Saturday, November 22, 2014

Promoting Your Language

The takeaway here is communicate with parents and students about your language, let them meet you and ask questions, don't minimize other languages, show your enthusiasm.

Promoting Your Foreign Language Program
                Angelika Becker – Indianapolis, IN; Elke Lorenz – Manhattan HS elkel@usd383.org
28% of students make their foreign language choice in middle school based on teacher input.
Parents are #1 in foreign language selection.  Language teachers are #2!
Parents want to know about future career opportunities; Students want to know about culture and food.
Positive associations: fun to learn, family connections, interesting culture
Negative associations: difficult to learn, history
+ Find a way to get into the feeder schools – Can the advanced class make a video? – Promote the German Honor Society to encourage honor students
+ Be excited about what you are teaching, even grammar, to convey enthusiasm
+ Take all offers for help, from parents, from guest speakers, former students
+ Put all positives on announcements, inform the parents, open house, community events
+ Letters and email to parents about being excited about having their students in level 3, discuss the curriculum and objectives
+ Use upper level students to read to, perform plays, recruit lower level students.
+ Bumper Stickers – let the students design, sell at cost.
What do Principals want? A quality program, enrollment numbers, no complaints from parents or teachers, quality new teachers, college readiness
Only 20% of students study a foreign language at one time.  All other industrial nations are at 80-90% level and many students study multiple languages.
Many people regret not going further with their foreign language.  Is there anyone who regrets being able to speak a second (or third) language?
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and USA – German makes a difference for careers in business.
+Every student should be able to answer: What is the relevance of learning this language?


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