A few years ago I attended the ACTFL (American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages) conference in San Diego and was thrilled to listen to a keynote presentation by Rick Steves, the travel guy from PBS. To a room full of language educators, he talked about some of the whys behind language education. We know the many benefits of language learning (cognitive, social, emotional, etc). He also talked about what he believes is the the real reason for learning another language, to communicate with others.
Once we have taken the time and energy to learn another language ourselves or with our children, we need to go out to the world and use the language in meaningful, real-world exchanges. The best way to do this, of course, is to get out of the classroom and into the community.
Once we have taken the time and energy to learn another language ourselves or with our children, we need to go out to the world and use the language in meaningful, real-world exchanges. The best way to do this, of course, is to get out of the classroom and into the community.
When we travel, we get to see new places, new structures, new landforms, new people. We get to experience things that we have previously only heard about or read about. We also get to reconnect with old friends.
Maestra Stephanie loves to travel and is currently enjoying some time in Europe visiting different places and some Pasitos families abroad. Why do you like to travel? What benefits have you seen for your child?
RSS Feed