop, etc.”

Conversa employs highly educated, seasoned and professional teachers.  Most are native speakers and receive extensive on-going training as a condition of their employment.  Conversa’s exploratory curriculum is sequential, and their teachers are the authors of the workbooks that are provided to the students.

If you’d like to be a part of the tradition of excellence in Spanish language instruction, contact Conversa. Studies show that the introduction of a foreign language can never occur too early in a child’s life, and that those who study foreign languages improve skills/test scores in their native language, and do better in school overall.  Registration is occurring now. Visit us at conversaspanish.com.