Wednesday, November 13, 2002
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Wednesday, November 13, 2002 |
High school program helps young students learn GermanA special pilot program between Hood Avenue Primary and Fayette County High is helping young students learn a second language. German 3 and 4 students from the high school's German Honor Society are making weekly visits to Hood Avenue to teach kindergarten through second-graders basic words of the German language. Every Friday afternoon the primary students are exposed to a 30-minute lesson that has been prepared for them by their older peers and approved by Fayette County High School German teacher Mechthild Vogt. In fact, Vogt had the idea for the program and approached Hood Avenue's principal Dianne Teer at the beginning of the scholastic year to see about getting it off the ground. "Research shows that early learners have a much easier time with the pronunciation of foreign sounds and with memorization of patterns. This is why I approached Hood Avenue which houses grades K-2 instead of Fayetteville Intermediate with grades 3-5," explained Vogt. This is the first time that the German program at the high school has attempted to work with younger students to expose them to the language. German students participating in the program must have an overall grade point average of 3.0 and a German average of 3.6. Initially, four classes at the primary school have agreed to pilot the program this year and teachers report that it is going exceptionally well. "The teachers and children are very pleased. It is fun to go through the halls and hear the children using the German phrases they have learned such as 'Guten tag' as opposed to hello," stated Teer. "The children are very excited when Friday rolls around because they know the German students are coming. Anything we can do to keep children excited about school is an absolute plus." Vogt says the program has a twofold benefit. Not only does it expose the younger students to another language and culture, but it also helps to motivate the older ones and reinforces the learning experience. "What you have taught, you know much better. Maybe one or the other of my students will like the experience so much that he or she may think of a teaching career, and we desperately need good teachers in foreign language and in virtually all other fields," said Vogt. Vogt's students have to learn by trial and error as to how much material they can cover in one session and how much repetition is necessary from week to week. They incorporate songs and teach through games in order to keep the attention of the younger students. All lessons are taught orally so as to not confuse the younger students with two different spelling and pronunciation systems since foreign language is not part of their regular curriculum. "It's really great working with the second-graders. They're so into the lesson that it's absolutely amazing. Though by the end you're a little worn out, the feeling you come out of the room with is worth it," said Elizabeth Haren about her teaching experiences at Hood. Vogt says she hopes that this program is not a one-time experiment and that it will continue for the remainder of this school year as well as the next. "We will be limited by the number of students I have in the German Honor Society and in the advanced classes but this experience is invaluable for my students and hopefully also for the students at Hood Avenue," she said.
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