Konnichiwa! Hola! Guten Tag! Bonjour!
By KAREN BOSSICK
The Wood River Journal ~ Hailey
Teacher Amy Bingham bows as each student arrives at her classroom.
“Konnichiwa,” she greets them.
“Konnichiwa,” they acknowledge her, bowing back.
Last week the students in Bingham's World Language Class were speaking German. This week they're tackling Japanese in a curriculum that takes them around the world and through a handful of different languages, including Latin, French, Spanish, German and Japanese.
The idea: To gain an appreciation for languages of all sorts and to gain an awareness of other cultures around the world.
“There's a saying, ‘To learn another language is to gain another soul,' ” says Bingham. “At this age, kids are curious and open and ready to learn from putting on another mask. We're looking to see who we're sharing the globe with-what kind of language they speak, what kind of culture they have.”
This is the third year Bingham has offered the World Language Class at Wood River Middle School.
Students are issued a Citizen of the World passport, in which they jot down their observations about each language's idiosyncracies and the culture that accompanies it.
And they get a chance to experiment. This week, for instance, they've tried writing their names with Japanese characters. They've played Bingo and sung the alphabet song in Japanese. They've watched a video of a Japanese student who, they learn, showers to get clean then steps into a tub for a nice long soak to relax before bed.
And they learned about the nuances of Japanese. They've learned that the Japanese have no Rs-that they would pronounce Rs more like a light D. They've learned that the Japanese don't say “How are you?” but are more likely to offer a greeting pertaining to the weather. They've learned that the Japanese have a multitude of words for “Excuse me” and “Sorry.” And they've learned that while there are many ways to say “Yes” there are not many ways to say “No.”
“The language is a very polite one,” said student Cole Caulkins.
Each student “adopts” a country, which they research, constructing a display that they can share with other students at the class's World Language Fair.
This year's World Language Fair will be held at 2:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday in the hallway of the Middle School.
Students act as ambassadors for their respective countries. Visitors are encouraged to ask questions with the help of questionnaires that encourage them to find the answer to such questions as: How do you say “Hello” in Gaelic? What is the major religion of Germany? What are Danish open face sandwiches called? And what is the traditional coat made from that the Irish ambassador is wearing?
“The class is fun,” said student Julia Dwyer. “I've traveled around the world with my family. And I've always wanted to learn more about how to talk to others.”
One of the goals of the class is to offer kids some exposure to a variety of languages since the school curriculum only offers Spanish and French. It also gives students a taste of Spanish and French, which they can explore more intensively in future classes.
Studies have shown that language study improves a student's own language skills, even leading to higher scores on ISAT tests.
“Studying a foreign language helps critical thinking skills, too,” said Bingham. “The first step in thinking critically is using language.”
Bingham said she treasures her own experience when she went to Salzburg, Austria, and experimented with speaking in both French and German.
“There's value in trying to play with a language,” said Bingham. “You can't really get inside another culture without using language, even if it's as simple as saying, ‘Hello, what's your name?'
“What a wonderful experience to have to learn to navigate in another world where you're not part of the dominant culture, where you're not Numero Uno. It's having attitude of why not give it a try. Idea we should be going out into the world. What a wonderful experience to take a risk and be willing to be a fish out of water.”