At Oxford Academy, we are all very fortunate to have an active parent group supporting our students. The classrooms are chock-full of proud and curious parents who are eager to get to know their students´ teachers at Back to School Night and Open House. Many choose to volunteer their time and energy for special foreign language projects and field trips (wanna help?!), which is greatly appreciated by all Foreign Language Educators. Unfortunately, there is very little time for individualized attention on these nights. So, if you have a question or concern that is not addressed here, please do not hesitate to contact me via email at TinaMatic@hotmail.com (checked regularly), or you may call the school's Main Office at (714) 220-3055 and I will return your message at my earliest convenience.
This page contains frequently-asked parent questions and my responses to them. I hope this will be a useful resource for all parties involved, and I welcome and appreciate your continued efforts to support student learning. I look forward to guiding your student on the road to FLUENCY ¡EN ESPAÑOL!, and I encourage and applaud your active participation in this rewarding and challenging endeavor!
SOME USEFUL TIPS for
What ALL Parents/Guardians Should Know
Spanish-speaking Parents/Guardians | Non-Spanish-speaking Parents/Guardians
Volunteers |
Back To School Night | Open House | Parent Conference Information
What ALL Parents/Guardians Should Know
In the Advanced Placement class (an optional elective taken after the required Spanish III class) the majority remains those with a foreign language at home, and the number of heritage speakers of Spanish typically increases. For more information on AP Spanish Language, see the College Board website or the APCentral website.
This is not to say that English-only speakers don't do well... in fact, in the first year that AP Spanish was offered at OA, Ashley Bloomfield scored a 5 (the highest score) and had had no other foreign language experience besides that which she obtained at Oxford and in the surrounding community! It is rare for non-heritage (or "standard", as the College Board refers to them) students of Spanish to score higher than a 4 (3 is passing), especially if they have no other language at home. Rare, however, is not impossible.
Spanish-speaking Parents/Guardians
¡GRACIAS MIL VECES por apoyar el estudio del idioma natal de su hijo(a)!
Lo dudo.
Por eso mismo, es un regalo enorme que le hace Ud. a su hijo(a), como madre o padre latino, el apoyarle en el desarrollo de sus conociemientos sobre el mundo latino. Hay tanto por conocer, y tanto que ellos pueden brindar a la clase, que para mí es un honor tenerlos matriculados en ella. Siendo de ascendencia serbia, lo que sé yo de la cultura del mundo latino se limita a lo que he vivido... y eso consta de mis estudios en el extranjero en Venezuela y España, mis viajecitos a los lugares turísticos de México y mis vivencias cotidianas al lado de mi esposo colombiano. Yo invito a mis alumnos latinos a que compartan lo suyo y que aprendan más de otros latinos que quizás no conozcan tan bien. Su dominio del idioma es precisamente lo que les ayudará a profundizar más en otros aspectos de esas culturas y naciones. Son afortunados de poder comprender más rápidamente lo que los demás darían un ojo de la cara por saber (y terminan pagándolo como adultos, en esta sociedad multilingüe donde el español ya no es un lujo sino una necesidad).
Es importante tener en cuenta que a veces es más difícil aprender algo por segunda vez correctamente que aprenderlo por primera vez como hacen la mayoría de mis estudiantes. Por esa razón a algunos latinos que tienen errores calcificados (ya hechos parte firme de su habla después de muchos años de cometerlos inconscientemente) les cuesta mucho corregir lo que siempre creían que era correcto. Toma tiempo y esfuerzo sincero el deshacerse de las malas costumbres.
Ejemplo #2: "Espero que haiga comida en la fiesta." ...que debe ser "Espero que haya comida..."
Ejemplo #3: "Habemos muchos aquí presentes." ...que debe ser "Somos/Hay muchos..."
Le recomiendo al alumno hispanohablante lo siguiente:
Non-Spanish-speaking Parents/Guardians
Helpful Hints for Parents of Foreign Language Students
Parents often ask, “How can I help my child study in Foreign Language when I don’t know anything about it?” Here are some helpful hints for parents of students who are learning a second (or third) language, as well as for those who already speak the target language (Spanish).
