Foreign
Language Conference Encourages Study Abroad
By
Katarzyna Kozanecka
Leadership
was the theme of the 2002 Northeast Conference on the Teaching
of Foreign Languages (NECTFL), which convened at the Hilton hotel
in New York recently. According to Rebecca Kline, executive director
of NECTFL, the highlight of this year’s event was a series of
eight panels whose participants explored leadership from the perspective
of classroom teachers, professors, students, and educators from
other cultures. Several panelists and audience members zeroed
in on the importance of travel in foreign language learning, especially
in fostering healthy international relations.
How fitting, then, that after German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
visited the World Trade Center site on October 9, the German government
and German businesses such as DaimlerChrysler created the Bridge
New York-Berlin program. Thanks to this program, 25 students from
four downtown Manhattan high schools–Economics and Finance, Leadership
and Public Service, Murry Bergtraum, and Stuyvesant–traveled to
Germany for free in February. One hundred and twenty more students
from various city high schools went on March 26 and returned April
8.
Chaperoned by New York City teachers and Board of Education officials,
the students toured Berlin, Munich, Heidelberg, and Cologne. Members
of the first contingent were on hand when the German Media Award
was presented to former Mayor Giuliani. They met the Chancellor,
the American Ambassador to Germany, Daniel Coats, and the Stuttgart
soccer team. The second larger group was divided among the North,
South, East, and West regions of the country; their trip included
a home-stay. According to Stuyvesant junior Fang Yuan, her group
received less press coverage than the first. “It was almost like
a nice vacation where you learn culture,” she said.
Indeed, the Bridge program seeks to introduce American students
to German culture, history, and economic matters. The students’
itinerary included a visit to the Jewish museum in Berlin, a tour
of the Deutsche Bahn (national railroad) training center, and
meetings with German youth, both through round table discussions
and an interactive TV show on Viva. Stuyvesant junior Kat Jong
described Viva as “the station in Germany that competes with MTV,
and gets higher ratings.”
Himanshu Suri, Vice President of the Stuyvesant Student Union,
said, “We talked about September 11th almost everywhere we went.”
The youth were also curious about life in America.
Knowledge of the German language was not a prerequisite for the
trip; only a one-hour lesson was provided. Translators were available
and the Americans agreed that the German students spoke English
well. Nevertheless, Stuyvesant junior Hannah Fleury said, “ I
made a big effort to pick up German. I asked a lot of questions
about how to say things.” Fleury and her companions sited the
four nights spent with the hospitable host family as an incredible
experience.
From a leadership perspective, the home-stay allowed the kind
of one-on-one interaction that Coats spoke of at his meeting with
the American students in February in Baden-Baden, Germany. He
told Stuyvesant junior Luciana Gravotta that she and her fellow
youth ambassadors should “talk to as many people as possible,
especially just normal civilians on the street.” This would give
them a realistic view of the country.
At NECTFL, educators and students noted how little attention and
funding is allotted for foreign language learning. Often, foreign
languages are the optional courses in school because the whole
world speaks English. During a panel discussion, Jordan Wicker,
a high school senior representing Herricks Public Schools, attributed
his high score on the SAT II Writing exam to years of Spanish
study. The foreign language classroom is the place to learn about
verb tenses and object pronouns as English grammar is taught less
and less.
The Bridge program hopes to eventually send 1,000 New York City
students to Germany in an effort to promote tolerance, cooperation,
and understanding between the nations. On a grander scale, the
program enhances young people’s communication skills, which are
as vital on a daily basis, in communities and schools, as they
are to diplomats who speak for entire governments. #
Katarzyna
Kozanecka is a student at Stuyvesant High School.
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