!!!ATTENCION PARENTS!!!
Important Information on How to Study for a Foreign Language
Dear Parents:
Studying is an extremely important process in the learning of a foreign language, such as
Spanish. Studying is important because not only does it your help your child enhance and practice their
abilities in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, but studying naturally helps them memorize the
material that they are learning and have learned in previous Spanish classes. I suggest that your child
study at least five days a week because it is consistency, not the amount of time spent studying that helps
your child learn and retain the information that they need to learn. It is my expectation that your child
studies consistently so that they learn the material to do well in class, in their homework, quizzes (oral
and written), tests (oral and written), but also in the listening, reading, speaking, and writing in the
Spanish language. I have explained in the syllabus how their binder should be organized so that they can
maintain their vocabulary, worksheets, handouts, quizzes, and tests in an organized manner to facilitate
their studying. It is imperative that they maintain an organized binder and use their notes to study
properly, but to also check their homework to make sure that their answers are correct. Please review
this document with your child to review the expectations of the binder. In addition, they will be expected
to place this document behind their syllabus in their binder.
Homework:
Homework is not given on a daily basis. However, when it is given, it is graded for completion and it is
due the very next class period. Written homework is not studying. It is taking the information that your
child has learned in class and studied and putting it on paper to see how well they know the material.
Your child should not copy the answers from their notes, because they will not have their notes on
quizzes or tests. I suggest that they attempt to do their homework without the use of their notes.
However, after they have completed their homework, they should then use their notes to verify their
answers and correct any errors they might have committed. They should note which ones they got
wrong and see if it was just a simple error on their part or if they need extra help from studying or
myself.
Study Techniques:
1.
Study no more than 30 minutes at a time. If you need to study more, be sure to take a 15-20
minute break between sessions.
2.
Practice your vocabulary daily. The use of flashcards is the best way to study vocabulary, charts,
and any grammatical rules.
3.
On the flashcard, write the English word on one side or the name of the chart and the Spanish
word or the completed chart on the other side. Any help, such as what type of stem-changing
verb it might be, should be on the Spanish side.
4.
Study 10-15 words/charts a day. DO NOT study more than 15 words because your brain will
have a hard time remembering that information. Chunk your words into sets of 3-5 for a total of
10-15 cards.
5.
Look on the English side and on a separate sheet of paper, write the Spanish word or the
grammatical chart down. As you are writing the Spanish word or the grammatical chart down,
say it out loud 2-3 times. After writing it down, flip the flashcard over and verify your answer. If
you wrote it down correctly, place the flashcard in the good pile. If you wrote it down incorrectly,
place the flashcard in the bad pile.
6.
After you have completed one set, do it again, for a total of three sets (at least).
7.
The next day, take the previous day’s flashcards and, without studying them, repeat the above
process. You will see that after studying consistently, the bad pile will start decreasing and the
good pile will start increasing.
8.
After you have reviewed the previous day’s flashcards, study the next 10—15 words/charts and
repeat the above processes.
9.
As each day passes, you will review more and more vocabulary/grammatical content and
eventually you will have them memorized.
10. Writing is the key to memorization. It is like being in second grade and taking your vocabulary
home and writing your words down over and over again until you have memorized them.
REMEMBER TO PRACTICE CORRECT GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION RULES!!!!!
11. For each word/grammatical content, you need to use them in a sentence so that you can practice
your conjugation, your use of Subject Pronouns, etc.
12. If you only practice writing the Spanish word down, but you do not practice your
conjugation/sentence formation, you are only doing a small percentage of practice.
13. If at any time you do not understand a word, a conjugation, a grammatical content/rule, be sure
to ask me so that we can help you understand.
14. If you have a question while we are reviewing in class, it is your responsibility to ask questions
until you understand the material that is being reviewed and/or taught.
15. If you need to practice more, then practice more. If you do not practice and study, do not expect
to do well.
16. The more you put into your studying, the more you will get out of your studies.
17. Studying is not doing homework. Studying is input. Homework is output. They are two
separate things.
18. Cramming is not studying. Learning a language is a difficult and long process. Please do not
make it harder on yourself by cramming. Cramming will not lead you to a successful grade.
19. By putting forth a lot of effort, practice, and the correct techniques, you will make learning and
speaking Spanish easier for yourself. Please understand that I said, “easier,” not “easy.”
20. I offer tutoring on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 3:30-4:30. If you need extra help
and/or you want to verify that you are doing your homework/studying correctly, please come to
tutoring. Tutoring is only helpful when you are having trouble understanding a concept and you
need extra help. Tutoring is not re-teaching the material.
21. Success is not guaranteed. However, not studying is a surefire way to not succeed.
Parent Signature: ________________________________________________________