Hablan espanol

Pinedale has waiting list for after-school Spanish classes

By Kayla Gahagan, Journal staff | Thursday, December 11, 2008

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Refrigerator. It’s tough to spell, and even tougher in Spanish, says 10-year-old Isabella Martinez.

“R-e-f-r-i-g-e-r-a-d-o-r,” Martinez spells out loud, her fingers dancing across the letters at each syllable.

It is Spanish class after school at Pinedale Elementary School, and the students practice the words they learned for homework this week while teacher Cathy Matthesen walks around to check on pronunciation.

It’s not easy to get into this class. There are only two classes, and the limit is 14 for each, with a waiting list 25 students. Second- and third-grade students attend class after school on Tuesdays, and fourth- and fifth-graders attend on Thursdays.

“We were hoping for a class of eight, and we had 50 students sign up,” Matthesen said.

The class was started three semesters ago after a parent approached the PTA and asked about the group supporting an after-school Spanish class. Matthesen, who is a certified Spanish teacher, volunteered, and then enlisted the help of Mayela Carbajal, who moved to Rapid City from Mexico just a year ago.

“I like that the kids learn so fast, and so easy,” Carbajal said. “They’re so open to all that I say to them.”

During the interview, Carbajal apologizes for her English, which she says she has learned quickly and is getting better at with help from the students in the class.

Carbajal is one of the best parts of class, Matthesen said. The two teachers speak to each other in Spanish during class and Matthesen urges the students to mimic Carbajal’s accent.

She’s also on hand to answer questions about Mexican culture or tradition, or a Spanish word Matthesen might not know — “jugar boliche” means to bowl, for instance.

The students pick up on Spanish culture and the arts by learning about holidays and artists. Matthesen bought pesos that are no longer in circulation at a local store. Students earn them through hard work and good grades. At the end of five weeks, she brings in Mexican candy and the students can buy it with the pesos they’ve earned.

“It’s something they can touch,” Matthesen said, “and it gives them exposure to something different.”

The class is also interactive, which stems from Matthesen’s preference of teaching with TPR or Total Physical Response.

“It keeps the kids active and engaged,” she said, because they are learning to connect words with action. For example, they mimic an elephant trunk when learning the word for elephant.

While part of the teaching and learning is at desks with books and papers, the other part is done in a circle on the carpet, where the students play games, sing and dance.

In a game about Spanish colors, students in the circle take turns blurting out colors in Spanish until someone accidentally says one in English and must stand up and dance. The game moves quickly around the circle several times with students naming colors — “azul,” “blanco,” “negro,” until 10-year-old Isabel Anderson shouts out “purple” and crumbles into a fit of giggles.

She stands along with Matthesen and dances and wiggles until the students let her sit down and they continue playing.

While at their desks, the students talk of travel as one of the reasons for learning Spanish. For Gabe Spahn, 9, Spanish is a third language – he’s learning German, too.

“If I get into an emergency in another country, I would have more of a chance of knowing that language,” he said.

For Martinez, learning this second language will free her from having to carry around a dictionary when she visits Mexico.

“I really want to travel somewhere to a faraway place, somewhere exotic,” she said.

In preparation, she is learning some of the words not so exotic — like sink and toilet and bathtub.

‘“Donde esta el bano? Where’s the bathroom?’ It’s our personal favorite,” Martinez said, laughing.

Matthesen smiles when she hears of the students and their ambitions. She still can’t believe that the students are willing to take another class and do more homework.

“And they keep coming back,” she said.

Contact Kayla Gahagan at 394-8410 or kayla.gahagan@rapidcityjournal.com