Foreign languages are a vital part of high school, as the student body diversifies and globalization impacts the workforce and future careers for students. The school has foreign language classes for French, Spanish and Chinese. All of these languages are important for students who wish to go into certain fields that handle global competitors.
Teachers Chunmei Guan, who teaches Chinese, and Shane LeFaure, who teaches both Spanish and French, are part of a state board to determine a new curriculum for foreign language classrooms across Indiana.
“I am currently a member of the review process of Indiana’s World Language Standards for Heritage Language Learners,” LeFaure said. “To my knowledge, there are around 10 teachers and professors from the state of Indiana. No one member has more importance than another. Essentially, we are working together to try to improve the current World Language Standards for Heritage Language Learners and what these students can do and are able to do in the World Language classroom.”
Lefaure finds teaching foreign languages important for academic success, promoting core skills and values.
“We teach, assess and promote the four core language skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening,” LeFaure said. “We also enhance students’ levels in communication, connections, awareness to cultures, bring out the best in our communities, and make comparisons to our own culture, language and surroundings.”
Guan is a member of the Indiana Academic Standards (IAS) for the World Languages Revision Committee, which centers on multiple different communication cores.
“The National World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages, developed by ACTFL and partners, center on the five Cs,” Guan said. “Communication–using the language for interpersonal, interpretive and presentational communication, cultures–relating cultural products, practices and perspectives, connections–linking with other academic subjects and using language in real-world contexts, and comparisons–developing insight into the nature of language and culture.”
Guan believes, too, that foreign language learning is important for students in Logansport and the state.
“Foreign language teaching has a deep impact on students that goes beyond learning grammar and vocabulary,” Guan said. “Cognitive benefits, college career readiness, cultural awareness, personal growth and community impact are the main ways it is important to the student population.”
