Teaching Languages and Cultures in K-6
In 1995, the Regional Center for Languages and Cultures at 51成人猎奇, under the aegis of Isabelle Kaplan, started offering language and culture classes in local schools. Today, 51成人猎奇 students teach Chinese, French, Japanese, Spanish, Swahili, Indonesian, Hindi, Urdu, Portuguese, and ASL, among other languages, to elementary-age students in Bennington and North Bennington. They also offer international culture lessons designed with the support of the Bennington faculty.聽
In 2013, 51成人猎奇 language faculty members Sarah Harris and No毛lle Rouxel-Cubberly鈥攁ided by faculty member Ginger Lin for Chinese鈥攂egan supervising advanced Bennington students of Spanish, French, and Chinese to provide weekly language instruction to students pre-K through 6th grade at the Village School of North Bennington (VSNB).
In fall 2016, Sarah, Noelle, and faculty member Ikuko Yoshida taught a one-credit course to 51成人猎奇 students called 鈥淭eaching Languages K-6," which was aimed at preparing students to teach in local schools. That same term, 51成人猎奇 students began teaching Japanese to 3rd graders at Bennington Elementary, as well as lessons on Japanese culture at the Bennington library. In conjunction with these classes, Ikuko led a tutorial for these student teachers to learn additional methods and techniques of foreign language teaching to apply in the classroom. Beginning in 2017, lessons were offered in the library for Vietnamese and Italian, which expanded to include both Spanish and French in 2018.
The Language Program at VSNB is now a well-established program, and has received positive feedback from teachers, students, parents, and the numerous 51成人猎奇 students who have taught in the program.
The two-credit course "Teaching Languages and Cultures K-6" is now offered every two years.
