Spanish class reinstated

Honors Spanish Conversation and Composition will be reintroduced to students at Chapel Hill next year.

The class was taught at Chapel Hill four years ago but was cut because of low enrollment. This year, it was offered at both East Chapel Hill and Carrboro High School.

Chapel Hill Spanish teachers worked to reinstate the class for next year because they feel that it offers a unique experience for students to improve conversational and writing skills that are not as much of a focus in the other Spanish classes offered at Chapel Hill.

The curriculum of Spanish Conversation and Composition is divided into thematic units in which students study different cultural elements of the Spanish speaking world.

The class explores contemporary topics through journals, debates and speaking activities. Students in the class have the opportunity to speak and write in Spanish while receiving vocabulary enrichment.

The prerequisite for the class is the completion of Spanish III or obtaining equivalent proficiency through Credit by Demonstrated Mastery (CDM) of the class.

Spanish Conversation and Composition is designed for students who have completed Spanish III or IV but do not feel ready for ready for an advanced placement course.

“It is still an honors course, so it will be rigorous, but it provides many students the option [to] keep developing their Spanish without taking on another advanced placement course,” Spanish teacher Brenda De Leon said.

The class will also offer an alternative for students who take Spanish IV as freshmen and run out of Spanish courses to take at Chapel Hill.

Junior Anna Farmer plans to take the class next year.

“I wanted to speak more Spanish since there isn’t very much speaking in AP [Spanish] Literature. In dual [language], we had to speak Spanish all the time, and I feel like I’ve lost some fluency,” Farmer said.

Initially, Spanish teachers were concerned that enrollment numbers would once again be too low; however, after students signed up for classes, it became clear that many students were interested in the class.

There will be one section of the class at Chapel Hill next year to accommodate the 32 students who signed up.

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