Student Scholarship Awards 2012

Our congratulations to the 2012 FLENJ Scholarship winners! The high school seniors in this year’s FLENJ Scholarship competition submitted essays in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Chinese and Japanese. The students have studied a second language for an average of five years which is an indication that the students have benefited from longer sequences of language study. It was interesting to note that most of the students who achieved a semi finalist status reported using the language they have been studying outside the classroom in a variety of circumstances involving work, travel and social activities.

The finalists from the essay part of the competition were administered an oral interview following the format of ACTFL’s Modified Oral Proficiency Interview (MOPI). It was evident from their essays and their oral interviews that these students have achieved a high level of linguistic competence in the language they have been studying. These results provide additional evidence of the high levels of proficiency and the degree of communicative competence that can be attained after extended periods of the study of a language. The world languages teachers who have taught these students and the districts and schools that have designed such quality programs should be commended.

This year’s students will be attending the following colleges and universities in the fall:

University of Virginia, University of Texas at Austin, Duke University, St Peter’s College, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, McGill University, Columbia University, and Carnegie Mellon.

The 2012 FLENJ Scholarships winners are:

Isadora Anderson

Haddonfield HS

Teacher: Christopher Gwin

German

Chrislyn Choo

Princeton HS

Teacher: Martha Hayden

Spanish

Camille Fassin

Princeton HS

Teacher: Claude Cassagne

French

Luis Fernandez

Rahway HS

Teacher: Susan Monteiro

Spanish

Leesa Fini

Haddonfield HS

Teacher: Christopher Gwin

German

Elizabeth Gerberich

Princeton HS

Teacher: Martha Hayden

Spanish

Dong Kun Guo

Princeton HS

Teacher: Priscilla Russel

French

Sabah Qasir

Princeton HS

Teacher: Natsuko Buurstra

Japanese

Julia Tazelaar

Princeton HS

Teacher: Martha Hayden

Spanish

This is the writing prompt that was given to the students:

Dear Candidate:

Congratulations on being nominated to participate in this competition!
Please write a one-page essay on the paper provided based on the following prompt:

Your school has decided to organize a Model United Nations Club. The Model United Nations Club engages in an authentic simulation of the United Nations system by learning about the UN system, the skills of debate, compromise, conflict resolution and negotiation. Model United Nations team members learn about the workings of world diplomacy through the lens of current events.
The school would like the team to include students who have studied a world language and cultures. One of the requirements to select team members includes an essay written in the language you are studying. In your essay, state why you would like to be a member of this club. Please include your strengths and highlight what would make you a valuable member of the team.

You will write in the target language you are studying. Your writing sample will be evaluated by two readers/scorers based on your ability to communicate your message. The writing will be assessed based on the following criteria: organization of ideas, development of the topic, ability to persuade the intended audience, sentence structure, and appropriate use of vocabulary, grammar, and spelling when conveying your message.