Spanish Lessons for Teens & Preteens

8 parent questions ▼
Archived Q&A and reviews ▼

Parent Q&A

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  • Spanish Language Tutor for High Schooler

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    Jun 15, 2023

    Looking for Spanish language tutor for high schooler with basic vocabulary and grammar skills. North Oakland/Berkeley area. Any recommendations? 

    Jun 15, 2023

    Esther Guerrero is the person you are looking for. I found her here in BPN and we couldn't be happier with her and the results. She's a native Spanish speaker, she taught in community colleges, and she is superb guiding teenagers and their families during the high school years. She creates a plan that discusses with the student/family and then, she implements it. She's based in Central Berkeley. Highly recommended! estherguerre [at] yahoo.com (estherguerre[at]yahoo[dot]com) 

    Jun 21, 2023

    Megan is a fabulous online or in person teacher/tutor; responsible, and creative. She is passionate about her students…we highly recommend. Megan is professional and empathetic; we also know many other families who are grateful for Megan. Ms. Soberanes. comes from a long line of “California Mexicans” in the East Bay. 

    http://Bayareaspanish.com

    Jul 17, 2023

  • Spanish summer school for high schooler

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    Feb 8, 2023

    Help! Our son needs to find somewhere he can take his second year of Spanish over the summer. He does well in school but Spanish has been really challenging. He decided he would rather power through a summer course than spread it out over two more semesters. We basically want a very manageable summer Spanish class (second year Spanish) for a high school junior, going into his senior year. Any thoughts/suggestions? Thanks!

    Feb 8, 2023

    Community college offers free classes for HS students over the summer. Or, if you want to pay a LOT of money, he can take it through UC Berkeley in their summer session.

    Feb 13, 2023

  • Spanish for teen with busy summer schedule?

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    May 12, 2022

    Hi! My rising 10th grader would love to learn more Spanish, but has a lot scheduled this summer. Does anyone know of an intensive program that they can do for a few days or a week here and there over the summer? They're already doing Duolingo, taking Spanish in school (they'll be going into Spanish 3), etc.

    Thanks so much!

    May 12, 2022

    A rising 10th grader going into Spanish 3 already seems pretty good at Spanish! I would think about having them get into a Spanish-language original tv show (like intertwined... D+ has a lot) and watch w/o subtitles, a couple episodes a week. it was great for my 6th grader's Spanish as a classroom supplement.

    May 14, 2022

    I love, love, LOVE, the Spanish language podcasts “Radio Ambulante” and “El Hilo.” They have a companion app called Lupa for Spanish Language Learners to use in conjunction with Radio Ambulante in order to improve their Spanish language skills. Check it out here and see what you think. The weekly episodes are riveting (mostly, depending on what you are interested in): https://radioambulante.org/en/education/lupa

    May 16, 2022

    Sign them up for virtual one-on-one classes/conversations with a Spanish teacher. It's around $12/hour and they will improve by leaps and bounds. I like this school in Guatemala https://plqe.org/. You can do it on your schedule. If they just want to practice speaking, they can do that. Or work on whatever they like. The teacher may also have suggestions. The first time my kid had a session, he said afterward that it was like concentrated learning, especially because they are not often pushed to use Spanish in a class with 30+ kids in it.

    May 17, 2022

  • Spanish level 3/4 tutor to practice conversation with teen

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    Jun 17, 2021

    Looking for recommendations for a Spanish 3/4 level tutor to practice conversation with high school rising junior over the summer. 

    Jun 17, 2021

    We found a good French tutor on Wyzant for our daughter. It’s online, but it’s one-on-one, so it’s really not like Zoom school. The cost is much less than an in-person tutor would be and it’s very convenient. She’ll be able to keep her schedule when we travel. If you are open to online tutors, I’d check it out. 

    Jun 23, 2021

  • Spanish tutor for teens

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    May 12, 2021

    I'm looking for a Spanish tutor for my two kids, ages 14 and 16. We live in El Cerrito. Does anybody have a recommendation? Or a suggestion of where to find a good tutor? I'd prefer someone willing to meet the kids in-person. Thanks!

    [Moderator note] Check BPN's Tutors & Teachers listing - there are more than 30 Spanish tutors listed.

    May 12, 2021

    My son had a really good experience working with Kevin Jacobson, a wonderful Spanish tutor and experienced high school teacher. Kevin has an easy and authentic rapport with teenagers and actually had my son, a very reluctant Spanish student, looking forward to his time with Kevin. Kevin was both effective and fun. I found him a pleasure to work with as he is professional, personable and perceptive. He quickly identified exactly where my son needed support and not only would cover gaps in my son's understanding but also just got him to enjoy chatting in Spanish. As a result of Kevin's tutoring over two years, my son aced his third year of required high school Spanish on his own.

