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Minneapolis2020

Minneapolis Fluency Fast Classes
July 20-24, 2020

On this page:

  1. Online classes
  2. Which Spanish class should I take?
  3. What people are saying about Fluency Fast classes
  4. What hosts are saying about hosting a class
  5. Upcoming training opportunities for language teachers

Register Here

Location 

 

Hours 
Monday-Friday, 

Spanish

Beginning

Intermediate-High

Advanced

French

 

Mandarin

Additional Activities in Spanish 

 


These are not your typical language classes!   We use brain research to rapidly increase the amount of language you can understand, knowing that, just as a baby learns, we cannot speak before we have something to say.   

  

 


* Beginning Spanish
* Intermediate Spanish
* Advanced Spanish

 


WHICH LEVEL SPANISH CLASS SHOULD I TAKE?

Here’s what the courses are like:

Beginning Spanish is for true beginners.  It teaches the 200 highest frequency words in Spanish.  It starts with stand up  / sit down / walk / the boy walks to the door.  This is the right level for true beginners or anyone who has limited Spanish that they can’t yet put into any kind of sentences.  By the end of this 15-20 hour course, they will be able to read a book in Spanish and have some limited ability to tell simple stories and ask and answer simple questions.

Intermediate Spanish focuses on communication in the past tense to be able to tell what just happened and communicate in the present and past tenses.  Some people take this class even thought they are just BARELY 

past beginning — which is fine.  They will understand a lot but communicate less.  Some people take it because they are not ready for Advanced.  The majority of our students take Intermediate multiple times.  The content is always different.  Students read one text in class together and another out of class that is appropriate to their level.  This class accepts the broadest levels.  It is our multi-level class.

Advanced Spanish is designed for students who are beyond Intermediate and have a pretty solid grasp of communication in the past and present all the way up to non-native Spanish teachers of lower level Spanish classes. We explore the trickier parts of the language like imperfect subjunctive and conditional and future grammatically, but also explore more interesting topics because we can discuss more topics freely and communicate more naturally.  We focus on vocabulary expansion.  There is no class reader, but all participants read at their own level, selecting from a variety of available readers in the library.  At this level there is still lots of input, but students are more conversational.  The outside of class requirements are higher and suggestions for prep work are sent by email at the end of May (watching Netflix series in Spanish with subtitles in Spanish, reading, etc.)

HOWEVER — none of this matters that much because the 3 classes are intentionally simultaneous.  Those who are not sure should sign up for the class above their level and stay for the first hour.  If after an hour the class seems too difficult, they can pop down and only have missed the first hour of an easier class.  Moving up is more difficult than moving down.  If you think you think you’re between Beginning and Intermediate, sign up for Intermediate.  If you think you’re between Intermediate and Advanced, sign up for Advanced.  You’re looking for the level that feels comfortable and comprehensible, so that you understand everything easily.  If you want more of a challenge, you can always increase your reading.

  

If you still aren’t sure, call our office and we can tell you in less than 5 minutes.  719-633-6000


What people are saying about Fluency Fast classes:

 

