World Language Department

The world language department at NHS offers students the opportunity to learn a language. Students being taught to fully understand the multiple parts of a language and communication within it makes this department distinct to other departments in our school.

The world language department has a total of 10 teachers. Students have the option to learn the languages of Spanish, French, Italian, or Latin. 

Language offers a lot for students to learn. The amount of information that is taught in world language classes might be more than some realize in order to understand a language.

“I think people may not realize that there are four skills we have to teach. You know, you may come into another subject and you speak English, right? But we have to teach how to speak, how to listen, how to read, and how to write in another language. So every single thing that you utter could be a struggle, you know, you can’t just give your opinion, like, from reading, or you can’t just study something. You need to try to piece that together and create a sentence while you’re also learning other materials,” NHS Spanish teacher and Department Chair Liz Ward said.

To teachers, teaching language unlocks many possibilities about what you can teach students about. 

“The best part of being a world language teacher is, you can teach almost anything, just do it in the target language. Obviously, there’s curriculum and standards, but if you can get a kid to communicate, I mean… You can do almost anything,” Ward said.

Teachers in this department also have to make sure the students are learning the content rather than using other methods to progress in their classes. 

“Mostly with all the translating technology now, we have to make sure what you come up with is your own work and not something you got from a translator,” NHS French and Spanish teacher Alison Flannery said.

For some students, a new language can be challenging, but to the teachers, connecting and helping those students makes teaching enjoyable. Getting students to be engaged is a part of what makes learning language a positive experience.

“My favorite part of the job is my students. They are very passionate. I enjoy working with kids, every day is very different. And I love teaching Latin, so I like sharing that with students,” NHS Latin teacher Catherine Kimberly said.

This is Kimberly’s 6th year teaching Latin at NHS. Many of her students appreciate her teaching and the opportunity to be present in her class.

“I like knowing that there’s a comfortable class that I can come to enjoy learning in every day,” NHS junior Erik Utsogn said.

While taking a language is considered an elective, some teachers might describe taking a language class as different from what you might experience with other electives, specifically in terms of the effort needed to be put in.

“Our class is considered an elective, you’re required to take a year of a language, colleges are typically looking for three to four years, though. So we have kind of the rigor and challenge of a core class, but we’re categorized as an elective, so I think that can sometimes be challenging,”  Kimberly said.

Deciding what language can be a challenge for some students. But some believe that languages are more connected than students realize, and there are positive benefits for learning multiple languages.

“I think knowledge of multiple world languages is a really important skill and helps you understand sort of the commonalities between languages. So because I took English, Spanish, ancient Greek, and Latin, I can see patterns and things that are across all languages that I can share with my students and make sure I emphasize things that are important, especially if you plan on learning another language going forward,”  Kimberly said.

Many believe learning a language also heavily involves learning and understanding the culture of a language. This is especially important if you want to teach it one day. 

“I recommend studying abroad because that’s how you learn the culture, and without culture, it’s, like, hard to have the context of language teaching. It really brings it to life when you live in that place and get to experience the culture. The more you know about it and the more immersed you feel in it, the more enthusiastic you can be about the language,”  Flannery said.

While four languages are currently taught at NHS, some students might not realize that Chinese also used to be taught at NHS.

“There was not enough continued enrollments for the Chinese department to continue. So, it wasn’t sustainable,”  Ward said.

The unique aspects learning a language has to offer for students contributes to the language department as an important part of NHS. Understanding language offers a fulfilling experience for the students and teachers that makes learning interesting.