City of Fairfax Schools: Road Map to Foreign Language Success

Road Map to Foreign Language Success

From Latin and Chinese in the City’s elementary schools to Spanish, French, Germany, Korean and more languages being taught at Lanier Middle School and Fairfax High — the City School teachers and administrators know the importance of knowing more than one language.

Here are the language course options that students can choose from to help them achieve success:

Elementary School: Grades K-6

Latin Program begins in 3rd grade at Daniels Run Elementary and Providence Elementary
Chinese program begins in 1st grade at Providence Elementary
Programs are integrated with reading / language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies curriculum.

Middle School

Grade 7: Latin enrichment (one semester), introduction of foreign language (IFL French, German, Spanish)
Grade 8: Latin 1, French 1, German 1, Spanish 1 (students receive one high school credit)
Click here to view the entire Middle School Course Description Guide.

High School

Grade 9: Latin 1, French 1, German 1, Spanish 1, Korean 1, Chinese 1 (Korean and Chinese languages are offered through the Fairfax High School Academy for Communications and the Arts)
Grade 10: Latin 2, French 2, German 2, Spanish 2, Korean 2, Chinese 2
Grade 11: Latin 3, French 3, German 3, Spanish 3, Korean 3, Chinese 3
Grade 12: Latin 4, French 4, German 4, Spanish 4, Korean 4, Chinese 4
Other options: French AP Language or French 5, French AP Literature online, German AP Language or German 5, Spanish AP Language
Click here to view the entire High School Course Description Guide.

Note: Three sequential years of one language or two sequential years of two languages will fulfill graduation requirements for the Advanced Studies studies. The Foreign Language credit exam is given every fall to native speakers for two years of language credit (see high school counselors for details).

LEARNING CHINESE

By Hope Katz Gibbs, editor Close-Up
January-February 2008

FIRST GRADERS IN GRACE YUAN’S CHINESE CLASS at Providence Elementary aren’t shy about showing off what they’ve learned since the start of the year.

The 6-year-olds are all eager to come to the front of the class to recite their names in Chinese, the days of the week, numbers from 1-31, months of the year, the four seasons, and some basic greetings.

“I couldn’t be more impressed,” beams Providence’s Principal Joy Hanbury. “To say these students are picking up Chinese with great ease and enthusiasm is an understatement. I can’t wait to see what they’ll know by the end of the year.”

She credits the 1st graders’ success to the high-energy and creativity of Yuan, who has also helped Fairfax County Public Schools develop the curriculum for the Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES) Chinese program that is being integrated into the 1st grade curriculum at Providence this year.

These students will continue with the program next year when they become 2nd graders—and the new 1st grader class will begin learning Chinese. Within six years, all 1st through 6th grade students at Providence will be studying the language.

“This is very exciting,” shares Hanbury, who was eager to integrate the Chinese FLES program into the curriculum this year “We have had the Latin program at Providence for several years and the students have beneﬁtted tremendously from learning a second language.”

Plus, she says, by learning Chinese her students will have an increased global awareness of their school community, country, and world.

“By exposing children to this challenging level 4 language early on, the students will more easily recognize difficult tonal sounds,” Hanbury explains. “Plus, this experience will enable them to understand the basic conventions of other languages.”

Why learn Chinese?

China is the world’s fourth largest economy, and continues to grow by about 9.5% a year. It is a top recipient of foreign investment—one that has become a top trading partner with the U.S. Add to that the fact that Mandarin Chinese, the language being taught at Providence and also Fairfax High (see sidebar on page 3) is the most widely spoken language in the world.

Approximately 867 million people speak Mandarin, and a total of 1.1 billion people speak other dialects of Chinese, according to Language Today. An article entitled “The 10 Most Inﬂuential Languages,” indicates English is spoken by 330 million people worldwide—followed by Spanish (300 million), Hindi/Urdu (250 million), and Arabic (200 million).

Already, most major U.S. universities are offering Chinese classes, and increasingly students from kindergarten to 12th grade are also being given the opportunity to learn Mandarin.

The reason, according to many business leaders, is that the philosophy has changed regarding how to conduct business abroad.

“When you do business with or go to other countries, be prepared to work on their terms,” says Robert Davis, who taught in China before returning to Chicago where he started a comprehensive language program. Today, about 3,500 students K-12 in southwest Chicago Public School system are learning Mandarin.

And consider this: Last year, the British Council (the United Kingdom’s international organization for cultural relations and educational opportunities) conducted a research study—entitled “English Next”—that concluded the lack of students ﬂuent in a foreign language in both Britain and the U.S. will eventually weaken the competitiveness of both countries.