“Conversation without judging. Everybody was there to learn, so no snobbery.” Julio Maestro – Teacher Sabrina Advanced French Summer 2017
“I felt very safe/comfortable speaking French here, even with my faults – the teacher always made a genuine effort to understand me.”  Amy Sternke – Teacher Sabrina Advanced French Summer 2017
“Increased my understanding of how / when to use advanced grammar structures. BRILLIANT presentation of various subjects. LOVED the Cuba theme. I learned so much!!. Loved all the new vocabulary & colloquial spanish” Phoebe Hall – Teacher Jason Fritze Advanced Spanish Summer 2017
“I loved the energy of the class and instructor enthusiasm and use of TPRS throughout the sessions. I learned how to engage students in a variety of ways” Teacher Jason Fritze Advanced Spanish Summer 2017
“When I did not understand, I always felt that the teacher had quickly noticed that some of us didn’t understand and he supply a comprehensible explanation. It was extremely enjoyable and I was completely engaged, and the time flew by. I learned a lot about how to incorporate culture more fluidly into CI teaching.” Teacher Jason Fritze Advanced Spanish Summer 2017
“Karen made it super relevant. I was blown away by her ability to weave entire stories out of PQA.”  Laura DeCerchio – Teacher Karen Rowan Intermediate Spanish Summer 2017
“Me encanta – I loved how many opportunities we had to be creative and add to stories by speaking. So, creative and fun! This allowed me to just be present in the class, without worries of “meeting expectations” and doing the “right thing”.  [This class] surpassed my expectations. My undestanding and knowledge of grammar came back + enhanced well with the vocab, but my confidence in speaking grew in such a new way!!! Gracias.” Cristina Cardenas – Teacher Karen Rowan Intermediate Spanish Summer 2017
I love the media, the field tips, the speaking practice, the music, and the fact writes. Karen – you are very easy to understand. I had not practiced in 6 years. The immersion activities were great!. Carolina – Teacher Karen Rowan Intermediate Spanish Summer 2017
“It was fun & I felt little pressure which resulted in greater learning. Also, the teacher stayed focused on the set of high frequency words.” Carlos – Teacher Karen Rowan Intermediate Spanish Summer 2017
“The best was TPRS! I will probably never take a “traditional” language class again. I had far fewer obstacles to comprehension, and far less nervousness. The communication FLOWED! Karen’s energy was also awesome.” Andy Mckerrow – Teacher Karen Rowan Intermediate Spanish Summer 2017
“I loved to be able to tell the stories” Amy Weisheit – Teacher Donna Tatum-Johns Beginning French Summer 2017
“The class was so entertaining that I forgot I was learning!” Jorge – Teacher Donna Tatum-Johns Beginning French Summer 2017
“Donna did a wonderful job of making the input compelling and comprehensible. I have taught with TPRS/CI for 14 years, but this is my first time learning that way and it is mind-blowing! Thank you!. Briana Livingston – Teacher Donna Tatum-Johns  Beginning French Summer 2017
“The enviroment was relaxed & funny. There was no negativity anywhere. The pace of activities was perfect.” Emily – Teacher Donna Tatum-Johns Beginning French Summer 2017
“No intimidation! Lots of laughter, lots of repetition. Leslie and Tyler made the class fun and interesting. You were 100% engaged all the time because the lessons moved so quickly. I also felt that if you started to drift off (heat + time of the day) they quickly and laughingly pulled you back in by asking a question or assigning you a part in a skit. Really impressive. 5 hours of total concentration, priceless!.” Becky Moody – Teacher Leslie Davison Beginning Spanish Summer 2017
“Leslie was extremely effective at keeping the class engaged and having fun. She always kept things light to help with understanding and mood. Our activities were humorous but well thought-out to keep us on track. It was awesome to see a great teacher in action!.” Morgan Schoeder – Teacher Leslie Davison Beginning Spanish Summer 2017
“It was fun. I really enjoyed the whole experience. I didn’t think I could learn much Spanish in 4 days. I’m excited about all the knowledge I have and I am excited to continue to learn.” Ten Ahr – Teacher Leslie Davison, Beginning Spanish Summer 2017
“Linda is a master of all the strategies, and particularly appreciate the S-L-O-W and other language parent strategies. She was able to seamlessly spin personalized and therefore compelling stories that were playful + humorous, and masterfully led them into movie talks, reading, literacy extensions + other novel activities.” Alisa Shapiro-Rosenberg – Teacher Linda Li Beginning Mandarin Summer 2017
“it was so much fun. I learned so many new methods as a World Language Teacher and I learned more Mandarin than I ever expected.” Mary Kay Cummings  – Teacher Linda Li Beginning Mandarin Summer 2017

 

What hosts are saying about hosting a class:

 

“I was completely out of my element trying to figure out how to bring a Fluency Fast class to my church, but I had taken a course in Denver and was really eager to get both more training as a teacher and to learn more Spanish, so I bit the bullet. I sent emails to all of the other churches in Austin . The need for Spanish is so high here that we filled one class last year and another this Spring and we’re going to do it again.”

– Cindy Singleton, Brentwood Christian School , Austin , Texas


“Our school’s Spanish-speaking population has increased by so much in the last few years that I knew that bringing a Spanish class to our teachers would be beneficial to everyone. The school let us send out information to the school email list. Our first class last January had 120 people in it, so they sent us two teachers. The second class in April had over 90, and they sent two teachers again. The teachers are happy, so we’re scheduling another class for the Fall .”

– Diana Noonan, Denver Public Schools , Denver , Colorado


Thanks again for coming! I’m still getting emails from those who attended… all positive! I’m also getting the video from the TV station that came out to film the class and will send to you.

– Jan Coone, Grant Coordinator, North Platte, Nebraska


The need for Spanish in Worthington, Minnesota is at an all-time high. Our first class had over 200 people. Teachers, firefighters, nurses, police officers and general members of the community who wanted to be able to communicate with Spanish-speaking residents. We’ve just held our second class and are looking forward to another one next summer. We held the class at the school and I emailed all of the teachers in our district and the surrounding districts and sent publicity out locally, as well. The local newspaper and news station covered the class. People who took the class are ready for more and interested in signing up again the next time Fluency Fast is here.

– Deanna Rowe, Worthington, Minnesota

If you are interested in bringing a Fluency Fast class in Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, Arabic or Russian or any other language to your city, please let us know. We look forward to working with you!  719-633-6000