The Spanish program at Castlehill Country Day School for Kindergarten through 5th is a FLEX program. The goals of this type of program are to develop oral communication skills in Spanish and to develop positive attitudes about learning languages. In the early years, children are developing oral communication skills and students are in the RECEPTIVE phase of learning a language. During this phase, children are laying new neuronal networks that will allow for language production later on. Students are encouraged to produce words or simple phrases with the help of the teacher. As children enter the upper elementary grades, they enter the PRODUCTION phase where students work to produce their own individual thoughts, ideas and feelings in Spanish.
Castlehill’s goal is to have children enjoy learning another language, for them to feel comfortable hearing another language spoken to and around them, and to feel confident while starting to communicate in Spanish. As children are exposed to Spanish, they learn tools that can help them learn other languages in the future. Children form opinions about the value of learning additional languages very early on. It is our goal at Castlehill to show them the immense value of multilingualism in our global society.