One of the operative theories in encouraging students to learn foreign languages is that it improves their overall reasoning ability.
That’s a point that Patricia Lennon, who directs the foreign languages program in the Sewanhaka Central High School District, emphasized in her presentation on the program at the last Sewanhaka School Board meeting.
“It improves their ability to reason and higher level thinking skills,” Lennons said, adding that the impact on students’ ability on English language exams improves measurably as a result of learning one of the romance languages.
“Research shows that score improve by 15 percent on ELA exams once a student has studied a second language because the roots of so many words come from Spanish, French and Italian,” she said.
Lennon noted that research also demonstrates SAT and AP exam scores are typically higher among students who study a second language.
Students in the respective high schools of the Sewanhaka district have the opportunity to begin learning a second language in seventh grade, and earn one high school credit upon successful completion of two years in studying that language in eighth grade. A Sewanhaka district student who starts learning a second foreign language in eighth grade gains one high-school credit when he or she completes a second year of study in ninth grade.
It’s also possible for students to fulfill their college requirement for foreign language study during the course of their high school studies.
But apart from earning credits, Lennon said that learning other languages improves students’ chances for success in the business world in the burgeoning global economy.
On an interpersonal level, Lennon said that learning other languages fosters a greater sense of acceptance and understanding about people of other cultures.
“Having tolerance for others is something that we have in our curriculum,” she said. “It helps to build understanding.”
Concluding the presentation before the school board, seventh-grade students demonstrated the progress they had made in learning the languages they were studying. A group of students spoke in French on the problems currently confronting Haiti, where French is the common language. Two 7th graders acted out a skit in Italian with their teacher. And a trio of Floral Park 7th graders sang “La Bamba,” a popular Hispanic folk song.
“Our students only began a few months ago, and they’re already to make presentations and role play,” Lennon said.
She also noted that students in Elmont now have an opportunity to starting learning Spanish at an earlier age. Elmont’s Gotham Avenue School is running a two-hour program on Saturdays for students in grades one through six.