Language programs spur students earning Seal of Biliteracy

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Twenty-three ASMSA students earned the Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy during the 2020-21 school year; twenty-two of those were seniors, or just under a fourth of the Class of 2021.

The Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy is an honor that recognizes high school students who have studied and attained proficiency in at least one other language than English. It encourages students to pursue biliteracy, honors the skills students attain, and can be evidence of skills that are attractive to college admissions offices as well as future employers.

Three students — Jacob Holmes (’21), and Yibing Hu (’21) and Kenny Ventress (’21) — received certification in three languages. Holmes qualified for French, Spanish, and Japanese.

Hu certified in Chinese, French, and Japanese while Ventress certified in French, Spanish, and German.

Two other students — Catherine Kwon (’21) and Nina Thomas (’21) — earned certifications in two languages. Kwon tested for Chinese and Korean, and Thomas earned a seal for German and Spanish.

Bryan Adams, who serves as ASMSA’s French instructor, said he was amazed at how quickly students

got on board with the program, but he was not surprised as how well they performed on the test. “ASMSA had already begun drawing in students who were interested in exploring the idea of pushing to at least intermediate fluency in two or more languages other than their first language,” Adams said. “It seemed natural to reward those learners with the opportunity to achieve the Seal of Biliteracy while doing something they already enjoy.”

Japanese instructor Betty Brown leads one of her classes through an exercise. She said it is important for language-learners to have theopportunity to interact with native speakers. It prepares them toutilize the language skills in practical, social, and professionalsituations. It also helps them make friends around the world.

Adams said he and retired Spanish instructor Dan McElderry would brainstorm ways to motivate students to pursue becoming a deeper language learner and encourage them to learn more than one language. Adams continued those discussions with his current fellow language instructors — Spanish instructor Fernanda Espinosa and Japanese instructor Betty Brown.

But while the instructors may encourage students to do more than the minimum to pass a language course, it is ultimately the students who must decide to make the additional efforts.

“Achieving the Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy is a singular honor,” Adams said. “In general, it takes students several years of language study to see the point of mastery to achieve it. The Seal of Biliteracy is awarded based on an evaluation process that measures an individual’s fluency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

“The students who succeed are those who have made that language a part of their everyday lives: they speak it as often as possible; they switch all their electronic devices to that language; they watch all their favorite Netflix shows in that language. In other words, they embrace it fully, and the language no longer remains on a shelf in a classroom but begins to take on deeper meaning in their lives around them.”

He said the students who earn the seal for more than one language are often those who have found a new passion. “They may come to ASMSA for a completely unrelated discipline but then find that they have fallen in love with the ‘language riddle.’ They find that they want to ‘crack the code’ of the language in question. … For many, it’s a giant self-esteem boost because they find something that’s not only rewarding but that they are very skilled at.”

Holmes exemplifies Adams’ sentiments. He became interested in other languages in the sixth through eighth grades, looking into Spanish and French initially. During the summer after eighth grade, he discovered Japanese cuisine and explored some related topics. He wanted to travel to Japan for the food and became engrossed in learning the language.

When he came to ASMSA, he participated in the mathematical modeling capstone, but the school’s language classes grew in importance to him.

“The language program at ASMSA was very important in my experience at this institution,” Holmes said.

“(The) language program was an outlet for a different type of thinking during my ASMSA experience and allowed me to find multiple interests that I want to pursue. I had been interested in languages and linguistics, but it was not a viable option for study at my sending school.”

Holmes is one of those students Adams mentioned who have turned their devices into opportunities to practice their languages. His phone is set for Spanish, his iPad to Japanese and, his Chrome browser is in French.

“I read the news from various global networks to practice my skills: NHK for Japanese, Le Monde for French, and BBC Mundo for Spanish,” he said.

•••

There are many benefits to learning a second language, both linguistically and nonlinguistic. Espinosa, the Spanish instructor who presented a Science and Arts Café lecture on the subject of languagelearning this spring, said learning a second language is significant because knowing other languages exposes us to the traditions, religions, art, and history of the people associated with those languages.

“Greater understanding, in turn, promotes greater tolerance, empathy, and acceptance of others,” Espinosa said.

“Opening up to other cultures allows us to be more flexible and appreciative of other people’s opinions and actions. As a result, if you are multilingual, you have the advantage of seeing the world from different viewpoints.” Adams said data shows that students who study additional languages see an increase in their ACT scores as well their English fluency. “We have solid data that conclusively proves that language learning correlates with higher academic achievement on standardized test measures,” Adams said. “We also have some good evidence demonstrating that the earlier the introduction of the second language, the greater cognitive benefits including attention control, improved memory, and metalinguistic skill benefits for the student.”

ASMSA Spanish instructor Fernanda Espinosa says learning a second language is significant because knowing other languages exposes us to the traditions, religions, art, and history of the people associated with those languages.

