Bringing the global community home


  • June 6, 2014
  • /   Reggie Dogan
  • /   early-learning

Students who study a foreign language score higher on math and language arts as well as have higher verbal scores on standardized tests, studies show.

“Why should we teach our children a foreign language?” said anthropologist Dr. Kathryn McGowan. “Learning a second language vastly improves overall school performance.”

McGowan shared her findings on the importance of early language education as the keynote speaker at Global Corner’s annual Explorers’ Luncheon this week at the Pensacola Yacht Club.

The lack of language skills also impacts how businesses operate. More than 30 percent of large companies in the U.S. believe they lost business because of the lack of foreign language skills, McGowan said.

“We’re falling behind and suffering the consequences,” she said. “It is academically, financially and culturally necessary to broaden language skills.”

Most children in elementary schools in the U.S. don’t study foreign languages, but nearly all children in European countries do, she said.

Programs like Global Corner are taking steps to help bridge the language gap in elementary schools by exposing young students to foreign countries. In its seventh year, Global Corner has brought the world to schools throughout Northwest Florida.

Each school year, Global Corner features a new country, engaging students in a global experience without leaving the classroom.

Through hands-on activities with educational poster boards as backdrops, students learn about the language, culture, geography, food and art of people around the world.

More than 43,000 virtual trips have taken students to countries including Japan, Spain, Egypt and Brazil.

This year the students took a virtual trip to Europe with the Passport to Italy tour.

Global Corner presented a glimpse of what students learn in a classroom during Tuesday’s luncheon and silent auction.

Decorative poster boards covered with various faces and places in Italy stood on tables, surrounded by colorful and creative collections of artifacts, ceramic masks and artwork. Topics included Italy’s culture, music, art, festivals and the city of Rome.

At the end of the school year, students competed in the “Why I Love the Global Corner” essay contest. Gulf Breeze Elementary School first-grader Ansley Ballenger’s essay was selected from the kindergarten through second-grade category. On vacation in South Carolina, Ansley shared her winning words on an iPad via the Internet.

Natalia Mercado, 9, a fourth-grader at Oriole Beach Elementary School, penned the winning essay in the third- through fifth-grade category. She stood confidently in front of about 100 people at the luncheon to read her winning prose.

 “It is fun to learn about Italy when you have the Global Corner to teach you,” Natalia said. “Because of this experience, I would one day like to visit Italy."

Natalia’s teacher, Valerie Ceravolo, said she was impressed that her students remembered so much information from Global Corner’s visit to Oriole Beach last month.

“It’s superb how they incorporate different parts of the country in the lessons,” Ceravolo said. “They bring the country to them, which makes it enjoyable and educational.”

Learning about other parts of the world goes a long way in helping understanding other people and how they live.

Global Corner is a good place for children in Northwest Florida to begin their lesson.

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