The report offered dozens of reasons why students in both countries should be learning Chinese—reasons echoed by Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia Society in New York.

“In an age where security, competitiveness and democratic leadership depend on constructive engagement, our nation must take urgent action so that our international knowledge and language expertise is second to none,” Levine insists. “The question is when, not whether, schools are going to adust.”

Levine recently told The Christian Science Monitor: “One doesn’t need to be proﬁcient in Chinese languages to do business in China. But the exposure and motivation to show that one understands and respects the Chinese culture is really half the battle won.”

Rising to the challenge

Exposing students to this important culture is the reason Providence’s Hanbury began considering the opportunity to integrate Chinese into her school’s curriculum about two years ago. Fairfax High’s Principal Scott Brabrand also saw the benefits of incorporating a program into the Fairfax Academy offerings.

Both principals had full support from the City School Board. “This is a very forward looking program,” says School Board Chairman Janice Miller. “We are thrilled that Joy and Scott took the lead and are now able to offer it to our students.”

Superintendent Ann Monday agrees. “Chinese provides an opportunity for our students to learn a language that is quickly becoming dominant in the world economy,” Monday says. “It also provides students a chance to learn about a culture very different from their own.”

Of course, none of this could be possible without the support of the Fairfax County Public Schools. “We are moving away from a model that provides instruction late in a student’s educational career to one that incorporates language early,” says Peter Noonan, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction for FCPS. “This will, in the end, provide a level of communicative competence that even our current, highest level students, often do not meet. This model incorporates all we know is best about language acquisition.”

Leading the charge, Noonan says, is FCPS Foreign Language Coordinator Paula Patrick. “To help us expand our foreign languages offerings, FCPS was awarded a grant of $621,000 dollars from a federal Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant to be spent over a three year period to address critical needs languages of Chinese and Arabic to ensure the students are even better prepared to understand the people who will help define the 21st century,” she explains.

The grant ends on Sept. 15, 2009, but Patrick says she is conﬁdent FCPS will continue to offer Chinese in the City Schools. “I am especially pleased that the Chinese program at FHS—which is open to all FCPS students at the Academy level— also includes partnerships with schools in China and with Georgetown University,” Patrick notes. “It is great to see the entire pyramid working together to provide a quality foreign language program for the students of Fairfax City.”

Moving forward

Patrick says one of her goals is to extend language opportunities to students and parents through the use of technology. “Ms. Yuan makes lessons available to her elementary students and parents through her Blackboard site, and Mr. [Alaric] Radosh (see sidebar) extends his classroom instruction of Chinese through the use of MP3 players and other types of technology.”

Patrick is also in the process of developing a Chinese program in the Fairfax pyramid to provide students with a comprehensive language program of study they can continue into college. “We are planning to partner with Georgetown and George Mason University for student mentoring, seminars, guest speakers, and summer language camps and workshops,” says Patrick.

Her ultimate goal, she says, is to have all students learn at least one foreign language—if not two or three—by the time they graduate from high school.

Bringing Chinese to FHS

Chinese is one of the newest classes being offered this year at the FHS Academy for Communications and the Arts. Running the program is experienced Chinese teacher Alaric Radosh, who taught Chinese at the Johns Hopkins University and music for Baltimore County Public Schools before joining the staff Fairfax High.

He wrote Level 2 lessons for the Virginia Department of Education’s Virtual Chinese program that FCPS developed last year. (Grace Yuan is currently developing lessons for the Virginia Department of Education Virtual Chinese Level 3 that will be launched through Virtual Virginia next year.)

These lessons follow the FCPS Program of Studies. Radosh is currently offering Chinese 1 and Chinese 2 level classes. Next year Chinese 3 and 4 level will be added to the curriculum, and eventually, the Academy will offer 4 levels of Chinese study, plus an AP class.

“There are non-Chinese heritage students who started the year knowing absolutely no Chinese, as well as Chinese-heritage students, who already know certain aspects of the language, but want to “ﬁll in the gaps,” explains Radosh, who holds a BA in Chinese Language and Literature from The George Washington University.

“In our class, heritage and non-heritage students compliment, cooperate and help each other.” Highlights for this year include conversing with a Chinese movie star Wei Minzhi via an internet teleconference, singing Chinese pop and folk songs, and making jokes in Chinese.

“Fairfax Chinese language students have also learned to write hundreds of Chinese characters, and have regular dictation homework,” Radosh adds. “By June, they will have achieved a level of language proﬁciency commensurate with industrious study.”

Mastering Chinese may lead students to these jobs:
• Intelligence operations
• International business / international relations
• IT and computer technology
• National and international security
• Travel industry expert

LATIN LOVERS

Why should your children learn Latin? Pull up a chair and watch Marie Davis in action. Not only will she give you all the reasons you’ll need, she’ll teach you something in the process.

