By The BHS Journalism Class
While Berlin High School students may graduate with an acute knowledge of how to survive on a French ski slope, and the ability to order a strawberry milkshake in a Spanish café, many feel that they leave their language classes with few practical applications under their belt. The style of teaching foreign languages, both in BHS and in other area schools, is greatly lacking in regards to the needs of the modern high school graduate.
In our parents’ generation, the most foreign exposure one could expect to get would be a weeklong sightseeing trip to London. However, due to the new global business environment, the United States can no longer be the isolated country that it once was.
However, the method of teaching world language has changed little in twenty years. At Berlin High School, students begin their foreign language studies in their freshman year of high school, despite the recommendations of experts who believe that such learning should begin at a much younger age, when individuals are more open to learning. There is a common belief that, after age thirteen, an ideal window of opportunity for learning foreign languages closes, and the potential for learning decreases.
Europeans have been teaching foreign languages to young children for decades. As a result of this, many Europeans are fluent in three or more languages, and speak with little or no accent. There are large differences in the style of teaching languages in Europe and the United States; while European teaching methods focus on speech and pronunciation, the American method tends to focus on written expression and grammar.
Considering that there is very little opportunity for speaking and conversation, the BHS language education tends to focus on verb conjugations and endless memorization of vocabulary. Is it any wonder that some students find foreign language to be their least favorite class?
However, the students are responsible for some of the blame for the state of the foreign language curriculum in BHS. Many students believe that the group-speaking exercises given by language teachers are simply an excuse to talk to their friends and act up. Also, some students have no real interest in learning more about the language that they selected, and enroll in IV or V level classes only to garnish their high school transcript. As in any other subject matter, foreign languages take some degree of self-motivation to learn, and without the cooperation of both students and teachers this will not occur.
In order to improve the BHS foreign language curriculum, there must be more opportunities for interactive learning. Some improvements may include the installation of a language lab or the addition of speaking segments on tests and quizzes. BHS would benefit from offering a larger number of languages, as many area high schools do. For instance, New Britain High School allows students to choose between six languages, while BHS only offers three. It should also be noted that BHS used to offer Latin, but eliminated it from the curriculum many years ago. Russian was also eliminated at one point due to lack of interest, but was reinstated. As most language teachers are certified to teach in at least two languages, there is a definite possibility that our school would be able to offer a greater variety of languages that more students may be interested in. If a students’ level of interest in a language were higher, there is a possibility that they would take more initiative in their learning and therefore perform better.
Some Words from the BHS World Language Department (Chairperson Mrs. Dorsey):
1. I definitely agree students should begin foreign language learning in elementary school, the earlier the better. Their brains are like sponges, they aren’t inhibited or otherwise afraid to make foreign sounds, they are super-enthusiastic, and they think it’s cool to learn how to say words they already know, like “cat”, in more than one way. Also, before puberty, children pick up authentic, native accents. After puberty they will always retain the accent of their native tongue, no matter how long or how well they speak a second language. (Unless they hire a voice coach to train them or teach them the accent of the second language.)
2. I heartily agree BHS should teach more than three foreign languages. The problem is that most people come out of college only having majored in one language (Spanish). I majored in Spanish and minored in French. Mrs. Terrill and Mrs. Cyr-Junker majored in French and minored in Spanish. I would love to hire someone who could teach Italian, or German, or even Chinese! Latin is also very popular, it made a huge come-back a few years ago. A friend of mine teaches five sections of Latin at South Windsor High School. And he also is certified to teach Spanish and French. No question it would be awesome, but if the people aren’t out there to hire then you can’t offer more choices.
3. On the contrary!!!! In the beginning levels students are building a foundation. So you have to have lots of work with verbs and vocabulary acquisition. Then, when the student knows something, there can be more and more interactive learning. Try speaking Spanish if you don’t know any words. You need to know a few verbs and a lot of vocabulary, and how to put it all together before you can start speaking with any fluency.
4. Motivation comes from within a person. Either you want to learn and do well or you don’t. No one can motivate you to do anything you don’t want to do. Even dangling money in front of some people isn’t a sufficient motivator to do something they don’t want to do.
5. As far as I have ever heard, or read, the Europeans teach foreign languages the way we Americans do. We focus on correct speech/pronunciation ALONG WITH teaching grammar and vocabulary. Immersion programs simply forbid the use of the student’s native tongue. Everything else is the same.