By Karen Gutierrez
Enquirer staff writer

Northern Kentucky elementary schools are finding creative ways to meet the demand for Spanish instruction..

Some are showing videos for 30 minutes a week, with teachers essentially learning alongside students.

Others have hired native speakers to work part-time with classes. Some even have parent volunteers teaching a little Spanish here and there, using what they remember from college.

These ad-hoc methods are allowed because foreign language is usually offered as an extra activity in the elementaries, not a core subject. Still, the trend worries some experts.

Research shows that learning a second language boosts brainpower, helping students in other academic areas. But that only works if teaching methods are sound, said Jacque Van Houten of the Kentucky Department of Education.

Teachers need to have some proficiency in the language, and they need to know what methods work best with young children. At the primary level, for instance, it's better to use Spanish words along with gestures and actions, not with English translations, Van Houten said.

If the approach isn't right, children can get turned off, said Mary Lynne Redmond, an associate professor of education at Wake Forest University.

That can cause problems later, when students need to study foreign language for college admission.

Around Northern Kentucky, though, educators say they aren't sensing much boredom.

"You know when a kid's thinking," said Jay Brewer, principal of Moyer Elementary School in Fort Thomas. "When you go into a room and see kids with that look on their faces - like, 'Man, I've got to listen and follow along' - I just think it's a really wonderful addition."

Last year, Brewer was principal of Ludlow Elementary, which used a state grant to hire a certified foreign language teacher.

But most schools can't afford or can't find such people. At Moyer this year, a parent volunteer will introduce some Spanish to third-graders, Brewer said.

Grant's Lick Elementary in Campbell County illustrates another typical situation.

Retired teacher Joy Cabrera is a 29-year veteran, certified in elementary education but not foreign language. She has taken eight hours of Spanish at Northern Kentucky University, and she has been married for 18 years to a Nicaragua native.

By applying for grants, holding bake sales and the like, Cabrera raised enough money to bring herself back to Grant's Lick as a part-time Spanish teacher, albeit one who is paid very little.

All grade levels visit her classroom twice a week for 30 minutes. The children play counting games, sing songs, read aloud and do role-playing in Spanish.

Cabrera speaks in English but often throws in Spanish words. On a recent afternoon, for instance, she quizzed her students about yesterday's date by asking, "If today is nueve de Septiembre, what was ayer?"

"Ocho de Septiembre!" several replied.

Cabrera makes up her own lessons, drawing in part from the national standards for foreign-language instruction and from other states' curriculum guidelines.

But some of what she does is by instinct. The other night, for instance, she had a brainstorm: She decided to introduce the idea of verb conjugation - difficult for children to master - by having fifth-graders conjugate verbs in English first.

It's all good for students such as Lydia Clark, 10.

"I get to confuse my parents," she said. "We learn Spanish words, and they don't know what in the world they mean."

Successful language programs

Here are some characteristics of successful foreign-language programs in elementary schools. For more details, download this PDF document.

• Enjoyable, meaningful activities that allow students to communicate in the language

• Lessons based on national foreign language standards

• Clear goals for the program and each grade level

• Regular program evaluation

• Accessibility for all students, not just the gifted

• Incorporation of the language into other academic subjects

• Seamless flow of instruction from the elementary to upper grades

• Well-qualified teachers who get regular professional development

Source: Brown University and the national Center for Applied Linguistics

---

E-mail kgutierrez@enquirer.com