Bon dia, y bon bini!/Good morning and welcome! Today I learned how to say a few phrases in Papiamento, one of the four languages that are spoken in Aruba. I, along with WL students at Pelion High School, had the honor of hearing from three International Student Ambassadors who are part of the Thinking Globally program which is organized through USC's Department of International Student Services. Their mission is to promote intercultural enlightenment through cultural presentations across the midlands, and I must say that I was impressed by these international students. They are full time students at USC who volunteer their time to talk with people about their countries and their culture, and I believe our students at PHS were impressed by how similar these students are to us, even though they have different backgrounds, languages and cultures. The countries represented today were France, Germany and Aruba, and some students didn't even know that Aruba existed until today. Other students were curious to hear about French cuisine, yes they eat snails, the German Autobahn, and Aruban New Year's traditions. It was exciting to share in this multi-cultural event, and a big thank you to PHS WL teachers for organizing it. If you are interested in inviting Thinking Globally to your school, check out their website, or talk to Elizabeth Ben Yahia at Pelion High.
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Welcome back WL friends! I know it's been an interesting start to the year, with our unscheduled "Fall Break," but hopefully we've all settled back into our routines and are making up for lost instructional time as we near the end of the first nine weeks.
As you all know, our new vision for Lexington One is "Empowering each Child to Design the Future." Last year many of you felt empowered to share out with the district the excellent learning opportunities you provided for students. I wanted to put out the call for guest bloggers this year. If anyone would like to share what's going on in your classrooms, I will happily post for you, just send me your write up, and a few pictures. Our work in World Languages is vital to the success of our students and in helping each child design a more global future. In other news, I wanted to share an exciting announcement. South Carolina is now officially a state that recognizes and awards the National Seal of Biliteracy! "The Seal of Biliteracy is an award given by a school, district, or state in recognition of students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation." We believe that this will continue to add value to the work we and our students do each day, and I look forward to seeing how many of our graduates this year will earn the seal of biliteracy. For more information, check out the national website: sealofbiliteracy.org/index.php, and you can also stay tuned as we will forward out more specific information as we have it. This week I had the pleasure of attending two fantastic learning events at Red Bank Elementary. The fourth grade team collaborated across all content areas on their Westward Expansion unit which culminated in a Musical presentation of "To the West." After the musical, fourth grade immersion students presented their interactive, multi-media projects in Spanish and English on various aspects of Westward expansion, also integrating topics such as animals and their habitat, food groups as well as the types of home and weather conditions from that geographical region during that time period.
I also got to witness first grade Spanish immersion students sharing their integrated science and literacy unit on plants with the immersion kindergarteners. They performed a poem, then they shared photos of the plants they grew along with drawings and observations. They also read books about plants to their kindergarten friends. It was inspiring to say the least to see how teachers are integrating content, language and literacy. Great job Red Bank! Thanks for all your hard work.
Today's post is meant to inspire you to push your Level 1 students. While we know they are still beginners, they are capable of doing some exciting things, both at Middle School and High School. Several of you have begun scheduling Skype or Facetime interactions with other schools or classes. Here is another great example of a successful exchange. In a Spanish 1 course at MGMS, Esmith Centeno orchestrated an intercultural chat with a school from Colombia. Esmith has shared with us how she arranged the chat. Students first wrote a letter to a pen pal in Colombia discussing the similarities and differences between the two culture’s families. Then they engaged in a video chat with these pen pals in Colombia to share some basic questions in the target language for both school communities. She helped students create a basic script that they could then personalize for their particular questions and interests. As you can see from the pictures, when they met their new friends, they had a great experience! Thanks Esmith for making this exchange possible for your students!
I was also recently invited to RBHS to view the Spanish 1 Symposium, created by Lisette Geib and Sarah Hulls. Students presented a case study to their classmates and teachers. They were required to research a Spanish speaking country and then pretend to be someone from that country. The goal was to have them incorporate all of the cultural information they learned as well as the language goals. So they had to describe what life is like for them, as if they were from a different country. They were also required to create an artifact that represents them and their country. As students rotated through to listen to their classmates, they practiced interpretive listening, as they asked questions, they practiced the interpersonal mode, and while they were presenting, they took part in presentational speaking. This was a fantastic way to wrap up the course, and provided multiple data points for proficiency scores.
