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| Lower School World language Instruction
Spanish-French-Chinese
Visitation’s World Language Department advances the mission of the school by providing a supportive learning environment and a rich academic curriculum in Spanish, French and Chinese that prepares students for success in college and in life.
In 2008-2009, the World Language Department started a new and very exciting World Language program in the Visitation Lower School. The Spanish, French and Chinese instructors, all natives of the countries in the World where the target languages are spoken, developed a program in which students in grades M-5 meet once weekly for 30 to 40 minutes with each instructor. K-5th grade students receive language instruction in each of the three languages, while Montessori students begin with Spanish and Chinese. The program in Montessori through grade 5 follows the Foreign Language in Elementary School (FLES) model, building basic skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing.
The three LS World Language teachers bring their own personal instructional approach and teaching style to the classroom, but all share the common goal of bringing their language and culture to the students in a fun, interactive and dynamic way. All use songs, hands-on activities, TPR stories and games to increase acquisition of each language and cultural understanding. Classroom speakers and a multi-cultural assembly once a month enhance the World Language experience of the Lower School community.The LS World language program contributes to the Visitation mission through its commitment to the growth of students “in respect for one another and in appreciation of human diversity.” World language students in the Lower School learn that courtesy and respect are the most useful and far-reaching tools for effective communication. World language study naturally lends itself to interdisciplinary connections and targets a wide variety of learning styles. Fully committed to the five C’s of the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning, teachers routinely help students make connections to other learning, to all of their intelligences, and to native speakers and their cultural communities. World Language teachers and students use a variety of technologies, including Interactive Whiteboards and the Sanako 100 Language Lab, new in 2008. Teachers also use diverse assessment tools to evaluate listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. In the spirit of the school motto “Non Scholae Sed Vitae, not for school but for life”, the LS World Language Department provides learning experiences that invite students to be active, joyful, engaged participants in the diverse multilingual world of the 21st century.
The national standards task force identified five goal areas and called them the five C’s of foreign language education: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons and Communities. (Standard for Foreign Language Learning: Preparing for the 21st Century. 1996)Upon successful completion of Grade 5, students in Visitation Lower School will be able to demonstrate performance in the following linguistic and cultural areas:- Communicate in three languages other than English
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of three other Cultures
- Make Connections with other areas of study and acquire information
- Understand the nature of languages and cultures through Comparisons
- Participate in multi-lingual Communities within a variety of contexts
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