Chrysalis Academy Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 (edited) What have people used and liked for Spanish 2? I'm not sure if we'll do it at home using a textbook/curriculum, look for an online class, or do it DE at the CC, but I want to start investigating options, so I'd love to hear about anything you've used and liked (or tried and hated). ETA: we're doing Spanish 1 this year in 8th, with a combination of Easy Peasy Spanish 1, Destinos, EdX, Mango, and various books (GSWS, Easy Spanish Step by Step). Very cobbled together but it seems to be working ok - we're getting in solid grammar and listening and speaking practice, and lots of review of the basic vocab. I am solid in Spanish 1 skills so have had no trouble facilitating. Spanish 2 level I'm weak/rusty, so I'm feeling the need of a bit more support, perhaps, either that or I will be vigorously re-learning alongside my student. Edited December 15, 2015 by Chrysalis Academy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyOwn Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Ray Leven's classes are my favorite if you are looking for an honors level course. https://sites.google.com/site/spanishlearningonline/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 (edited) Rose, are you leaning towards an online class or just DIY course? If online then Sr. Gamache of funclase.com. We did Spanish 1, definitely not the right class for us since DD was beyond that, but the classes are good, 2x per week, 1.25 hours each, with lots of homework assigned, and his fee is more affordable (he doesn't offer AP so you would have to switch over to another vendor). He uses Vista, which means you can buy the hard copy or access it online. There's audio via the Vista website. I would have signed up for Spanish 2, but all that work plus with Lukeion would have been too much this year. I have so many Spanish grammar books that I kind of know where we should be headed. I think I have all the Practice Makes Perfect books. My short-term plan for winter break is to finish PMP's Spanish Irregular Verbs and schedule a few conversation classes during the week. I use italki.com, languageconvo.com, and livelingua.com. Prices range from $7-9 per hour. One problem I've noticed with DIY is that grammar instruction is not as systematic or consistent, but that may be more of an issue for me rather than for you. One upside is that we've done a lot of conversation with Skype tutors. Downside to an online class is that conversation is difficult in a large class. With Gamache, early classes are larger than later classes. For us a later class would be in the afternoon (he's in Florida I think) but I think you all have activities then. With DIY I need to make more of an effort because the tutor has her own activities and grammar is more here and there, not quite what you would expect from an online class. Edited December 14, 2015 by crazyforlatin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Rose, are you leaning towards an online class or just DIY course? If online then Sr. Gamache of funclase.com. We did Spanish 1, definitely not the right class for us since DD was beyond that, but the classes are good, 2x per week, 1.25 hours each, with lots of homework assigned, and his fee is more affordable (he doesn't offer AP so you would have to switch over to another vendor). He uses Vista, which means you can buy the hard copy or access it online. There's audio via the Vista website. I would have signed up for Spanish 2, but all that work plus with Lukeion would have been too much this year. It is my understanding that Sr. Gamache's class is not secular. Is that your experience? I like the price better, but the last description I read about the religious content was over my comfort level. Curious to hear your thoughts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 Hmm, I can't say I'm actually leaning one way or the other at this point. I kind of assumed we'd do Spanish 2 as DE, but I don't know that it will fit into our schedule for 9th grade, and I certainly don't want to stop as we're on a nice roll. I'm ok with doing it on our own, and I have enough books that I think I can be pretty systematic about grammar, but there will definitely be a point in the future when I won't be able to correct her translations on the fly, or be sure that I'm using the finer points of grammar correctly in conversation - my Spanish is very functional, if you know what I mean - I can talk to planting crews just fine, but I'm not always sure when it's para instead of por, or when to use the subjunctive. So I don't want to be her only teacher, I don't think. So we either need a pretty systematic DIY course or an actual online course with a teacher, I think. It's also the case that I think we should outsource something for 9th grade as a matter of principle, and at this point I'm not sure what that would be (other than one DE class, probably theater, in the Spring semester). So this might be a good thing to outsource for that reason as well. So maybe I am leaning toward outsourcing with an online class and teacher? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 It is my understanding that Sr. Gamache's class is not secular. Is that your experience? I like the price better, but the last description I read about the religious content was over my comfort level. Curious to hear your thoughts. :lurk5: Yeah, I'm all ears about that, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j3mom Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Second Ray Leven, my son is taking Spanish 200 Honors and it is great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 It is my understanding that Sr. Gamache's class is not secular. Is that your experience? I like the price better, but the last description I read about the religious content was over my comfort level. Curious to hear your thoughts. He doesn't pray before or after class, but you know he is a Christian. The books and online materials are secular. The class sings Christmas songs in Spanish. Occasionally he may talk about his life or an event and he may mention his beliefs. It's generally secular, but he is not trying to hide his beliefs either. It's not pervasive, meaning that if he is doing a Spanish conversation with the kids, it's not going to be geared towards religion. Was there a prayer at one time during the year? Maybe, but I can't recall. RootAnn may know. Our kids were in Spanish 1 during the same year, but we stopped this year, and I think her kid continued to Spanish 2. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I'm probably where previous posters read about Sr Gamache's class not being secular. Rose, check out this thread for some comments between Gamache & Leven. DD#1 really, really enjoys Sr. Gamache's class. This year has been more difficult because her previous Spanish study didn't extend to the grammar they are learning now. Plus, he's trying to have them move quicker through the material now that they have the basics down (from Spanish I). Most recent Christian content was a discussion of the real meaning of Christmas in Charlie Brown & a discussion of "Common Era" and what event was it that determines the break between before & after CE. It would be relatively easy to ignore most of his comments for some kids and I think his class is a great value. However, I really don't want anyone to go into his class thinking it was secular when it isn't. (See previously linked thread for other examples to see if the few mentions are too much for you/your kid.) * For those who have read my past threads on dd#1 -- this is the one class she'll work for without any prompting from me. She enjoys interacting with the other students both inside the class & via email between classes. Her friends from last year's Spanish 1 are mostly in the other Spanish 2 class which is a bummer. Those who stick it out should all end up in the same Spanish 3 class as he only has one of those usually. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 I appreciate the feedback so far. Looking at the costs of these classes, DE is looking ever more appealing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 We went with Homeschool Spanish Academy. It isn't honors, but it is one on one skyping and the pace is tailored to the student. I am very happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddlemomma Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Have you looked at the follow-up book to Easy Step-by-Step Spanish: Advanced Step-by-Step Spanish? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 Yes, I have it. We could definitely continue with that plus Destinos and call it Spanish 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 I appreciate the feedback so far. Looking at the costs of these classes, DE is looking ever more appealing. Is your area taking kids as young as 14? I checked ours and I think it's a higher age. If we did do DE, would that be through a 4-year college or junior college? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 We can do DE starting at age 14 here, and up to 11 units are free for high school students. This would be at the local junior college, not the state U which is a much longer commute. I'm now leaning toward continuing to study at home, and getting as far as we get, with the goal that she take Spanish 2 DE. The course description says Spanish 2 is intended for students with 2 years of high school spanish. They seem to start where most Spanish 1 classes end, with reviewing the preterite, introducing the imperfect, future, and subjunctive tenses, as well as idiomatic verbs, para vs. por, etc. I think I can get her ready for Spanish 2 at home. So it's just a question of timing, when the DE class will work with her schedule. I don't want to stop studying at home till she starts the DE class, I think she'll be more successfull if she can segue straight from studying with me to DE. Who knows, maybe I'll sign up for Spanish 2 and take it with her! I could use the refresher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I was just thinking of taking a Spanish course with DD, but if she gets a better grade than her mama.... I'll never hear the end of it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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