About Me: My name is José L. Jiménez-Rivera and I am from Mayagüez, a town on the west coast of Puerto Rico. Growing up, I lived less than two miles from the beach. I travel to Puerto Rico twice a year, since all my family lives there. I love being home, visiting with friends, going to the beach and eating delicious food!
I discovered my passion for the Spanish language in elementary school. It became my favorite subject. My interest kept growing through high school and I decided to make it my major in college. I graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a B.A. in Hispanic Studies and Secondary Education. This is my thirteenth year teaching Spanish and my fifth year at Cedar Ridge High School. Go Raiders!
About the course:
Our class is multi-purposed. It is both an academic class and a communicative one. Class will be conducted mostly in Spanish. The goal is for students to understand, speak and make connections with real world uses of the target language. Since students will mostly hear and use Spanish in class, it is imperative that they try their best to understand without relying on translation. Most students find it difficult at first, but with practice they can and will learn that to truly learn a new language, they must utilize context clues to help them understand. Vocabulary must be practiced and memorized. I will provide many different resources to help them learn and retain the new vocabulary. Grammar concepts will be taught in class, but students will have to practice at home constantly and consistently to be able to build on them. Culture will also play a big role in our class. Language, like other school subjects, builds on itself and that is why a good foundation is crucial. So get ready! A foreign language takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but we will spend the year working together to make it fun and relevant!
I discovered my passion for the Spanish language in elementary school. It became my favorite subject. My interest kept growing through high school and I decided to make it my major in college. I graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a B.A. in Hispanic Studies and Secondary Education. This is my thirteenth year teaching Spanish and my fifth year at Cedar Ridge High School. Go Raiders!
About the course:
Our class is multi-purposed. It is both an academic class and a communicative one. Class will be conducted mostly in Spanish. The goal is for students to understand, speak and make connections with real world uses of the target language. Since students will mostly hear and use Spanish in class, it is imperative that they try their best to understand without relying on translation. Most students find it difficult at first, but with practice they can and will learn that to truly learn a new language, they must utilize context clues to help them understand. Vocabulary must be practiced and memorized. I will provide many different resources to help them learn and retain the new vocabulary. Grammar concepts will be taught in class, but students will have to practice at home constantly and consistently to be able to build on them. Culture will also play a big role in our class. Language, like other school subjects, builds on itself and that is why a good foundation is crucial. So get ready! A foreign language takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but we will spend the year working together to make it fun and relevant!