E = “eh” (NOT “ey”), like “e” in lets
I = “ee”, like “ea” in team
O = “oh” (NOT “ou”), like “o” in more
U = “oo”, like “ui” in fruit
Volunteers for Special FL Events & Field Trips
The Foreign Language Department is always in need of volunteer services, especially during our special projects and field trips. An extra pair of hands is extremely helpful when taking lessons out of the classroom, as students seem to lose focus and become more "adventurous" outside of the traditional setting. Volunteer activities might include chaperoning, taking roll while entering and exiting the bus, completing administrative tasks (photocopying, filing, etc.), carpooling to and from cultural events, or delivering food or other items to the school. For intermediate and advanced classes, bilingual volunteers are especially appreciated as all activities are conducted in the target language.
Department-wide special projects include the City Day Project and the Annual International Dinner. As a teacher of intermediate and advanced Spanish classes, I also organize special enrichment activities for students throughout the year to learn about Hispanic cultures first-hand and practice using Spanish in the surrounding communities. These include, but are not limited to, trips to Latin restaurants, museums, theatrical and musical performances, bookstores, tourist attractions, and community events. As a member of the FLA-OC, I also take AP students and others to the annual Weekend Spanish Camp in Big Bear in the spring.
City Day is a target language immersion experience that happens in second semester (February/March), and lasts for two days (Schedule B and C) so that all students can enjoy one full block schedule period of the experience. Similar to the senior capstone course Virtual Enterprise, City Day offers students a unique experience in international business (see the color-coded comparisons below):
The Annual International Dinner is usually in March as well, and is the highlight of the school's International Week celebration of world languages and cultures. The International Dinner is an opportunity to build community, as well as being a very successful fundraiser for our field trips. Students and their families bring a homemade dish to share with everyone in attendance, drinks are sold by student clubs, paper goods are provided by the Foreign Language Department, and the entertainment is provided as well - students who perform in the International Assembly may also perform for the dinner. Tickets are usually $5 per person. Many alumni students come back to visit and enjoy good food and company at the International Dinner each year, and it's always a pleasure to see families in attendance supporting foreign languages and cultures. Attendance at this event ensures the student's participation in the optional foreign language field trips in the spring.
Field trips are taken to a variety of places, based on level of language study:
We could always use plenty of chaperones on our department field trips. Please email me (TinaMatic@hotmail.com) if you're interested in joining us in our adventures to these exciting destinations!
TIME: 6:30 p.m.
OBJECTIVES:
TIME: TBA
OBJECTIVES:
While all teachers at Oxford have two conference periods (one each day and two on Schedule A days), these are meant for curricular planning, organization, and assessment of student work. I prefer to meet with parents after school at any time between 2:45 and 4 PM, but I am willing to meet before school between 7:30 and 7:55 AM. All conferences must be pre-scheduled, as all parties must be in attendance: parents, students, teachers, and counselors. For this reason, the preferred method of contact between parents and teachers is via email. If you have a more pressing matter and wish to meet in person, please call the Main Office at (714) 220-3055 or send me email personally at TinaMatic@hotmail.com to schedule a time that is convenient for everyone involved.
[ My Name!/ Dept. Chair/Target Audience/ Class Make-up/ Tutoring/ Articles ]
Siempre me sorprende cuando los latinos optan por estudiar el francés u otro idioma que no sea el suyo. Entiendo que quieren aprender otro idioma, que ya manejan bien el español... pero a ellos les dirijo las siguientes preguntas:
Ejemplo #1: "¿Ya hicistes la tarea?" ...que debe ser "¿Ya hiciste la tarea?"
Gracias de nuevo por su apoyo y la oportunidad de aprender de y con su hijo(a).
A = “ah”, like “a” in car
Spending too much time reading aloud may thwart fluency, as it could become a tedious exercise and work against the student’s motivation to learn Spanish – an extremely important factor for success in foreign language is interest level. Please encourage foreign language study outside of the classroom!
[ Special FL Events: Advanced Classes/ City Day/ International Dinner/ Field Trips ]
FOREIGN LANGUAGE CITY DAY VIRTUAL ENTERPRISE
GROUP DATE DESTINATION Spanish/French C/C
TBA
Olvera Street, Los Angeles Spanish/French I
TBA
Olvera Street, Los Angeles Spanish/French II
TBA
4th Street and surrounding area, Santa Ana Spanish/French III
TBA
Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), Long Beach AP Spanish/French IV
TBA
The Getty Museum, Los Angeles
DATE: Thursday, October 6, 2005
Open House
DATE: TBA
Parent Conferences
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