KANSAS EDUCATION ENRICHMENT PROGRAM EDUCATION MARKETPLACE

Educational Value

SOL Educa (SOL) offers group classes which are divided by students' age and Spanish proficiency level. We also offer one-on-one classes which are tailored to the student's availability and proficiency level. SOL’s main goal is to develop bicultural students with outstanding oral and writing Spanish skills. To that end, SOL has developed its own program to teach the Spanish language incorporating elements of the Mexican culture. Students at the beginner level will learn vocabulary through Mexican songs, stories, Mexican traditions, animals, food, etc. Advanced students' curriculum includes learning about Mexican history, literature, art, and regional culture. We enrich our students’ cultural knowledge by encouraging students in our group classes to share their own cultural traditions and compare them to the Mexican ones. At SOL we believe that the full understanding and knowledge of a specific foreign culture (Mexican in our case), provides students context to the Spanish language learning and at the same time develops tolerant, inclusive, and socially flexible students. Individuals with intercultural competence have demonstrated advanced reasoning, effective conflict management and teamwork. SOL aims to offer fun, engaging and effective Spanish language classes. We look to achieve our goal through educational games and interactive classroom activities, holiday and traditions’ celebrations, use of SOL’s visually attractive teaching materials, culturally focused curriculum, and highly researched overall language program. SOL’s classes are meant to be Spanish immersion. Beginner levels teachers, however, will translate into English whenever necessary to help students’ smoothly transition into a fully Spanish immersion class. SOL uses a spiral teaching approach in which concepts learned are constantly reviewed as students learn new concepts. Teachers in all proficiency level classes will work on accurate pronunciation, correct use of grammatical structures when communicating orally and in writing, knowledge and use of sophisticated vocabulary and appropriate use of current expressions and idioms in Spanish.