Dual Language Teacher From Spain

A Teacher from Spain Teaches Dual Language Math at Landon Middle School
Posted on 08/20/2021

Topeka Public Schools offer dual language at all levels. Landon Middle School serves as TPS’s dual language middle school. Amongst their dual language teachers and staff is Mr. Luis DeAndres Laa and Ms. Laura Romero Munoz, who are originally from Spain.

 

Mr. Luis DeAndres Laa and his wife, Ms. Laura Romero Munoz, moved to Topeka three years ago looking for adventure and an authentic American experience. Once they arrived in Topeka, they both joined Topeka Public Schools - Mr. DeAndres Laa as a teacher and Ms. Munoz as a paraprofessional. 

 

Mr. DeAndres Laa is a dual language math teacher at Landon Middle School. He chose to teach dual language partly because Spanish is his native language and also because he believes that knowing two languages will give his students a competitive advantage in the future. He teaches almost completely in Spanish so that his students are immersed in the language and learn Spanish faster and more permanently. He also takes time to teach his students about Spain and the culture there so that they have an understanding of him as a person and learn about the wider world.

 

Math and numbers are a universal language and can make teaching and learning math in Spanish easier than in other subjects. However, there are aspects of mathematics that make it more difficult to teach at times. According to Mr. DeAndres Laa, the difficulty of teaching dual language math is the vocabulary and explaining the concepts. Word problems are another area where teaching and learning in Spanish can be difficult. In instances when the Spanish is too complex or his students are having difficulty understanding, he will explain the problem or concept in Spanish and then translate into English too.   

 

Though switching between English and Spanish can be difficult and they still struggle with their accents sometimes, Mr. DeAndres Laa and Ms. Munoz explained that Topeka and Topeka Public Schools feels like home and their colleagues at Landon are like family.


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