September 21, 2006 Issue                                       

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©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Spanish workshop for children marks season of new beginnings

The Spanish Workshop for Children immerses kids in the language and makes the process fun.

Spanish Workshop for Children, a total Spanish immersion program, is aiming to get young people’s new academic year off like a lion, with a roaring educational head start. Adhering to the mission of the 2006 Discover Languages, Spanish Workshop for Children stands poised to arm toddlers as young as 18 months of age with the solid foreign language skills that will advantageously serve them throughout their school years and beyond. The fall 2006 sessions of the workshop begin in September, but enrollment is available on a continuously rolling basis. Classes are conveniently held several times a week at several locations within the greater Philadelphia region.

This American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Discover Languages initiative seeks to positively influence not only the full range of foreign language programs in U.S. schools and communities but also the students these programs are designed to serve. According to a Louisiana public grade school study, knowledge of a foreign language enhances not only children’s language art skills but also their overall mental development. In fact, the long-reaching benefits of bilingualism extend all the way into improved mathematical capabilities. Given these statistics, this year-long recognition of foreign language’s merits is long overdue. With its focus on teaching youth who range in age from 1.5 to 8 years, Spanish Workshop for Children is exactly the type of program ACTFL strives to recognize.

Study after study has shown that the earlier a child is exposed to a foreign language, the more likely s/he is to fully grasp it. In fact, a February 1996 Newsweek article declared, “A child taught a second language after the age of 10 or so is unlikely ever to speak it like a native.” Unfortunately, according to the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC, only about 31 percent of elementary students are learning a foreign language in school before the age of 11. By targeting children 8 years of age and younger, Spanish Workshop for Children instills foreign language skills in youngsters at an age when they are most likely to last a lifetime.

School-based immersion programs like Spanish Workshop for Children, while hard to find, provide a much-needed missing link to the traditional educational system. Spearheaded by Marcela Summerville, a native Spanish speaker who originally hails from Argentina, Spanish Workshop for Children takes a nontraditional approach to foreign language teaching. By customizing each of its programs to suit the developmental requirements of its students, the program makes learning natural and enjoyable.

After less than a decade in operation, Spanish Workshop for Children already boasts dozens of satisfied clients. Susan Cordero, a Philadelphia mother, stresses the scarcity of such programs: “I looked very hard for a Spanish program for my 18-month-old. Spanish Workshop for Children is the only program that actually encourages children to start as early as possible.” Jennifer Wiley, another pleased client, reserves her praise for the program’s founder: “Marcela knows the minds of children, so through gearing her lessons according to age groups, she makes the class fun and fitting to their attention spans. Every week I am amazed how she keeps it so fresh!”

For more information on Spanish Workshop for Children’s foreign language immersion methodology, visit the program’s Website at http://spanishworkshopforchildren.com. To learn how your toddler or child can benefit from the total Spanish Immersion Program, contact Marcela Summerville at 610-277-1802 or e-mail her at marcela@spanishworkshopforchildren.com.