In the past, Haldane students were only able to choose between language courses in Spanish and French. Now this decision has become less limited with the addition of the new Exploring World Languages course! In this class, high school students are able to learn about the different sentence structures and pronunciations used in languages across the globe.
Cordelia Tanner is currently teaching the Exploring World Languages course. When asked about the class, Tanner commented, “It’s more about linguistics and understanding how languages work around the world, and getting a little taste of a bunch of different languages.”
The Exploring World Languages course aims to teach students about the differences between languages from around the world. Currently, students in the course are learning Japanese as part of the East Asian Studies unit. The course also includes other languages, such as American Sign Language, French, and Spanish. Tanner stated, “I think of it like a linguistics class rather than like a true language class.” Tanner commented that the course is not like the other language classes in that it does not aim to have students achieve fluency in a specific language.
This course is an exciting and fun concept, and there are expansive ideas for what it will become in the future. The course is not going to stay focused on the same four languages; there are plans for other languages to be incorporated. Tanner stated, “I’d like to do more with endangered languages. I would like to do more with language families that I know less about.” The class was inspired by the fifth-grade class, which has a similar idea and gives students a broader perspective on linguistics.
So far, the course has received a lot of positive feedback from high school students. Senior Kaito Kester said, “I believe that it is a fantastic addition, and it could benefit many of the students taking this course.” For anyone interested in taking the class, it is currently a one-year program, and it is only being taught to high school students. But with there being a lot of praise for it, the Exploring World Languages program will likely be continued in the future.
