In recent weeks, The Rebellion has been inundated with letters from alumni advocating for Foreign Languages in the middle schools. Every Monday a letter will be posted from an alumnus. The following is by Rebecca Horan, who is a member of the Class of 2009. Horan is currently attending Connecticut College and is studying in Madagascar.
How am I using my Walpole High School and Johnson Middle School French education? I use it to tell stories to my family over dinner, to understand guest lecturers from conservation NGOs and the National Parks system, and to order a delicious sundae. Presently, I am living in Madagascar for the School for International Training’s Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management program, an amazing environmental field studies based study abroad program. The Malagasy people generally speak Malagasy and French, very few know any English, so my ability to communicate in French is essential for my school work and daily life in Fort Dauphin. I only wish that I could remember all of the important vocabulary and grammar that I learned from the excellent teachers in the Walpole French program!
Beyond my semester abroad, my AP credit and strong foundation in French have allowed me to take 300 level French courses in college that focus on advanced studies in analyzing French literature and film, while working on my ability to write in-depth 10+ page papers. I think that the language program is one of the strongest offerings at Walpole High and necessary for student success in a competitive liberal arts environment, based on my experiences. More importantly, though, my French courses were always my favorites from sixth grade on, given the interesting subject matter and the enthusiasm from the faculty. Language study requires repetition, and limiting the amount of time students have to master a new language further retards their ability to achieve fluency and use the language, as I have been fortunate enough to, in the study of other subject matters in a foreign country. Please do not eliminate the middle school language program, I was able to have the full middle and high school language experience and am still jealous of my college friends who were able to start even earlier and have now mastered several languages.
