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At La Catalina School, we realize and are sensitive to the fact that
many people have had a great deal of frustration about their past
experiences of learning Spanish, even after many years of classes
and independent study. They come to us saying, “I know a lot
of words and rules but when people speak to me I do not understand,
even if they are using words I know.”
We have spent many
years researching and striving to understand why so many people
struggle at learning languages and how we can create a program and
curriculum where students can use their natural facilities and
experience to learn with ease.
At La Catalina, we
have integrated the latest research and findings on language
acquisition, along with a holistic mind/body/emotion approach to
learning. Our teaching/learning methodology, which is based on some
of the following fundamental realizations, is powerful and
effective:
1.
Learning your own language was not hard when you
were a little kid. As a baby, you did not know any words, could not
speak, read or write, and certainly did not know any grammar. Your
brain pulled off the amazing feat of learning to discriminate word
sounds out of what at first were meaningless patterns of sounds. It
also figured out grammatical usage rules without having been told
what they were. By the time you were four-years-old your were
fluent without much effort. You could communicate in the domain of
your own world in real time and understand responses framed within
the context of your limited vocabulary. This remarkable ability of
the brain, our symbolic thinking ability, supported by
familiarization through immersion in the language, were at work to
make this happen.
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Our approach:
The following is
the conceptual language acquisition framework we use at La Catalina
to guide our teaching and curriculum, through which one proceeds in
overlapping and intermingling stages:
Passive Stage -
Listening to sounds contextually to become familiar with new
language
Active Stage -
Attempting to use language to communicate: listening and
speaking
Fluent Stage -
Core vocabulary can be used in real time to communicate
without having to translate from one’s native language
Vocabulary Expansion Stage -
Engaging in various
activities the vocabulary relevant to those activities is naturally
acquired. One also learns reading and writing
Language Deepening Stage -
Acquiring the
structure (grammar) and usage (literature, idiomatic expressions,
composition, expression of abstract thought, humor, and poetry) of
the language.
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2.
Belief is a powerful tool that can work for or
against you. Here are some myths that people believe that are
self-defeating and sabotage the learning process:
Myth #1: I am no good at learning languages.
The truth of the
matter is that although some people are extraordinarily gifted with
languages, if you can speak your native tongue then you are
perfectly capable and have all the mental facilities to learn a
second language with ease, if you have the right motivation and
right practice.
Myth #2: I am too old to learn another language. I missed the
boat when I was kid!
In the normal
adult, this symbolic capacity required to learn languages is fully
functional, whether or not we are aware of its workings. Yet
somehow this ability appears inaccessible to most people when we are
learning a 2nd language. We use this symbolic capacity
all the time; it is a major component in our being able to plan,
navigate, talk in our native language, and drive a car to mention a
few major human activities. So, if we did not loose this capacity
and it is fully operational, why then are we unable to use it to
learn a new language and what is putting this capacity out of
reach?
There are a number
of factors, which could include emotional, mental, and physical
blockages brought about by wrong beliefs and expectations, poor
motivation and bad practices thus preventing this ability from
operating. We simply become incapable of accessing our symbolic
engine for learning languages.
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Our approach:
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Helps override
these defeating beliefs and expectations by guiding every student
to see and experience first-hand that they can learn Spanish
through right practice. We realize that the mind is not the only
one tool for learning, but we also need the support of the body
and emotions. Let’s see how this is true. If you get nervous
(emotions) and freeze up (body) then you are unable to communicate
freely and openly. As part of the training our teachers receive,
they learn how to create an environment that is comfortable for
the mind, body and emotions so optimal learning can take place.
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3.
It is
well known that if a person is in a foreign country with no peers to
speak her native language and her survival depends on learning the
foreign language, she will become reasonably fluent in the foreign
language in a fairly short period of time (6 weeks to six months.)
This immersion approach is extreme and can be fairly painful, but it
does work!
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