Summer Language Study at NCS – C’est Magnifique!

This summer, NCS partnered with Middlebury Interactive Languages to become the first and only school in the Washington, DC, area to offer two-week, immersive language “academies” for students entering grades 5 through 12.

 

MIL is a company created by Middlebury College, known for its excellent immersion language instruction, and K12 Inc., the nation’s largest provider of curriculum and online education programs for students in primary and secondary schools. MIL is an outgrowth of the Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy, which offers summer language immersion programs for high school students on college campuses. This new program, designed for middle and high school students, offers a similar experience closer to home, and is offered at only four schools across the country: Belmont Hill School, Greenwich Academy, The Lawrenceville School, and NCS.

In 2012, NCS offered two sessions of two-week Summer Day Academies in Spanish, Chinese, and French, from June 18-29 and July 2-13. High school students attended half-day programs, and middle school students (entering 5th through 8th grade) attended full-day programs. The academies were available to students at all levels of language study, and attendees were separated by grade level and ability.

 

Several NCS teachers served as instructors for these summer academies, including MIL Program Director at NCS Luis Deocares (Spanish), Pilar McKay (Spanish), and Ted Xu (Chinese). In addition, three NCS students – Sayer Delk ’13, Karen Lee ’13, and Karen Nogues ’14 – served as teaching assistants, helping with classroom instruction in one or more languages.

 

“Spanish is one of my favorite subjects, and I tutor for the Latino Student Fund, so teaching is something I really like to do,” said Delk, who worked primarily with students new to Spanish. “I really enjoyed it, and it was a lot of fun to help them learn something.”

 

In the classroom, attendees spoke only their language of study, allowing for full immersion. Students studied both language and culture through hands-on, experiential lessons. Many of the classes also created videos, writing, shooting, and editing the movies themselves, to further enhance their study. For example, the high school students created Spanish soap operas, while the middle school French class created a movie about tourists meeting while sight-seeing and then going to a party.

 

“I’ve never been to a Spanish immersion class, and I enjoyed my experience. I really enjoyed making the soap operas, which improved my Spanish greatly,” said Erin Murphy ’14.

 

“I’ve taken Chinese for two years, and this class helped me speak better but also opened my eyes to the culture as well, and I really enjoyed that,” said Natalie Saxenian, a student at Sidwell Friends School.

 

Students enrolled in these academies for a variety of reasons; some have studied the language for years, while others chose a language that was completely new to them.

 

“I’m going to high school next year, and I thought [taking this course] would help me get ready,” said Donal Mullane STA ’16.

 

“I’ve never taken Chinese before, and this course really helped my reading, writing, and speaking,” said Ella Cleary, who attends school in Hong Kong.

 

On June 29, MIL hosted its first-ever Middlebury Interactive Middle School Day Academy Graduation at NCS, celebrating the completion of the first of the summer’s two middle school sessions. Amy Shen, MIL director of curriculum and instruction, spoke to students and parents about how MIL first developed its curriculum and teaching style, and then Deocares detailed the NCS academies course of study. The Chinese and French classes showed their videos, and the Spanish class put on a series of skits highlighting the country of Colombia. Each of the 38 middle school attendees also received a graduation certificate.

 

“My experience in MIL was enjoyable; every single day was fun! I learned a lot more Spanish. I’m glad I came!” said graduate Bo Moukdarath ’19.

 

In addition to the middle school graduates, the first session also had 21 high school students. The second session, which ends July 13, enrolled 37 middle and 12 high school students. Only about 30 percent of all attendees go to school at NCS or STA.

 

Nina Staeben, MIL site manager for NCS, said that while the first session was a success, the academies have already made some changes for the second session based on lessons learned from the first, to ensure the camps provide the highest quality of education to their attendees.

 

“Overall the kids learned a lot and we’re really happy – it was a good first session,” said Staeben. “It’s a good partnership between NCS and Middlebury, and hopefully the start of a long and fruitful relationship.”