LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

What if the key to unlocking fluent Spanish speakers lies not just in vocabulary lists, but in the science of how we learn to read and acquire language? Language acquisition has evolved; tools grounded in research and authentic experiences are in, while dated textbooks are out. In Ms. Hesson's classroom, she and her students are moving beyond rote memorization and translation drills. Instead, they read, write, listen, and speak Spanish in a variety of authentic contexts. Her goal is to help students internalize the language in a way that supports both fluency and comprehension using a research-backed curriculum approach.

Around 25% of Ms. Hesson's students are English Language Learners who are engaged in an immersive experience with the English language, and their studying of additional languages should mirror an authentic context as much as possible. She sees success for students with speech and language disabilities using novels by Blaine Ray.

Blaine Ray is the inventor of Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) and creates engaging novels that use cognates that students can recognize instead of memorizing a long list of vocabulary. These novels are stories that come alive. Students relate to the characters and are anxious to find out what happens next. They create opportunities for students to reenact scenes and hear words and phrases repetitively, among other variations of comprehensible input and output that lead to actual language fluency. TPRS aligns with the Science of Reading (SoR), which uses effective, understandable input and repetitive story structures to support language acquisition and literacy development. 

Students are motivated to read engaging stories they can understand, and Ms. Hesson's classroom experience demonstrates the students' love of Blaine Ray's novels. She implements a variety of reading strategies that can strengthen comprehension and improve reading scores overall. When students are motivated to read, they have improved comprehension and reading outcomes.

By incorporating TPRS and Blaine Ray's novels into her classroom and SoR strategies, Ms. Hesson aims to transform how her students experience language acquisition. This approach allows them to engage with Spanish in meaningful, memorable ways that foster long-term fluency and confidence.