Learning the Language
Area Primary and Secondary Schools Expanding Language-Teaching Programs
Local primary and secondary schools are expanding their language-teaching options to encompass a broader range of foreign languages and move away from a Eurocentric focus. Two good examples of this trend are Coeus International School and Washington International School, the former a brand new facility with 80 students and the latter a well-established institution with more than 800 students.
Coeus International School
At the October grand opening and ribbon cutting of the newly launched Coeus International School (CIS) in Washington, D.C., Daniel Hollinger, founder and head of the school, told the proud parents and students: “We are the first independent school to offer a peace studies program and combine it with an international focus and dual-language programs that include Mandarin Chinese. We are working together to create a model for how to live together not only academically but socially as well.”
Hollinger has had a long-term interest in language education for young children. He started Rock Creek International School in 1988 and served as its head until 2005. Guests at the Coeus School’s opening included members of the U.S.-China Education Trust, Chargé d’Affaires of the Lebanese Embassy Carla Jazzar, Cultural Attaché at the French Embassy Philippe Sauret, and Paul Holzer, representing the National Council of La Raza and George Washington University.
At Coeus, students will be expected to communicate fluently in at least two languages and acquire conflict resolution skills. The curriculum is based on the International Baccalaureate (IB) program and will offer English, Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish and French language studies. The school will also “take kids to other countries,” Hollinger said at the ribbon cutting, in addition to exposing them to celebrated professionals in residence and offering a “well-rounded” sports program “that’s not just about competition.”
Professionals in residence at Coeus currently include Australian dancer and choreographer Liz Lea, who blends contemporary and classical Indian dance; Colman McCarthy, former columnist for the Washington Post and founder of the Center for Teaching Peace; and composer Brendan Canty, drummer for the punk rock band Fugazi who has created soundtracks for the Discovery and Learning channels.
Noel Sheppard, the school’s director of curriculum, said that the school’s language-studies tracks were designed “not just to acquire the ability to speak another language, but to learn another culture and embrace differences.” French is taught in terms of the Francophone countries around the globe, and Spanish studies include the language varieties of many Hispanic nations. Learning a third language is encouraged, Sheppard explained, and the school has children who learn in English and in French who are also studying Arabic.
The peace studies curriculum is a Coeus original, Sheppard added. “There’s no model for it in secondary education.” It will include a pre-law track and prepare students for advanced studies in government and politics.
The ribbon-cutting Coeus students at the October grand opening included Mouhanad Alrifay, 16, whose family is from Syria. Already fluent in Arabic and English, he is studying French and has a range of other interests, such as math, art, politics, philosophy, psychology and acting. The advantages of Coeus, he said, included networking and faculty support for career interests.
Another student, Santwan Swain, 15, from Washington, D.C., is studying Mandarin Chinese because “I’ve studied Spanish and enjoyed it.” He would like to become a football player and a criminal lawyer. Ramona Yun, 11, is also studying Mandarin, and although she described the writing as “difficult,” she said, “We have fun in the class.”
Kony Serrano, 15, whose family is from El Salvador, is studying Spanish “to maintain skills,” and next year he is set to begin Arabic. Noting the peace studies program, she said she wanted to enroll at Coeus because “every since I can remember I’ve been interested in politics. I have a [career] goal of helping to create a better world.”
Coeus is a secular school offering grades 5 through 10. Grades 11 and 12 will be added next year. It currently has 80 students, welcomes diversity, and provides need-based financial aid.
Coeus International School
4401 Connecticut Ave., NW
(202) 237-0040
www.coeusis.org
Washington International School
A new language-learning program, Mandarin Chinese, is being introduced at the Washington International School (WIS), with classes set to begin next year. WIS offers a curriculum that focuses on “the world’s cultural heritage” to 850 students in grades pre-kindergarten to 12 on two campuses in Northwest Washington, D.C. It features a bilingual instruction program that begins with an immersion program for its smallest students. It also offers International Baccalaureate (IB) diplomas, and its financial aid funds exceed $1 million.
Currently, academic classes in all grades are conducted in English as well as either in French, Spanish or Dutch, with additional language options available in the middle school that include Italian or intensive French. In the upper grades, there is an emphasis on English.
According to Dorrie Fuchs, director of admissions and financial aid at the school, the new Mandarin program is led by an instructor whose first language is Mandarin and who has been teaching Chinese at WIS for a number of years. The program will be offered to both old and new students enrolled in grades 6 through 12, and can lead to an IB diploma.
In announcing the new program, Head of School Richard Hall said, “High-quality Chinese language instruction requires an early start and a long-term approach. By starting children at the beginning of middle school, we are confident that they will reach the intermediate range of proficiency in Chinese with a world perspective in history, literature, geography, mathematics and the sciences.”
As in all WIS language programs, “the initial focus will be speaking—communication and oral comprehension,” explained Fuchs. “We see language learning as a way to fully understand the culture” and to participate in it in a comfortable way. “Bilingual people say they have somewhat different personalities when they speak different languages, so it’s more than just learning the language per se.”
Families interested in the new Chinese program at WIS are encouraged to call the Admissions Office at (202) 243-1815 for more information and register for a tour of the school. The application deadline is Jan. 10.
The Washington International School (upper school)
3100 Macomb St., NW
(202) 243-1800
www.wis.edu
Carolyn Cosmos is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.
