Post by title1parent on Aug 9, 2011 5:33:44 GMT -5
Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley teachers take students to France, China
By ANGELA BENDER
For The Beacon-News
Last Modified: Aug 8, 2011 04:43PM
For some teachers, the classroom just isn’t big enough for all they want to teach. Foreign language teachers especially like to take advantage of summer to travel.
Two separate groups of teachers from Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley high schools spent their first weeks of vacation in China and France, exposing students to real life situations where they would have the ability to use the language they studied all year. In June, Savannah Smith and Debra Samuelson, both Waubonsie French teachers, along with 15 Indian Prairie School District students, spent 10 days in France.
“My first trip to France was during my junior year at Naperville Central… I really think that trip, and how much I learned on it, motivates me to continue to take students today, ” said Smith.
The students must have completed at least two years of French to attend the trip, where they toured Paris, Bordeaux, Biarritz, Provence and the French Riviera. After all the sightseeing and touring, they spent their final day swimming in the Mediterranean.
Yvonne Fawell, foreign language department chairman at Neuqua, visited Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai, along with Neuqua Chinese teacher Sarah Bien and Chinese-speaking math teacher Jessie Lavin. They brought 23 Neuqua Valley students, who have been studying Chinese for at least two years, for a week long visit in June. Fawell believes the travel experiences help students to become culturally literate.
“Our world languages department motto is ‘Non scholae, sed vitae discimus’ (We learn not for school, but for life)” said Fawell, “We are language teachers who believe it is important for Americans to become part of the world citizens who speak other languages.”
The trip revolved around Chinese history and culture. They visited the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Emperor’s Summer Palace. They also rode through alleys in bicycle-powered rickshaws and visited the Great Wall of China at Juyong Pass, ending their trip in Shanghai.
Said Fawell, “We think it is important for (the students) to see the value of the language they are studying and to see the world beyond.”
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Copyright © 2011 — Sun-Times Media, LLC
By ANGELA BENDER
For The Beacon-News
Last Modified: Aug 8, 2011 04:43PM
For some teachers, the classroom just isn’t big enough for all they want to teach. Foreign language teachers especially like to take advantage of summer to travel.
Two separate groups of teachers from Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley high schools spent their first weeks of vacation in China and France, exposing students to real life situations where they would have the ability to use the language they studied all year. In June, Savannah Smith and Debra Samuelson, both Waubonsie French teachers, along with 15 Indian Prairie School District students, spent 10 days in France.
“My first trip to France was during my junior year at Naperville Central… I really think that trip, and how much I learned on it, motivates me to continue to take students today, ” said Smith.
The students must have completed at least two years of French to attend the trip, where they toured Paris, Bordeaux, Biarritz, Provence and the French Riviera. After all the sightseeing and touring, they spent their final day swimming in the Mediterranean.
Yvonne Fawell, foreign language department chairman at Neuqua, visited Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai, along with Neuqua Chinese teacher Sarah Bien and Chinese-speaking math teacher Jessie Lavin. They brought 23 Neuqua Valley students, who have been studying Chinese for at least two years, for a week long visit in June. Fawell believes the travel experiences help students to become culturally literate.
“Our world languages department motto is ‘Non scholae, sed vitae discimus’ (We learn not for school, but for life)” said Fawell, “We are language teachers who believe it is important for Americans to become part of the world citizens who speak other languages.”
The trip revolved around Chinese history and culture. They visited the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Emperor’s Summer Palace. They also rode through alleys in bicycle-powered rickshaws and visited the Great Wall of China at Juyong Pass, ending their trip in Shanghai.
Said Fawell, “We think it is important for (the students) to see the value of the language they are studying and to see the world beyond.”
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Copyright © 2011 — Sun-Times Media, LLC