What comprises Spanish 1?

[mygracious]

I am trying to work with a tutor on creating a Spanish 1 class using Rosetta Stone version 2 as a basis for my 9th grade dd.

 

What must be included for a year's worth of credit for Spanish 1? Spanish 2?

 

Thank you so much!

[cshell]

We are doing the same thing!...w/o:tongue_smilie: the tutor.

 

We are using Rosetta Stone for 9th grade.

I think it is lacking in the grammar department....so, we have decided to use...a really GREAT program....

Breaking the Spanish Barrier- to add more grammar.

 

Check it out!!!

 

http://www.tobreak.com

 

 

It looks lika super combo. And the author of the book is available by e-mail to help you with any questions!

[Kareni]

I'd suggest googling "Spanish 1 course description" and/or "Spanish 1 syllabus". I think that doing both of those will give you much of the information that you are looking for.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[LessThanThree]

Rosetta Stone is great. Except you will need more sentence structure, tests, and grammar in order to get full credit.

[Phoatogirl]

Why won't Rosetta Stone count as a credit? Someone told me it's fine, especially when used with the homeschool version. It's my understanding that it does include grammar, just not in a formal way like a textbook.

 

Wouldn't speaking in Spanish be considered an accomplishment? If the program works, and the student can actually communicate with the Hispanics that have limited Eng, couldn't that be considered a credit?

[sunnyca]

I am a native Spanish speaker and Spanish teacher who previewed Rosetta Stone --all of it --just a few years back. I do not like to beat it up or fault anyone who finds it useful but do like to point out important details since most people who buy it have to take the publisher's word for how well it works.

 

Rosetta Stone is fine as a "check the box; we're done" curriculum but it is an expensive one at that. There is no way it will ever bring anyone to the point that they can speak Spanish or communicate with Hispanics on any level.

 

Spanish, like other Romance languages, differs from English in syntax (sentence structure and grammatical rules.) It is not possible to form sentences in Spanish without understanding the different tenses, verb endings, moods, etc. Rosetta Stone advertises their dislike of memory work so it HAS to avoid teaching these elements :) RS focuses on the present progressive (they show a picture and tell what a person is doing in the picture.) Ironically, this is a tense that is not as commonly used in Spanish as it is in English.

 

Learning a language intuitively as RS promises takes some time and requires that ALL aspects of the language be presented consistently, accurately, and incessantly. RS cannot deliver that but it promises the results anyway. Anyone trying to learn a second language in school only, must learn the rules and grammar of that language if they hope to succeed. English speakers still study English in school to become adept at the language they learned intuitively. When adding a second language that differs greatly from the speech pattern already set, something has to happen cognitively as well. It is possible and not as tedious or painful as RS would have people believe!

 

RS is very good at introducing and drilling vocabulary. That is a BIG component of fluency but it is only part of the equation. If you can afford to use the program just for vocabulary and supplement it well, then it is fine. I do not suggest it because I find it over priced and have issues with a company that promises way more than it can deliver to customers who do not all have the ability to discern its shortcomings.

 

To the OP: If you PM me, I'll send you the outline of what I cover in Spanish 1.

 

Blessings!

Edited August 21, 2010 by sunnyca

[Phoatogirl]

Sunnyca,

 

What would you recommend, then, for self-study? Also for a course that will acqaint the student with foreign language study enough so that a college couse in a language won't be quite as difficult as it would be without prior exposure to language study?

[sunnyca]

Sunnyca,

 

What would you recommend, then, for self-study? Also for a course that will acqaint the student with foreign language study enough so that a college couse in a language won't be quite as difficult as it would be without prior exposure to language study?

 

 

I've used BJU which is very good in content but just a bit boring for the student. Someone on this board speaks highly of SOS Spanish which is also computer based and the content looks good also. I just have never reviewed it myself.

 

Breaking the Spanish Barrier is excellent and the best price out there. I know some use it as a supplement but is a good stand alone program. I will use it this year with my Spanish III class this year.

 

The other option is to find a good grammar program (Espanol Esencial is inexpensive and thorough) and use it alongside a vocabulary building program. The problem with isolating grammar like that, is that grammar does become tedious and boring plus your vocabulary does not always mesh well so practicing is difficult.

 

I have taught homeschool High School classes for 4 years using secular curriculum typically used in public schools like Avancemos and Realidades but those books are not designed for self-study so I would not necessarily suggest that to everyone.

 

From what I see (I've been looking at this one for a year,) Breaking the Spanish Barrier is the best I can recommend.

