Teacher shares Spanish with all grades

Intermountain Catholic

+ Enlarge

Kimberly Turner reviews Spanish vocabulary with Saint Olaf School students. IC photo/Laura Vallego

BOUNTIFUL – Every student at Saint Olaf School has the opportunity to learn a second language. This effort started last school year because of the interest of Jo Ann Emery, principal, and with the help of Kimberly Turner, the Spanish teacher.

"Ms. Emery was interested in kids having a foundation in Spanish," said Turner, who started working at the school 14 years ago.

All of the St. Olaf students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade have at least 10 minutes every other day of Spanish instruction, which includes speaking, reading and writing.

"We do a lot of practicing, but of course they are in a different scale so I have to do different things with the Spanish," said Turner.

When she arrives in the classroom, she starts singing the names of the objects on the chart for that day. The items may be drawings or words in English and in Spanish. As she sings the words, the students repeat them.

"Monday…Lunes…Tuesday…Martes," you can hear in the classroom.

"I think is important that they hear it, that they see it, and that they can write it," said Turner. "We do a lot of practice with the languages."

In today’s world languages are an important part of many schools’ curriculum.

"We are traveling with different ethnics and nationalities here in our area, and it is important to learn the different cultures," said Turner.

Even though Turner is used to teaching in the middle school, she has found teaching the elementary students challenging, but fun and rewarding.

For example, the kids in first grade were struggling with the alphabet in Spanish, but to Turner’s surprise they were able to recite it by themselves when they were called upon to do it.

"In the first grade we used to struggle with the alphabet, even last week, and today I told them that I needed to rest my voice so I was letting them say the alphabet, and they all together said it by themselves," said Turner adding that she loves the little kids. "They are darling. They just love to learn."

Giving students an appreciation for the language while they are very young is a way of giving them a solid foundation that will help them in their future, she said. "When they grow up and become a doctor or an attorney or such, it’s very important that they have that background and are able to communicate with other people of different nationalities. As Americans, it is sad that we do not have different languages. It’s important that we bring this here to the students. I know it is important job-wise and for their futures."