¡Hola! ¡Bienvenidos a nuestra clase de español!

My name is Ms. Rossini. I am Brazilian. I am a mom. My daughter is biracial (Brazilian, American). My mom and two sisters live in Brazil. I earned my bachelor's in Spanish, and my teacher's credential degree at CSUF. Before teaching, I worked as a substitute teacher in elementary and high schools. The classroom I lead is student-centered, and all students' contributions are equally important. 

Course overview: I will be teaching Spanish 1 and Spanish 1w, which is designed for Spanish-speaking students with high abilities to comprehend the language, but who require additional support to develop academic language skills. The textbook for this class is Senderos 1. Our classroom is conducted mainly in the target language. Students will develop expertise in all aspects of the language: speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Mastering a second language is of great importance in order to be able to communicate globally. Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world, and being able to articulate it will open many professional doors to my students. The diversity in the Spanish cultures will also make this course very attractive to the students. 

You may contact me through email at josiane.rossini@sausdlearns.net. Please contact me with questions you may have about your students' interaction in class, their progress, how you can get more involved in your child's education, or any concerns you may have. Though I will respond to your messages as quickly as I can, please allow 24 hrs to receive a response. 

Please send me an e-mail with information you would like to share with me about your child, or let me know if you would prefer to talk in person, so we can set up a time for a conference.

Why learn Spanish? Because mastering a second language is of great importance in order to be able to communicate globally. Spanish is officially spoken in 20 countries and is one of the most spoken languages in the world. Can you imagine being able to travel to 20 different countries and not worry about the language barriers that come with traveling to a foreign country? Being able to articulate in Spanish will also open many professional doors to my students as everywhere you go, “se habla español.” Here are some of the high demand professions that need bilingual (Spanish/English) professionals: bilingual customer support, international account manager, the health industry, educators, court interpreters, and cultural event coordinators, just to name a few. In the US alone, more than 41 million people speak Spanish. So, it is not a language that you will only be able to use when you travel abroad. It means your Spanish will never get rusty. You know what they say "if you don't practice it, you lose it". The diversity in the Spanish cultures will also make this course very attractive to the students. The variety of food, and a myriad of recipes from the Spanish speaking countries will leave your mouth watering; from paella to pupusa, you pick what best suits your palate, and ¡buen provecho! Latin America and Spanish literatures are very rich, and you will appreciate being able to experience the readings without being translated to English as some expressions just don't translate right. Don Quijote de la Mancha and his escudero Sancho Panza are waiting for you to dive into that masterpiece of amazing adventures. Ah, don't forget the super famous telenovelas mexicanas. Entertainment, culture, and language all in one spot. I hope you will enjoy learning Spanish as much as I do. So, ¡hasta la vista!

The Communication Standards

"Communication takes place in a variety of authentic settings that represent what students will experience in the target cultures."

• Communication Standard 1: Interpretive Communication: WL.CM7.1 To access information, students demonstrate understanding and interpret and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics from authentic texts, using technology when appropriate. 

• Communication Standard 2: Interpersonal Communication: WL.CM7.2 To collaborate and share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions, students interact and negotiate meaning in a variety of real-world settings and for multiple purposes, in spoken, signed (ASL) or written conversations, using technology as appropriate.

• Communication Standard 3: Presentational Communication: WL.CM7.2 To present and publish, students present information, concepts, and ideas to inform, narrate, explain, and persuade, on a variety of topics and for multiple purposes, in culturally appropriate ways, adapting to various audiences of listeners, readers, or viewers, using the most suitable media and technologies.

• Communication Standard 4: Settings for Communication: WL.CM7.4 Students use language in highly predictable, daily settings (Novice); transactional and some informal settings (Intermediate); most informal and formal settings (Advanced); informal, formal, and professional settings, and unfamiliar and problem situations (Superior) in their communities and in the globalized world.

• WL.CM7N5 Students recognize (Novice), participate in (Intermediate), initiate (Advanced), or sustain (Superior) language-use opportunities outside the classroom and set goals, reflect on progress and use language for enjoyment, enrichment, and advancement. 

• Communication Standard 6: Language Structures in Service of Communication: WL.CM7.6 Students use structures to communicate, sounds, parameters (ASL); writing systems (Novice); basic word and sentence formation (Intermediate); structures for major time frames; text structures for paragraph-level discourse (Advanced); all structures (Superior); and text structures for extended discourse (Superior).

 Students use language text types to communicate; learned words, signs, and fingerspelling (ASL); phrases (Novice); sentences and strings of sentences (Intermediate); paragraphs and strings of paragraphs (Advanced); or coherent, cohesive multi-paragraph texts (Superior).

Communication Standard 7:  Language Comparisons in Service of Communication: WL.CM7.7 To interact with communicative competence, students use the target language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the nature of language through comparisons of similarities and differences in the target language and the language(s) they know.

The Cultures Standards

"Students need to acquire the ability to interact appropriately with culture bearers to communicate successfully. Culturally appropriate language use requires an understanding of the relationships between the products and practices of cultures and their underlying perspectives. While acquiring knowledge of products, practices, and perspectives of the target cultures, learners engage in comparisons of similarities and differences among their cultures and the target cultures, and also explore intercultural influences when they come into contact with multilingual and multicultural communities."

• Cultures Standard 1: Culturally Appropriate Behavior: WL.CL7.1 Students interact with cultural competence and understanding.

• Cultures Standard 2: Cultural Products, Practices, and Perspectives: WL.CL7.2 To interact with cultural competence, students demonstrate understanding and use the target language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationships among the products cultures produce, the practices cultures manifest, and the perspectives that underlie them.

• Cultures Standard 3: Cultural Comparisons: WL.CL.7.3 To interact with cultural competence, students use the culture through comparisons of similarities and differences in the target culture and the culture(s) they know.

Cultures Standard 4: Intercultural Influences: WL.CL7.4 To interact with intercultural competence, students demonstrate understanding and use the target language to investigate how cultures influence each other over time.

The Connections Standards

"Language users address a variety of topics that are appropriate to their age and range of proficiency, increase their knowledge of numerous areas of the curriculum, and make connections across K-12 areas of study. As students develop their ability to communicate in the target language and cultures, they are able to more fully address topics that increase in complexity and learn how target-culture bearers understand and address discipline-specific and cross-disciplinary concept."

.

• Connections Standard 1: Connections to Other Disciplines: WL.CN7.1 To function in real-world situation in academic and career-related settings, students build, reinforce, and expand their knowledge of other disciplines using the target language to develop critical thinking and solve problems.

Connections Standard 2: Diverse Perspectives and Distinctive Viewpoints: WL.CN7.2 To function in real-world situations in academic and career-related settings, students access and evaluate information and diverse perspectives that are readily or only available through the language and its cultures.