Whiz Kids: South Brunswick Students Awarded for World Language Proficiency

As students progress through South Brunswick High School, teachers in the World Languages Department work diligently to expand their students' cultural horizons. That hard work paid off recently for three SBHS students who were named semifinalists in the Foreign Language Educators of New Jersey (FLENJ) annual statewide written and oral contest.  

The three students from teacher Maria Kostis' French class who were honored are Ariel Kramer, Tara Fisher and Hajer Ben Cheikh.   Hajer was one of eight students in the entire state who won a $1,000 award in the contest.

"I'm so proud of the essays my students wrote and that they realize the importance of learning another language," Kostis said.  "We don't just teach for them to take tests, but also how to use the language and how to keep using it after they graduate."

The students were given writing prompts that required an interpretation of an illustration or a response to a situation in their target languages.  The semifinalists in the essay portion of the competition were administered an oral interview and the averaged results of the essay and the interview were used to rank the candidates.  Hajer received her award at the FLENJ Spring Conference on March 19 in Somerset.

"I'm so proud of all of my students," Kostis said.  "We didn't get the applications for this contest until the day before they were due so they had no preparation at all.  I just said to them here's the contest and now I have to leave the room and they did it.  I'm so proud of all of them, my students see that I love what I do and I hope that rubs off on them."

Kostits said the language classes at SBHS are so important for increasing the understanding and empathy of students as they learn about different cultures.

"The students gain an appreciation of language," Kostis said.  "They learn to appreciate the culture of other countries and our differences and similarities.  No matter what language our students study, they learn appreciation for other cultures, which is extremely important."

Kostis said that appreciation is crucial for an environment as culturally diverse as South Brunswick.

"South Brunswick has such a diverse population, so many of the students already appreciate what learning a second language can do for them," she said.  "Understanding is somewhat limited when people only stick to one language and think they only need to know English.  There's a whole world out there and learning more about other cultures broadens students' understanding and opens more doors for them."

Outside of the impact on cultural understanding, the hard work and discipline that goes into learning another language will set up the students well for their future, Kostis said.

"They can easily apply this to other subjects to help them with studying," she said.  "This is something that helps them become lifelong learners by developing organizational skills and discipline.  That's something they need whether or not they go to college.  They develop pride in their work and see what happens when you learn something and how it helps you grow."

South Brunswick Patch is seeking suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid. Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to davy.james@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information:

▪                Nominator's Name

▪                Nominator's E-Mail

▪                Whiz Kid's Name

▪                Whiz Kid's Age

▪                Whiz Kid's School

▪                Whiz Kid's Accomplishment

▪                Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness (what made him/her successful?)

▪                A high-resolution JPG photo of your Whiz Kid

Questions? E-mail South Brunswick Patch Editor Davy James atdavy.james@patch.com.