Middle School Spanish

[kentuckymom]

So now that I've decided to try Spanish as well as Latin with my son next year, I have to choose a program and I'm looking for recommendations.

 

I know a lot of homeschool programs are video based and/or self teaching. I'd love a video component so my son can hear authentic Spanish being spoken, but I don't need someone else to do the teaching for me. In my pre-kid life I got an MA in Spanish literature and taught Spanish at the college level (mostly introductory Spanish, since I don't have a PhD, but I did do a few upper lever undergrade courses) for 5 years. I haven't used my Spanish regularly for the past 11 years, but I'm still proficient and feel confident (even excited) about teaching my son.

 

That said, I really don't want to just pull together my own program. I was looking over textbooks I still have and, though they'd teach the relevant grammar and vocabulary, they're aimed at a college student audience, not a middle school audience. They also go at a faster pace than I'd want to go with a middle schooler. So, yeah, if I didn't have any money to spend I could probably figure out how to modify them, but I'd really love a program aimed at the right age group.

 

Any recommendations?

[SilverMoon]

We've used Duolingo paired with Spanish for Children (from CAP) and I couldn't be more pleased.

 

Duolingo is a free app that is fabulous for daily practice and review. It does not teach a lick of grammar though.

 

Spanish for Children is grammar heavy, but needs loads more review and usage. It has a DVD.

 

They compliment each other wonderfully and we've had a great year.

[Miss Tick]

I have am old copy of the middle school text, Paso a Paso. Eh. I picked it up at a sale years before my kids were in middle school and it was too much of a textbook to work with my very elementary age kids.

 

However, if you are just looking for a "spine", since you clearly are more than qualified to teach it, it might serve your purpose.

[Tanaqui]

Duolingo is a free app that is fabulous for daily practice and review. It does not teach a lick of grammar though.

 

Well, it sorta does, but mostly via immersion and guesswork. I agree, it's better as review than as your main form of instruction.

 

[rutheart]

I'm using a high school text, at half the pace. Since I had written in my copy of the workbook, I'm typing up the workbook and making changes where appropriate (i.e. deleting references to cintas, adding textos). Since I'm making changes anyway, I change some of the names in the exercises to names of people she knows, to personalize it. It's more work for me than using a curricula I don't like, but it's still less than creating something from scratch.

Ruth

[happypamama]

DD has learned a lot with DuoLingo and Getting Started With Spanish.

[deerforest]

We just started using Español Santillana a couple of months ago and are really happy with it. Cons: It's designed for schools, difficult to order, has several parts and is expensive too. Pros: They have levels through to AP Spanish, it does a great job of integrating culture and listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, DD has already learned a lot, and she really likes it. 

 

I have a BA in Spanish and I definitely think it's a program that works best with an experienced Spanish speaker. You'd be fine! We started in 1A and we will be able to move to 1B by the fall. 

Otherwise I would also suggest Breaking the Barrier if you have an iPad. The iBook version is great and inexpensive.

Duolingo is fun practice but not a complete program.

I can't begin to tell you how many other programs we tried and were unhappy with.

Edited May 4, 2016 by deerforest

[kentuckymom]

We just started using Español Santillana a couple of months ago and are really happy with it. Cons: It's designed for schools, difficult to order, has several parts and is expensive too. Pros: They have levels through to AP Spanish, it does a great job of integrating culture and listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, DD has already learned a lot, and she really likes it. 

 

I have a BA in Spanish and I definitely think it's a program that works best with an experienced Spanish speaker. You'd be fine! We started in 1A and we will be able to move to 1B by the fall. 

 

Otherwise I would also suggest Breaking the Barrier if you have an iPad. The iBook version is great and inexpensive.

 

Duolingo is fun practice but not a complete program.

 

I can't begin to tell you how many other programs we tried and were unhappy with.

 

If I were teaching middle schoolers in a classroom setting I would definitely want to use Espanol Santillana. It looks amazing, but I'm not sure if it's worth paying for all of the components and adapting it for just one student. Are you using it to teach just one child, or multiple children? How did you get ahold of it? I don't see an obvious way on the website for a homeschooler to order it.

