In celebration of “Global Connect Day”, an international event organized by the Global Seal of Biliteracy, Trinity Hall’s world language classes have interviewed native French and Spanish speakers from around the world. Our French II, III, IV, and AP classes connected with Monsieur Camara Ibrahim from Senegal via Zoom. Interviewing international speakers allows our students to gain a global perspective in the classroom.
Global Connect Day is an international event that connects classrooms in the United States with a native-speaker “Mystery Guest” from a different country. When the guest visits the classroom virtually, it is an opportunity for the students to ask questions, practice their conversational skills, and learn about another country’s culture. From September 15 until October 14, the Global Connect Day project will be connecting 1,000 classrooms in the United States to native speakers from over 100 countries. Global Connect Day is just one small part of the Global Seal of Biliteracy’s bigger event Y-C.R.E.D. (Youth-Credentialing and Recognizing Excellence and Determination), which is open to all middle school and high school students learning world languages.
Madame Anne-Sophie Delaunay-Lehman and Madame Maryanne Kain’s French II, III, IV, and AP classes interacted with Ibrahim from Senegal, and the students applied what they learned in their classes to the conversation. Speaking entirely in French, the students were able to ask questions about Ibrahim’s interests, life, and culture. They asked a variety of questions, ranging from “How old are you?” to “What languages do you speak?” They also learned about the types of food he likes, his pets, and what life is like in Senegal. Ibrahim even got to practice his English-speaking skills by asking the French students questions about their favorite school subjects and their thoughts about Senegalese tourist attractions. Our students were able to share similarities and differences between their lives and the life of a person from Senegal.
“[Ibrahim] was wonderfully generous with his time, and so interested in our lives. He told us that he is a Philadelphia Eagles fan,” says Madame Kain. “I have to say how proud I was of our girls who kept the conversation going without prompting, and completely in French!”
Connecting with others around the world is a great opportunity to expand what our students learn in the classroom. The conversations that our students had with their guest speakers allowed them to apply the conversational skills they learned in their world language classes to a real-world situation. “Global Connect is helping Trinity Hall students create meaningful global connections, acquire real-world communication skills and enhance cultural perspective. Our students connected well with [Ibrahim] and they were eager to ask and answer questions,” says Madame Lehman.
Trinity Hall’s other world language classes will continue to interview international speakers, with our Spanish classes connecting with speakers from Argentina and Mexico. Global Connect Day has been a great resource for providing our students with an opportunity to expand their global perspective beyond what they learn in the classroom.