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The Spanish language program at Avoca West is a FLES type program. FLES means Foreign Language in the Elementary School. This is a term that can describe any program implemented in an elementary school which devotes anywhere from 5% to 50% of the school day to world language instruction. Students receive about 36-38 hours of Spanish instruction per school year. The goal of the program is to build vocabulary, gain some basic conversational skills (greetings, introductions, expressing feelings/likes and dislikes, describing familiar people, places and objects) and learn cultural aspects of Mexico and other Spanish speaking countries.
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Students grades 1-5 receive Spanish language instruction, twice a week for 30 minutes per class. Kindergarten students also receive Spanish language instruction, twice a week for 30 minutes per class during a 12-13 week interval of the school year. Classes have a very structured routine to help build vocabulary and basic conversational skills. We begin by singing a greeting song, then warm-up by answering questions about how many days we have been in school, the calendar, birthdays for the week, feelings, and a "This or That?" activity to build our cognate vocabulary. The language lesson can include playing games, singing songs, reading stories and working with a partner or small group. Content areas are incorporated into lessons when appropriate. There are frequent cultural discussions tied into holidays, common practices and famous people. Class ends with a farewell song. The experience of learning Spanish at the elementary level will help prepare students for the rigors of world language instruction at the middle school level, when they will receive 40 minutes of daily instruction in either Spanish or French.
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