The Unquowa School :Our Programs
Foreign Language
The foreign language program at Unquowa recognizes that second language acquisition must begin as early as possible to approximate the success that children achieve naturally in their native language through playful learning. Consequently, we include Spanish in our Pre-K program and continue it up through the grades. Very young children have a remarkable ability to absorb the vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation of a second language, and they also have the lack of inhibition and self-consciousness that older children may feel for learning a language if the process is begun too late.
At Unquowa we engage students' curiosity by combining culture (history, geography, music, art, etc.) and language, and we encourage students to enjoy the process of discovering means of communication in a second, or for some children a third, language. From early childhood, children are led to draw parallels between the English language and the American culture with other languages and cultures, imparting a subtle message of global awareness.
At The Unquowa School, the learning of a foreign language is a smooth process tailored to each developmental stage. Pre-K through kindergarten students meet with their Spanish teacher several times a week and their class focuses on listening and speaking, playing games and singing songs to expose them to the language and to encourage the realization—just as infants and toddlers begin to find naturally—that language provides communication, and clear communication gets results. First and second grade students continue to improve and practice the oral and aural language through visual and auditory games, while beginning to add some reading and writing. Third grade students delve more deeply into written Spanish, and fourth and fifth grade students progress to the learning of the structure of the Spanish grammar and the more complex comprehension of the written and spoken language.
In sixth and seventh grades teachers add an emphasis on Spanish literature, which is a wonderful way to internalize the Spanish grammar through the authentic words of an author. Our eighth grade program completes first year Spanish, and many students go on to either second year Spanish in high school or begin an additional language, such as Chinese or Latin. Some students, however, opt for academic support and an abbreviated foreign language program in the upper grades; these students leave Unquowa strongly prepared, both in knowledge and disposition, for entry into a level one language class of their choice in high school.
From the earliest years through eighth grade, our faculty focuses on the natural acquisition of language, speaking Spanish almost exclusively in class, with the exception of culture and history lessons where complex vocabulary sometimes makes the use of English necessary. Our goal is for students to follow the same path they follow in their native language—understanding and speaking, then literacy and thoughtful written expression. Above all, students learn to appreciate and enjoy people's differences.
