Welcome to Skillabration where learning a foreign language is a skill and a celebration.  

Skillabration helps students ages 8-18 take their world language skills from zero to fuego, preparing them for success as they advance their education. 

About the Teachers at Skillabration:

Spanish Teacher Nikki
Nikki is the founder of Skillabration. She has been teaching since 2005. She graduated with a bachelor's in Spanish and a master's in education with a focus in Spanish.

In 2016 she shifted from public school teaching to teaching online full-time for more freedom and creativity in her work. She taught ESL online from 2016-2020 and shifted to teaching Spanish on Outschool in late 2020. She also taught high school Spanish from 2005-2009, and 2011-2012. She was a middle school bilingual/Spanish/English immersion teacher from 2012-2016. 

Nikki has had countless experiences traveling to Mexico. She did a cultural exchange for six weeks in Cuautitlan Izcalli in the State of Mexico when she was just 15 years old. She also studied abroad in San Sebastian, Spain for three months the summer before her junior year in college. 

Her teaching certifications include:
K-12 Spanish
K-12 ESL 
5-8 Social Studies
5-8 Language Arts 

Her teaching style is based around the two C's: Connection and Communication. She likes to get to know students and cater the lessons to their interest and learning needs.
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Mandarin and Cantonese Teacher Cherry:
Cherry Man Ching Yeung is from Hong Kong. She has a dual Bachelor's degree in English Language and Education. She has a 120-hour TEFL certification. Teaching is her passion. She has been teaching Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, ESL and other subjects online, in schools, in her center, and at students' homes for 20 years. 

She offers children and teenagers group classes and 1-on-1 tutoring sessions. Her favorite and happiest times have been spent with students. They explore language with virtual “trips” to supermarkets, parks, museums and convenience stores. 

What students love about her class is that it is fun and engaging, so she uses many props such as toys, photos, flashcards, artwork and puppets. Also, students say she is patient and caring. She loves creating stories, dancing, singing, doing simple science experiments, listening to students and having fun conversations with them. She will take you on the wondrous journey of learning. She is looking forward to seeing you in her class.

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French Teacher Ramona:
Mademoiselle Armour has experience in teaching French. Mademoiselle Armour has been teaching in schools since 1994 and has taught students ages 6 to 18 although she has mainly taught high school.
Mademoiselle has taught levels I through Advanced Placement French and serves as an AP Reader for the French Language and Culture Exam. Mademoiselle Armour has a Master’s degree in French and has studied in France, Québec and Morocco, and has visited France more than 30 times! Students say she is passionate about teaching and challenges them while making learning a new language really fun.

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French, Spanish & ASL Teacher Rachel:
Rachel is going into her junior year at the College of Wooster. She is pursuing a double major in French and Spanish with a double minor in Russian and German. On top of that, Rachel speaks Hebrew and knows how to communicate in American Sign Language. She has many experiences teaching languages to children because in 2019 she started her own language program. She helped children learn American Sign Language, French, Spanish and Russian. 

Rachel recently studied abroad in France and had the opportunity to teach English as a second language to middle school students. While she was there she also practiced her translation skills. 

She has a passion for foreign languages because she enjoys being able to communicate with people. She grew up surrounded by different languages, which increased her curiosity in language learning. She brings that curiosity and passion to the classroom. Rachel adores working with children because she loves seeing them excited to learn! She is kind, engaging and a very good listener so she is able to cater to different learning styles and make students comfortable.
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French and Spanish Teacher Laura: 
Laura holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Foreign Languages and a Graduate Certificate in Spanish Language Education. Originally from Colombia, she has been teaching English, French, and Spanish as a second language both in the USA and her home country since 2018, across various educational levels from kindergarten to adult in private and public schools.

She is very creative and passionate about languages and cultures, Laura strives to immerse students in the Spanish language while sharing her Latino cultural traditions, customs, and holidays alongside those of other Hispanic countries.

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Spanish Teacher Diane
Diane is a veteran Spanish teacher living in South Carolina. She has experience teaching all levels of high school Spanish (1 to Advanced Placement) as well as college level. She has worked as a public and private school teacher since 1992 and has been tutoring privately for a few years. She spent her junior year of college at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain. She also studied in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

She has attended multiple comprehensible input workshops and seminars. She has been an AP Grader for the past ten years and has been a table leader for the last four.

Students say she is passionate about languages, especially Spanish, and loves presenting information in a comprehensible way.
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Spanish Teacher Sarah:
Sarah has been teaching Spanish since 2017 and has taught both middle school and high school. She has a mater's of science in education and a bachelor's in Spanish. Sarah is a passionate, driven educator. Her goal is to make an impact on each individual student. She love seeing students have lightbulb moments with Spanish. Students say she is positive and engaging. 

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Spanish Teacher Val:
Valerie has experience teaching Spanish and English (ESL) to ages 3-18. She has over seven years of experience working with students from all over the world both as a school teacher and an online teacher. 
She grew up speaking both English and Spanish in Texas. She has lived overseas in Madrid, Spain teaching ESL to students from kindergarten to adults. Through this experience, Valerie has adapted to the Spanish teaching culture and learned new ways to approach student learning. 
Students love working with her because she is kind, engaging and a warm listener.

