COURSE TITLE:

HABLA ESPANOL: Spanish Basics For Educators PT I

NO. OF CREDITS:

3 QUARTER CREDITS
[semester equivalent = 2.00 credits]

WA CLOCK HRS:  
OREGON PDUs:  
PENNSYLVANIA ACT 48:  
30
30
30

INSTRUCTOR:

DEBORAH RICHTER
ctwichel@thewiredcity.net

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course is designed to teach important Spanish skills that will allow staff members to gain the trust and confidence of Spanish-speaking students so that these students can feel confident, accepted, and be able to approach staff members with their specific needs and concerns.  The ultimate goal is to relate to Spanish-speaking students and their parents through basic communication in their native language.  Not only will this assist in building a positive rapport between the staff member and student, but it is also useful in supporting and encouraging the student to not be afraid of learning English.

The initial focus of the course will be on building basic fundamentals of the Spanish language, with an overall goal of learning to say necessary vocabulary and phrases for communicating with Spanish-speaking students and parents.  Participants will also learn vital phone conferencing strategies for dealing with a Spanish-speaking parent, learn to use our “Spanish Progress Reports”, and understand how to properly solicit important information from the student and parent.

This course is appropriate for all staff members K-12 with limited or no Spanish language skills.

•    $30 fee for the purchase of the course packet, workbook and audio material is payable to the instructor after registration. 
•    Once the instructor has received registration confirmation, she will email a course packet invoice directly to you.

The Co-Instructor for this course is Danielle Twichel, M.A.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this course, participants will have:

  1. The fundamentals of proper Spanish pronunciation.
  2. An extensive Spanish vocabulary pertaining to the school setting.
  3. To welcome a native Spanish-speaking student to class and make him or her feel comfortable.
  4. Key strategies for holding a live or phone conference in Spanish.
  5. To convey and solicit specific information to or from the Spanish-speaking student.
  6. How to use our Spanish/English progress reports to inform parents of the student’s positive or negative classroom behaviors.
  7. Over 100 specific helpful phrases in Spanish to build a positive rapport with Spanish-speaking students.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Completion of all specified assignments is required for issuance of hours or credit.  The Heritage Institute does not award partial credit. 

 

HOURS EARNED:
Completing the basic assignments (Section A. Information Acquisition) for this course automatically earns participant’s their choice of CEUs (Continuing Education Units), Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, or Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours. The Heritage Institute offers CEUs and is an approved provider of Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, and Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours.

 

UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT INFORMATION

REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
Continuing Education Quarter credits are awarded by Antioch University Seattle (AUS). AUS requires 75% or better for credit at the 400 level and 85% or better to issue credit at the 500 level. These criteria refer both to the amount and quality of work submitted.

  1. Completion of Information Acquisition assignments 30%
  2. Completion of Learning Application assignments 40%
  3. Completion of Integration Paper assignment 30%

 

CREDIT/NO CREDIT (No Letter Grades or Numeric Equivalents on Transcripts)
Antioch University Seattle (AUS) Continuing Education Quarter credit is offered on a Credit/No Credit basis; neither letter grades nor numeric equivalents are on a transcript. 400 level credit is equal to a "C" or better, 500 level credit is equal to a "B" or better. This information is on the back of the transcript.

AUS Continuing Education quarter credits may or may not be accepted into degree programs. Prior to registering determine with your district personnel, department head, or state education office the acceptability of these credits for your purpose.

ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION

REQUIRED TEXT

Required 50-page course workbook with audio material that follows the workbook lessons. 

None. All reading is online.

MATERIALS FEE

• $30 fee for the purchase of the course packet, workbook and audio material is payable to the instructor after registration. • Once the instructor has received registration confirmation, she will email a course packet invoice directly to you.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING THIS COURSE:

Deborah Richter is an accomplished Spanish Instructor who has been teaching Spanish for more than 30 years. She holds degrees in Spanish Literature, Education, and Physical Education from Whitman College. 

     Deborah frequently travels to Spain, where she has studied at La Universidad de San Agustin and at Saint Luis University Madrid. Other Spanish-speaking countries that she has visited and leads groups include Panamá Puerto Rico, Mexico, Perú, Colombia, Argentina, Guatemala, Ecuador, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Venezuela.

     After teaching Spanish in the Tacoma School District for twelve years, Deborah founded La Única Spanish Instruction Center, which has, over the course of 19  years, offering many wonderful and popular general-public and field-specialized courses as well as amazing cultural trips to various Spanish-speaking countries. . Understanding that students absorb and learn information more effectively when they are simultaneously having fun, Deborah concentrates on making her classes active, enjoyable, and entertaining. Additionally, she offers training and workshops for educators which emphasize strengthening and bridging communication and cultural gaps between teachers and their Spanish-speaking students, parents, and ethnically-diverse communities.

     It is a tremendous joy to teach and connect with such wonderful and highly motivated members of the community!

 

Co-Instructor:

Danielle Twichel, M.A., is a passionate Spanish instructor with additional teaching experience in Art and English. She graduated from our local Pacific Lutheran University in 2018 with degrees in Hispanic Studies and Fine Art. During her university days, she studied abroad in Spain and Ecuador, two countries that taught her the joys of speaking a foreign language and allowed her to explore more profound cultural connections. After graduating, she instructed painting at a studio in Puyallup, where she encountered both skill and interest in teaching. She later lived abroad in Chile on two separate occasions in 2019 and 2021 where she worked as an English as a Second Language teacher at a university and taught online classes. Danielle has recently obtained her Master's Degree in Global Higher Education from La Universidad de Alcalá, España. Her experience has led her to become a creative and encouraging teacher who loves to help her students feel confident and capable when communicating Spanish.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

HABLA ESPANOL: Spanish Basics For Educators PT I

Alcorta, Joe H., Essential Spanish for Teachers and Other School PersonnelMarion, 1996

Bermudez, Andrea B. Doing Our Homework: How Schools Can Engage Hispanic Communities. Eric

Clearing House Rural Education and Small Schools, 1994.

Dover. Easy Spanish Phrase Book: Over 770 Basic Phrases for Everyday Use. Dover Pubns, 1994.

Harvey, William C. Spanish for Educators.  Barron’s Educational Series, Inc., 1986.

Richmond, Dorothy.  Practice Makes Perfect – Spanish Verb Tenses.  Passport Books, 1996

Stein, Gail. Countdown to Spanish : Learn to Communicate in 24 Hours.  McGraw-Hill, 2003.

Wald, Susan.  Spanish for Dummies. For Dummies; Book and CD edition, 1999