Spanish at CCEP
Denise Gilliam
Born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, Chris Devany earned a BAS in Foreign Language and Literature from the University of Delaware in 2000. While at UD, Chris participated in Study Abroad in Granada, Spain, and was inducted into the Spanish Honors Society. Since then Chris has taught Spanish, music, and Capoeira (an Afro-Brazilian martial art form) to various ages in schools in Delaware, Philadelphia, California, and in Guatemala where he lived for 3 years. Amongst the many schools where Chris has taught is Academia Antonia Alonso a bilingual Spanish immersion school.
At CCEP, Mr. Chris is joined by his drumming dog puppet Chucho Tambor, and together (with the help of some other puppet friends) inspire a love of learning Spanish in the young learners there. This love of learning Spanish and a positive association with the idea of learning another language are the primary goals of Mr. Chris’ Spanish classes. Through song, dance, and games, the children learn all the basics such as greetings, colors, numbers, the weather, animals, food, people, clothes, and more. To keep students engaged, Mr. Chris uses musical instruments such as drums, maracas, and rhythm sticks, as well as toys and manipulatives such as scarves, bean bags, polyspots, hula hoops, parachutes, dolls, and pretend food. Mr. Chris also employs the Total Physical Response method for teaching his classes and to do this he uses tumbling mats, yoga balls, and other assorted gymnastics-type equipment.