Is Oaklawn a Good Fit for your child?
Characteristics of a Good Student Candidate
1. Your child is developmentally on target in his or her native language.
2. Your child expresses an interest in different people, places, and things.
3. Your child wants to be fluent in English and Spanish.
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Is Oaklawn a Good Fit for your Family?
1. Your family values other cultures-the people, art, history, etc.
2. Your family supports learning a second language and encourages practicing the language.
3. Your family is willing to participate in school projects and activities.
4. Your family is willing to commit to at least 5 years of program participation. |
Why Spanish?
A Useful Language
Spanish is the third most spoken language in the world (after Chinese and English), and it's the world's No. 2 language (after Chinese) when only native speakers are counted. It is also the second language of the United States, where many radio and TV channels exclusively offer Spanish spoken programs. Spanish is expected to become the first language of 50% of the United States population within 50 years.
Spanish is one of the official languages of the United Nations, the European Union and other international organizations. Spanish is used for international communication on political, economical and cultural issues. It is also an important business language, and therefore the most studied foreign language in the non-Hispanic countries of America and Europe.
Nowadays, many job opportunities require you to speak Spanish, especially in the medical and educational field. Speaking Spanish well definitely gives you an edge over other job applicants.
An Easy Language to Learn
Spanish is one of the easiest foreign languages to learn. Much of its vocabulary is similar to English's, and written Spanish is almost completely phonetic: Look at almost any Spanish word and you can tell how it is pronounced. And while mastering the grammar of Spanish can be a challenge, basic grammar is straightforward enough that you can have meaningful communication after only a few lessons.
It Helps You to Learn Other Languages
Learning Spanish helps you to learn other languages. Italian, Portuguese, French, Romanian all belong to the family of Romantic languages. You will be surprised by their similarities. Besides these languages, learning Spanish can also help you to learn German, English, as they share many Latin roots. It may even help you to learn Arabic as there are more than 1000 Spanish words that come from Arabic language.
Little Difference in the Twenty-Three Countries that Speak Spanish
In spite of the distance between countries where Spanish is spoken, the uniformity in language is such that it allows people from Spanish speaking countries in Europe as well as in America to communicate with relative facility. Some differences can be found in pronunciation and intonation, probably due to the different linguistic and cultural backgrounds that can be found in Spanish speaking countries.
