Lee High School

How do educators use their teaching skills, strategies, and personal experiences to effectively

instruct their students?

Spanish Teacher

Eduardo Altamirano

Senior Capstone

Jody Snyder

April 13, 2018

Eduardo Altamirano
Jody Snyder

Senior Capstone

April 13, 2018

Spanish Teacher

The growth of Spanish speakers has been increasing by 233% since 1980 when there

were only 11 million Spanish speakers, now with more than 37 million, Spanish is the most non-

English language in the U.S. today, “Spanish is spoken by more non-Hispanics in U.S. homes

than any other language. The number of Hispanics that only speak English at home is also

expected to rise about 34% by 2020” (Ortman). The growth of being a Spanish teacher is

expected to increase by 6% from 2014 to 2024. A Spanish teacher focuses on specific areas of

reading, writing and verbal communication. The goal of a spanish teacher is to use their

teaching skills, strategies, and personal experiences to instruct their students effectively.

The future of Spanish in the United States is projected to rise in an enormous way

because of the hispanic population that will be coming to the United States in future years

because immigration is an important factor in how the hispanic population will keep growing,

also because in the future, that population is expected to have kids and keep growing as well.

Certain jobs as a Spanish Teacher require at least a Bachelor’s degree to have a regular

salary, but the majority of schools would prefer their educators to have a Master’s degree,

depending on the desired destination; Middle school, High school, College/postsecondary. “Most

Spanish teachers work in subject-specific classrooms in middle, and high schools, junior colleges

and universities that offer foreign language courses and degrees. Depending on grade level,

Spanish teachers may specialize in a specific area” (Lehrer). Depending on the area that a

Spanish teacher works may differ the preparation and specialization; the higher level of
education, the better and specialized they have to be.

Spanish teachers use different strategies, tools, methodologies, and resources to help their

students to easily understand their lessons and keep them engaged and focused during the class

period. Being cooperative will make students get the opportunity to work with classmates and

feel more confident to open up themselves and feel more confident while trying to speak

Spanish. Using technology as a teaching strategy is an excellent idea because the lessons can be

more interactive and that will encourage students to stay focused while learning and interacting

with other students. “If the student perceives the activity as simulating and controllable, then the

student tentatively labels the activity as interesting and engages in it. If either condition becomes

insufficient, then the student disengages from the activity” (Middleton). The strategies that a

teacher uses can define how well the students will learn, pay attention, interest, and efforts to the

class. Not all the students will learn at the same time, because they all have different paces,

mistakes, and doubts. This does not mean that the teachers have bad strategies, sometimes, in

some classrooms might be some students that will have no interest in learning. Motivating

students play a key role when trying to make them feel confident while learning Spanish,

because some of them might have no interest in the subject. “Motivating students includes a

fascination with the subject, a sense of its relevance to life and the world, a sense of

accomplishment in mastering it, and a sense of calling to it” (DeLong). To be successful, Spanish

teachers will have to continue to make innovative ideas for their students, trying to not always do

the same and making them feel motivated to learn with innovative strategies.

The effectiveness of a Spanish teacher is the most important factor while teaching

because it shows if the students are learning something and it also evaluates how well prepared a

teacher is, or for a teacher of any other subject. The effectiveness of teachers has been rising the
last couple years, but it has not been rising just because, it is due to the preparation of the

teachers that had become good at what they do. The quality of the teachers is constantly

improving, and it will continue to do so for the wellness of the young generations and the

society. Some regulations that are made by the Department of Education are made to ensure that

every teacher is ready to teach and succeed on any classroom that they teach and that every

student is receiving the best from a great educator. “The Teacher Preparation Regulations are

made to bring transparency to the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs, provide

programs with feedback to help them improve continuously, and respond to educators across the

country who don’t feel ready to enter the classroom” (King Jr.). As in every job, whoever that

wants to have a better position would want to be more prepared, but this can be done by showing

results, that is why every teacher must show that they are prepared and completing their tasks by

accomplishing the requirements that the Department of Education asks. Teachers are not only

involved with students inside the classroom, they also might serve the school community by

showing moral support to the students, but that is also what forms an exceptional teacher.

The hard work and dedication of a teacher must be very important and influential for the

society today and the one for the future, because it not only just involves all of the students but

also involves every parent of those students, because they are trusting every teacher with the

future of a nation, knowing that they are in good hands, also that teachers have to keep in mind

that the have a huge responsibility that it takes to be the person in charge of the formation of a

young person, even though if it is an elementary school kid or a young adult that is about to go to

college. The most important thing is that a teacher has to be as perfectly prepared as possible and

always be ready to give whatever it takes to leave good teachings to their students, either in the

classroom or outside of it, because of the influence that a teacher has over students that are also
the future of the nation and at the same time making each one of the parents to feel confident

because those students will be on good hands to prepare them for the challenges that life will

present.

Works Cited

Gill, Eric. How to Become a Spanish Teacher: Education Requirements, Salary, and Other

Career Info, Room 241, 4 Oct. 2012, https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/teaching-

careers/spanish-teacher/. Accessed 13 Apr. 2018.

King Jr., John B. Improving Teacher Preparation: Building on Innovation, US Department of

 Education, https://www.ed.gov/teacherprep, Accessed 13 Apr. 2018.

Lopez, Mark Hugo, and Ana Gonzalez-Barrera. What is the future of Spanish in the United

States?, Scool of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, www.pewresearch.org/fact-

tank/2013/09/05/what-is-the-future-of-spanish-in-the-united-states/. Accessed 13 Apr.

2018.

Mcdaniel, Rhett. Motivating Students, Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University, 10 June

1970, cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/motivating-students/, Accessed 13 Apr. 2018.

NA, NA. Teaching Effectiveness, Flinders University , 0AD,

www.flinders.edu.au/teaching/quality/evaluation/teaching-effectiveness.cfm+, Accessed

13 Apr. 2018.