About This Course

If you're struggling to communicate with your Spanish-speaking students and their families, and you don't know your cabeza from your codo (that's your head from your elbow), don't worry—help is here!

Whether you took a Spanish class 20 years ago and just want to brush up a bit, or you have never taken a Spanish class, you'll learn the essential Spanish for teachers and bridge the communication gap with your Spanish-speaking students and parents. Rest assured that this won't be anything like your typical high school Spanish course. We'll skip the frills and focus on "survival Spanish" you can put to work immediately. We've tossed out long vocabulary lists and complex grammar rules and replaced them with games and stories to make learning easy, painless, and even fun. You'll learn new words in easy-to-digest bites, and each lesson will include Supplementary Material to help you keep expanding your vocabulary.

We'll start with the basics of Spanish pronunciation, and then we'll move right into simple words for everyday things, such as colors, numbers, and question words. Then you'll learn more of the basics of conversational phrases, family names, and directions. Next, we'll get into what it's like on the first day of school as we go over words related to enrolling new students, conversing in the classroom, talking about rules and behavior, and basic vocabulary for various academic subjects. We'll also cover Spanish words and phrases to use in the cafeteria, on the playground, and even in the nurses office! Finally, we'll delve into some survival phrases for the parent-teacher conference as you learn to describe how a child is doing, talk about academic or behavior problems, and discuss grades and homework

By the end of this course, you'll be well on the path to being a Spanish speaker and communicating more effectively with the Spanish-speakers all around you. ¡Vamos! (Let's go!)

About The Instructor

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Tara Williams. Tara Bradley Williams has authored several Spanish textbooks and occupational Spanish reference guides, including the "¡A Conversar!" and "¡A Trabajar!" series. She taught Spanish and English as a Second Language at the high school and community college levels for over 10 years. She has also operated a Spanish language school and served as a medical interpreter. Tara has BA degrees in Spanish and Sociology from St. Norbert College and an MA in Higher Education and Adult Studies from the University of Denver. She has studied Spanish at the Universidad de Ortega y Gasset in Toledo, Spain and has lived and traveled extensively in Spain and Latin America.