Author's Note

Ahora Entendemos sprang to life for many reasons and over many years. Before finding my home in the Spanish classroom, I taught bilingual education, English as a Second Language, and English as a Foreign Language. Then, I transitioned to teaching Spanish, where I have been in a formal educational setting for more than 35 years. Outside of the classroom, one of my favorite activities has always been writing my own teaching materials, and then finding fun and creative ways to use them. I enjoy creating activities to encourage my students to communicate, and watching them become more confident as they do so. And I very much enjoy experiencing and learning about new cultures in a variety of places and ways, and then sharing what I learn with others. In short, I love learning and watching others learn, especially Spanish, and I have been fortunate enough to have enjoyed these activities for many years.

Languages and all related to them fascinate me. On my own I have studied Portuguese, Italian, French, Catalan, and Esperanto. Explaining the various components of learning Spanish to others and having them understand is extremely rewarding for me. The first book I wrote introduced to children to Spanish. The next book I wrote focused on the subjunctive. When I was writing an online course, I could not find a book to cover the vocabulary, grammar, and culture in the way that I wanted to include them, and so I created a way for students to self-generate a weekly vocabulary list, wrote all of the grammar explanations and activities, and created cultural activities for the course. During Covid, I wrote some story books. After Covid, I wanted to continue to write. I realized that students were coming back to the classroom, but no longer wanted or were willing to buy expensive textbooks. So, I started writing more grammar practice sheets so they could extend their learning and practice beyond the classroom. Writing an entire book seemed like a logical next step to me.

Why this book? This book is exactly what I think my students need. I want them to develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. I understand that they come to me with varied backgrounds, some having only formally studying the Spanish language and never using it beyond the classroom. Others have only used Spanish in informal settings and can only explain Spanish by saying that it sounds right. Some know the prescriptive grammar rules, but have never used them to communicate and are afraid to speak. Others can speak fluent Spanish, but make errors because they know the language descriptively, having used it but never studied it in a formal setting. Some have spent time or lived in Spanish-speaking countries, while others dream of doing so.

I believe there are different competencies one should strive to achieve in and with any language. To really understand a language, one must examine, practice, and learn the grammar. It is also necessary to be able to use the language in real-life settings to communicate. Language is a living, dynamic thing that grows and changes and needs to be used. Learning occurs every time a language is used. Culture is a part of language and needs to be carefully and deliberately implemented into language instruction. The combination of grammatical, communicative, and cultural competencies begins to create an overall mastery of a language.

Learning Spanish is more than just learning a language. Learning a language develops critical thinking. When cultural values or traditions are explored, students can be and should be asked to examine their own behaviors, ideas, and beliefs. They can be challenged to keep or include new elements in their own lives. The now Americanized celebration of Day of the Dead and recognition given to Frida Kahlo are two examples of new behaviors in our society as a whole. Students studying a new language need to be encouraged to be open-minded. Since learning a new language examines and explains how things are done differently by diverse individuals in a variety of settings, students should realize that there never really is only one way to do any one thing. Oftentimes students develop interpersonal skills when studying a new language. The typical foreign language classroom involves a variety of activities and usually incorporates individual, large group, small group, partner and whole classroom groupings. This resource has activities that can be used as they are written. They can also be duplicated, expanded, or tweaked to best suit the needs of any group of learners.

Ahora Entendemos is intended to be useful for all learners, regardless of their first language and previous Spanish learning experiences. This resource is written in Spanish at an intermediate level with the assumption that the learner has been exposed to some Spanish, but does not feel one hundred percent confident or knowledgeable with each of the four language skills or three competencies. I believe there is a lot more to language learning than most realize. Effective classrooms and good teaching materials are open and inviting to all learners. Instruction should be done with the learners in mind. Native Spanish-speakers should be invited into and embraced in Spanish classrooms. Students learn best when they are encouraged to learn together, not separated into smaller groups and told how different they are. Studying Spanish should be a welcoming experience for all learners because all individuals have important contributions to make in a language classroom, in the community in which they live, and in the world as a whole.

So, why should you use this resource? There are so many reasons. I love Spanish and explaining it. I feel that there is a richness in our lives when we know and can use more than one language, understand more than one culture, and can effectively communicate with others. One major goal of this resource is to establish a pathway to moments where small and important language components lead to wanting to learn more because of the joy that comes from feeling good about being able to communicate in more than one language with appropriate grammar and cultural knowledge. I wrote Ahora Entendemos to facilitate learning because teaching, for me, is a magical process that exposes all involved to new ways of learning, thinking, communicating, understanding, and living. Teaching Spanish allows me to introduce and challenge others to learn and grow by exposing them to new ideas, words, cultures, experiences, explanations, and ways of living.

Ahora Entendemos is intended to be a starting place to better understand Spanish for all who use it. My hope is that all who use it will enjoy using and adapting it to fill their needs. This is the product that I wanted to use for my students, but I did not find. When translated Ahora Entendemos means Now We Understand. I want all who use this resource to feel and believe that they feel more knowledgeable when it comes to learning, teaching, or using Spanish. There is no wrong way to use this resource. The Spanish classroom has been my happy place for more than 35 years. I hope all who use this book find some happiness when they think about the Spanish and all it has to offer to all who use it.

~ DLHatcher