ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 16, 1995 TAG: 9512170018
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
STUDENTS at Woodrow Wilson Middle are among an increasing number of pupils in the Roanoke Valley, and nationwide, who begin taking languages in middle school.
By the time Angela Marshall graduates from high school, she probably will have taken seven years of Spanish. She loves the language and thinks it could be her college major.
"Our teacher makes the class so much fun. No one can say they hate Spanish," Marshall said. "She will keep going over and over things until everyone understands."
Marshall is a seventh-grader at Roanoke's Woodrow Wilson Middle School, where she began taking Spanish last year. She will have earned two credits in the language before she even begins high school.
Marshall is among an increasing number of students in the Roanoke Valley who begin taking foreign languages in middle school. That reflects the growth nationwide in foreign language enrollment.
In Roanoke County, nearly 58 percent of the students in grades eight through 12 are taking a foreign language. The enrollment has risen 10 percent in the past five years - from 2,743 to 3,020. That's 3 percent more than the overall increase in school enrollment.
Nancy Cundiff, foreign languages supervisor for Roanoke County schools, said more students are taking foreign languages for several reasons. More colleges are requiring foreign languages and more students are seeking academic and advanced high school diplomas that require foreign languages, she said.
Cundiff says the shift to a global economy and the increasing likelihood that students will travel abroad during their lifetime also are factors in the popularity of foreign languages.
There has been a similar increase in Roanoke, although school officials did not have detailed enrollment statistics available.
David Partington. director of middle and secondary education for the city, said enrollment in Spanish and French classes continues to rise.
Technology and the global economy are making students more aware of the need to speak foreign languages, Partington said.
About 40 percent of the students at Roanoke's Patrick Henry and William Fleming high schools are enrolled in a foreign language.
At Salem High School, 51 percent of the students are currently learning a foreign language, and additional classes have been added in recent years. Statistics show that 82 percent of Salem High students take two or more years of a foreign language during their school years, said Joe Kirby, director of instruction.
Roanoke even has started introducing students to foreign languages in some of its elementary magnet schools. At the Roanoke Academy for Mathematics and Science, for example, French, Spanish and Japanese are included in the curriculum.
In Roanoke County, elementary students are introduced to foreign languages through a program that exposes them to other cultures, but they do not have classes or prolonged instruction in foreign languages.
Most middle schools in the valley offer foreign languages, but Woodrow Wilson has one of the most intensive programs, which concentrates on Spanish. Nearly 40 percent of all students at the school are enrolled in Spanish classes.
When Woodrow Wilson changed from a junior high to a middle school five years ago, Principal Kay Duffy decided that the school would concentrate on Spanish. As a junior high, the school offered Spanish, French and Latin - the same foreign languages that were offered at the high schools - because it included the ninth grade.
But interest in French and Latin dwindled. So Duffy decided to begin offering Spanish to sixth graders and extend the first-year course over two years - sixth and seventh grades. The students take Spanish II in the eighth grade before they go to high school, where they can take four more years of the language.
Duffy said this approach has worked well. Sixth-graders seem to like Spanish and can handle the language without problems, she said.
She chose Spanish because Hispanics are expected to be the largest minority group in schools nationwide by the year 2005.
Barbara Carper, a Spanish teacher at Woodrow Wilson, said sixth grade is a good time for the students to begin a foreign language. "The younger, the better. They are enthusiastic at this age."
In her sixth-grade classes, Carper said, she concentrates on speaking Spanish and helping students become familiar with the language. "We don't worry so much about grammar and writing. That will come later."
Her students like this approach.
"She goes pretty fast, but she makes it fun," sixth-grader Laura Graninger said.
Another sixth-grader, Doug Richards, said Spanish is one of his favorite subjects. "Sometimes, it can be almost nerve-wracking, but it's still OK."
Spanish is eighth-grader Ryan Belo's favorite subject. He has taken it for three years and plans to take it two or three more years in high school. He also intends to take Latin in high school because he believes it will help him on the vocabulary portion of the Scholastic Assessment Test.
Gary Gregory, a seventh-grader, has used his knowledge of Spanish to communicate with a Cuban family adopted by his church.
"I know the important words and I have been able to talk with them," Gregory said. "I've already found it to be a benefit."
Roanoke offers credits for six years of foreign languages. Roanoke County offers five years, with a provision for independent study afterward. Salem offers five years.
Cundiff said more students are sticking with the same language for four or five years instead of studying two or three languages. Many colleges prefer that students study the same language several years, she said.
LENGTH: Long : 107 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: WAYNE DEEL/Staff Spanish teacher Barbara Carper saysby CNBsixth grade is a good time for pupils to begin a foreign language.
"The younger, the better.'' color