"Oftentimes in bilingual households, the kids can only speak the language but cannot write or read it. Hirschmann not only wants her students to speak another language but also to be able to read and write in that language. Mancha y Gato will also offer special events to highlight the food and traditions of French- and Spanish-speaking countries. Students learn through games, crossword puzzles, songs, conversations and other techniques to spark a child's interest. Over the past two years, Hirschmann has put together a Spanish curriculum based on a wide array of materials from America, South America and Europe. "They are also not self-conscious, so they pick things up like sponges and have fun with it." "Research shows that, because of brain biology, children learn languages best before they hit puberty," Hirschmann said.
#GERMAN GRAMMAR DARTMOUTH SERIES#
I wanted my children to at least speak two languages," said Hirschmann, just as her 5-year-old popped his head in the living room to ask her a series of questions in Spanish.Īlong with speaking Spanish and English, the Hirschmann children - Santiago, Sofia, Nico and Lukas - and American dad Alekz are also being exposed to German through the summer visit of an Austrian friend.Īnd little Lukas, 3, has been successful with communicating with a baby-sitter who only speaks Portuguese. "My grandmother spoke five languages, my mother speaks four and I speak three. Hirschmann began teaching Spanish to children in her Padanaram home two years ago as an extension of her commitment to raise her own children in a bilingual household. I also thought that it would make a fun, funky logo," Hirschmann said, referring to the paw print on a drop of blue paint. "Just like me, the horses crossed borders. The name Mancha y Gato, Hirschmann said, came from the true story of two wild horses called Mancha ("the spotted one") and Gato ("the cat"), who in 1925 were ridden 10,000 miles from Buenos Aires to Washington, D.C., to demonstrate the quality of the Criollo horses of Argentina. Mary's Religious Education Center on Dartmouth Street and will offer classes in Spanish and French for children and adults.
The school, called Mancha y Gato Language School, will be at St. "For a 4-year-old, it is a big moment to discover that someone else uses a different word for sugar and means the same thing." "It is not just learning another language you are opening up their minds to the idea that there are other cultures and ways of doing things," Hirschmann said. The experience added so much to her life, said Hirschmann, that as a mother of four living in America she has decided to open her own language school this fall. DARTMOUTH - As a young girl of Austrian descent living in Argentina, Dolores Garcia Laredo de Hirschmann grew up appreciating both South American and European culture, and, along the way, she picked up three languages.
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