Selecting Right Spanish Curriculum for Student Proficiency

Whether you are leading a world language department, working with your colleagues on creating the perfect Spanish curriculum, or simply a passionate Spanish teacher, we see you! Balancing standards, engaging students, and ensuring measurable student proficiency are just a few of the challenges today's language teachers are facing every day. Here at SmartClass, most of us have been there ourselves! We are passionate language teachers who stepped out of our comfort zone to help you help your students! This article provides a framework for evaluating and adopting a highly effective Spanish language curriculum, whether you teach middle school, high school, or adult Spanish learners.

The three  pillars of a modern Spanish curriculum

Alignment with your school’s, region’s, or country-specific standards is more important than ever these days. Most Spanish curricula follow one of the big standards, such as ACTFL in the US or the CEFR in Europe. When selecting a Spanish language curriculum for your institution, it is important to get some sample chapters or trial access so that you can see for yourself if the topics, structure, and thematics align with your standards. Besides that, it’s also crucial to check if the emphasis of the Spanish curriculum is on communication modes. Interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational skills are becoming increasingly important and are taking over the old-school focus on grammar and writing. 

Only a few years ago, using technology in your language classes wasn’t the norm. When I started teaching, there were a few schools that had interactive whiteboards and a teacher computer station. And that was only 10 years ago! Since then, our view of technology in the classroom has completely changed. Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a big shift from textbook-only to blended learning models. And that applies to a Spanish language curriculum as well. Don’t just look for a book and workbook combination anymore. It is extremely important to have an interactive platform with interactive Spanish activities to keep students engaged, and to foster the oh-so-crucial speaking skills today’s global citizens will need!

Lastly, the right Spanish curriculum for you must be a framework, not a cage. As teachers, we want and deserve the ability to edit, reorder, customize, and supplement our own curriculum.

Yes, it might take some time to get it all “perfect,” but most of us language teachers are creative and caring beings! I loved having a framework of activities and worksheets, but I ended up creating so many new and improved versions of worksheets to meet my students where they were at. Thanks to technology nowadays, it’s even easier to customize digital activities for students to individualize and differentiate.

Overcoming the challenges of traditional curricula

As mentioned before, textbook-only curricula and teaching models are having to make way for blended learning and technology-friendly alternatives. Besides being very costly, textbooks also limit the teacher's ability to provide real-time feedback, offer more speaking opportunities, and allow automatic grading and redos. Not to mention the administrative and time-consuming burden of manually grading hundreds of assignments each week and tracking progress on paper or separate tools.

So, “What is the solution?” you might ask. Well, in my opinion, there is only one: The SmartClass Spanish Curriculum.

SmartClass offers a modern, all-in-one solution that solves both the administrative and pedagogical issues for schools and teachers around the world. The SmartClass Spanish language curriculum is designed for beginner through intermediate Spanish learners, and is completely integrated into the SmartClass Teaching Platform. Teachers have a print or PDF copy of the entire curriculum (think, old school textbook), while students receive their assignments through the platform. There are, of course, some printable resources that teachers can share with students (vocabulary lists, conversation worksheets, etc).

Differentiated Instruction for mixed classes

The right Spanish curriculum must support effective teaching and student success at various levels. With the SmartClass Spanish language curriculum, teachers can support varied pacing and skill levels within an institution. Teachers can create multiple classes for different skill levels or types of learners, filter activities by topics, level, and skill, or type, and they can create as many of their own activities using 20+ templates as they want. Better yet, for vocabulary acquisition, SmartClass has an integrated Activity Builder that creates 5 autograded vocabulary activities with AI within seconds.

Authentic, communicative-based activities

In order to keep students and learners engaged, a Spanish curriculum needs a comprehensive activity template library. Gone are the days when multiple choices and jumbled activities were enough to keep our students focused. SmartClass prides itself on having over 20 different activity templates integrated into its Spanish Language Curriculum. While those include the traditional fill-in-the-blanks and multiple-choice activities, there are also 3 different types of matching and jumbling activities that are automatically graded. AI-supported pronunciation and conversations are also giving students immediate feedback on their speaking skills. Furthermore, there are 5 different types of speaking activities, plus writing and video recording templates, all of which are available for teachers to use and create their own content with as well. 

Pedagogical coaching and progress monitoring

For all the administrators, department heads, and data fanatics who care about logistics, I want to briefly write to you as well. With SmartClass, you are not just getting a Spanish curriculum, integrated into a well-designed platform. You are becoming part of the SmartClass family, where we pride ourselves on transforming how languages are taught. Our dedicated team of trainers and pedagogical coaches will assist you and your team in implementing the Spanish language curriculum successfully at your school, with regular check-ins, IT and pedagogical support, videos, webinars, and more. 

SmartClass also encompasses its own gradebook and usage report to check performance across multiple students, classes, and schools. And with our customizable LMS integration options, you can ensure a smooth transition for staff and students alike. 

Finding the right Spanish curriculum isn’t an easy task, and adopting one across your institution is a whole other ballgame. If your school is seeking a scalable, standards-aligned Spanish language curriculum that drives student proficiency while streamlining teacher workflow, the SmartClass Spanish curriculum provides a compelling and complete solution for your educational goals. 

And now I want to challenge you, the administrator, department head, or teacher: Pilot the SmartClass Spanish language curriculum and platform, built for modern educational demands, and see the transformation of your staff and students yourself!