World language a special emphasis for ESK students
ESK kindergarten students create the Mandarin symbol for dog and illustrate using paper mâché.
Parents instinctively know children’s brains soak up a second language more quickly and efficiently than adult minds.
Moreover, research has demonstrated numerous academic and cognitive advantages for world language learning:
• Second language learners are better problem solvers, since they have trained their brains to focus on relevant information when approached with a difficult task ... they outscore their peers who don’t learn another language on the verbal and math sections of standardized tests ... younger children can produce the sounds and intonation of a second language, helping them develop native-like fluency that adults can’t ... children are more accepting and open to other cultures ... improves memory: dual language speakers brains’ access different vocabulary word banks.
• Learning a second language helps you better understand and communicate in your own language ... they learn to express themselves, leading to increased creativity ... are more effective auditory processors ... allows the learner to begin thinking and behaving differently based on cultural context and fosters an appreciation of different cultures.
Sheau-Fei Huang, ESK middle school Mandarin teacher, will lead a group of graduating eighth-grade students to Taiwan or China to complete a homestay and educational study tour.
In the Lower School, students from 3 years-old through fourth grade have a Mandarin class once a week. Middle school students take three years of a world language of their choice, either Spanish, Mandarin or Latin.
This year students have the opportunity to practice their skills and learn about another culture: from visiting Guatemalan exchange students.
ESK stuadnet also are ahead of their peers as they enroll in advanced language courses, sign up for study abroad programs, and excel academically across their subjects.