 

We don't have an ipad, but the print version of Breaking the Barrier looks pretty good. I prefer print books over ebooks anyway, and the program is still less expensive than many. I may go with that one, but I'd still love hear more about how you've adapted Espanol Santillana and how you ordered it as a homeschooler.

[StillStanding]

"So You Really Want to Learn Spanish"

 

Castilian Spanish

[...................]

Duolingo is going great here - we expect dd to finish it before high school and then see if she test into Spanish 2.' If not we figure it'll just make Spanish 1 go more smoothly so we don't do anything else. :) she loves it too, If that helps.

[deerforest]

If I were teaching middle schoolers in a classroom setting I would definitely want to use Espanol Santillana. It looks amazing, but I'm not sure if it's worth paying for all of the components and adapting it for just one student. Are you using it to teach just one child, or multiple children? How did you get ahold of it? I don't see an obvious way on the website for a homeschooler to order it.

 

We don't have an ipad, but the print version of Breaking the Barrier looks pretty good. I prefer print books over ebooks anyway, and the program is still less expensive than many. I may go with that one, but I'd still love hear more about how you've adapted Espanol Santillana and how you ordered it as a homeschooler.

 

I am teaching to one child. I have only one child, and I work full time so no time for anything crazy! I asked DD why she liked it so much, and she said she loves the culture integration. It also moves quickly, but not too quickly, and it's easy for me to add extra review. DD also said that she likes that the story lines (desafios) are there to make it interesting but that they aren't cheesy. They are a Spain-based company with offices throughout the Spanish-speaking world. They don't shy away from "vosotros" yet make it clear that it's typical in Spain. They use people with mixed accents for the different listening activities. 

 

I emailed them, and they just put me in touch with the representative for my state, and I ordered through him (now her as they switched people). I just sent her an email earlier this week for a price quote for 1B, and I know it will be over $300, which is, admittedly crazy $$$ for something that we'll finish in about 6 months (based on our speed with 1A), but, again, it is so totally worth it to us!

 

I wish I could say that I think it was a waste of money, but I don't--for our family, anyway! I didn't have time to develop my own curriculum, and I refused to outsource this subject since I am perfectly capable of teaching it. So, the cost is worth it for our situation.

Edited May 4, 2016 by deerforest

[borninthesouth]

I was a middle school and high school Spanish teacher.  I really like Duolingo.  As a free app it is really good at teaching pronunciation and vocabulary.  I don't know what to recommend because I can use regular Spanish texts to teach with.  Just my 2 cents on Duolingo.  

 

 

[kentuckymom]

I was a middle school and high school Spanish teacher.  I really like Duolingo.  As a free app it is really good at teaching pronunciation and vocabulary.  I don't know what to recommend because I can use regular Spanish texts to teach with.  Just my 2 cents on Duolingo.  

 

Did you not read that I'm a former Spanish teacher and could use regular texts as well? It's just that the only ones I have are geared for college students and I'm not eager to adapt them to a middle school level. I appreciate the multiple good reviews of Duolinguo. It sounds like it should make a good supplement. Did you have a favorite text when you were teaching in the classroom at the middle school level?

[Meriwether]

Deerforest, I was also a Spanish teacher once upon a time. I bought Breaking the Barrier last month, but I wasn't terribly impressed with it. What do like about Espanol Santillana in particular? I am thinking about offering a high school level homeschool Spanish 1 course next year, so I want a great text.

 

[deerforest]

Deerforest, I was also a Spanish teacher once upon a time. I bought Breaking the Barrier last month, but I wasn't terribly impressed with it. What do like about Espanol Santillana in particular? I am thinking about offering a high school level homeschool Spanish 1 course next year, so I want a great text.

 

Honestly, I"m not trying to sell this to anyone, but we really disliked so many other programs that finding this has just brought our family joy. Someone else might hate it as much as we have disliked others. But, here goes... 

 

I should also say that we are an adoptive family. DD came home at 7 months speaking a few words of Spanish, and did NOT like it when I spoke Spanish to her. She picked up and switched to English with a large vocabulary before 12 months. So, I think she has a strong foundation (and a fabulous natural accent) and natural propensity for languages. Even though she didn't like us speaking it, we played Spanish kids music all the time. We had every bilingual or Spanish book for infants to preschool I could find, books about games in Spanish, on and on. We did a lot of all this until about the age of 7 when other stuff took over our lives. And, because although I was able to find a lot of fun stuff for preschool and very young elementary, I hated everything I found for about grades 1-6.

