Saturday morning Spanish language classes specially designed for children are starting soon at the Spanish Institute of the Granary Learning Centre.
The children will be divided into younger and older age groups and the lessons tailored accordingly.
The curriculum is designed to be active and fun with a variety of techniques used such as drama, music, role-play, and story-telling as a way of getting across the language.
The instructors on the programme are qualified language teachers and native speakers. They are currently running the programme in selected primary schools in the Galway area.
According to a recent report in The Irish Times Ireland lags behind every other European country in the teaching of foreign languages at primary level. In fact it is one of the only countries in Europe where learning a foreign language during the primary school years is not compulsory. Irish does not count in these statistics because it is not considered to be a foreign language.
Where previously it might have been felt that learning another language would confuse children, it is now known that children learn languages faster and with far less effort than adults.
Spanish is the fourth most spoken language in the world after Mandarin, Hindi, and English.
The Granary Learning Centre is located in the city centre directly on the River Corrib.
Phone (091 ) 566759 or email [email protected] to find out more about the Spanish for Kids programme, or visit the school’s website at www.languageinstitute.ie to find about this and the other language learning possibilities for children, teens, and adults.
