The grand party

By Ann Austin, Tribune staff writer

It may have been a Friday, but students and faculty at St.Theodore Catholic School had something else to celebrate. Their love of the Spanish language.

‘La Fiesta Grande,’ translated as &uot;the great celebration,&uot; was filled with jubilant singing from children of all ages. Their songs were about farm animals, opposites, an aunt who likes to dance, leaping and dancing and there was even a rendition of &uot;The Three Bears.&uot;

The songs were all sung in Spanish, with props to help parents and other family and friends who didn’t know Spanish understand what the children sang.

No one could guess by the children’s mastery of the language they began learning it at the start of the year.

&uot;Their development has just been fantastic,&uot; said Jackie Shaefer, who heads the Spanish program at St. Theodore. &uot;I would say they are more or less on a precipice, ready to branch out and make just a huge leap.&uot;

But Shaefer said the kids couldn’t have done it without the enthusiasm of their teachers and parents.

&uot;This has really been a project that we’ve all done together,&uot; said Shaefer. &uot;The parents sent their kids to school ready to learn and the classroom teachers brought the program back to their rooms.&uot;

Principal Tom Klipfel was also impressed by the results.

&uot;I think it’s way past our expectations,&uot; he said, adding that it was an area he knew the school could benefit from.

At the great celebration Friday students displayed their knowledge of the language through song. But the program itself was designed in a similar way. No books, at first. Students learned Spanish through a process called &uot;total physical fesponse&uot; which involves more active learning, what Shaefer describes as a variation of the game Simon Says.

&uot;It’s really important that people begin with listening first. It involves giving commands … sit, stand, point to the window. From there you can go into speaking and they can learn to construct simple sentences. It’s a fun way for kids to learn to develop language skills,&uot; Shaefer said.

Singing is also a constructive way to learn, she said, as it involves a lot of repetition. The program uses familiar songs, which have been translated to Spanish, to help the students learn the meaning of different words.

But what is language without understanding the culture it is used by?

&uot;I found that they were quite fascinated with all of the culture,&uot; Shaefer said. Students learned stories about Mexican Independence Day, Columbus Day, Virgin of Guadalupe, and Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) where Spanish families remember loved ones they have lost, though in a sort of celebration. They also learned all about different countries where Spanish is spoken, such as Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico and Central and South America&045;what the land is like, different animals, customs, foods, etc.

Shaefer has taught in many different areas, with many different types of students, but she has found St. Theodore students to be the most responsive.

&uot;I’ve never worked with children who have been so ready to learn,&uot; she said. &uot;It is such a blessing and such a privilege to work with students like this. I just felt that these children were pretty open-minded all along.&uot;

The value of the progam isn’t lost on Klipfel.

&uot;You can’t go any place without coming in contact with a Spanish-speaking person. Children definitely need to have a Spanish-speaking base of some kind,&uot; he said.

(Contact Ann Austin at ann.austin@albertleatribune.com or 379-3435.)