By Hope Katz Gibbs, editor Close-Up
March-April 2004

Marie Davis is in her glory. It’s a Tuesday morning in February, around 10:30 a.m., and Davis is moving from classroom to classroom at Daniels Run Elementary sharing her love for Latin with students. She seems to enjoy her job as much as the kids who are learning the language from her.

After watching Davis in action, it isn’t hard to see why. “What’s the word for hands?“ Davis asks Jane Dull’s third grade class. “Manus,“ the kids shout back, waving their hands. “Optime,“ Davis grins.

Then, pointing to her shoulder blade she instructs: “Now say, Hoc est dursum.“
The class does as instructed. “So if you had a dorsal ﬁn, where would it be?“ “On our back,“ the third graders respond.

“Bene, your back is your dorsum,“ explains Davis, moving right along. “Now say latus (pointing to one side of her body), et latera (pointing to both sides at once).“ She pauses as they reply. “And where would your lateral ﬁns be?

“On our sides!“ “Right,“ says Davis. “And if you were a football player and made a
lateral throw, where would the ball go?“ “To the side,“ say the kids, giggling now. “Bene, bene,“ says Davis with a big grin. For the next 15 minutes, she takes students through a drill that includes counting in Latin to 100 by 10s and answering a variety of math problems. Then, he has them respond to commands that instruct them to stand up, sit down, and clap their hands.

The 8-year-olds can’t get enough. Classroom teachers, such as Jane Dull, can’t either. However, before Davis began teaching Latin to her third grade class, Dull admits she was slightly apprehensive about the amount of classroom time she’d be giving up to make room for Davis’ Latin lessons.

“Since this is 3rd grade, an SOL year, I can’t afford to have any distractions,“ notes Dull. “But then I saw Marie work her magic. Every one of her lessons reinforces what the kids need to know for the SOLs, including vocabulary and math, social studies and science. The kids are learning, having a great time, and I am thrilled
to have her assistance.“ Ditto for Dana Muscaro, the teacher of the ﬁfth grade class where Davis heads next.

“Marie works incredibly well with the students and the teachers, too,“ Muscaro believes. “She comes to our weekly teacher planning meetings and makes sure that her lessons dovetail with what we’re teaching. She is able to reinforce those lessons, and that really helps the kids make connections. Having her come into
the classroom to teach is a giant beneﬁt for my students, and for me as well.“

Today’s lesson is a case in point, for Davis has brought in Cerae tables for the students to try. “Traditionally, these wax tablets were used because Papyrus was expensive in ancient Greece and Cerae was easily erasable and reusable,“
Davis explains to the class of 5th graders.

Instead of providing wax covered plates, though, Davis has taken blue plastic plates and covered them with a layer of soft clay on which students can practice writing the Greek alphabet.

“Having the students use a Cera rather than just paper to practice the alphabet introduces them to an aspect of ancient Mediterranean culture they wouldn’t experience otherwise,“ Davis conﬁdes.

Fifth grader Colleen Duda seems thrilled to have the opportunity. “I love knowing the Greek alphabet because it helps me ﬁgure out preﬁxes, and from those I can
ﬁgure out the meaning of words that I’ve never heard of before,“ Duda says. “It’s really cool.“

Miguel Ardon agrees that learning Latin is “pretty fun. I really like it when Ms. Davis tells us the Greek myths, and learning the Latin words is kind of easy because it is a lot like Spanish,“ he says. “I also like learning math in Latin. This is one of
my favorite subjects.“

Davis says she couldn’t be more pleased that students and teachers alike welcome her Latin lessons. Not that she ever had any doubts.

Why Latin?

“Learning Latin and Greek is not just about giving students access to ancient languages,” Davis explains. “It’s about giving them a cultural perspective and control over language — a tool they need to understand the words they use.”

Plus, she says, Latin helps them understand what it might have been like to live in another culture. Although Davis is focused on the fact that her job is to reinforce concepts and vocabulary learned in other areas of the curriculum, she
knows that to engage students, it’s the fun stuff she needs to concentrate on.

