Student Scholarship Awards 2011

Our congratulations to the 2011 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:

Boston University, Bryn Mawr College, The College of Saint Elizabeth, Rutgers University, The University of Michigan, The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, The University of Vermont, and Yale University.

The 2011 FLENJ Scholarships winners are:

Emefa Agawu
Princeton HS
Teacher: Martha Hayden
Spanish
Hajer Ben Cheukh
South Brunswick HS
Teacher: Maria Kostis
French
Siya Bhatt
Princeton HS
Teacher: Martha Hayden
Spanish
Nicole Bull
Haddonfield HS
Teacher: Christopher Gwin
German
Francesca Filippini
Villa Walsh Academy
Teacher: Lina Maraschi
Italian
Mariana Irby
Princeton HS
Teacher: Claude Cassagne
French
Carsonie LeGerme
Columbia HS
Teacher: Catherine Politi
French
Talya Nakash
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:

The ACTFL Goal of Communities is one of the five goals of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century. FLENJ invites world language students to share evidence of how they have used this goal in their lives. Please write a brief essay explaining how you have used the world language you have studied outside the classroom in your own community and outside your community. In the second part, explain how you envision using the language you have studied in the future for personal enjoyment and in your professional life.

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.