Spanish is taught at years 9 and 10. Some of our top students then go onto Gisborne Girls High to pursue Spanish at NCEA Levels 1 and 2.
For 2009 we have approximately 90 students who have chosen Spanish as an option subject. At Year 10 we have approximately 45 students who have chosen Spanish.
It has been a real bonus to have Senora Ramos, a native Spanish speaker from Uruguay, to help assist with the teaching at the Year 9 level, as class sizes are large.
Currently we offer Spanish for one term in Year 9, and we are pushing to have Spanish for two terms at Year 10. Our top students in the past are just able to cope with NCEA Spanish, but it is essential they have no less than 3 terms of Spanish prior to NCEA Spanish in Year 11.
I feel it is a real plus to our GBHS students to offer them the chance to learn a foreign language. There are over 350 million people in 20 countries that speak Spanish. If you can speak the language you can also absorb their culture and it gets the students thinking beyond New Zealand and their home environment.
You will learn more about English, especially grammar, when you study a foreign language. You will, also, have potential career opportunities opening up to you.
When you are on your, " Big OE," you will enjoy traveling throughout the Spanish speaking world much more when you can communicate with the people. Experience has taught me that the Spanish speaking people really appreciate the gringos attempting to speak their language. My extensive traveling in the Spanish speaking world is enhanced by my ability to speak the language. Without this knowledge I would feel as if I was being cheated from making new friends and getting a true insight into how they live.
Another important reason to learn Spanish is that you gain confidence in learning how to learn.
My approach to teaching the language is, "old school." Each Monday the students are given new vocabulary words with a new theme each week. The words are written out for homework and we practice saying the words repeatedly during the week. Each Friday we have a vocabulary test, that will also include one grammar component that we have worked on during the week. It is quite surprising how fast most students learn the basics of the language, and are able to give and understand personal information. By week three we try to add peer oral assessments to the learning program.
With the new curriculum I have moved into more oral work and oral assessments. I try to get the students speaking the language as much as possible by setting up role playing situations that would be required in the Spanish speaking world. I also try to get the students talking about subjects that are of interest to them: Deportes, Fiestas, Comida y Chicas ( Sports, Partys, Food, and Girls)
Year 9 Spanish Topics:
Why learn Spanish / Foreign Language
Who speaks Spanish
How we learn Spanish
Recognizing Cognates
Greetings / Farewells
Classroom Vocabulary / Classroom objects
Giving Personal Information
Describing people and things
Colors
School subjects and timetables in Spanish
Family Information
Telling Time / When you do things
Spanish speaking country study and speech
Frank Russell ( GBHS Spanish Teacher)