 

Over the yearsI have bought, used, or attempted to use:

 

2004-present - Every Spanish learning song CD I could find - Jose Luiz Orozco (who we love), Beth Manners, Sara Jordan, Twin Sisters, Sing and Learn Spanish, Hop, Skip, and Sing Spanish, etc. Gosh, there are probably at least a half dozen others. Some we loved and still use. Some were so horrible that we never spoke of them again.

 

2009 - Hablo Español. No, just no. I can't even remember any of the specifics but it was very much not what we wanted. http://www.amazon.com/Hablo-Espanol-Stuff-Spanish-English/dp/0865303118?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

 

2010-2012 - Elementary Spanish from Northern Arizona University (http://esp.extended.nau.edu/ElementarySpanish.aspx) which is available on Discovery Education for free if you have a membership. We actually completed levels 1-2 and a lot of 3 and 4. But, we were very laid back, and DD was about 6. She remembers A LOT from that time. I stopped it because it was really a waste of my time. I didn't need a recorded teacher teaching her Spanish, and we were moving into other school subjects more. However, she just asked about this again, and I think she is going to start watching the high school level ones on her own. I don't think the 7th-8th grade ones are worth it for us.

 

This book and the one above it: http://www.amazon.com/English-Spanish-Everything-Learning-Preschool-English/dp/076966489X?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage but DD HATED workbooks (and still does!)

 

I am forgetting at least 3 or 4 other elementary level ones we tried so I apologize. I bought Getting Started with Spanish, and it was far below what we needed. From a pedagogical perspective, it just wasn't what we wanted at all. There was no real context or culture. The lessons were short and just out of context. 

 

By this point, I just gave up and decided we would just wait it out for middle school curriculum. So, then I looked at :

 

So You Really Want to Use Spanish -- and I would have probably tried that one if I could ever figure out how/where to order it. Ray at Horrible Histories didn't carry it, and I just gave up.

 

Breaking the Barrier -- DD likes the integrated videos in the iBook version. We would not be successful using this as our main program because of the types of learning activities, but we will probably use bits of it as supplement. The iBook version is only $14, and that's a great price for that quality!

 

I also looked into Descubre and Avancemos, and both look like strong programs too, also designed for middle school learning. But, the pages themselves were just too busy. There seemed to be too many workbook style exercises that I knew wouldn't go over well.

 

For us, Español Santillana just immediately felt calmer. The pages aren't as busy. The teacher's guide is excellent at providing supplementary details, recommendations. There is a mix of different learning activities--it's not all just fill in the blank or matching. There is drawing, open writing, lots of reading, listening, videos (though I think those are the weakest), and I haven't yet figured out how to access the web-based activities, but we haven't really missed them. 

 

It just really appeals to my kid who is an accelerated learner with some Spanish background (but not a heritage or bilingual learner at this point in her life). There are enough choices that we don't have to do everything. Yea, I have to be her conversation and project partner, but I lived through it before so I will again.

 

So, again, for our family, our learning style, and our needs this is absolutely the best fit. 

Edited May 6, 2016 by deerforest

[deerforest]

I thought of a few more things. In 1A, there is a review/preliminary unit followed by 4 units focusing on 4 countries (and if I recall there are 4 different ones in 1B and then those 8 carry through the upper levels. Unit 1 was Mexio, we are in Puerto Rico now, then Guatemala, and maybe Peru I think is the last. Each country unit includes 4 chapters and a review chapter and then culture. It takes us exactly 1 week to do each chapter so about 6 weeks per unit. So, 6 X 4 for the units after the intro unit is about 24 weeks. We spend about 25-40 min 5-days a week. We allocate 40 min per day for Spanish so if we have leftover time, she studies flash cards or uses Duolingo.

 

There is a consistent pattern of new vocabulary, grammar, and communication. DD asked to take the tests (which we have never done before) and is pleased to see her progress.

 

The first 4 verbs were estar, ser, tener, and haber. So, they are not just starting with easy to conjugate ones... I keep telling her that there really are patterns to these things, usually! But, those verbs definitely allow for conversations, reading, and writing right away.

Edited May 6, 2016 by deerforest