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Spanish lessons for beginners

Twila and Angelo Napoleoni think of themselves as a tag-team. One of them will be talking while the other sits back. If the speaker look lost or they don’t know what to say, the other one will jump in and make the save.
Napoleoni
Twila and Angelo Napoleoni, Spanish teachers, in their home.

Twila and Angelo Napoleoni  think of themselves as a tag-team. One of them will be talking while the other sits back. If the speaker look lost or they don’t know what to say, the other one will jump in and make the save. They have a solid dynamic, which helps during their classes.

Twila and Angelo teach Spanish for beginners. They’ve been offering language classes in Yorkton for seven years. The course is being held at the Saskatchewan Abilities Council building on Ball Road. It runs for 12 weeks from September 21 to December 7. Classes take place from 6:30-8 p.m. on Thursdays. The course costs $240.

The Napoleonis have dubbed the course “Spanish Survival.” It’s designed to give beginners the basic tools of the language. It’s built to help people when they travel down south or anywhere else with a Spanish majority.

“If you want to explore the country, the real meal deal, we’ll be teaching you how to get by and enjoy the culture more,” Angelo said.

The Spanish class is part of the Bara’ Academy of the Arts, which Twila started. After living in Central America for 12 years, Twila moved back to Yorkton. She wanted to do something special here and since she is an art teacher, she decided to open the academy. She offered drawing and painting classes for people of all ages. Six months later, she met Angelo.

Angelo moved from Chile to Canada with a scholarship. After living in Ontario, he moved to Yorkton to fully immerse himself in the English language. He studied at Parkland College, where he met Twila.

They decided to teach Spanish at the academy. Twila’s teaching knowledge combined with Angelo’s familiarity with Spanish made for an informative class

“I’m fluent in Spanish, but...there’s nothing like a native speaker teaching you their own language,” Twila said.

The Napoleonis keep their class sizes to around 12 people. They like to work one-on-one with students.

“If you have a huge class, people can get lost in the shuffle,” Twila said.

“The interactions are one of the parts I most enjoy out of it,” Angelo said.

Due to their busy schedules, the Napoleonis will only be able to offer one class this fall. But Twila would like to teach art again when she has more time.

“It’s not a talent you’re born with,” she said. “It’s a teachable subject.”

Anyone interested in the Spanish course can contact Twila at 306-786-2787 or at create@bara-academy.ca.