[eclipse]

To continue the Rosetta Stone discussion - I'm using Rosetta Stone Spanish for myself. I'm in the middle of level 4 currently, and I don't speak Spanish (or understand) nearly as well as I spoke and understood French after three years of Jr. High French. Now, I've been moving faster than a typical student would - I've done the three and a half levels in about a year and a half - which I guess would be about on par with university courses, but faster than jr hg/HS - but there's no way I would feel confident walking into a 4th semester university Spanish course or a 4th year HS course. It's is great for my purposes - I moved to Mexico last year knowing very little Spanish (though I could read fairly well from context due to similarities with French) and now I can have simple conversations - ask where to find something at the grocery store, make a simple call to have gas delivered, chat about the weather/current events/sports for short periods with neighbors, etc. I would say that, 3 1/2 levels in, I'm about where I was after one year od Jr. Hg. French.

 

One real weakness I've found in Rosetta Stone is listening comprehension. While the speakers in Rosetta Stone are native speakers, they are native speakers with excellent diction that speak very slowly. In level one, it made sense, because it really helped me isolate individual sounds - but, the truth is, real people don't speak like the RS narrators, at least none I've run into in Mexico. Aside from speaking much more quickly than the narrators, Mexican speakers seem to swallow all but the accented vowels, and RS absolutely does not prepare you to hear this sort of Spanish (and this isn't a difference between European and LA Spanish, since I'm using the LA version). In my independent Spanish studies, I've found this mentioned several times - so it isn't like it isn't common knowledge, and I can't figure out why Rosetta Stone completely ignores it.

 

And, as others have mentioned, grammar is seriously lacking in RS. There is definitely some - a lot of present and present progressive conjugating. And many different tenses are introduced, but there isn't enough practice with them to really ingrain them. I still really struggle with anything other than present, present progressive, and the ir+a version of the future tense (ie "going to"). I regularly have to go outside RS to find out why they are saying something a certain way.

 

I think RS is a great way to learn vocabulary, but sometimes the vocabulary they teach doesn't seem very relevant. I really don't need to know how to talk about skiing and snorkeling as much as a lot of other things. I assume that type of vocabulary is included because a lot of people use RS as a crash course before taking a vacation, but aren't really necessary (esp since they spend a lot of time on them, and the words are pretty much the same in Spanish as they are in English). Also, sometimes the vocabulary isn't quite right based on what is used where I live. I assume that most of this is just regional differences - for example, RS repeatedly uses "torta" for cake, but in Mexico a torta is a sandwich. (Though, to be fair, I'm pretty sure it does mean cake in most of LA.) This is only one of a number of examples.

 

Anyhow, I would (and do) use Rosetta Stone for elementary age students and maybe even middle schoolers. I would not consider it, by itself, HS level Spanish.

[stephanier.1765]

My advice (I'm speaking as a novice so please take it with a big grain of salt) is to add supplements to whatever your spine may be. We are using Breaking the Barrier I as our spine but we are adding in Pimsleur (found this thru the library), Mi Vida Loca, Live Mocha and a multitude of other little things. We also own Rosetta Stone but I haven't pulled it out to see how it will fit in with the rest of what we are doing but I do plan to do so. I feel it's better to see concepts in a variety of ways in order to cement them. Plus my son is enjoying the different styles of work. My plan for how I wove everything together is on my blog if you'd like to take a look. It's a work in progress though because I'm always on the look out for ways to improve our studies. I just recently bought a wonderful Spanish reader from a WTM member and we can't wait to get to work on it.

[sunnyca]

My advice (I'm speaking as a novice so please take it with a big grain of salt) is to add supplements to whatever your spine may be. We are using Breaking the Barrier I as our spine but we are adding in Pimsleur (found this thru the library), Mi Vida Loca, Live Mocha and a multitude of other little things. We also own Rosetta Stone but I haven't pulled it out to see how it will fit in with the rest of what we are doing but I do plan to do so. I feel it's better to see concepts in a variety of ways in order to cement them. Plus my son is enjoying the different styles of work. My plan for how I wove everything together is on my blog if you'd like to take a look. It's a work in progress though because I'm always on the look out for ways to improve our studies. I just recently bought a wonderful Spanish reader from a WTM member and we can't wait to get to work on it.

 

 

Looks good, Stephanie!

Yes, variety is the spice of life and if you have enough interest, time, and energy it is certainly great to supplement abundantly like you have done here. For someone interested in the core subject as college prep, Breaking the Barrier is a solid start and meets the High School requirement well enough.

 

I teach with an abundance of resources ---a little bit of this and a little bit of that---like you have listed here but don't think it is crucial for everyone to do it that way. All I am saying is that Breaking the Barrier, in my opinion, is a fabulous option to RS both in price and in quality.

 

Having said that, your advice and list of resources is great. Awful nice of you to share all of your research and plans, too. I'll have to check out your blog! :thumbup:

 

¡Suerte!

[stephanier.1765]

Looks good, Stephanie!

Yes, variety is the spice of life and if you have enough interest, time, and energy it is certainly great to supplement abundantly like you have done here. For someone interested in the core subject as college prep, Breaking the Barrier is a solid start and meets the High School requirement well enough.

