Secondary Students Spreading Language Learning
A couple of months ago at El Altillo International School a group of Secondary students looking for a project to invest their time in as a part of their Community Action Service (CAS) decided to start giving Spanish lessons to small groups of younger students. Primary students, from years 2nd – 6th of primary, meet once a week for 30 minutes with a grup of 1st Baccalaureate students to learn Spanish and make connections with the new culture they are living in.
When asked about the objective of their language workshops the students explained that they not only wanted to help the primary learners to adapt better to their classes but also to know how to speak the basics of Spanish to use in their daily lives, and, most importantly, to be able to speak with classmates to make friends.
These CAS students have organized themselves well and arrange the content of their workshops by theme the interests the children have, adapting them to each age group. They have already covered food, sports and animals and each session is started by introducing the concept and finishing with an interactive game. They engage the more timid students and make sure all learners participate in each class.
The Baccalaureate students count on their CAS leader, Ms. Molino for support and the also go to Ms. Danskin our EAL & Multilingualism lead in primary for ideas and feedback.
While these primary learners are also receiving Spanish language support from our teaching staff we believe that these workshops are an excellent way to connect with other students from the school, building community while acknowledging their cultural differences.
The CAS students would like their project to become a tradition in the school and are already thinking of suitable students to take the lead next year and keep the learning alive. They noted that they find it rewarding to use the skills they have learned in school to help others get better and that they love to see the primary students making progess in their language acquistion.
