St. Louis High School students have two different language courses available to them – Spanish and American Sign Language.
When taking the Spanish 1 course, Spanish instructor Ms. Kisser expresses to students on the very first day just how beneficial taking another language, such as Spanish, can be in the real world. While it may seem silly to some students just starting out, it is deemed complete truth by multilingual students. In fact, Spanish 4 student Rowan Harris said, “Speaking another language benefits me because I can understand people who struggle with English as a second language.”
Spanish isn’t the only language course available at SLHS, however. ASL is also offered as a foreign language. ASL students thoroughly enjoy taking the course, especially at events such as the Christmas assembly, where they sign a Christmas tune to show off their language skills. ASL 2 student Skylar DuBois-Kleinhans is excited to share his foreign language experience. In fact, he said, “Speaking a different language is really fun because you can experience a whole other language and something new.”
While taking a foreign language class may be fun, it can also be difficult at times. “There are a ton of challenges when learning a new language. You’re worried that you sound dumb a lot of the time, or that you’re not going to say something right and accidentally say something terrible,” commented Harris. “You can overcome it by just powering through and sounding dumb. That’s the only way to learn!” On the ASL side, challenges such as trying to mirror the correct signs come into play, and can be challenging for students.
Learning something new such as a foreign language may seem intimidating at first, but it’s nothing to be afraid of. Taking a foreign language can be very beneficial in the real world. ASL instructor Mrs. Winright shared why taking ASL can be beneficial. She said, “In the future, employers could find it valuable in their employees. Just recently an ASL student here was able to help a customer where she works who was deaf.”
When planning your classes for next year, don’t be afraid to sign up for a language course! They may seem scary, but teachers and classmates are there to help you along the way and prepare you for a successful multilingual future.
