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Boyle County schools expand language classes

May 07, 2012|By AUDREY CONWAY | Contributing writer

In an ever-shrinking global world, language skills become more important by the year. Boyle County is hoping to give its students a leg up by introducing a multi-faceted approach designed to enrich the lives of all their students.

This year, French and Spanish are the only two languages offered at Boyle County High School and Spanish is offered at Boyle County Middle School. Next year, the language program in Boyle County will be radically different. Mandarin Chinese will be offered as a language option for students grades 3-12. Also, Spanish will be introduced at Perryville Elementary, Junction City and Woodlawn Elementary Schools, a complete K-12 approach.

This will be accomplished slowly at first, with Spanish being added into curriculum twice a week as part of rotation. Much research has shown that students at this young age are very receptive in learning multiple languages. A second language has been found to strengthen vocabulary skills in both languages, foster a respect for different cultures and increase standardized testing scores.

While this is a more long-term program, the implications of a kindergartner ultimately reaching high school with eight years of Spanish classes are staggering.

Mike Petkus, a Spanish teacher at BCHS, couldn’t agree more. “The younger we can reach these students, the better.”

While he does believe introducing Spanish into the curriculum is a great stepping stone, much work will have to be done over the next few years to ensure it reaches its potential. “The demand for Spanish is here, but it is up to us to give the students as many chances as we can for them to benefit,” Petkus said.

He feels that what gives Boyle County an edge is the fact that all students are being taught by certified teachers and not someone who merely knows Spanish. As the program continues, classes will need to be adapted to accommodate an increasingly advanced group of students.

With such lofty goals for the Spanish program at Boyle County, they are taking on even another element to better prepare their students for a global society.

Through the Confucius Institute at Western Kentucky University, students grades 3-12 will be able to learn Mandarin Chinese from certified teachers. Many students at BCMS and BCHS already have signed up to be in these Chinese classes for the year. Knowledge of Chinese can provide future career opportunities in a global economy.

While on a much smaller scale than the Spanish program, the ability to offer a third language for study is not something many schools can boast.

Woodlawn principal Lisa Adams is very excited about the new programs coming to Boyle County.

“Language skills are so important today, and we want our students to have the best opportunities to be competitive with a global world. Because this program can reach so many of our students, we can ensure that,” she said.

The future looks bright and bilingual for Boyle County students.

Audrey Conway is a student at Centre College and an intern for Boyle County Schools.

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