English To Spanish School - Why Not Teach Both?

English To Spanish School - Why Not Teach Both?Taught English to Speakers of Spanish is the name of a school at Matanzas, Tampico that has been training students in English for years. For one reason or another, however, it seems to be the only school in Tampico offering this service. Is there another language school in Tampico? Or in Cancun?One might assume that tutoring English to Spanish would have been first developed by foreigners living in Tampico, who may have found that their children could speak Spanish as well as they could speak English. In the end, however, it is not the results of these foreign teachers that Americans are looking for. It is not English that they find particularly challenging, it is Spanish. In fact, it would not surprise me to find that those who come from countries where English is the common language do not prefer to speak it at all! If I were a foreigner, I would not wish to have to learn a second language, after English, when my first language was my first and only language.What are the alternatives to English to Spanish learning? There are many universities and language schools in Tampico that have programs which do take foreign language learning to Spanish. A few of these schools, notably Catholic University of Guadalajara and the University of the North, both in Matanzas, have special classes and foreign language programs for the study of English, but for the most part the regular English classes are a far more convenient way to acquire the skills which American families now prize above all others. The one main advantage to English as a foreign language, however, is that it is easy to learn.A class at any of the English language schools I know of will usually last no more than an hour. At this time we work on common idioms, on sentences, on everyday conversation, and so on. By the end of the afternoon, we can all read between the lines, watch out for mistakes, and so on.The problem with most courses at the English language sc hools I know of is that they are very impersonal. They focus on speaking and reading as distinct skills. So a lot of the work has to be done by people who are not native speakers of English. Often these students feel left out and do not like the work.Because English is such a popular foreign language, there are also private English tutoring services available. These usually operate out of a web site or a website and offer a choice of available language courses. Some offer intensive programs designed to train students to write a letter in a language and then teach them to write an essay in that same language, then a report in that language, and so on.With so many advantages to English as a foreign language, it seems to me that English language schools in Tampico should be offering Spanish language tutoring, English speaking classes, and English language tutoring for the student who wishes to study Spanish. If they could offer these as separate options then there would be more options and more choices for the students. The real tragedy, however, is that most students have to settle for what they can get. Maybe the real solution is to offer English speaking classes as a means of attracting students, but to offer Spanish language programs as an option.