Did you know that Myers Park offers five different foreign language courses? Students have the opportunity to explore up to six levels of either Spanish, French, Latin, German, or Chinese courses during their four years here. These language courses are taught by the wonderful teachers of the department who dedicate their time in order for students to excel in their discovery of multilingual studies. These teachers ensure that students are engaging in unique activities in class and taking risks as learners. On top of each of these courses offered here at Myers Park, students can engage in their language through clubs or honors societies for each language and through study opportunities offered through these clubs, the school, or other outside organizations.
There are countless benefits to exploring the language offerings at Myers Park, with a few of them highlighted during an interview with language department head Ms. Szell. “A benefit of taking a second or third language is a better understanding of your own languages and nuances in your own language,” says Szell, emphasizing the ways that world languages teach you more skills than you might expect. Szell says culture is what inspired her own studies of the world languages, and that all the teachers in language programs at Myers Park make it a focal point to explore the cultures of the people who speak the language that the students are learning. Cultural opportunities are also offered through the clubs and organizations that support the world language department. In the Spanish club, Szell says they will make sugar skulls to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos. Other clubs like the Chinese Club will visit the Asian Supermarket or explore the culture within the Charlotte community. Through these programs teachers and students learn more about another culture as well as the educational system.
Szell also touches on the important benefits of world languages for students as they look toward post-graduate educational and career opportunities. Students can “do better on standardized tests like the SAT and ACT” from taking a few years of world language and this experience can also “make you more attractive to those [competitive] colleges.” These points touch on the idea of becoming a more well-rounded student, a skill and asset that is extremely valuable to colleges and employers as students continue to grow after high school. These skills are also highlighted in the workforce as being even partially fluent allows you to “communicate with twice as many people” and make connections in your endeavors that others are unable to.
Not only do the teachers in this department love creating this learning environment, but the students engaging in the opportunities at Myers Park love the program. Hannah McGee, a Myers Park senior in the IB program, has been learning Chinese since she was five years old. McGee says this interest “was initially prompted through watching Ni Hao Kai Lan” and she became fluent at nine years old! McGee goes on to talk about the challenges of learning Chinese with its unique and varied dialects, tones, and characters. However, she says that “although it is challenging, it is very rewarding to recognize how many more opportunities for connection you have created through learning a language.” McGee also spent time as an exchange student in Beijing with the opportunity to further strengthen and study her language skills in an immersive setting. Hannah says that there is more to learning a language than one might initially think and that “it is a means of communication accompanied by rich cultural and emotional implications.” She says she wouldn’t have been able to communicate with her peers on the deepest level without those skills. McGee says that the opportunities available at MP have allowed her to continue this passion for language and she encourages students to participate in these amazing courses so that they may develop similar connections to new cultures and open new doors.