Excelerate SPANISH - A Crew Review

A solid education wouldn't be complete without including a foreign language in your studies. Choosing the right curriculum or program can be challenging. How do you decide which language to learn? That's a tough decision for me personally, because I love languages, and I would learn them all if I could. Sadly, I can't fit that much study time into my busy lifestyle, so one or two will have to do, lol. I took a few years of Spanish in my high school years, but somehow, I don't think that provided me with a sufficient grasp of the language, ha. Once again, The Homeschool Review Crew came through for our family. Excelerate SPANISH provided us with a one year subscription to their Excelerate SPANISH Streaming membership for Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 to use and review.

Welcome to Excelerate Spanish.

I have to note that there are books that accompany the video lessons, but we did not receive those. We have only reviewed the streaming membership. There are however, free activities that are available on the company's website that can help with vocabulary and review. Now then...
This program can be used by most ages, so families will find it convenient to utilize across a range of grades.

Lessons are found on the right hand side of your screen.

The lessons are a series of pre-recorded videos. Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 both have 24 lessons each.  Caryn Howell is the author of this program, as well as the teacher. The lessons are recorded in a classroom, so you will see the other students and kind of get that learning in a classroom feel. You are encouraged to participate in the actions from home as you feel comfortable. So, even if you're very shy, you can do this from the privacy from your chair, couch, or wherever you're watching. Work at the pace you feel meets your family's needs.

Caryn Howell at work.

Traditional programs begin with a focus on grammar and structure of the language. That is not the case here. From the first lesson in Spanish 1, Ms. Howell jumps right in, speaking in Spanish, repeating a few phrases, and writing them on a whiteboard. She will have her students mime the action of the phrases along with her as she says them. The words and phrases will revolve around various themes or activities. for example, going to the bus stop, visiting a skating rink, skiing, etc.. Her view is that students need to be immersed in the language and learn to navigate the grammar and rules as they learn.

Spanish 2 expands on the material, teaching more of the conjugations.

Students in the video acting out a skit.

We've been using the Spanish 1 lessons, and have worked through several videos now. The way that the program is put together will appeal to kinesthetic learners, as they can mime and act out various scenarios. Our family happens to be made up of individuals who do prefer learning the grammar and structure from the beginning, along with the rules and conjugations of the verbs. That made this a challenge for us, as we felt like we were simply learning random phrases without understanding the foundational concepts. We did not have the textbooks that accompany the program either, and perhaps that would have helped. That being said, I like this as a supplement for Spanish, to help with practicing conversation, accent, and fluency. We will continue using the program in this way. Are you looking for a Spanish curriculum? Visit the site, click on the links, and see if this is a good fit.

Find Excelerate Spanish on social media: Facebook Twitter Pinterest Read more Crew reviews by clicking on the banner below!