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Cooking Up An Outstanding Language Program

January 05, 2023
By Perla Schaeberle

The language learning process at our school has a lot of parallels with the Slow Food Movement.  Great ingredients, seasonal produce, love, and appropriate time to prepare and cook are all hallmarks of an outstanding dish.  A similar, thoughtful, well-paced approach leads to similarly outstanding results when teaching a language.  

The aim of our World Languages program is to not only help students learn to communicate in a language other than English, but also to help them become familiar with and feel comfortable in a different culture and way of life.  Rather than offering just a taste of the language, students are invited to a banquet of listening and speaking, songs and stories, art, recitations, movement and games.  Classes are immersive and frequent, with four language lessons each week.  In PreK-Grade 7, the students alternate between Spanish and German throughout the year, giving them a base in both languages and cultures.  In Grades 8-12, students can choose which language they’d prefer to develop a stronger proficiency in and focus exclusively on that language.  These are the ingredients that form the base of our language program.

Up to Grade 3, languages are taught entirely orally and auditorily, with reading and writing in Spanish and German introduced in Grade 4.  Much like a child only hears and speaks their native language before learning to read and write it, allowing students the time for oral and auditory development of the languages before introducing reading and writing is a developmentally-appropriate approach to language learning.  This “seasonal” approach helps to ensure students are prepared for and excited about the next level of learning.

Like the garnish that enhances the presentation of a dish, the beauty of the language is an important factor in our teaching.  Through the inclusion of cultural experiences, history, music, and art, Spanish and German learning is enhanced. The teachers plan the subject matter in a way that invites children to open their hearts to the new language and fall in love with the culture as well as the words.  This leads many students to pursue a first-hand taste of the culture and language in a native-speaking country through our high school exchange program. 

Similar to crafting an amazing dish to share with those you love, our great teachers, eager students, and an age-appropriate, consistently-building approach is a recipe for creating a love of and respect for the languages and cultures that we are proud to share with our school community through our World Languages program.