“That’s why I make the lessons very oral, interactive, and playful,” she says. “And the emphasis is on language acquisition rather than memorization. I work on fostering verbal and linguistic skills that will make students successful
not only in state-tested content areas of language arts, math, science, social studies but also in learning foreign languages.“

About Marie Davis

Davis is no novice when it comes to helping students develop a love for Latin and Greek. A native of South Bend, Indiana, her roots are in academia. Literally. On her resume, she states that she was “conceived at Dartmouth, born at Notre Dame, and that she grew up at the University of Chicago.“

That’s because her dad was a medievalist and Chaucer scholar who taught at Dartmouth, Notre Dame, the University of Chicago and University of Wisconsin-Madison, Davis explains. “My mom taught English at the University of
Indiana, and at a local high school, until the needs of her nine children demanded she stay home. That didn’t keep her from her passion for research, though. At the time of her death, my mom was still working putting the finishing touches on a new edition of American historian Francis Parkman’s Book of Roses.“

What was life around the dinner table at Davis’ house? “Oh it was great fun,“ says the fourth born in the family. “We played games like mental math and had to guess word meanings. My parents told us interesting stories and taught us some French, German and Old English.“

Davis went on to study the Classics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BA and two minors, in history and philosophy. Davis then was accepted to Princeton University’s Classics program, where she received her master’s degree and won several fellowships including the Stinnecke Fellowship, the Lawler Fellowship that sent her to Athens to study for the summer at the American School of Classical Studies, and a fellowship to Dumbarton
Oaks in Washington, DC.

After grad school, she embarked on a teaching career working ﬁrst at Catholic University in DC. There, she taught elementary Latin, classical mythology, Roman and Greek history, medical terminology (to nurses and pre-med students) and a graduate seminar in patristics (the study of church fathers and their writings).

She then went to work for George Mason University where she taught all levels of students Latin language and ancient literature (Ovid, Virgil, and Greek comedy were some of her favorites). So how did Davis find her way back to elementary school?

Well, she says, that’s a good question. “While teaching college students, I realized
that if students had been exposed to Latin at a younger age and for a longer period of time, they would have had a much better chance to integrate it into their their education,“ she says. “As it is now, students often expect to be instantly lit-
erate after they have a two-year brush with Latin. But language acquisition doesn’t work like that. The earlier you are exposed to learning different languages, the more it can beneﬁt you in other areas of your studies.“

And while working at GMU, she took a part-time job at DC’s School Without Walls. She also ﬁlled in as a substitute Latin teacher at Fairfax High, and found it so challenging and satisfying that she left GMU and began working full-time at FHS.

Goals and Objectives

Still, Davis felt she could be even more effective if she could teach Latin to students at an even younger age. So in 2000, she helped spearhead the effort to teach Latin to third graders and joined the staff of Daniels Run Elementary.

Thus far, Daniels Run and Providence Elementary are the only Fairfax County schools, and two of only a handful around the country that have mandatory Latin class for students, starting in third grade. Davis ﬁnds that to be a shame.

“Elementary students are at an ideal age for fearless learning, and they will acquire the language by using it not by memorizing it,“ she says. “That’s why we teach them to understand simple oral Latin phrases, have them follow Latin commands and repeat Latin words and phrases back in class. Then, as their familiarity with Greek and Latin words and word components increase, they practice new words and concepts that they are also learning in other classes.“

What makes the City of Fairfax Schools Latin program at Daniels Run and Providence Elementary unique, Davis offers, is that they are neither extracurricular nor a language arts enrichment class. They are co-curricular and fall under a new category called FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School), which is
designed to closely support and integrate the SOL material in the curriculum.

“Given the interdisciplinary nature of Classical studies, along with a heavily Greek and Latin-based vocabulary requirement on the SOLs, it’s a natural,” Davis believes, noting that students also learn about the way families were structured, ancient religion and mythology, architecture and the arts, math, science and
exploration, politics and the economy, and more.

In addition, Davis says she and Providence Elementary’s Latin teacher Danielle Rinella constantly encourage students to make comparisons to their own world.
“Our students aren’t just learning about Latin,“ Davis concludes. “They are learning
about life.“

Moving on Up

Since this year’s sixth graders at Providence and Daniels Run have been taking Latin since third grade, a new Latin program is being instituted at Lanier Middle School so they can continue their studies.

“We want students to have the opportunity to continue learning the language they’ve come to love in elementary school,“ says Lanier’s Principal Peter Noonan, explaining that in the 2004-2005 school year, Latin will be integrated into the middle school coursework.

Speciﬁcally, he says, in the ﬁrst quarter Latin will be introduced in English classes. In the second quarter, it will be integrated into the science curriculum. “I’m really excited about the program because I feel that knowing Latin will help students excel on the SOLs and the SATs,“ Noonan says. “The sheer quantity of root words
on those tests that come from Latin is astounding. By having the opportunity to continue their Latin education in middle school will also give them a leg up in high school. All around, it’s going to be a great program.“

City of Fairfax Schools

Fairfax High School

Lanier Middle School

Providence Elementary School

Daniels Run Elementary

Road Map to Foreign Language Success