Students celebrate diversity

This school is using National Foreign Language Week to showcase all the countries represented in their student population and the languages taught in their classes. DP

Foreign languages at Martinsburg High School spotlighted

By LAUREN HOUGH / Journal Staff Writer

journal-news.net: Martinsburg High School students are shining a spotlight this week on all the languages spoken and learned in their classrooms as part of a celebration of the diversity of their classmates.

National Foreign Language Week is the impetus for events that showcase different cultures and other countries with special activities like salsa-dancing lessons and Peace Corps presentations.

“As our world is globalizing, the acquisition of foreign languages is becoming more and more important,” said John Gonano, who teaches Spanish II and IV at the high school, where French and Latin classes are also offered to students.

Just as important is the recognition of all the languages — 22 this year — currently being spoken in Berkeley County.

While 82 percent of the district’s English as a Second Language (ESL) population is Spanish-speaking, Berkeley County students also speak Creole, Chinese, Vietnamese, Burmese and Russian.

“Berkeley County has a high percentage of other nationalities compared to the rest of the state,” said Debbie Hartz, who teaches ESL and Spanish I at the high school. Those numbers have been increasing over recent years.

To help students whose first language is not English, ESL teachers work to coordinate efforts with those of other educators, Hartz said, and also help students schedule their classes in order to keep them on the path toward success.

Non-ESL teachers can help by speaking slowly and clearly in class, and by finding new ways to pre-teach academic vocabulary words. Though students may be conversational in English, some terms specific to science or other subjects can be more difficult for them to recognize, she said.

“The teachers at Martinsburg High School are wonderful,” Hartz added. “They knock themselves out.”
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.