David Jung

Spanish for Spanish Speakers is a new two-course series that provides a curriculum designed to help students with prior knowledge of the language advance in their abilities. This is just one of a few new developments in the Spanish program that the department is working on building for the coming years. Image translation: Title: What is totora, what do they do with it, and what does it represent? Response: Totora is a plant. It represents life and hope. They make their homes, their clothes, and their embraciónes [SIC] with totora.

Are you a Spanish speaker who wants a greater challenge in your foreign language class? In total, Ayala offers five different Spanish courses for students to fulfill the foreign language graduation and college entrance requirements: Spanish 1, Spanish 2, Spanish 3 Honors, Spanish 4 Advanced Placement (AP), and Spanish for Spanish Speakers 1.

The Spanish for Spanish Speakers 1 course is a new addition to the foreign language department at Ayala, and the Spanish teachers intend to expand it into a sequence of courses in years to come. In the 2024-2025 school year, students will be able to register for Spanish for Spanish Speakers 2 Honors. These courses are intended for students who already have a handle on the Spanish language and need a more challenging course to meet their level. 

To ensure that incoming ninth grade students are placed into the right level of Spanish, they take a placement test in eighth grade to determine if they are qualified to take this course or if they should take College Preparatory (CP) Spanish 1.

“Our Spanish is more advanced; the teacher speaks it to us, so you got to understand it before you go into the class,” said Daniel Cervantes (9).

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David Jung

The "pros and cons" of planes is a poster made by a student in Sra. Larios's classroom.

After taking Spanish for Spanish Speakers 1, students can go straight to AP Spanish instead of taking the longer route, which is a three-course sequence from Spanish 1, Spanish 2, and then Spanish 3 Honors. 

“Since I’m a Spanish speaker, the [Spanish for Spanish Speakers] class is easier for me, and I can get a head start before everybody,” said Samantha Lopez (9).

Sra. Zorayda Larios-Contreras teaches Spanish for Spanish Speakers 1, and her class consists entirely of Hispanic students. The Hispanic heritage that these students share makes them more connected, because they can relate to each other with their cultural experiences.

“We talk about the chancla (sandal); some of the students got to be disciplined through that, or we talk about how we celebrate parties,” said Sra. Larios. “So just the culture makes students to be more unified, more together.”

The process of getting this new class up and running was in part instigated by dissatisfaction from the student body on the placement procedures that were previously used to put students in the right Spanish class. Many felt that they did not receive appropriate placement and have brought this issue to the attention of counselors and administration. 

“The department for languages and the Spanish teachers discussed that we had the population of students that were qualified to take the class, so we reached a consensus of all the Spanish teachers saying we need to have a class as an option for those students who are already Spanish speakers and need a more challenging class—a class that is more fit for them,” said Larios.

The Spanish for Spanish Speakers series is a great opportunity for students with prior knowledge of the language to advance quicker in their ability and learn more at a higher level. Future plans for the Spanish program are to include an AP Spanish 5 (literature) to succeed AP Spanish 4 (language) so that there are even more opportunities for Spanish speaking students to grow in their bilingualism.