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Language class shouldn’t feel like a worksheet factory where conjugation is the only goal, and instead the mission is to learn a language... share a culture... change the world.

In this episode we learn from Donna Guzzo, President and CEO of Language Exploration Enrichment, about what happens when we teach language to kids through stories, art, kindness, and cultural immersion instead of fear and memorization. Donna has spent more than two decades building an after-school enrichment program that helps children speak with confidence while also learning the humanity behind the language.

We get into how thematic units and storytelling make vocabulary feel useful, why early speaking matters more than perfect pronunciation, and how culture-first teaching builds real cultural literacy. Donna shares how kids learn that Spanish-speaking countries are not “all the same,” how small details like food and greetings can teach respect, and how children often bring that openness home, nudging parents toward new experiences and better conversations.

Donna also connects language education to global citizenship through the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, showing how young students can grapple with big ideas like hunger, clean water, peace, and even gender equality when the discussion is grounded in age-appropriate examples and guided dialogue. We wrap with what she’s learned from kids about perseverance, why “first you love them, then you teach them” shapes strong classrooms, and how immersive camps blend language learning with cooking, crafts, games, and music.

If you care about Spanish for kids, bilingual education, empathy, and raising globally aware students, this one’s for you. To find out more about LEE, visit:

www.leestjohns.pbworks.com

904-553-4274

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