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May 1 Department meeting:
Location: MS Spanish room 50
3:30-4:30

Agenda
Announcements
Group topics
May 7th- Teacher appreciation day- 2019

Study Skills... visual learning too!

How I Use One-Pagers in English Language Arts

Help your students learn how to break down challenging topics into a single page of notes. Read more

Heritage- not quite bilingual

Like about a quarter of Americans, I classify as bilingual — in fact, because my parents are first-generation immigrants, I was taught Mandarin before I learned any English. But as is the case with many second-generation students, 12 years of English-centric education has made me fluent in one language at the expense of the other. In other words, as time has passed, I’ve lost touch with my Mandarin-speaking background.

This describes some of our students... how do we teach them?  Read more


Advanced classes for all? Sometimes, advanced classes can slow a child’s progress
Amy Tschudin and her husband said okay when their son’s fifth-grade teacher in Montgomery County, Md., suggested he skip a grade of math. They were flattered by the teacher’s judgment, even though their son was a B student. Within two years, he had lost so much confidence in his math ability that his parents had him moved back.

What happens here in math, can also happen in language class. Read more


Think Summer:
5 Best Tech tools for practice

1. HelloTalk

HelloTalk focuses on your spoken language and lets you connect with real speakers. It only asks for the target language you are interested in and finds suitable counterparts. You can make conversation, post statuses, and request for audio/video calls with the natives to practice your spoken skills. For the introverts, HelloTalk may not act as an ideal option as there are no encouraging conversation prompts. In addition, it is highly dependent on the willingness of the learner. There is no structured syllabus, guideline, or environment provided by the app developers to help you learn a new language.

2. 50 Languages

If you are one of those geeks who wish to learn even the deepest secret of grammar and vocabulary, 50 Languages is the one for you.

It provides you with the best resources for learning a new alphabet, new number, new word and more via audio files, offline quizzes and flashcards. The navigation can sometimes become a little tricky. For instance, if you are learning Spanish, finding the sound in Spanish of new vocabulary words may require a proper plan—which is not available. However, it offers best drill practices.

3. Quizlet

If you need a customized toolset for learning a new language, Quizlet is the top-ranking app. Quizlet lets you create a study set that includes a wide range of customized items such as quizzes, flashcards, and games. It provides wonderful support for learning a foreign language that is inclusive of computer-read audio files and special character. It is one perfect app for letting you pronounce the correct syllables and words.

4. Duolingo

Duolingo is an amazing app that offers you fun language-learning games and allows you to set goals. The lessons are well-sequenced. A complete program of learning a foreign language (about 20 different languages) is available.

The content is; however, crowd-sourced and the natives actively take part in correcting the mistakes and raise questions on the debatable material. This particular factor can prove to be a downside to the app. Yet, it is one of highest-ranked language learning apps.

5. Memrise

Memrise includes sequential course content and other study aids for learning. The source of content is from the users as well as from the app developers. It offers courses in up to 14 languages, but you may find more languages via user-shared content. It is another top-rated app in the language learning community.

April 2019

News & Views

Spring Photo Essay

From independent travel to capstone experiences, spring is an exciting time to be a student at SYA. With less than five weeks remaining, our students are making the most of their time abroad. Take a visual tour of student life at our four campuses in this photo essay, made possible by our talented student and faculty photographers. 

View here

Three Weeks to Launch!

The United Nations headquarters in New York City will provide a grand backdrop for the launch of SYA's first-ever comprehensive capital campaign, The Campaign for SYA, on Thursday, May 16 (Deadline to RSVP is Monday, April 29). Hear what President Tom Hassan and Campaign Co-Chairs Alexandra Alger FR'79 CN'12P and James Broderick FR'71 have to say about the significance of this event in the article linked below. 

Read more

Springing Into Capstones

No single class or activity captures the SYA experience quite like the capstone project. Not only does it provide students an opportunity to put their evolving skills to the test, it also gives them a chance to dive into a single topic that captures their imagination and interest. You can read about four capstone projects, one from each of our campuses, by following the link below.

Read more

Through Different Lenses

"More than just learning Spanish in a new city that you would begin to call home was the possibility of applying that knowledge to a different part of the same country. I wanted to know Spain well enough to not only compare it as a country to the U.S., but also to compare its distinct regions to each other." Eleanor L. ES'19 writes about her trip to Barcelona. 

Read more

Ducks and Rice Terraces

"I need to try to appreciate and view the places that I travel through the critical-thinking eyes of a local instead of through the eyes of a tourist looking to have a surface-level experience." Kate V. CN'19 reflects on lessons she learned while traveling to Yunnan. 

Read more

In the News:

SIXTH GRADERS EXPLORE WORLD LANGUAGES

On Monday, our sixth graders visited IS world language classes as a way of helping them decide which language they would like to study next year. The students observed each language class for 15 minutes, participated in activities, and imagined themselves studying each of the languages they encountered.

SOPHOMORE WINS GLOBAL CITIZEN SCHOLARSHIP

Congratulations to Buse Dayioglu '21, who recently won the 2019 Global Citizen Scholarship! This national prize is presented each year to no more than 16 students across the country who have earned a gold medal on the National Spanish Examination. They must then submit written and oral language samples to a selection committee appointed by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

In July, Buse will travel to Concordia Language Villages in Bemidji, Minnesota, alongside 14 other winners. Her scholarship covers the cost of tuition for a two-week session at El Lago del Bosque, the program's Spanish immersion program.

NATIONAL LATIN EXAM HONOREES

In March, IS Latin students took the National Latin Exam. More than 149,000 students participated nationwide. Twenty-one Potomac students – 10 seventh graders and 11 eighth graders – received national recognition, meaning they scored higher than the national average. Congratulations!

JUNIOR FRENCH STUDENT IS AT "LE TOP" IN THE US
Kat Plaza '20 has been awarded the highest honor given by Le Grand Concours (the National French Exam) for her top score in the nation on this year's test. Kat earned the only Level Four platinum medal in the United States! Both she and her French teacher, Mrs. Swope, will receive plaques of commendation from the American Association of Teachers of French, which sponsors the annual exam.

LANGUAGE STUDENTS TO ATTEND GOVERNOR'S ACADEMIES

Taya Lasota '20 and Ariana Ghafouri '21 have been honored with invitations to attend Governor's Foreign Language Academies, sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education. These summer residential programs are for students who have distinguished themselves as talented, motivated, and enthusiastic language learners. Candidates must take a language test and place among the top scorers in the state in order to participate. Taya and Ariana will attend the Latin and French Academies, respectively.

¡A  presentar!

Seventh grade Spanish students in Sra. Varoutsos' classes recently put their growing Spanish vocabulary to use by creating and acting out phone conversations.  Eighth grade Spanish students wrote and shared descriptions of the stages of their lives that included the preterite past tense, the present tense, and the future tense.  Some engaging presentation skills were enjoyed by all!

Blog question:
What is the best tech tool you use in the classroom?