How do you motivate and assess your Level 1 courses? Leave a comment!
Guest Blogger: Jill Hnat, WKHS This year, as White Knoll High delves into new strategies to encourage student self-direction and success, the power of reflection has been a common motif. As teachers we are asked to regularly reflect on a wide variety of issues in our profession. At first I went through the motions and, like most things, I “faked it until I made it.” I recognized how deliberate reflection was impacting my teaching and students’ learning in my classes (with a side benefit of NOT waking up at 2 a.m. to rehash what went wrong with my previous day.) But, how could I use reflection IN my French classes? I want my students to seriously consider what works for them when learning something new. My students didn’t have the language to do that! Is it worth the time? Is it defensible? YES! The 15 minutes we spend at the start of the week on Monday to set goals and the minutes on Friday to reflect on how successful we were at meeting those goals are well worth the effort. My colleague Mandy Domenech started the weekly reflections to create a sense of community with her classes. When she shared her ideas with me, I decided to take a different approach - “Action Plans” for my students. Every Monday my students copy the weekly goals I have posted on the board, then they set up what will help them reach those goals. Typical plans are: I will not give up and stick to French when I ask questions. I will use the resources posted around the room. I will review what I did the day before. The most popular part of the exercise is the affirmation statement that they can add to their action plans to give themselves a “push” to continue. Yesterday, as a part of 17 Days of Kindness, several of the students posted their affirmation statements to encourage their peers. Is reflection a part of your teaching process? If so, leave a comment explaining how.
This week, students and teachers arrived from France for the annual exchange with LMS. We are so proud of all of our language teachers, students, families and administrators that make this type of exchange possible. School Board member, Cyndi Smith, shared during the welcome breakfast that the French exchange was one of her daughter's favorite memories from middle school. What will your students' favorite memories be?
Spanish and French class are some of my favorite recollections from high school as well, which probably led to me becoming a Spanish teacher eventually. But this passion for languages is also what motivated me to travel to underdeveloped countries during my high school and college years during the summers to help bring aid and relief. It also sparked the work I did with the non-profit community in Columbia for English Language Learners. My interest in other languages and cultures has also given me a wide circle of friends and acquaintances who are diverse, interesting, intelligent and who share their unique perspectives with me, and help me to see beyond my own life experiences. I would not be who I am today if not for the eccentric, fun, crazy and loving Spanish and French teachers I had in school. Charlemagne is credited with saying, "To have another language is to possess a second soul." In my case, this is certainly true, and I think most of you feel the same way about your second, third, fourth or even fifth language. As you grow weary in these last few weeks of school, just remember, you are not just teaching French, German, Spanish, Russian, Latin or Chinese, you are also giving your students the opportunity to possess a second soul. Guest Blogger: Melissa, River Bluff Senior, GAPP exchange partner
This semester River Bluff has taken part in an exchange program through GAPP, or the German American Partnership Program, an organization that sends German students over to the United States and in return, American students are sent over to Germany. This is the first time River Bluff has taken part in a program that sends American exchange students overseas. In March, 21 German students came to River Bluff to learn about American culture and education in schools, as well as the daily lives of some of our students. Over the course of two and a half weeks, students from Germany lived with, went to school with, and followed River Bluff students. As the German students shadowed, they learned about American school curriculum and what is required to be a student at an EL School. Exchange students were able to try new foods, participate in different actives, and see all Lexington has to offer. Both exchange and host students took field excursions to the State House, Williams Bryce Stadium, and USC to learn more about the United States’ government and culture. The students also participated in team building exercises at Saluda Shoals. During these activities, the River Bluff students and their German exchange students had to communicate, trust each other, and learn to overcome language barriers. Exchange students were also taken to different places around South Carolina by their host families. Host families took their students to places such as Charleston, and did activities in Lexington such as roller skating and going to the mall. After staying with their host families, the German exchange students spent some time in Atlanta, Georgia before returning home. Before