Indiana Department of Education -- Education Matters E-News

Spotlight on World Languages

Most language arts teachers don't use kung fu when instructing students. Lafayette School Corporation Chinese Language teacher Ye Sun, though, finds that using martial arts is a good teaching tool and a fun way to keep the students interested.

"It's part of the Chinese culture," Sun said of kung fu. "They are only learning slow moves. The DVDs are in Chinese and the students learn the instructions given in Chinese. They listen to get familiar with pronunciation and sounds. They think it's fun."

Sun began teaching Chinese at Edgelea Elementary, Lafayette Tecumseh Junior High and Jefferson High School in January. Originally from Guangzhou, China, Sun sees the importance of American students learning an Asian language.

"Their understanding (of China) is limited to the movies and media," Sun said. "Students need an open mind to other cultures. The Chinese language is very influential in East Asia. This learning creates an awareness of other cultures."

Last June, Indiana set a precedent in World Language Standards when the State Board of Education adopted grade-level standards specific to East Asian Languages. Sun plans her curriculum around these standards and said she is always looking for ways to make the lessons more appealing.

At Lafayette Tecumseh Junior High, where Sun instructs 15 seventh graders, crafts are popular. "This is an elective for them," Sun, said "so they come very focused. We focus on the language, and learn through the textbook, but also learn through fun activities such as origami or paper crafts. We also do fun games using Chinese characters."

Danielle Lecy, a 13-year-old student at Lafayette Tecumseh Junior High School, said she chose the class because she "wanted a challenge."

"I wanted something different that I would enjoy learning," Danielle said, adding that she has enjoyed the class. "It's fun. When we come in, we stand up and bow to the teacher while we say her name. We all have Chinese names and only use those during class. Mine is Dani."

So far, Danielle said she and her classmates have learned everything from Chinese character recognition to tones when speaking Chinese words. "It's a lot different than English," she said. "The culture is different, too, with all the emperors."

Danielle said Sun is an excellent teacher. "She gets the point across really well so we understand it. She also does fun activities. We do crosswords on the projector where we have to recognize characters. We've also watched movies on culture."

Kung fu is reserved for Sun's Jefferson High School class made up of 15 students, grades 9-12.

At Edgelea Elementary, Sun uses songs with movements as a fun teaching tool. "The children are good at singing," she said. "They learn numbers and character recognition and play other games. The focus is not on writing like it is in the senior high school. This helps develop interest at an early age."

At Sunnyside Middle School, Sun looks to begin a Chinese Language club for students in grade 6. "It will be after school," she said. "We will do kung fu, watch movies, do origami and focus more on culture. They will learn simple Chinese words and phrases. We will also do activities like cooking."

Although the enrollment in the junior and senior high schools are lower than other language arts offered, Sun said her goal is to focus on building a strong foundation for the school corporation.

"More students will register after this year because the interest is growing," said Sun. "Right now, I'm trying my best to start a foundation in the Lafayette School Corporation that will build more interest."

Learn more about international education in Indiana online at www.doe.state.in.us/opd/worldlanguages.

Q&A with Cathy Blitzer and Adriana Melnyk

Two Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) employees, Director of International Education Caterina Cregor Blitzer and World Language Specialist Adriana Melnyk, support international education and world language efforts in Indiana.

Why have international education and world languages become more significant issues in recent years?
CB: When the Sputnik launch occurred, we experienced a call of alarm around the United States. We began to focus more rigorously on science, math and engineering instruction to keep up with other countries. The U.S. took a more meaningful look at its curricular offerings and emphasis on those skills. We’re now facing the equivalent of a Sputnik moment in international education. We know there is a need for global competencies for students in a complex, increasingly interconnected, flat world. These competencies include familiarity with different cultures, acquired through the study of world languages, international economics, world history and geography and study abroad experiences. Increasing teacher knowledge through international exchange is a key aspect.

AM: We know that we need to be thinking about our students right now as well as their futures. We have to strike a balance in language instruction between what we need now and what we might need in the future. In the past, world language has been about the cognitive benefits that students receive and the increased achievement on standardized tests. Now, we’re shifting to the immediacy and importance of students competing in a global environment. Although the focus right now might be on specific languages for national security and economic purposes, we must remember that it takes a number of years and contact hours for students to become proficient in any language. By the time they are sufficiently trained, the focus might be on entirely different languages.

What world language models are commonly being used?
AM: While the ideal model is a full-immersion or dual-immersion language program, this model can be difficult for schools to implement. Some districts across the state realize the importance of starting language instruction for students at earlier ages and have also developed well-articulated programs across the K-12 continuum. Overall, though, the most common models that we see in Indiana begin in either the middle or high schools. This leads to the perception by many that schools do not see early language learning as a priority, but the later start is often due to a lack of funding as well as difficulty in finding teachers who are certified to teach language at the K-5 level. The Division of Professional Standards has been working with post-secondary institutions to allow K-12 certification for language teachers, and we are also looking into some federal funding to help districts launch well-articulated K-12 programs in all languages.

