Even with a little bit of home schooling from his Colombian mother, Ian Jackson’s home Spanish lessons only got him so far.
While he had a relative grasp on the language, he still could not read or write well in his mother’s native tongue.
But in January, he enrolled in the Spanish Learning Center. And after 14 weeks, the 9-year-old could read, write and analyze literature in Spanish.
“He did something he never did … really working on reading comprehension in Spanish,” said Ian’s mother, Claudia Jackson.
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After its third year, the Spanish Learning Center has helped introduce Columbus’ youth to a fun way of learning a foreign language.
Originally beginning in 2013, the center offers different levels of weekly Spanish language lessons to students ages 4 through 12.
Students are divided into classes based on age level and skill. Classes range from beginner level one Spanish to the more advanced level four.
“The main goal is to introduce Columbus to another language besides English,” said Raquel Contreras, who serves on the Spanish Learning Center board and helped design the program’s curriculum.
Lower-level classes focus on the basics of Spanish with basic vocabulary, conversation and verbs. Upper levels three and four emphasize reading and writing comprehension.
Even though technically it is a sixth day of school, Ian Jackson said he loves making the trip each Saturday to the center because the lessons focus on learning through fun ways such as songs, stories and games.
Students are evaluated for their skill level but are not tested and do not receive grades.
The center’s pressure-free curriculum contrasts with traditional language classes in schools, where students often prioritize grades over becoming fluent, Contreras said.
Completing the center’s program will make students ready for upper-level Spanish classes in high school or college as high level as Spanish 3 or 4, she said.
In its fifth semester of offering classes, the center nearly tripled its enrollment from 15 students in its first year to 42 in its most recent, thanks in large part to the center’s partnership with the Foundation for Youth.
It turned out to be a perfect fit.
In its first two years, the center had changed locations several times and was looking for a permanent home — a partnership, Contreras said.
At the FFY, the Boys and Girls Club was in search of an organization to fill a time slot on Saturday mornings.
“It was a perfect fit for some of the goals we had already been talking about internally,” said Nathan Larrison, Boys and Girls Club director at the FFY.
Larrison said the partnership with the Spanish Learning Center has helped the FFY reach out to the Bartholomew County’s Latino community, to make connections and help market some of their summer programs.
On the other side, the FFY provided not just a permanent home for the center, but a place with facilities such as computers, classrooms and playground, Contreras said.
The center’s partnership with FFY has expanded the center from a learning forum for Latino students to improve their Spanish to an international mix students from India and other parts of Asia, Claudia Jackson said.
A level-one Spanish teacher at the center, Claudia Jackson said she knows the struggles of learning a second language.
At 22, she left her native Colombia for the University of Houston to study English. Jackson said she struggled learning English in an academic environment. But once Jackson made friends with English speakers, learning a second language became easier.
The Spanish Learning Center’s emphasis on learning through songs, stories and games without tests and grades models how native speakers learn, Contreras said.
“I approached learning a second language with a different mindset,” Jackson said. “It was something fun to do.”
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In order to enroll in Spanish lessons, one must register with the Boys and Girls Club. A one-year membership costs $25.
Cost for one 14 -eek semester is $140. Those interested in enrolling in the Spanish Learning Center can call 812-348-4558 or visit http://bit.ly/14pWoOJ.
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For more information on the Spanish Learning Center visit:
foundationforyouth.com/spotlight/spanishlearningcenter
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Classes are conducted during the school year on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
A summer session is planned July 20-24, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday.
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