they left, we had a farewell breakfast for them. Everyone was in tears and it was a very heartfelt “auf wiedersehen”. The German word “auf wiedersehen” literally translates to “until I see you again”. This word is perfect for this exchange because in only 2 months we will see our German host students again. This summer, 14 of our River Bluff students who hosted German students, will be traveling to Germany. We will learn about German schools, culture, and politics, while immersing ourselves in the German language. Students will live with and shadow Germans students, just as the Germans students did in March. By traveling to other countries, students have the opportunity to be immersed and begin to understand an entirely new culture. Some of the students who participated in the exchange said: “The GAPP exchange has given me opportunities I didn’t even know were possible. It’s crazy how close you can get to someone in the span of two and half weeks. It allowed me to create life-long memories and gave me friendships I never knew were possible. Just being around them (the Germans) allowed my German to grow exponentially. I’m so glad I’ve had the opportunity to host a student and I can’t wait to see what the second half of this exchange holds” –Will, RHBS junior “Hosting an exchange student has been the most rewarding experience. While I improved my German, I also made friends.” – Blythe, RBHS Junior “This was truly a wonderful experience for our family! I was very nervous before the German students arrived, because I have never done anything like this before. I am so glad that we participated in this, because it was great getting to know Nils and learning about his country. It warmed my heart to see how all of the German and American students bonded.” – Kimberly, parent Our students have already made relationships with their German exchange students that will last much longer than just a few weeks, and even though our exchange students are back in Germany, they will always be a part of our River Bluff family. Do you know any gators who speak German? We do! The RBHS German program, and fearless leader Frau Buckliew, welcomed 21 German exchange students to Lexington, SC this week. I had the joy of attending the welcome dinner and was truly amazed by, not only the Gator Cake, but also the warmth and enthusiasm by which all of the students and their two teachers were greeted by their host families. Frau Buckliew shared a few pictures of the fun activities they are doing to get to know each other... I can think of few better ways to gain a global mindset than by spending time with people from other countries and cultures. Many of these American students who are hosting German students will also be traveling to Germany in June. Thank you WL teachers for broadening perspectives and giving our students a chance to see the world.
I imagine you all have students engaging in interpersonal conversation on a regular basis in your classrooms; however, sometimes students need to experience something outside of the norm to actually believe that they are using language for a meaningful purpose. About a week ago I got an email from Amanda Haaji at LHS stating... My regular level 3 students at LHS LOVED our new virtual exchange using the SeeSaw app with Ms. Groza's French class at Gilbert! We were fortunate enough to teach the same level in the same block of time so we could have an exchange "real time". Students were getting excited sharing what their "exchange student" was telling them with the rest of the class. They were encouraged because their peer understood what they were saying, even if it wasn't perfect French. They were working together for meaning, WANTING to know new vocabulary. When I wouldn't tell them what the "unrecognizable" word was that they came across in their discussion with their exchange student, they would follow up and ask their peer to explain what it meant. Students were truly interested in discussing their childhood, exchanging information (and pictures) from bell to bell (80 minutes of communication!). They even asked if we could keep the exchange going. Ms. Groza and I decided that from the amount of excitement, we will continue the exchange throughout the semester. Needless to say, what a great morning! Amelia Groza from GHS added, "And what a morning! I feel so energized! I too loved that my students got so involved in the discussions, learning new words and putting 2 and 2 together and having AHA moments!" I asked Amanda and Amelia if I could share this story on the blog and this week I received this reply: "We have unexpectedly started a kind of movement, which is exciting...Since both of us don't have the exact same schedule we have reached out to other schools as well. I emailed last week and now have White Knoll on board to be pen pals with my other French 3 class and am working on convincing Riverbluff French 3s to join too so my class can have a real time exchange as well (RB schedule is quite different from ours so it is a bit harder to set up). Amelia just sent out an email also trying to get her French 1s a partner, so hopefully that will get another high school in and we can have representation of all schools in the district. A happy Lexington One French student community :)." THIS makes my heart happy!
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