Spanish is not as foreign of a language as it once seemed. Of the world’s 400 million Spanish speakers, more than 37 million live in the United States. It’s no surprise, then, that Spanish is by far the most studied second language in U.S. schools and universities.

Unfortunately, American students are notorious for reaching only minimum proficiency levels after many years of required language study. Starting language education much earlier in their academic careers can not only help students achieve greater proficiency but it also prepares them to be global citizens. Their ability to understand and integrate into other cultures and communities will help them succeed in the 21^st century. That’s why Transparent Language has designed age-appropriate courses for students ranging from beginner elementary levels to more advanced high school learners. Of course, for those caught in the middle, the courses do not need to be completed in order.

Elementary Course Levels 1-3 (Grades 4-6)

The Elementary Spanish Course is intended for learners in grades 4-6. The lists offer a sequence of learning steps, presented through a series of small Spanish “chunks” that elementary learners can easily master in a short period of time. Each level exposes learners to common, age-appropriate vocabulary topics. As learners move through each level, the topics are expanded with additional words and phrases that learners can use in daily conversation. Every level provides opportunities for learners to listen, speak, read, and write in Spanish. The three Elementary Spanish levels are conveniently organized in 40-week segments, easily aligned to any school calendar. For pen and paper activities, learners have access to a companion workbook, complete with an answer key.  This is everything an elementary or early middle school needs to implement a Spanish program at any grade level.

Teen Voices (Grades 6-9)

Teen Voices is intended for learners who are in middle school and high school. It can be used as a next step after the three levels of Elementary Spanish, or as a more age-appropriate beginner course for grades 6 through 9. Learners in both traditional brick and mortar schools and those who are homeschooled will find a complete course focused on the everyday lives of a typical adolescent:  Typical school days, chores and responsibilities, organizing events, and job shadowing. The Teen Voices: Spanish course follows the lives and stories of a series of native Spanish-speakers and includes culturally-rich reading passages in each unit. The course contains common vocabulary topics, functional grammar, and integrated culture. Learners have access to a workbook for additional grammatical, cultural, and lexical practice. Teachers also have access to an answer key for the workbook as well as a teacher guide that outlines how to conveniently implement the 20 unit course in any school or schedule.

Essentials V3 (Grades 9-10)

The Essentials Version 3 course takes high school students on a travel adventure.  This course is organized around ten common situations faced when traveling to a foreign country, such as: getting around the city, eating out, shopping, dealing with money, getting to know each other, and dealing with emergencies. Each lesson is based on a conversation and contains engaging and increasingly challenging activities that lead towards mastery of the words, phrases, and expressions required to understand and convey the basics for survival and to participate in everyday conversations.

The course contains eight units with 5 lessons each. The estimated time required to complete the course is 80 hours; each unit 8 hours, and each lesson and assessment between 1.5 hours and 2 hours. A comprehensive student workbook and teacher answer key are included with this course.

Spanish Conversations Course (Grades 11-12)

Transparent Language’s Spanish Conversations Course is perfect for upper-level high school learners because it focuses on daily interactions and dialogues between native speakers of Spanish.  Each unit centers on an authentic conversation video filmed in a Spanish-speaking country.  These vignettes provide meaningful context to the course, introducing the scene, illustrating social and cultural settings, and establishing the framework for the vocabulary and conversations to come.  Learners begin each lesson by viewing the conversation video, then practice learning and producing small components of the dialogue. The sequence of activities in each subsequent lesson forms the building blocks of the conversations.  By the end of each unit, learners are fully engaged in the scenario, identify with the characters, and participate in an authentic Spanish conversation.  This helps keep them excited, motivated, and engaged.

Additional Spanish Materials

For advanced students or learners who are not K-12 students, Transparent Language Online features numerous other Spanish resources, including: hundreds of general vocabulary lists, business vocabulary lists, medical vocabulary lists, and a series of courses covering cultural topics like holidays, cultural topics, and current events.  Looking for something specific? The lesson authoring features in Transparent Language Online for Education allows instructors to create their own content.

Ready to integrate Transparent Language Online’s Spanish curriculum into your own? Learn more about our educator and admin features and preview all of our Spanish materials in a free trial of Transparent Language Online.