“Spanish 3 In-Action”, a new co-created course by Spanish teachers Joanne Guillén-Donohoe and Christelle Hutin-Lee, was presented to the school board on March 13 and passed.

Guillén-Donohoe and Hutin-Lee began working on this course at the beginning of the school year, and it will go into effect next year. It has been submitted to the UC system, but has not yet been UC approved.

“The idea came from many years of talking and listening to students, parents and learning center teachers,” Guillén-Donohoe said. “It will create a different way of learning.”

Guillén-Donohoe said the new course is based on communication and culture. It will still target grammar and use the same textbook as regular Spanish 3, but will not prepare students for level 4 or AP, she said.

“This is a course students would take as the end of their Spanish career at PHS,” Guillén-Donohoe said.

If a student takes Spanish 3 In-Action, but then decides they want to move on to Spanish 4, they will have to prepare over the summer to learn all of the grammar and develop writing and reading skills, she said. If someone takes regular Spanish 3, they are prepared to take Spanish 4, but can choose not to.

Hutin-Lee said there will most likely be one Spanish 3 In-Action class and two regular Spanish 3 classes next year.

While regular Spanish 3 is taught in sequential order of the book, Spanish 3 In-Action will be taught using four themes: relationships, communication, the environment, and the arts. However, the two classes may overlap in projects or ideas.

“When we came up with the curriculum for the class, we thought about the students first,” Hutin-Lee said. “We used student interests to come up with themes, then came up with activities, and then added the grammar and vocabulary.”

Guillén-Donohoe said she feels that this course will be very useful for the students in targeting speaking, which can be applied immediately in the real world.

“When I learned about this course I was really excited because Spanish is not my strongest subject and I do not like the textbook learning style that all my classes have,” sophomore Cecilia Soghikian said. “This is a great option for students who feel the same as I do about Spanish.”

Soghikian is currently in Spanish 2 and intends on taking Spanish 3 In-Action next year. She said she heard that the new course will be a less stressful, easier version of regular Spanish 3.

However, Guillén-Donohoe said she would not say it is easier.

“I would say it would be open to students who wouldn’t be as successful in the regular 3 course, but not necessarily that it’s easier,” Guillén-Donohoe said. “You’re still learning almost the same grammar—you’re still required to study, to work, to do research, to take quizzes, and to present. You’re also required to speak more in this class than the regular class.”

Hutin-Lee added that it is not going to be strictly a “conversational course” where you just come in and chat.

“I think if people realize that regular Spanish 3 is too much for them or is not the right class for them, the new class will give them the opportunity to keep speaking and learning,” senior Ryan Pike said.

Pike is currently in AP Spanish, and said that just because the class is more focused on speaking does not mean it will make you fluent. It is still difficult to be able to converse well after just three years of high school Spanish, he said.

“It’s a very exciting time because there are so many things we can do with this course,” Hutin-Lee said.