Oh goodness.
I'll bet EVERYone has a story from High School Spanish class, right?
Let's list the worst bits of foreign language classes: (Of course, don't laugh, but I took French in high school, and these still applied.) - Comment and add the ones I've left out!
1) Feeling lost or blind
2) Public humiliation when having to read or speak without confidence
3) Confusion with English Grammar and how it correlates
4) Massive words lists to memorize in short amounts of time
5) Teacher speaking too quickly
6) Fear of being corrected ("mean teacher")
7) Tedious translations
8) Tons of fill in the blank worksheets
9) Over stimulation with too many words being hurled at your ears
10) Loss of control of the pace (drowning)
Honestly... all those issues can be summed up into one basic word: STRESS.
When a student is stressed out, it's basically impossible to learn, absorb, or communicate effectively. Giving the STUDENT the control over the pace of the material is the single most kind way to help them enjoy the process, and therefore actually learn! Secondly, using topics they can relate to is another GREAT way to help with language success!
Check out this video on what one of my current students had to say about her experience with Spanish Geniuses.
I don't want to turn this into a Spanish Geniuses (SG) commercial, but here are my answers to what I did to hopefully combat ALL those issues in my Video Courses:
1) Feeling lost or blind -
Spanish Geniuses: Because students have the VIDEOS, plenty of time, as WELL as a textbook and printed notes, they can review each segment, paragraph, word list, or story at their own pace. The audio and video, and writing elements scaffold for one another, giving a sure foundation.
2) Public humiliation when having to read or speak without confidence
Spanish Geniuses: Students can visit the bonus sessions as often as they like, and just listen, camera off, audio off, and respond when ready. Students often respond in the chat room rather than aloud until they are comfortable with the pace, the topic, and the other students. They have control over their choice of when to speak, and how much.
3) Confusion with English Grammar and how it correlates -
Spanish Geniuses: Every grammar concept is demonstrated in ENGLISH first - I have many students who say they never learned any grammar at all until my Spanish classes. We take our time, and dismantle confusion before expecting anyone to equate the grammar knowledge in their second language. This comparison, however, often unlocks the understanding, and they learn BOTH language concepts immediately because of the comparison.
4) Massive words lists to memorize in short amounts of time-
Spanish Geniuses: I use the Spanish Frequency Dictionary to choose the most commonly used words from each story unit, and skip the ones that would not be useful, or can be referred to with an earlier word. Of course, with the bonus sessions, skinny book, and self-pacing, students are able adjust the amount of time they each need to absorb the words.
5) Teacher speaking too quickly
Spanish Geniuses: In earlier lessons I speak much more slowly, and gradually speed up. The ability to replay and rewind the videos aid in this area a TON.
6) Fear of being corrected ("mean teacher")
Spanish Geniuses: I do repeat just about everything a student says in the live sessions, if time, and if it's incorrect, I simply repeat it correctly. But I try VERY hard to never tell anyone they're wrong... you'll frequently hear the phrase... muy cerca! (Very close!) and Ohhhh CASI! (almost!) and then I simply say it again, but often, the student has caught it, and self-corrects. It's lovely.
7) Tedious translations
Spanish Geniuses: The textbook does have a FEW translation sheets. But on the whole, translation is not conducive to speaking, so we don't do that. We reda, comprehend, listen, and communicate.
8) Tons of fill in the blank worksheets:
Spanish Geniuses: The textbook has a few fill in the blanks, some open ended questions, and other games and activities. Fill in the blank has its place, it just should not be the primary method of demonstrating foreign language knowledge.
9) Over stimulation with too many words being hurled at your ears
Spanish Geniuses: My students often hear me talk about x+1. They should always be striving for just one level over their current ability. I work hard to make sure they do not over commit to long lists of words, and if a topic is above their ability, then we'll ask the less advanced students to pick two or three words to hone in on. With videos, this is not an issue, since they have the self pacing ability.
10) Loss of control of the pace (drowning)
Spanish Geniuses: With only 24 lessons in two semesters, there are plenty of extra weeks and gap spaces to make sure they get the mastery before moving to the next lesson.
What are you waiting for? Give your teen the gift of low stress learning: (plus lots of fun with the other geniuses: SpanishGeniuses.com