Spanish Exchange Program Coming to Concord

For Katka Tkacik and David Conner the best way to learn about a language and a culture is to dive right in. It worked for them, and now they’re trying to afford that opportunity to a new generation of students.

Conner and Tkacik, a Concord-Carlisle High School grad, met years ago in a teaching program in Madrid and more recently the pair founded Native Lengua, an exchange program that brings Spanish students to Concord.

In just a few weeks, more than a dozen Spanish students ages 13 to 15 will arrive along with two ESL teachers from Madrid. They’ll spend the month of July in Concord, living with host families, taking intensive English as a second language lessons and visiting historical and cultural sites around the area.

“The most important thing for us is they gain a cultural experience,” said Conner. “We want them to be immersed and practice the other language and get better at it, but in a month’s time, what we really want them to do is connect with their host families.

“That’s how we did it. How we got the most out of it is we went there and lived. We want them to live the language, and we want them to live the culture,” he said.

This is the second year Native Lengua has brought students from Madrid to Concord, and several of the students are making a second trip, according to Conner. Next year, he said, they’re planning a trip in which Concord students will visit Valladolid, a small town north of Madrid. 

As with the host families, students who might want to visit Spain can come from Concord and surrounding communities, including Carlisle, Acton and Bedford.

While a language program at its base, Native Lengua skews more toward the cultural than the educational, according to Conner. That the classes will take place at Sanborn School is the main connection to the public schools here in Concord. An equally important aspect of the program will be the trips to the beach, to Six Flags, to Walden Pond and wherever host families decide to take their guests.

“The classes are great and we have fun in the classes, and the trips are interesting,” said Connor, “But Katka and I feel like we could not do it without the Concord families. The thing that I like the most is working with the Concord families. They’re very easy to work with, and they genuinely want these types of programs.”

Host Families Needed

A total of 15 students are expected to travel from Madrid to Concord. . 

According to the program directors, Native Lengua will provide all transportation for Spanish students to and from their daily classes and activities. Host families will have the ability to bring their guests on trips, so long as it’s OK with the student and his or her family.

Connor said they’ve tweaked the program a little bit this year after receiving feedback from families who hosted last year.

For instance, last year students had classes on Monday through Friday and did field trips on Saturdays, but that’s changed this year after host families said they’d like to have the whole weekend to spend with their guests.

According to Conner, Native Lengua strives to connect host families and students based on mutual interest and compatibility. Anyone interested in hosting should reach out as soon as possible using david@nativelengua.com.

For more information on Native Lengua and/or hosting check out www.nativelengua.com or http://www.nativelengua.com/hosting.html.