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Spanish Teacher Cecilia:
Cecilia is a native Spanish speaker. She learned Spanish and English simultaneously because both of her parents were born in Mexico and she was born and raised in Chicago. 

She has taught Spanish 1 & 2 since 2017 at the middle school level. She studied abroad in Barcelona for half a year and loved learning about the Spanish language through a different perspective. She has a Bachelor of Arts in teaching of Spanish from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is very passionate about teaching Spanish through her culture and giving students the opportunity to learn to love the Spanish language.

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Spanish & ESL Teacher Alejandra:
As a heritage Spanish speaker with a rich cultural background, Alejandra brings a unique and authentic perspective to her role as a virtual Spanish instructor. Since obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Teaching of Spanish from 2017, she has been dedicated to teaching Spanish at various levels (Spanish 1, Spanish for Heritage Speakers, and AP Spanish Literature and Culture). Her endorsement in ESL allows her to effectively support students from diverse linguistic backgrounds, ensuring that all learners have the opportunity to excel in their Spanish language journey.

Alejandra’s passion for teaching goes beyond language acquisition; she is deeply committed to fostering a love for Spanish culture in her students. Through interactive lessons, engaging activities, and cultural explorations, she strives to create a dynamic and inclusive learning environment where students feel excited and motivated to learn Spanish.

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At Skillabration we help students take their foreign language skills from zero to FUEGO (fire) by mixing traditional and immersive teaching theories.  This means we appreciate note-taking, but also challenge students with speaking, listening, and literacy in Spanish. We layer in more and more immersion as students build their vocabulary. This allows students to gradually acclimate to the language and enjoy the process.

What should you know about language learning? 
- Language learning takes time, most people become fluent when they're immersed in the language or they've studied the language for many years. Even with immersion, it can take several years to become native-like
- Traditional language learning includes learning vocabulary and grammar in a specific order, typically starting with the alphabet and basic terms to eventually learning more advanced grammar and vocabulary. 
- Immersive or comprehensive input is when students learn through natural exposure, not necessarily starting with the alphabet. For beginners, this can look like reading a story that has photos and basic phrases or learning the alphabet with vocabulary instead of just learning letters.

What do our classes look like? 
Classes for 8-10 year olds:
- Lesson one starts with the alphabet. We teach the alphabet with a song and we have an alphabet lesson 3 times before we move on.
- Next we move into vocabulary. I use photos, labels and simple phrases to teach vocabulary. First we practice pronunciation 2 to 3 times, then we practice recognition of the vocabulary, finally we practice recalling the vocabulary. 
Example of Recognition: Circle the cat. Circle the dog. Circle the cow. 
Example of Recalling: How do you say cat in Spanish? How do you say dog? 
- We give instructions in Spanish, but in the beginning we tell students what the phrase means. We might remind them a few times what it means, but after a few times most students remember class instructions such as "Repitánme" (repeat me), "Dibuja un circulo alrededor de" (Draw a circle around), and "¿Cómo se dice ______?" (How do you say?)

Classes for 11-14 year olds:
- We start with a preliminary unit that includes an alphabet song, which we practice for two lessons. Then we learn numbers 0-10 and days of the week. We practice spelling numbers and days in Spanish to practice recognition of Spanish letters out of order. The preliminary unit also includes Spanish greetings and introductions, and weather.
- Students will take notes on the vocabulary and after taking notes on 3-6 words we practice the pronunciation. Then we do an activity to review the vocabulary. Activities can include matching pairs, drag and drop, fill in the blank or recalling the vocabulary with speaking. Other activities can include speaking and interacting by asking other students questions. 
- Units include vocabulary lessons and grammar lessons. The units build on each other moving from more basic vocabulary and grammar to more complex. 
- We give my instructions in Spanish, but in the beginning I tell students what the phrase means. We might remind them a few times what it means. They learn class instructions such as "Repitánme" (repeat me) and "¿Cómo se dice ______?" (How do you say?)

No shows: 
If no one shows up after 10 minutes, the class will be canceled. 

Refunds for Group Classes: For group classes, please let us know 24 hours in advance if you are unable to attend a lesson and we will gladly send you a refund if your learner is the only one enrolled. If other learners are enrolled there is no refund because there will be a class recording. You can stay enrolled without getting charged in ongoing sessions by pausing your subscription, but you must do this by Saturday (US Time Zones) because charges for subscriptions go through on Sundays. See more about Outschool's refund policy here: https://support.outschool.com/en/articles/4626920-standard-refund-policy-and-refund-eligibility-guidelines

Refunds for 1:1 Classes: Parents can cancel or reschedule 1:1 classes 24 hours after being charged. Please see the policy and tutorials on canceling and rescheduling for 1:1 classes here: https://support.outschool.com/en/articles/8042932-1-on-1-classes-for-parents