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The Speak Easy Program is an educational option for elementary students that provides rich exposure to the Spanish language and culture. Students receive an extended weekly experience for age appropriate and grade level engagement with Spanish in an immersion-like environment.

When children begin to learn a second language, they begin learning receptively, just like they learned their first language. While communicating in Spanish, qualified teachers will use gestures, tones of voice, stories, music, games, and play to create a natural and engaging environment for the students.

If children are to become bilingual and be able to speak like an educated native speaker, they need to be in an environment surrounded by Spanish in a natural and meaningful way. In 1991, a study by Johnson and Newport showed that there is a critical period for acquisition and that learners' capabilities for acquiring syntax (grammatical structure) and phonology (the way a language sounds) decline with age. So the earlier a child starts to learn a foreign language, the higher the level  of proficiency that child is likely to achieve.

The core curriculum taught  in the Speak Easy classes mimics what is taught at grade level for our students. For example, in a typical kindergarten class, students will be exposed to the math concepts appropriate for that grade level such as  patterning, sorting, and graphing. The Spanish language is the means of grade-level content instruction in order for true language acquisition to occur.

Early Foreign Language Learning:

• promotes interest in other cultures
• improves command of English
• promotes a positive self-image
• opens the door to learning a 3rd or 4th language
• takes advantage of a crucial "window of opportunity" while children's ears are most receptive to 2nd language learning

In Other Countries:

• all children learn languages as part of their regular curriculum
• the Council of Europe's goal is to begin a second language by grade 3
• children often begin a third language by the age of 13
• over 75% of the world's population functions in more than one language on a daily basis
• students can be found as young as 2nd grade learning three, four, or even five languages

What Parents Are Saying About the Program:

"My husband asked my son, '¿Qué hora es?' Without even thinking, he popped up and ran to the clock to see what time it was. There was no process time, he simply knew what to do! Amazing!" ~ Jill H.

"My daughter's eyes have been opened not just to language, but to a whole new cultural world!" ~ Ryan H.

"It's amazing how quickly my son has learned only being in class for four months." ~ Christina W.

Enrollment Form | Speakin’ Easy Blog