The Perfect Spanish Curriculum for You
There are so many questions that come up about curricula, especially when you are looking to have yourself learn a foreign language. Most people don’t speak the language they want to learn, and even if they do, they might not know it perfectly. So, if you are feeling overwhelmed with all the curricula options, we are here to help take one subject off your plate—Spanish.
Still on the fence about whether Spanish is the best language for you? Learn why Spanish is crucial in our increasingly connected world.
Remember, Language is a Process
Before we move on to discuss the perfect Spanish learning, let’s talk about how you learn a language.
It’s not just memorising words and phrases; learning a language is learning a new way to think, express yourself, and look at the world. To accomplish this, exposure and repetition. For example, If you have kids, think about how they learned to talk—did you teach them a list of words and have them memorise it? Did you expect them to be fluent in a year? Were they able to speak immediately?
1. It Doesn’t Prioritise Memorisation
The most important aspects of language learning are exposure and relating vocabulary to images or objects. It’s not helpful to relate new words to English words. Think of it this way, if you always relate a new Spanish word to its English equivalent, you will only be training yourself to translate everything in your head instead of learning to speak Spanish naturally. You would be better off creating new relationships between the Spanish words and the objects or ideas. One easy way to do this is by labelling things in your house with the Spanish word.
How Does BRISTOL Do It?
At BRISTOL, we have developed our own curricula that our native-speaking teachers use in each class. The curriculum uses images to relate each new vocabulary word and phrase to a real-life situation. Many of our teachers also use physical objects in class and encourage their students to as well. This combination of images in the curriculum and physical objects in the virtual classroom helps the students avoid translation as it directly creates a relationship between the Spanish word and the object.
2. It Builds Upon Levels of Fluency
When we first started learning the native tongue, did we immediately start talking? No, of course not. Multiple areas of language learning and fluency exist. We learn to understand a language before learning to respond. As we said before, we want to teach Spanish in a similar way to how we naturally learn a language. Therefore, the first step towards fluency is exposure and auditory comprehension.
How Does BRSITOL Do It?
All our teachers are native Spanish speakers, and they make conversation a priority in each class. While you may not be able to reproduce the teacher’s questions and comments or respond to them right away, they are developing auditory comprehension, just as they did as a baby learning their first language. If you are able to read and write, our curricula also combine this auditory comprehension with written practice, so you grow in all areas of language learning—reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
3. It Boosts Memory through Regular Review
How many times can you have to teach a child the colors before he could remember them all? Did he remember everything the first time? Of course not. When learning a new language, we are actually building new pathways in our brain, which takes time and dedication, or repetition. A lot of other curricula, especially the ones used in school settings, move too fast and don’t take the time to reinforce learned vocabulary.
How Does BRISTOL Do It?
BRISTOL curricula apply learned vocabulary in your online classes to make sure you remember what you learned and can actually use it. Furthermore, the teacher always starts the class with some quick conversation and pointed questions to review and reinforce previous lessons. Instead of learning one topic and moving on, our curricula builds upon itself, deepening those pathways in your brain until speaking Spanish becomes second nature.
4. It Tailors Itself to Each Learner
While finding pieces of clothing that are “one size fits all” is usually convenient, it doesn’t apply very well to learning a language. As a child grows up, they learn differently, and the Spanish curriculum must reflect that. That is why we have all the following programs:
A1 and A2 Curriculum
B1 and B2 Curriculum
C1 and C2 Curriculum
Each program is specifically designed with the student’s age in mind and need. For example, the A1 program is of preparation and transition, and our curriculum takes that into mind. While addressing Spanish grammar topics head-on, it still goes at a slower pace to make sure students are truly learning. It’s like an introduction to a high school level course, which is what those middle school years are all about.
BRISTOL Creates the Perfect Curriculum for You
While we offer different courses for each level, every student is unique and may need something tailored specifically to their learning needs. You don’t usually get the opportunity to adjust courses in many classroom settings, but our curriculum can be altered as needed. If you need to just review certain parts of a curriculum because they have already mastered some topics, our teachers can start them right at the appropriate lesson, so they aren’t bored with the classes. On the other hand, if you need more time to review a tricky topic, our teachers take the time to get extra review materials and make sure you master each lesson.
BRISTOL Gives You Assessment Options
All of our Spanish curricula have homework, quizzes, and tests built into the programs, but you can opt out of those and do a freestyle course of study. Keep in mind that, you will need to comply with all parts of the curriculum. Some students would like to focus more on conversational Spanish, while others already speak fluently but need help with their written Spanish. Either way, our teachers can accommodate and adjust the curriculum for your needs. Additionally, we have worked with numerous students that have learning disabilities. Just let your teacher know and they will accommodate accordingly. We are here to make learning Spanish easy for you!
Sarah Jennifer
December 08, 2020 04.52 pm
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Andrew James
December 08, 2020 04.52 pm
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Gavin Landon
December 08, 2020 04.52 pm
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