CLASS OVERVIEW

We are a Proficiency and Comprehensible Based Classroom. 

We will be learning with Comprehensible Input (CI) techniques, approaches, and strategies. This will allow me to teach the language that prioritizes the delivery of understandable and compelling instruction in our target language, Spanish. These techniques have been developed based heavily on the Comprehension Hypothesis of Dr. Stephen Krashen. Dr. Krashen’s Comprehension Hypothesis states that language is acquired when we understand what people tell us and what we read. What does that mean? It means that we will internalize the language not just memorizing words and grammar points.

I will use CI to provide meaningful and interactive feedback in order for you to develop language and cultural proficiency.  You will hear and read the target structures repetitively. It will take many repetitions for the brain to acquire new words and many more repetitions for it to master and internalize a new structure. We (you and I) will use Spanish as our main source of communication during instructional time and beyond the classroom. We will listen to songs, watch short films, play games, read current events, read short stories, read novels, co-create stories, play games, talk about our lives and explore the people, food, and traditions of Spanish speaking counties. 

I will also use several technology tools to enhance and assess your language acquisition. Language acquisition takes time, and everyone learns at a different pace. You will be graded based on ACFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Proficiency Guidelines. Your grading will be based on your use of the language and not the memorization of words.