 

I teach with an abundance of resources ---a little bit of this and a little bit of that---like you have listed here but don't think it is crucial for everyone to do it that way. All I am saying is that Breaking the Barrier, in my opinion, is a fabulous option to RS both in price and in quality.

 

Having said that, your advice and list of resources is great. Awful nice of you to share all of your research and plans, too. I'll have to check out your blog! :thumbup:

 

¡Suerte!

 

Oh dear, I hope you didn't feel I was disagreeing with you! I just wanted to pop in with whatever little help I could give.:001_unsure: I do feel Breaking the Barrier is an adequate program it's just that the extras help us slow it down a bit to help my son put all the concepts into place. I do apologize if you felt I was attacking your position.

[sunnyca]

Stephanie :)

 

Nope, didn't feel "disagreed with" and even if you did disagree, no big deal. There are many ways to do this teaching stuff and that's the beauty of American freedom and homeschooling--we can do it our way!

 

My compliments to you are meant very sincerely. You've done a great job and I am seriously going to check out your blog to see if there is something I can glean.

 

I just wanted to set other folks' mind at ease. Teaching Spanish does not have to be so mysterious or difficult. I love to see excitement about it, though.:thumbup:

[Rhea]

Last year I was wondering what all should be covered for a Spanish 1 as we were using two different texts and neither one was labeled as "Spanish 1" so I had no idea if they were more or less than what was needed. This is a list I created based on an online scope and sequence. I then compared it to the two texts we had.

 

 

Semester I

 

Grammar

• Subject Pronouns; tu vs. ud

• Nouns and Definite Articles – Gender, Number Agreement, Singular/Plural; Indefinite Articles

• Adjectives – Agreement and Positioning

• Ser and Estar

• Ar Verbs – Present

• Adverbs of Frequency – Siempre, Nunca

• Er Verbs – Present

• Ir Verbs – Present

• Gustar

• Possesive Adjectives; Possession using de

• Demonstrative Adjectives

• Ir; Ir a + Infinitive, Ir al;

• Contractions – al, del

• Irregular Present Tense in the Yo Form – Hacer, Salir, Ver, Oir, Venir, Conocer

• Hacer Expressions (weather)

• Tener Expressions (Tener que, Tener ganas de, Age, Tengo frio, Tengo hambre)

• Hay

• Two verb combinations (infintive alter conjugated verbs)

• Stem changing verbs e to le – Querer

• Stem changing verbs e to I – Decir, Pedir

• Stem changing verbs o to ue

•

 

Vocabulary

• Greetings and Farewells; Saying Your Name; Alphabet; Useful Phrases – Como se dice.., Soy de…

• Points, Lines, and Figures; Shapes Vocabulary;

• Numbers 0 – 30

• School/Classroom/Subjects

• Descriptions – Adjective; Color

• Days of the week

• Nationalities, Countries

• Telling Time

• Ar Verb List

• Er Verb List

• Ir Verb List

• Clothing

• Animals

• Numbers 31 – 100

• Giving Dates (Hoy es el …)

• Months, Seasons

• Work vocabulary

• Hobbies, Entertainment

• Prepositions

• Questions in Spanish

• Bedroom Ãtems

• Food, Restaurant

• Snacks

• Body parts

• Shopping Words, Money

• Party vocabulary

• Family vocabulary

• Weather, Sports

• Emotions

• Beverages

• Health and Safety

 

 

Semester 2

 

Grammar

• Ordinal Numbers

• Similar verbs – Saber/Conocer, Pedir/Preguntar, etc

• Comparisons

• Adverb. – Mente, Antes de, Mientras

• Reflexive Verbs

• Affirmative and Negative Words – Ningun, Nadie

• Personal a

• Object Pronouns – Direct and Indirect, Placement

• Commands – Affirmative tu

• Commands – Irregular affirm. Tu

• Commands – Negative tu

• Commands – correct pronoun placement

• Present progressive; Present progressive – irregular

• Present progressive with Direct/Indirect pronouns

• Irregular verbs

• Preterite – ar

• Preterite – er

• Preterite – ir

• Saber vc Conocer

 

 

Vocabulary

• Jobs

• Mealtime

• Outside

• Clothing

• Family room ítems

• Traveling

• Home – Rooms, chores, furniture

• Fruits

• Kitchen ítems

• Getting ready verbs

• Body Parts

• Cognates

• 100 – 1000

• Neighborhood vocabulary

• Vegetable vocab

• Telephone

• Command words – turn, go straight, etc

• Transportation

• Going to the doctor

• Outdoor activities

• Movement vocabulary

• Computers, Internet

• Opposites vocabulary

• Dating, Going out, Having a party

• Outside words, nature

[Nissi]

This is the table of contents for the text Scholars Online uses for their Spanish I class : http://www.cengage.com/search/productOverview.do?N=+16+4294922390+4294967213+4294947312&Ntk=P_Isbn13&Ntt=9780547171890#mainTab_2

 

HTH!