How Do HSA’s Native Spanish Teachers Teach Me Spanish?
If you’ve taken a free trial Spanish class with the Homeschool Spanish Academy (HSA), you may be wondering how the regular classes will compare to the trial class. How will the teachers interact with you? How will they use a curriculum to teach you Spanish online? We will answer all these questions and take an inside look at how HSA teachers prepare for your personalized classes!
Free Trial Class vs. Regular Classes
The free trial class is a great introduction to what classes look like with HSA, but they provide only a snapshot of all the personalized teaching you receive from regular classes. Let’s take a closer look.
Similarities
- The native Spanish-speaking teacher you meet in the free trial class could be one of the teachers you have for your regular classes!
- Teachers are just as friendly and helpful in the trial class as in the regular ones.
- Just like your first class was focused both on getting to know you and teaching you Spanish, regular classes have educational and personal focuses.
Differences
- The organization of the free trial class is uniform for every student. Once you start the regular classes, the teachers will get to know you and will personalize the classes to your strengths, needs and interests.
- While you could not choose your free trial teacher, you can pick the same teacher (or a variety of teachers) to continue to teach you Spanish!
- In the regular classes, the teachers use more resources (curriculum, videos, props, games, etc.) to help you practice your Spanish.
How Our Teachers Teach You Spanish
Our professional HSA teachers take their classes with you very seriously. They want to see you succeed and progress in your Spanish abilities. Therefore, a lot of preparation, time, and effort goes into each 25 or 50-minute class session.
Class Preparation
Group Training
As a school, HSA strives for excellence in everything they do. As such, your teachers spend time throughout the year learning new teaching methods, improving the curriculum, creating new teaching materials, and brainstorming how to better each and every class.
Teacher training and workshops happen whenever there is a US holiday, so they do not take away time from the classes. In addition, whenever a teacher has some time with no classes, they dedicate it to becoming better teachers for you!
Personal Preparation
Besides group work, each teacher spends time preparing for every one of their students. They keep track of their students’ progress and prepare additional materials specific to each person’s Spanish needs.
Moreover, the teachers prepare unique vocabulary and grammar lessons for each student according to their ability level. Each student learns differently, so our teachers strive to provide activities that are engaging and customized.
Before class begins, the teachers go through a mental checklist to make sure they are completely prepared. For example, they review any notes on your profile to learn about your interests and skills, look at the previous class notes to do a quick review at the start of class, and prepare any documents, activities, or games that they will use in the class.
In-Class Teaching
All that preparation truly shows in class! If you have not yet had a free trial class, it is important to note that our instructors teach you Spanish through Google Meets, a live video platform that is easily accessible on any device. The classes are not prerecorded but live, interactive sessions where you can ask questions and practice your spoken Spanish. In these classes, our HSA teachers have two main goals: connecting with the students and improving their Spanish skills.
Connecting with Students
By connecting with you, they get to know how you learn, how they can help you best, and how to make sure you have fun in class! Every teacher has their own way of connecting with their students, but rest assured that this is a goal that all our teachers have in common. Here are a couple of examples of methods that our teachers use in their classes:
“The most important thing is to always find things to talk and laugh about. I love playing, making up stories, and having a lot of conversation.” – Ada, HSA Teacher
“I take the first couple of minutes for conversation. During this time, I always ask the student a question. I always ask them about their friends, about what class they like, and what class they don’t like. I adapt to them, and they adapt to me. We never have a boring, difficult class because we are always interacting.” – Walter, HSA Teacher
How HSA Teachers Use the Curriculum
After the teacher breaks the ice and makes you feel comfortable in your class, they will start on the educational component. HSA has a curriculum for each Spanish level which all of the classes are based on. However, the teachers do not just read the curriculum; instead, they use it as a guideline and use their personalities and extra activities to make it come alive.
“I enrich the curriculum by activating my happiness to motivate the student and make the class more enjoyable.” – Ada, HSA Teacher
Additionally, the teachers who teach you Spanish want to see you succeed in Spanish and become fluent. The most important thing in classes is not to score well on quizzes but to be able to speak Spanish well. As Walter puts it:
“My objective has always been to help the student be able to speak in Spanish.”
While there are homework, quizzes, and exams that accompany the curriculum, they are given with the goal of helping you become fluent. They are important, but your teacher will use them to lead you to be able to converse in Spanish.
After Class Rundown
For your teachers, their job isn’t over at the end of class. As soon as your class is over, they are already making notes for the next class and brainstorming ideas to help you succeed. Additionally, they schedule meetings with you (if you’re an adult) or with your parents (if you are a minor) to talk about your progress in Spanish. This is a wonderful opportunity to receive feedback on how much you are improving and to get helpful learning tips.
Are You Ready to Experience It for Yourself?
Reading about how a class works just isn’t quite the same as experiencing it for yourself. You can find out more about how the classes work, or you can just sign up for them now! Remember, our teachers always have your best interest in mind. There’s no better place to get high-quality online Spanish classes with native speakers. Get started today! ¡Empecemos!
Want to learn more about Homeschool Spanish Academy and how it works? Check out these posts!
- How Do HSA’s Native Spanish Teachers Teach Me Spanish?
- How to Add Spanish to Your Summer Camp Program
- Become Fluent in Spanish at a Fraction of the Cost
- The CEFR and How Homeschool Spanish Academy Uses It
- Homework: How Much is Too Much?
- The Perfect Spanish Curriculum for Your Child
- Which Do You Choose: The Middle School or High School Curriculum?
- What to Expect from a Year with Homeschool Spanish Academy
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