    Kevin: kjacobson22673 [at] gmail.com

    May 18, 2021

  • Spanish camp/class for 12 year old

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    Mar 27, 2019

    Does anyone know of a Spanish group class or summer immersion camp for pre-teens? EBI summer camps only go up to 2nd grade. I find it hard to believe there are numerous Mandarin, German and French language options but no Spanish! Thanks for any information or advice.

    Mar 27, 2019

    Concordia Language Villages is a language immersion sleep-away camp that would work for a 12-year-old. For something closer to home, Bay Language Academy has day camps. We also love Homeschool Spanish Academy online, for great one-on-one lessons. Good luck!

    Apr 1, 2019

  • How’s Spanish instruction at King & Berkeley High for an average student?

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    Jan 31, 2018

    My kids don’t have any foreign language background but I’d LOVE them to have a solid background in Spanish by the end of high school.

     Were the yesrs of Spanish at King & Berkeley High, time well spent? My impression of mandatory high school Spanish 101 is bad..

      In hindsight, would you have done things differently for your child in middle or high school? (Too late for immersion preschool!) t’s an extra expense, but there are many language learning options nowadays.

    Jan 31, 2018

    My experience is that it is up to the kid on whether they love it and practice or not. Whether a good or bad teacher, so much of it is on the kid to practice and at least watch videos in Spanish outside of class, go to Mexican markets, etc. Maybe starting at a younger age than middle school would help. My daughter had good and bad teachers for three years in high school, didn't really retain anything due to her own lack of commitment, and now as a senior is wishing her Spanish were better and plans to start over with Spanish I in college.

    Feb 5, 2018

    I'm not sure about King because my kids went to Willard, but in my experience not many kids take Spanish in middle school because it requires two years, and it uses up the one elective they have, so no art or drama or coding or etc. But two of my kids took Spanish at Berkeley High with no prior training and they had a good experience. My oldest son took it for 2 years, and his conversation was good enough to make basic small talk with Spanish speakers. However he flaked on the grammar and writing - he was a C student - so when he got to college he had to take another year to fulfill the graduation requirement. OTOH he was able to converse with the locals when he vacationed in Mexico after college. The youngest took one year at BHS before transferring to a private school as a sophomore, where he was way ahead of the other Spanish 2 students because of his excellent teacher at BHS, who stressed conversation and spoke to the kids only in Spanish, and really stressed pronunciation. So I would say wait until high school, BHS has some good Spanish teachers. They can take 3 years (maybe 4? not sure.) and then if they want, there are all sorts of Spanish language summer programs for high schoolers, and of course college after that. 

    Feb 5, 2018

  • Spanish 3 on Skype or online

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    Aug 10, 2017

    My 12 grader needs to take Spanish 3.  He attends a private school, and wants to take other subjects.   We were hoping to find an alternative class like a skype or online class with feedback.   If you have any suggestions.  Please let me know. 

    Thanks,   

    Aug 10, 2017

    Tilden Prep offers one-on-one and small-group classes in their Albany and Walnut Creek campuses. I believe they might also offer distance/online classes. They´re kind of  pricey,  but because of their format, students are able to complete the semesters very quickly, so it´s a good alternative. 

    Aug 14, 2017

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Questions

Summer Spanish Conversation/Immersion Program

March 2010

Can anyone recommend a good program for teens for this summer to practice conversational spanish?

Yes! A fantastic small school run by native speakers, my son did a 2 hour class 4-5 days a week for 4 weeks and not only learned to speak, but covered an entire year of high school spanish curriculum, allowing him to move ahead a year. Classes were small, mixed teens and adults, or just teens (about 4-5 people/class), 2 week sessions, but they will allow you to tailor a program to your needs. It's called the mesoamerica institute in berkeley. http://www.mesoamerica.org/ They're just great! Raissa

Summer Spanish for 13-year-old?

March 2008

I am looking for Spanish lessons/classes for a 13 year old as an activity this summer. (It does not have to be a day or sleep away camp/vacation at this point. Just lessons). Or, does anyone know of anything such as College for Kids that might offer something like this? He will be entering 8th grade. Thank you! eb

Centro Latino on San Pablo in Berkeley (near Dwight Way) offers Spanish classes all year round for kids and adults. They have a more intensive program over the summer. The classes are small and the teachers seem to be very good. I took a class from Teresa and she was so positive and encouraging! I encourage you to check them out. Judy

Summer Spanish class for Teens

March 2004

My son has had poor Spanish preparation in middle school and we'd like to prepare him for Spanish 3/4 in high school in the fall. Any suggestions on classes and/or tutors who could help him catch up over the summer? We already plan to cap off the classes with an immersion program in Mexico, so I'm already aware of programs abroad (but if you have had an exceptionally good experience with one, especially in Oaxaca, I'd like to hear about that, too). Thanks! Robin

Try Centro Latino in Berkeley. They have wonderful teachers/classes though out the year. 2530 San Pablo Ave. Suite E in Berkeley. 510-849-4504 Zeze