News
"Simon Says" Learn Spanish
1 of 3Reality Spanish students listen and then repeat new Spanish words given by instructors Sister Mary Philip Berger (standing, right) and Maria Paz Dubón.
2 of 3Sister Jean Marie Ballard is concentrating on playing “Simon Says” with all instruction being given in Spanish.
3 of 3Sisters Mary Andre Gettelfinger, Linda Bittner, Kate Willegal and Eileen Reckelhoff incorporate hand gestures to learn the Spanish word for head (cabeza).
Ferdinand Police Chief Ted Bieker raises his hands to his head then drops his hands to his eyes as a look of concentration is etched in his face. Bieker is not only making sure he has the correct Spanish word for head (cabeza), eye (ojo), and other body parts, but also making sure “Simon dice” (Simon says) to point to that body part.
The Simon Says game was part of learning Spanish through a Reality Spanish® class held at the monastery and taught by Sister Mary Philip Berger and Maria Paz Dubón, a native to El Salvador.
Even though Sister Mary Philip had taught Spanish in a classroom setting, she took an instructor’s course to learn the methodology of the Reality Language® course.
Sister Mary Philip prefers this “reality” method, where the focus is on speaking and using gestures to act out the dialogue. She says, “It is a more meaningful way of teaching, similar to the way we learn English as a child.” Babies listen to the words, learn to speak them and then learn the grammar of the language.
Fourteen students, including a teacher from Precious Blood school, a husband and wife from Santa Claus, Bieker and another Ferdinand police officer, and sisters at the monastery participated in the twelve week course. Each had their own reason for wanting to learn Spanish. Many of the sisters have relatives that speak Spanish. The husband and wife team often travel to Mexico. The police officers wanted to be able to understand the Hispanic people they encounter and also see it as a safety measure for themselves.
The Guadalupe Center of Huntingburg sponsored the class at the monastery, as well as classes in Evansville, Washington, Dale, Jasper, Huntingburg and Ferdinand. Reality English® classes were offered in Huntingburg and Jasper. These classes were made possible by a grant from the Welborn Baptist Foundation. Sister Karen Durliat, director of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Evansville, coordinates the classes and hopes to continue offering them in the area, though new funding avenues will be needed since the grant was for only one year.
Both Sister Mary Philip and Sister Karen hope to offer additional classes as well as second level classes. Sister Mary Philip says, “The more you start to know a language, the more you realize you don’t know.”
- Laura Reckelhoff