At Sonrisas Spanish School, we have been saying for years that the best way to teach Spanish is to have a talented teacher using an effective and fun curriculum. We call that the fundamentals of foreign language learning. So it is with much distress that we have been hearing many stories of foreign language teachers […]
A third methodology that has informed the Sonrisas curriculum has perhaps made the strongest impact on us as teachers and on our students who are acquiring language. Unlike TPR or NA, the Waldorf foreign language approach is not an ESL technique. It is a carefully designed approach to foreign language instruction and acquisition. Rudolf Steiner […]
The Natural Approach (NA), the second ESL methodology we adopted and modified for our Sonrisas Spanish School curricula, was developed by a pair of applied linguists, Dr. Stephen Krashen and Spanish teacher Tracy Terrell. NA is based on the premise that the study of foreign language can be taught and learned in two distinct ways: […]
Illustrating the Importance and Benefits of Learning a Second Language at an Early Age. The following is an excerpt from the introduction to the Sonrisas Spanish School curriculum. It illustrates the importance and benefits of learning a second language at an early age. Development of the Cortex In November of 1965, the respected Canadian neurologist […]
