Learning Spanish should be first and foremost a positive experience for children. The program incorporates repetition with a variety of enjoyable activities appealing to all learning styles that keep students engaged.

Risas y Sonrisas makes learning Spanish fun and effective by using creative visual aids (posters, associations, magnetic picture cards, color-coded words, bingo, and dominos), music, sign language, and an array of games. While having fun with games and music, students also practice conversation through commonly used questions and answers, performing skits, and building picture sentences in the present, past, and future.

A colorful book with a CD-ROM and Skits DVD, a cognate folder with audio CD, four activity workbooks, and group online resources are available for students to reinforce at home what they learn in school. With all these elements working together, students gain an extensive vocabulary and practical communication skills, maintaining a high level of retention, and developing a growing interest in the new language.

Risas y Sonrisas is based on the following “Accelerated Learning” theories:

The Whole Brain
Each side of the brain functions uniquely in the learning process. The left side controls logical/analytical performance; the right side affects emotional/musical/artistic aspects. Activities used in this program make full use of both right and left brain activity.

Three Learning Styles
Learning can be visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. The program offers different ways to learn the same information to match each student’s preferred learning style.

Suggestopedia
The power of positive suggestion cannot be underestimated.  Risas y Sonrisas ensures students receive information in a way that makes them confident learners.

Multiple Intelligences
People have varying strengths and combinations of multiple intelligences – verbal/linguistic (word smart), logical/mathematical (number/reasoning smart), visual/spatial (picture smart), musical/rhythmic (music smart), bodily/kinesthetic (body smart), interpersonal (people smart), intrapersonal (self smart). Activating these different forms of intelligence brings out the best in each student..

Spanish, English, and ASL are used together to make the first connection. Once students understand the meaning of a word, only Spanish and Signs are used. Some of the songs are in Spanish and English as an introduction, but posters, bingo games, word cards and phrases are exclusively in Spanish.

The Total Immersion Method (where only Spanish is spoken) works best when students are completely immersed in the language with Spanish classes over long periods of time. When that kind of commitment is not possible, the use of this method is not as effective, and can be overwhelming and frustrating.

Children learn faster when they connect a sign to a word and sing with movement. American Sign Language offers signs that are easy to relate to words. Additionally, children have the added bonus of learning yet another language. The program can also be taught without this element.

 

The Complete Classroom Program is intended for teaching groups of students as a school curriculum or afterschool program, or for independent instructors who have an established business teaching Spanish to children.

With this program, students have the guidance of an instructor who has access to the teacher's manual with lesson plans and the instructional DVD. It includes the posters and other large visual aids and allows students to engage in more group activities while they are learning. All elements of the Individual Self Study Program are included in the Complete Classroom Program.

The Individual Self Study Program is for individual learning or small groups in a homeschool setting or with a tutor around a table, outside of the traditional classroom setting. It includes a parent's guide and miniature versions of many of the items found in the Complete Classroom Program.

The specific contents of both programs can be found under the "Products" tab.

 

The complete curriculum occupies about 100-120 class hours depending on size of class, age of students, classroom setting, and frequency and length of class. Once all chapters have been completed, the program can continue to reinforce existing vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure using the picture and word cards. The program can be extended still further with the various recommended cultural activities, videos, and books.

By the end of the program, students will have acquired Spanish pronunciation and reading skills, an extensive vocabulary, practical conversation skills through questions-and-answers and skits, and the ability to construct sentences in the present, past, and future.

 

Students of different age groups who have never been exposed to a new language need to start learning from the same level. Even before they can read, young children have a great capacity for learning new words, and can still learn a lot in the program. Non-readers (K-Grade 2) can sing songs, learn simple Q&A, and play games that don’t require reading. They can follow the songs by looking at pictures in the posters or the book and use the CD-ROM to practice pronunciation of vocabulary and Q&A. Older students (Grades 3-5) can engage in the same activities as non-readers as well as engaging in higher order thinking related to reading, understanding masculine/feminine, counting to the millions, acting skits, and building picture sentences in the present past and future.

There are many components of the Complete Classroom Program that can easily be adapted for this age group. If you are working exclusively with pre-school age children, we recommend purchasing the Music CD, the Sign and Sing DVD, and the Cognate Picture cards. Pre-school children respond well to music, games with movement, group activities with visual aids, and short stories with pictures and simple words they can act out and repeat.

 

It is always good to have a Spanish-speaking instructor if possible, because students benefit greatly from constant reinforcement of

correct pronunciation. If no Spanish-speaking teacher is available, however, Risas y Sonrisas provides audiovisual tools to complement the songs, vocabulary, and Q&A presented in the curriculum. For instance, teachers can use the CD-ROM to play a Bingo game or teach a song with the correct pronunciation, or use the Skits DVD to help students rehearse a skit.

Certification may be necessary if you’re planning to work in a public school or certain private schools. To start your own business teaching Spanish to children it is important that you have the following qualifications:

• Speak Spanish correctly
• Enjoy working with children
• Be enthusiastic (enjoy dynamic classes - playing and singing)
• Know how to control children in a group setting

Success will be determined not only by the teacher’s gift in teaching, but also by the tools she brings to class to create the perfect learning atmosphere.

 

 

If for any reason you are not fully satisfied with your purchase, you can return it within 10 days of receiving the product. Please call (512) 219-0225 or send us an email and provide the reason for your return. Once we have received the returned product in re-selling condition, you will be refunded your purchase price minus the S&H charges.