Jacquelyn Barton, a Spanish teacher at South Plainfield High School, created a project, entitled “Las voces poderosas del mundo hispano.” The grant money will be used to purchase a class set of headsets that will allow the students to work independently to interpret authentic podcasts and videos from the Spanish-speaking world. Students will use this information to analyze the lyrics of popular Spanish songs, write biographies of the artists and explore the social and political concerns of Latin Americans in their own countries and in the United States. Students will then create Voicethread presentations incorporating the music, images and their own voices.

Marie-Noel Bilong teaches French at International High School in Paterson. Her project, entitled “Feedback in French,” will allow her to monitor student understanding and skill development. With the purchase of white boards, she can quickly check for understanding and retention. In addition, the purchase of digital voice recorders will allow the students to engage in interpersonal exchanges as on-going routine assessments. In this way, students will understand that risk-taking and speech production are important skills in the language classroom.

Zoran Korach is a teacher of Arabic in grades 9 – 12 at International High School in Paterson. The proposal creates a multimedia approach for learning Arabic through the purchase of software to supplement textbook materials. The software can be used individually for differentiating instruction, with the entire class when projected on the smart board, or as an assessment instrument. By being exposed to a variety of situations and speakers, students will make progress in both the interpretive and interpersonal modes.

FLENJ is pleased to be able to reward the initiatives of our members and to provide much needed assets for the purchase of materials that enhance the world language programs in New Jersey schools. Congratulations to all of the recipients!