FOCUS ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Class sizes are growing, demand is increasing and students are actively pursuing the art of speaking another language.

Foreign language classes are bigger now than ever before, said Coralie Robertson, Central High School Spanish teacher. "At Cape Central alone we have 594 students enrolled in Spanish and 836 total student enrollment in all three languages -- Spanish, French and Latin," she said. "This is certainly a reflection of a national trend. Enrollment in foreign language is up all over the state of Missouri."

One factor behind the increases could be the widespread college and university admission rule requiring students to have had some high school credit in foreign language. Southeast Missouri State University will begin encouraging students in the fall of 1996 to have taken at least two units of a foreign language while the University of Missouri will require two years of a foreign language beginning with the fall 1997 class.

"I believe that universities are requiring a foreign language for admission because it takes discipline to learn one," said Joyce Daniels, Scott City High School Spanish teacher. "It reviews and renews your English skills because you can't study someone else's language without first knowing your own.

"Foreign language also introduces students to something completely new," she said. "They get a feel for the culture and the customs that they probably wouldn't get elsewhere."

Robertson said, "Learning a foreign language employs a higher order of thinking skills. Today we're teaching analysis, application and synthesis rather than the knowledge and recall drills of the past. Universities are looking for critical thinking skills in today's students and learning a foreign language helps develop them."

Business and industry are also demanding bilingual job applicants Robertson said. "Two candidates can apply for a position and if they are equal in all aspects but foreign language, the one who is literate in a second language will usually get the job."

Dr. Dieter Jedan, chairman of the foreign language department at Southeast, agrees. "It's just good business that graduates be fluent in a foreign language," he said. "Many companies want employees that are able to appreciate cultural differences and that only happens when you are actively exposed to another culture."

Cultural activities, in fact, make up a large part of today's foreign language classroom curriculum. "Students need to be globally aware today and we emphasize that," Robertson said. "We spend some time each week discussing not only current international affairs but also cultural contributions made by the Aztecs and Mayans."

"I ask my classes to speak some Spanish every day," Daniels said. "Speaking the language in role-play situations and interviews builds their confidence and their understanding of the Spanish culture. We also cook using authentic Mexican recipes and we take field trips to cultural events in St. Louis whenever we can."

Jedan said his department is working to bridge the gap between area high schools and the University by offering teaching resources on a regular basis. "On campus we provide international television to the dormitories and to some buildings," he said. "We tape the programs and then send them to area high schools at no charge. If the area teachers have up-to-date teaching aids from the countries that they're studying, then students are able to make the connection between English and their second language that much faster."

Jedan has also revitalized the foreign language fair held each spring on campus. Area high school students compete in several different competitions that test their fluency and academic retention of the language. Enrollment in the 1995 competition on April 8 is up 30 percent.

"Several Cape Central students have successfully competed in the foreign language fair at Southeast," Robertson said. "We've brought home numerous trophies from a variety of events which always make the students happy."

Jedan said, "Learning a foreign language opens up a whole other world for many students. They realize that their is a place for them and that it may be outside our area of the country. Once you've mastered one foreign language, you can certainly learn another. It's a skill that you'll take with you all your life."