Language Acquisition- Spanish
An important part of the IB philosophy is global citizenship. A person’s capacity to engage on a global scale is determined by the languages they speak. At CLP, all students take Spanish every year! With over 35 million Spanish speakers in the U.S. alone, and almost 560 million Spanish speakers worldwide, Spanish is a language that is easily applied to our context here in northern Colorado. Additionally, knowing other languages helps with a child’s literacy in their first language. Students who know English and Spanish are able make better connections to what they read because many Spanish and English words have Latin roots. As part of our Spanish program, we support literacy skills by teaching reading comprehension strategies and writing skills, which can be transferred to any language.
Students receive high school credit for both of these pathways!
Beginning Spanish
One is the beginning Spanish track through which students begin at the very beginning! This class has a slower pace.
Students in the beginning track will receive credit for Spanish 1 after successfully finishing 8th grade Spanish at CLP.
Advanced Spanish
The other track, the “advanced” track, moves at a faster pace. Although we still go through all the basics before building more complex reading and writing skills, this track is for students who have some previous Spanish experience or who thrive with more academic challenge. Students starting in the advanced track with receive credit for Spanish 1 and 2 after successfully completing 7th and 8th grade Spanish classes.
Summer International Experience
Our Spanish program offers a Summer Experience to Costa Rica or Spain. This summer we went to Costa Rica. Check back for photos from our adventure and more information about the Spain trip that we will take the Summer of 2025.