Spanish Class

Alicia Maria Behnken

HOLA! My name is Alicia Behnken. I teach Spanish and Computer Classes for various
grades at St. Paul.

SOMETHING ABOUT ME

I am a native of Nicaragua and I have been in the United States for 25 years. I am married to Bill Behnken and we have three children. I have 19 years of professional experience and held high level management positions. My decision to pursue a career in education is a result of my desire to bring positive energy, motivate students to go beyond the normal expectations, and most important bring practical learning into the classroom.


DEGREES

• Associates with minor in Math - Cypress College, CA
• Bachelor of Science (major - Operations Management) - California State Fullerton
• Masters of Business Administration, University of Phoenix
• Teaching Licensure, State of Utah (Elementary, Computer, Spanish license)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Hewlett-Packard Company- 10 years as Director of Procurement
• Iomega Corporation- 9 years as Director of Latin America and US Sales

INSTRUCTIONAL HISTORY

• Hewlett-Packard- Taught Project Management and Business Processes to entry level employees

St. Paul Lutheran School is committed to giving each student the opportunity to learn a second language. While the school has offer Spanish for many years, three years ago, St. Paul Lutheran School invested in the development and implementation of a new curriculum for grades K-8th Grade.

GOALS

• Instill a love and appreciation of the Spanish language so students use it throughout their lives
• Better prepare students for their academic and commercial future
• Maximize each student’s ability to read, write and speak
• Incorporate history, geography and culture
• Study cultural similarities and differences to increase understanding and tolerance. By gaining insight into the Spanish-speaking cultures, students more easily participate in Hispanic community activities.

CURRICULUM EXPECTATIONS

At St. Paul Lutheran School, we have set forth expectations for each grade in support of our overall curriculum and in support of the State of Utah foreign language curriculum. By the time a student graduates from 8th Grade, each student will have learned not only minimum expectations set forth by the State of Utah but exceed those expectations. Below is a summary of what each student will learn in each category.

BASIC SKILLS AND EXPECTATIONS

• Students should be able to recognize and understand vocabulary within the chosen texts, videos or music
• Students should be able to read and understand Spanish used in context
• Students should be able to verbally express themselves by asking or answering questions, explaining needs or making requests
• Students should be able to compose complete sentences, simple dialogues
• Students should be able to write short letters, descriptions and explain events in a story
• Students should have a mastery of verbs and vocabulary for each level