Brown, the Japanese instructor, said our world is becoming smaller every day as technology allows us to connect with people around the world more easily. “Learning another language prepares students to navigate our rapidly changing global environment with greater ease and poise,” Brown said. “Interacting with different communities and meeting those with different backgrounds helps one to develop greater intercultural competence and communication skills. Also, it’s just super fun to learn a language and make friendsfrom around the world.”

Yibing Hu (‘21) and Jacob Holmes (‘21) practice French phrases using cue cards. Both Hu and Holmesearned certification for three languages in the Arkansas Seal ofBiliteracy. They became interested in languages before enrolling atASMSA but that the advanced courses and supportive faculty membersspurred them to further develop their language skills.

Hu was studying Japanese on her own before coming to ASMSA. She was excited about ASMSA’s Japanese program — the only high school program of its kind in the state — and the resources she would have access to through it when she chose to come to the school.

One of those resources are the educational partnerships ASMSA has with Tennoji Senior High School in Osaka, Japan, and Hanamaki Kita High School in Hanamaki, Japan, which is Hot Springs’ Sister City.

“Brown Sensei got me in contact with a student from our sister school in Osaka helps me a lot with nuances in Japanese,” Hu said.

She began taking French in 10th grade. Hu, who speaks Chinese at home, said deciding to keep taking courses in both languages at ASMSA was a good decision.

“I’m really glad I decided to keep taking French because Monsieur Adams’ classes are enjoyable and help me better understand different aspects of the language. Taking foreign languages at ASMSA has helped me appreciate my own culture more and made my love for learning languages grow. I’m really proud of the progress I’ve made in Japanese and French during my two years here. I also have a lot of respect for the foreign language teachers here because they’re so knowledgeable, and they’re fluent in so many languages.”

•••

ASMSA’s Global Learning Program provides students opportunities to study abroad during Spring Break and summer trips.

Some of those trips are true language-immersion experiences, such as a month-long Quebec trip Adams has previously led.

Other students have spent their entire summer breaks on a National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) exchange or an entire school year as part of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) where they live with host families while at-tending school and taking language courses in another country, requiring them to learn the language quickly.

Adams said having the opportunity to interact with others while speaking a language, particularly with native-language speakers, is important in improving the students’ skills. It also helps them more easily assimilate within that culture on trips for a fuller experience.

“On the community level, knowing another language helps you participate in that language world and you aren’t limiting yourself to simply ‘touristy’ things for any visit,” Adams said.

“But imagine, for example, that you live in San Antonio, Texas. With the ability to speakSpanish, you can now be more deeply involved in all the dynamics of a bilingual city.

“But the beautiful thing about the‘communities’ aspect of learning a second (or third or fourth) language is that we can now visit other classrooms in other countries by virtue of technology. Furthermore, students can include the language in their gaming sessions.”

He said interactions with the community help fosterlanguage learning since they serve as real-life anchors that are beyond the four walls of the classroom.

‘We also see quite a few students transfer now from other schools specifically to continue their French with us. I also know that there are students who come to us with the specific goal of studying French, Spanish, and Japanese. But I remain convinced that the secret to ASMSA in whatever discipline is the time we have to spend with students outside of class. We are able to work with them one-on-one to help foster their acceleration and to push them along their trajectory.’

“Something as simple as using videoconferencing with a French class in Lyon can go far in not only sparking student interest but also in encouraging them to test their language skills outside of the classroom,” he said.

Brown agreed one of the main goals of language learners should be to communicate with native speakers of the language.

“While a good teacher can model authentic language use and prepare students to communicate with native speakers, nothing compares to the real deal. Engaging with the community outside of the classroom prepares students to utilize their language skills socially, practically, and professionally.”

Espinosa said she uses her experience of having traveled and living in different Spanish speaking countries to give her students a broader perspective of the language.

“I try to expose my students to the Spanish spoken throughout all of the Spanish-speaking world, with different accents and dialects. I ways try to transmit the love of learning about different cultures. I taught myself to speak four different languages because I love communicating with different people, and I want my students to be eager to explore the world and know that learning another language requires hard work and a daily commitment,” she said.

ASMSA’s foreign language curriculum continues to grow as demand from students for languagesincreases. Adams joined ASMSA’s faculty eight years ago.

At that time there were very few thirdyear French students and none beyond that level, he said. TheFrench curriculum now includes fourth and fifth-year students, he said.

Since Brown started teaching Japanese in 2017 the number of enrolled Japanese students have doubled and the first third-level course in the language will be offered this fall.

Adams said thegrowing language programs are drawing some students to

ASMSA from their sending schools.

“We also see quite a few students transfer now from other schools specifically to continue their French with us,” he said.

“I also know that there are students who come to us with the specific goal of studying French, Spanish, and Japanese. But I remain convinced that the secret to ASMSA in whatever discipline is the time we have to spend with students outside of class. We are able to work with them one-on-one to help foster their acceleration and to push them along their trajectory.”