Dear Colleagues,

To speak or not to speak? Or better yet, how and what to speak? A question that is always prevalent in my class-plans, my program creation and my dreams of spreading the foreign language seed around the world, is what is the most effective way to approach children especially in a very early age? Full immersion or what I call fusion when teaching a foreign language. Why fusion? My Fusion method uses some of the sign language techniques combined with commonly known gestures to provoke an immediate response which is immediately followed by the language being taught. When both fail, since my primary goal is to communicate, I use the child’s native language, whatever that may be.

I  know some of my good colleagues will passionately defend the full immersion, leaving no room for negotiation and that is why I have decided to post this article here, to invite them to passionately discuss the topic, while giving other professionals their own view of it and sharing their experience.

I personally, don’t believe in full immersion as an efficient method, at least not taking in consideration my approach, which is to build the bridge, bring the foreign language to a  familiar territory, causing the child involved in the process, to have a positive effect beginning with the first class.

I am working on another post, explaining in detail my Fusion method. If you are interested in learning more about it, please join www.mybloglog.com and add me as a contact or join my blog’s community – you’ll receive a notice of my postings here on your bloglog homepage.  (See the brown box in the right column further down this page.) Alternatively you can sign up for the rss feed on my blog (look for the orange-brown squarish thing on your web browser’s toolbar.) I will also share my favorite web links for teaching foreign languages using the Internet. Some of you who had attended my brief presentation at the FLENJ conference had e-mailed me, but due to the lack of time, I have been unable to send you those links. So this is another upcoming post.

Please use this blog as a forum for posting and exchanging new ideas, as it was created for this purpose.

Abrasos, (Portuguese word to end a letter to a friend, literally means hugs, but is used in other contexts)

Claudia Krusch
Director-CK Translations LLC

As I began the preparation involved in starting classes in Vineland, one of the largest Hispanic Communities in South Jersey, the information I recently received concerning that population made me think about using a different approach when offering and teaching our “Spanish foreign language classes for children” courses.

The NAHREP (National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals) Conference in Atlantic City this year revealed new data regarding the Hispanic Population which amazed me! The numbers showed that the third generation of Hispanic descendants don’t speak Spanish. I find this devastating because it signals a loss of the pride every Hispanic should carry in speaking their language and keeping their heritage alive. This unique diversity is quite often demonstrated through parties, food and stories handed down from one generation to the next which helps to keep this amazing culture alive!

Being Hispanic and a mother myself, I recognize as well as face the challenges of being a working mother and sharing my culture and language with my own son.

My new classes were born from my desire to share in this challenge with other moms who, Hispanic or not, have the same goal and are aware of how important it is to introduce a foreign language to children at an early age! I’ve made sure the culture, songs and stories so treasured in each language are shown and taught in our classrooms.

I am looking forward to the classes starting on May 22nd in the “Cafe of Life” in Vineland and I hope to see many parents at our open house on May 13th 6:30pm.

If you’d like to share in this vision, or would like more information on early language, foreign language, teaching articles and classes being offered in Vineland, please visit:

http://www.easylearnlanguages.com/

Saludos!

Claudia Krusch
Director – CK Translations LLC