Thanks to Skype, University of Wisconsin-Madison language students are helping high school students in Madison and Plymouth study Arabic and Japanese, languages not typically offered at the high school level in Wisconsin.
Through the Facilitated Language Study program, developed by Madison East High School language teachers Claudine Clark and Monica Severa (retired) and later adopted by Plymouth High School, high school students may pursue independent study of a language, guided by a teacher who may not have much prior experience with that language. When UW-Madison Language Institute assistant director Wendy Johnson heard that the program relied on volunteers from the community to meet students' need for conversation practice, she wondered whether UW-Madison students might be able to help, too.
"I worked with faculty in the Departments of African Languages & Literature and East Asian Languages & Literature to recruit and train a small corps of tutors, and it's worked out really well — thanks to Skype," says Johnson. "Otherwise, distance and schedules would make it impossible."
Meeting via Skype once a week with UW-Madison undergraduates studying Arabic or Japanese, high school students get valuable practice speaking and listening.
The tutors, all of whom are in their third years or higher of college language study and many of whom have studied abroad, also answer cultural questions. The program opens doors for many high school students to expand their proficiency in strategic languages that are seen as important in global business and U.S. diplomatic relations. It also lays the groundwork for majoring in a difficult new language in college.
“The UW tutors not only provide conversation practice, but they also relate to the challenges faced by the students learning Japanese, since they have faced the same challenges along the way. The university students relate well to the high school students and represent for them what their futures could be like as they pursue the languages they love to learn,” says Clark.
As for the UW-Madison students, tutoring offers a chance to gain valuable experience in working with their language and to develop leadership skills in mentoring and training.
"As a tutor, the experience gives me the chance to brush up on my basic grammar and speaking skills," says Tshia Yang (x'15, Anthropology). "Therefore, at times I feel the student helps me re-teach myself. It is a win-win situation."
Story by Wendy Johnson, UW-Madison Language Institute