Educación Alternativa: Metodología Spotlight

There are multiple reasons why a person starts learning English. Nowadays, mastering this language is a tool that can open many doors to diverse paths, whether for enjoyment or professional purposes. A study by Inter-American Bank mentions that in Latin America learning English is necessary in order to obtain growth opportunities outside the continent. Because speaking English allows you to expand your world from many perspectives, today there are multiple academies and programs that offer different types of methodologies through which you can achieve a comprehensive command of the English language.

Many English language students report that the process of learning can sometimes be a boring or too demanding activity, which are also reasons why people end up abandoning their English studies. In 2020, Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine affirmed that “ students frequently found themselves bored in an English class where a method with little requirement for peer sociability was applied, where the teacher remained in control of the class 100% of the time”; while the same group of the students indicated that they were highly entertained and enthusiastic about learning English through an activity they enjoyed.

Based on this new vision presented by alternative education, Spotlight takes a dynamic educational approach that is entirely different from a standardized one. The objective is for students to learn and reinforce this language through joint artistic activities and skills. This is how English becomes a tool not only for learning, but also for enjoyment and communication within the theatrical discipline.

One of our students was encouraged to share her experience, telling us that she definitely notices a great improvement and growth in her fluency and pronunciation when speaking English. She also comments on how comfortable she feels in the methodology used in Spotlight, as it proposes a total immersion in the language through an activity she enjoys doing. 

The majority of students were already familiarized with the material and enjoyed it a lot, so the enthusiasm for learning and practicing English was there from the beginning. 

That’s how our students practice the English language from the start. The enthusiasm for learning new artistic skills is mixed with the learning and evolution of English, since the application of the Spotlight methodology, both go hand in hand. With more than 4 years and 6 productions, our students support this alternative education proposal and inspire us to continue improving by creating and implementing new tools to our programs that contribute to their learning and improvement of English as well as their skills related to the art they enjoy so much.

References:

Mehta, J., & Fine, S. M. (2020). In search of deeper learning: the quest to remake the American high school. Harvard University Press. https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674988392

Unesco – Unicef (2022) Education in Latin America and the Caribbean at a crossroads. ECLAC. https://www.unicef.org/lac/media/37781/file/Education%20in%20Latin%20America%20anthe%20caribbean%20at%20a%20crossroads.pdf