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"Learning to express oneself in words other than one’s own is ‘to acquire a new standpoint in our world-view’ (von Humboldt, 1836: 60)"
In the World Language Department we are devoted first and foremost to teaching languages skills, helping students improve their speaking, comprehension and writing proficiencies, while engaging them in class discussions about global issues. Currently, our 7th graders are discussing how to take care of our environment; we have had class debates about the importance of preserving natural resources.
Last year, our 8th graders studied a unit on Volunteer Work and discussed how they volunteer in our community. When they returned from the Dominican Republic service trip they discussed the experience they had volunteering at an Orphanage, and how valuable that was. Our current 8th graders are discussing climate change, loss of biodiversity and what can we do as global citizens to improve our situation.
Our advanced 6th graders are discussing immigration issues as they read the book Esperanza Rising, while our advanced 5th graders are reading about how to help in creating a green planet.
Developing activities to engage students about global issues while teaching a foreign language has been both stimulating and challenging. It has also made us more conscious of how we, as foreign language teachers, create a curriculum that extends beyond language skills development to include broader educational objectives, in particular those associated with “education for global citizenship”.
Our curriculum values cultural identity, global education and language that is essential for dialogue.
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