CB: Many schools are also making the most of technology. There is everything to be gained from a school-to-school correspondence. Teachers can utilize email, project-based learning, video and the internet to gain an immersive experience for students. There’s nothing that can replace a well-planned immersive international education experience. Indiana is in the top 10 states in the U.S. for receiving K-12 students from other countries. However, we are in the bottom 10 in terms of sending K-12 students to another country. Our ambition is that every school in Indiana have the opportunity for a partner school in various regions of the world to build global competencies, including experience working with a global team, now a requirement for skilled jobs in Indiana’s global economy.

How is the IDOE supporting students in world language and international education needs?
AM: The majority of world language projects on which I’m working now are designed to support the development of the P-16 continuum of language education. From the K-12 perspective, we’re trying to emphasize language instruction at earlier ages. Cathy and I work together to look at international education and world language as starting at ground zero. We want to build it from the ground up rather than just focusing on available resources. We’re taking exemplary schools and making models of them.

CB: Our combined focus is on increasing teacher knowledge. A key to achieving this is the P-16 continuum that can include an immersive experience in another culture. Demographic changes that have occurred in Indiana in the past 15 years now mean that the immersive experience can be as close as the next neighborhood in Indiana cities and towns.. It’s very important that we work together with learners of English as a new language because their families and communities have so much to offer Indiana teachers and students.

For the last 16 years, Dr. Suellen Reed, Superintendent of Public Instruction, has built on experiences that she’s had in appreciating the benefits that come from strategic interactions with cultures different from our own and economically and culturally significant for Indiana.
She continues to be successful in building bridges of relationships and exchange with ministries of education in various parts of the world. She tasks our international education team at the IDOE to collaborate with Indiana institutions of higher education, economic development and education partners and community based organizations to build exchange relationships that promote global
understanding and benefit Indiana citizens. There is no limit to what our students, teachers and administrators can be achieving through collaboration with globally minded partners in Indiana and in other countries.

We have teamed up with the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel for the first ever National Schools Conference on International Exchange. There is more about that in an article from Inside Indiana Business at www.insideindianabusiness.com/LeadershipIndiana.asp?ID=132&Detail=True.

How are world language and international education handled at different grade levels?
AM: At the elementary level, world language programs need to be sequential, rigorous and well-articulated. We try to have them build toward specific proficiency standards. On the postsecondary end, we try to make sure that language courses are encouraged throughout college. Students don’t have to continue the language to become teachers or academics; we want them to continue the exposure to culture and pick up another language along the way. As for professional standards, we are working to change the way that proficiency is determined. We need to make sure that teachers are fully proficient in the language they are teaching and that they are trained to deliver that instruction effectively.

We’re training students to use world language in the workforce to make them more marketable and give them more international education opportunities. The focus we’re trying to give language education is building communicative competence. We want to make sure students are able to communicate and function in real world situations. There is a great deal of concern from parents that their students have taken so many years of language and yet can’t speak to anyone abroad. There’s been a shift in the last decade from talking about language and culture to actually experiencing them in an authentic way.
Visit www.doe.state.in.us/opd/worldlanguages for more information.

Did You Know?

Did You Know?
In most of the world, secondary language learning is an integral part of students’ education from an early age.

In contrast, the majority of students in the U.S. do not begin studying a second language until high school.

In Indiana:

    97 percent of high schools offer world languages

    31 percent of middle schools offer world languages

    2.3 percent of elementary schools offer world languages

Of the one million students enrolled in Indiana’s public schools, just over 135,000 students take a world language:

    High school students: 43.8 percent

    Middle school students: 9.7 percent

    Elementary school students: 2 percent

World languages offered at Indiana high schools include Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Latin, Russian, Spanish and American Sign Language.

Spanish is the most popular world language for Hoosier students in grades 9-12 with an enrollment of 96,003 students
in the 2005-06 academic year.

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages notes the following advantages to learning a second
language at an early age:

    Has a positive impact on intellectual growth, mental     development, and academic performance
    Improves a child’s understanding of his/her native language
    Opens doors to other cultures and helps a child understand and     appreciate people from other countries
    Increases job opportunities in many careers where knowing     another language is a real asset

There are more than 850 foreign-owned companies from 30 countries operating in Indiana.

According to a report produced by Indiana University, the Indiana’s exports increased at a greater rate than the nation
as whole in 2005, reaching an all-time high of $21.5 billion. Indiana traded with a record 198 countries that year.

Indiana’s exports to China increased by 42 percent increase that year.

France, Australia, and the Korean Republic showed increases of more than 20 percent.

Double-digit increases also were recorded for Canada, the United Kingdom, German and the Netherlands.

Since the 2005-06 academic year, the number of Chinese language programs offered by Indiana schools has more than
doubled, from eight programs to over 20 programs.

In the last two years, the Chinese Language student enrollment has grown 7 percent at Indiana public high schools
(grades 9-12).

Indiana is the first state to adopt grade-level standards specific to Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages for all grades K-12.

The Indiana Department of Education has international education partnership agreements with France, Spain and Taiwan.

International Education Week is Nov. 12-16 this year.

Visit www.doe.state.in.us/opd/worldlanguages for more information.