Language classes prepare students for 'global world'
Abril, mayo, junio and julio jumped off Butler Catholic School fourth-grader Xavier Grenci's page in a rainbow of colors.
“They're my pronunciation cards so I know how to say them in Spanish,” said Xavier, 10, about the months of the year.
Since kindergarten, Xavier has studied Spanish at Butler Catholic School.
“I like learning new stuff,” he said. “I think it's important to learn Spanish because you never know when you're going to need it.”
Area students in kindergarten through 12th grade have the opportunity to learn world languages, including Spanish, French, German, Latin and Mandarin, at different school districts to reap the benefits of what educators call a “global world.”
More than just language, world language programs teach students about other cultures.
“For children to be able to sing, talk, converse in a language other than their native language is a contribution,” said Sister John Ann Mulhern, principal at Butler Catholic. “We are living in a global world. It's no longer this is the city of Butler, I'm not going to leave.”
The foreign language program at Butler Catholic begins with Spanish in kindergarten at an introductory format, which continues through fourth grade, Mulhern said.“Spanish is the second-largest spoken language in the U.S. and because of the number of Hispanic people moving into the area and the states, the children need to be able to converse with non-English speaking people,” she said.As students progress through fifth grade to seventh grade and their vocabulary expands, instruction becomes more technical.“The younger you start children in a foreign langue the easier it is for them to grow and become familiar and embedded in the language,” she said. “It helps them absorb the differences in the languages. It expands their horizons.”
Fourth grade is the turning point in the Spanish program when students delve deeper into conversational skills and the vocabulary advances, said Elizabeth Baptiste, who teaches fourth-grade to eighth- grade Spanish at Butler Catholic.Vocabulary lists begin to include household and community items, weather and a fluency for numbers up to 50.They also begin to concentrate on cultural traditions of Spanish-speaking countries and how they relate to traditions in the United States, she said. Baptiste touches on the 21 Spanish-speaking countries throughout the year.She begins her class with basic conversation and a children's book in Spanish that focuses on phonetics or the Spanish version of a familiar children's story. Next, the class moves to a vocabulary lesson.In some instances, Baptiste concludes with a cultural lesson. For example, the class discussed Christmas and New Year's traditions of Spanish-speaking countries and compared them to the United States during the holiday season.During the 11 years she has been at Butler Catholic, Baptiste has strived to create a comfortable teaching environment where students are not embarrassed to speak aloud.“I tell them it's like a toddler or infant learning to speak English. When you first learn to speak English you whisper...You're afraid to come out and say (words),” she said. “You can whisper and keep to yourself, but I want you to eventually with no filter come out with it.”
Secondary instructionWorld language instruction is not the typical sit down classroom type, said Tonya Burgess, the Butler Area School District's department chairwoman.Every week in Burgess' Spanish class at Butler Senior High School, her students learn a new popular song and see clips of a telenovela every Monday. She has also incorporated dance lessons and food into the classroom.“We're all trying different things, new things,” said Burgess, a Spanish 3 and 4 Honors and Advanced Placement teacher. “If you walk past our classroom at any point in time, usually you will think what is going on?”Spanish, French, German and Latin are languages taught at the high school and Butler Intermediate High School. The district also offers exploratory language opportunities for seventh through 12th grade.Reading, writing, speaking and listening and culture are focus areas for world language teachers, said Jenny Panella, who teaches French 2, French 3 and 4 Honors and Advanced Placement and German 2.Personalized learning is the best way to approach language instruction because each student learns differently, said Burgess, who has taught world language for 21 years.“You have to figure out how it is best for you to learn the language,” she said. “You cannot learn a language with a teacher lecturing for 42 minutes.”Learning a language is like learning an instrument which requires daily practice, Panella said.Multiple learning opportunities are available at Butler from after-school clubs to travel abroad. Latin students have the opportunity to go to Italy and Greece, a trip available since 2011, said Linda Russell, who teaches Latin 2, Latin 3 and 4 Honors and Advanced Placement.“They have the opportunity to see how they can use their knowledge of Latin and the Italian language,” Russell said. “They get to use their Latin to read descriptions, walk where Caesar walked.”Originally, the district offered Latin and Japanese through Kentucky Educational Television, a video program, in the mid-90s.The Latin program arrived at the district in 1999 with its own teacher and 40 students from grades ninth through 12, Russell said. This year, AP Latin was created.An interdisciplinary approach to Latin, including the subject's philosophy, architecture and artwork, give every student a takeaway from its study.“We really like to engage with our students, learn who are students are as people,” she said.Interactive classes make the teaching environment personal, Panella said.“The hardest part about learning a language is getting over the fear of speaking, the fear of saying something wrong,” Burgess said. “I want you to get to the point where if you make a mistake, we can all laugh together as friends and you don't feel embarrassed.”
Level 1 and Level 2 courses focuses on the self, such as where a person lives and and basic vocabulary. Once at Level 3, students move to talk about other people and what is around them and transition into abstract thoughts, Panella said.At Level 4 and the advanced placement level, they make deep comparisons on abstract topics in the language.“It is very collegiate-level thinking,” Panella said, adding an AP language course is equivalent to a 300 level course at the university level taken by college juniors.
Although world language courses are not a graduation requirement, two full credits are necessary for arts and humanities, and world languages could fulfill those credits, said Matt McKinley, assistant superintendent at the Seneca Valley School District.The district offers Spanish at the elementary level, beginning with first grade. World languages, including French, German, Spanish and Latin, are offered from grades seven to 12.In the SV Academy of Choice, the district's decade-old cyber program, students can take other world languages like Mandarin Chinese. There is also a cyber course for grades 11 to 12 that is Advanced Placement for Spanish Language and Culture.The district also has a college and high school program partnership with the University of Pittsburgh in Latin where students can take specific Latin courses to obtain college credit.Many colleges and universities require two years of a language for admission while others have no requirement, Burgess said. Some universities or colleges require two to four semesters of language to graduate.
Students at Seneca Valley have a strong interest in politics. Some have a goal to become diplomats while others are interested in relations with other countries, McKinley said.“I think today's generations, they're so much more aware of what's going on worldwide ... because the world's at their fingertips,” McKinley said. “They can communicate quickly and easy with others, not just down the street, but across the country and across the world ... many of them are eyeing that.”Previous Latin students have gone on to teach and one is now a professor of archeology at a university, Russell said. She explains the value of learning the language for students who want to become medical professionals, lawyers, historians or enter the priesthood.Panella said some of her students are interested in mission and service work noting African countries that speak French.Students who take Spanish are interested in careers in law enforcement and health field, Burgess said.
Any foreign language speaker is at an advantage, Baptiste said.“It opens their mind, but also makes them better problem solvers,” she said.Part of the Seneca Valley school district's mission statement is students should have global awareness, McKinley said.World languages are the start to that mind set in classes where educators teach students about the different cultures in the areas of their language, he said.Benefits of learning a world language include improved English and speech skills and open-mindedness, Burgess and Panella agree.Each educator promotes seeing the world in their classes, Russell said.“Yes, it's about language study, but more importantly in this day and age, it's about becoming a better human being,” she said. “Language is a humanities, it's about realizing other cultures, not only their language, but their art and architecture, literature, their social mores and what can we take from that and how do we understand other people and communicate with them and understand what's important to them.“We learn that through their language,” Russell said.
