Spanish teacher Jamie Marshall wanted to find a way to give native Spanish speakers an education tailored to them. That’s when she heard about a class at Perry Meridian High School that could do just that, a class for heritage speakers.

“My goal and mission were to have a Spanish class for our native speakers that provided greater enrichment for them to develop their own language skills,” Marshall said.

Marshall found that the class allowed for a deeper understanding and learning in students who took the class, allowing them to focus on building their Spanish skills.

In her Spanish III classes, Marshall began noticing that students who grew up speaking the language would become bored in her classes.

“They would get through the class activity and the additional activity that I had for them, often before the non native speakers,” Marshall said.

In addition, non-native speakers would often feel too intimidated to speak Spanish for fear of getting it wrong, and native speakers felt they had to simplify their Spanish to communicate.

“It was not seeming to be a good fit for anyone,” Marshall said. “It was very difficult to meet the needs of all the students in the room.”

The new Spanish class is similar to the Spanish III class, but the curriculum is tailored a little differently.

One of the ways Marshall alters the class is she will introduce grammar differently than her other Spanish classes. She creates activities to see where the students’ Spanish skills are and meet them where they are rather than assuming they know nothing and starting at the very beginning.

“They felt as though they could improve their own personal Spanish skills at a greater level (and) more appropriate pace,” Marshall said.

Junior Yordi Valois-Torres has felt more comfortable speaking and learning in the environment of the Heritage Speakers class.

“The environment is much better, and I can understand everything better,” Valois-Torres said.

Marshall noticed that not all students who can speak the language well are good at writing it. She has seen a big improvement when it comes to the students’ writing abilities since starting the class. 

Engagement and excitement have already been on the rise in Marshall’s new class. Students are now able to have deeper conversations with their peers and improve their Spanish-speaking skills further.

“It just seems to be more enriching, more engaging and more enjoyable for them so far,” Marshall said.

Senior Esbeydi Montes is one of the students taking the class and has already been improving her Spanish skills and getting a deeper understanding of her heritage.

“It’s been very eye opening,” Montes said. “We’ve been able to get more work done at a fast pace while also learning things that we’ve never known before about our own countries.”

Marshall plans to continue and expand on the class by having three levels of Heritage Speakers Spanish classes. 

She has a very hopeful outlook for the future and growth of the class. The immense sense of community that’s already built in the class has already been a big improvement.

“These students can continue to learn about and study the language they’ve grown up speaking together in a room where that is really truly celebrated,” Marshall said.

To read a story about high school Spanish learners empowering young minds at elementary schools, click here.