Back in May here on my blog I did a 5-day series on foreign language- why learn one, which one to learn, what curriculum to use, making your own, and implementing it into your life. One of the best scenarios I can think of when learning a foreign language is to learn from a native speaker- one-on-one.
I have found a program for Spanish that I would highly recommend.
As a part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, our family was given a free 7-week lesson subscription for middle/high school from Homeschool Spanish Academy (HSA). What makes this program so great (and quite different from others on the market) is that you are actually interacting with a live, native speaker.
In order to get the most out of this program you need
- fast internet,
- a Skype account,
- and a web-cam (the website says that you need a head set with a microphone but if your web-cam has audio, I don’t see that you need this).
- Schedulicity account (you’ll have to sign up to schedule your appointments right at the start)
We had all of those (even the headsets that we didn’t use) –until it came time to actually use the program! Our internet has slowed down significantly for who-knows-what reasons. Also because of the upload time for my computer (or is that an internet related issue as well?) we are unable to use video for the entire lesson.
To see if your computer and internet will support this program you first start at speedtest.net (See this page at the HSA site to learn more about “How it Works”) The 'tech’ people (which was actually Ron, the founder and owner of HSA) from HSA call before classes are actually started to make sure that your connection speed and equipment are going to work. They walk you through all of it and are very helpful at all the steps along the way. I think that is great. It’s a terrible frustration and disappointment to purchase a program only to find out afterwards that it won’t work with your system!
You don’t need to purchase any books for this class. The lessons are sent via email before classes in pdf (and Word for homework) format. I print them out and hole punch them. Homework is gone over in the next class but if you would like to request it corrected and sent back via email, they can do that. (I haven’t asked for that…yet)
Scheduling when to take your classes is virtually pain free- they use Schedulicity (you’ll have to sign up for an account) and it makes it very easy. You receive email confirmation and reminders about the class you’ve signed up for. You can choose who the instructor is for the class or let it pick for you.
HSA offers levels of instruction from early learning (age 5 and up) to adult. The Early Learning sessions are 25 minutes long, while the Middle School, High School, and Adult sessions are 50 minutes.
From the website: Each group then has 4 levels.* Each level is then divided into 2 sub-levels (i.e. Level 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B), for a total of 8 sub-levels. Within each sub-level, there are 14 lessons, at least 5 quizzes, and at least 4 exams (some sub-levels have more) *High School Curriculum also has a level 5A advanced level.
See it in action! This link takes you to a video on YouTube put together by HSA. Or watch a short snippet of my kids in Spanish class 
FAQs- if you have a question, you’ll most likely find the answer here!
The above image is the pricing for what my kids were enrolled in: middle school program, 2 students. To see other pricing options see this page, choose your category and see the prices.
The very first lesson (for us) was a free trial and it was very basic. The alphabet and spelling was covered.
We still have four more lessons to complete and you can bet that we will!
What we thought of this:
Well…I think you know already that I like it
Although neither of my kids was thrilled when I told them we were chosen for the review (*I* was ecstatic), both enjoy the classes. We have had two different instructors and both they have liked. The instructors start out easy, with conversation (how was your week, how is the weather, etc) before moving on to the lesson. She also talks about where she lives. It gets the kids smiling.
It was a bit to get used to with the web cam because ours kept freezing up. We had to turn off the video on our end (so the instructor couldn’t see the kids). They were able to see her, though, and the audio worked fine. At the end of the lesson, the video would be turned back on so that the kids could say good bye to the instructor.
I did say that in order to get the most you need to have certain criteria met. But honestly, I do think this can be done successfully without the webcam. It was definitely enhanced with it but push come to shove (or simply internet fizzling), it would still be a great program without it.
The kids really liked the friendliness of the instructors
If I did this again, I would put my kids in separate classes. With both kids (one being more confident than the other), it seemed that each could not truly go at their own pace. Fox continuously looked to his big sister for the answers! The instructor needed to focus on one or the other’s strengths/weaknesses. And our instructors did do that very well, I add.
Also, I would opt for the twice a week class option. We were given a one-time-a-week lesson and the kids are doing well with it but I really think that more frequent lessons would be much more beneficial.
I definitely recommend this program to those wishing to learn Spanish! Read others reviews of this program to help you decide if it would work for your family.
***Disclaimer: I received this free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated are my own. I received no compensation for this review. See Disclosure/Policies.
********************************************************
Find Homeschool Spanish Academy here:
- Website: www.HomeschoolSpanishAcademy.com
- Follow on Twitter @EspanolOnline
- Like on Facebook
- Read the Blog Here
- Phone: 1-713-280-HOLA(4652)
- Email: info@homeschoolspanishacademy.com
Some other information about HSA's program (from the website):
How does this compare to a traditional public school curriculum?
Our curriculum follows the same general national standard guidelines outlined by the American Council On The Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL). This means that we progressively cover all Spanish grammar and emphasize reading, writing, speaking and comprehension. We do however, omit a few things that public school might include, such as cultural perspective of other Spanish speaking cultures. We tend to focus on Guatemalan culture as we are experts in that, but we often give information and anecdotes to our surrounding neighbors in Central America. (emphasis mine)
Will colleges and universities accept your program for college admissions?
Yes! Among the colleges and universities we have spoken to, parents simply need to submit the grades of the student and a record of their completed work. HSA provides this documentation to parents if requested. Additionally, we will provide parents with an overview sheet of our curricula and teaching methodologies. Lastly, we invite all admissions offices to contact us if there are any questions about grades, work, or student abilities.
Will colleges and universities accept your program for college credit?
Among the colleges and universities we spoke to, they will NOT accept our program for college credit. The only credits they accept are from the AP Exam and Dual Credit courses.
