On Friday, Feb. 13, World Language students from across the campus took on a challenging event. The activity required students to only speak their language for the entire day.  Amador’s many World Language teachers set up the event.

“I love the students having an opportunity to put their language learning into action for a full day… [the goal is] for world language students to take risks with the language they’re learning in class. As a student, you may feel embarrassed or even like you’re making a fool of yourself, and that’s okay. Studies show the more risks you take linguistically with the target language equals greater linguistic development!” said ASL teacher Shannon Heller.

The World Language Community

Every period, students presented their language skills to their teacher, receiving signatures of verification from them. This neat concept may seem new, but it has its roots in previous school years.

“This is a past tradition that started pre-covid. Then, with covid, like many things, this was not brought back. Not for lack of teacher interest. I know for [me] it was something that slipped my mind. At a department meeting last month, one of the teachers brought it up, and many of us were smiling, remembering the event from the past. I was 100% on board to bring it back,” said Heller.

The event offered exposure to other cultures and languages. Some students enjoyed piecing together conversations and figuring out how to apply their language to real-life scenarios.

“I think it’s really fun that the school includes this day, so that they can show how much students have learned throughout the years of their language… I love Spanish. I think it’s a beautiful language, and I definitely want to take AP Spanish during my time here at Amador… I’m so happy that I joined,” said Spanish student Isha Trivedi (‘29).

Challenging Communication

Additionally, students in more advanced levels of their languages received a grade on their participation, while others sought it out for extra credit points. Some students worried about their grades throughout the activity.

“It’s fun, but it gets hard sometimes because you’re talking in another language, and someone else is talking in another language, and you can’t exactly communicate with your friends. But overall, I think it’s fun, and we should continue it to express our culture,” said French student Fateh Bir Badesha (‘29).

A Bright Future

The return of this day-long event marked the beginning of a new Amador tradition. As a result, students and teachers became exposed to a diverse range of cultures.

“I look forward to having this tradition brought back for our World Language classes, as well as for our students on campus that know/use a language different from English.  We only offer ASL, French, Japanese, and Spanish here at AV. However, our campus is very diverse, and many more languages are present within our community. It’s awesome having a day where they are all showcased,” said Heller.