Byram Hills School District
Foreign Language Department

Belief Statement

          It is the goal of the Foreign Language Department of Byram Hills to prepare students to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing and an increasingly interconnected global society. Language is our connection to the community and to the world. We maintain that the study of a language other than English is an essential component in the total school curriculum as preparation for life in the future. We adhere to honoring an understanding and acceptance of the unique worth of each individual and of the values inherent in each race, culture, religion, national origin and sex.

          Our fundamental purpose is twofold. First, to enable students to use language for communication with native speakers; this is accomplished by maintaining an appropriate balance between a communicative methodology and a linguistic (grammatical) approach. Second, to incorporate a more holistic approach in the teaching of Culture as an integral part of the foreign language experience. Second Language study fosters a sense of humanity and friendship that helps students increase their sensitivity to and understanding of the language, values, customs, behaviors, social mores and traditions of others. By providing them with the knowledge of cultures and social institutions of other peoples, students are inspired to discover and examine in greater depth their own personal values and responsibilities.  Thus, with its practical, proficiency-based application of communication skills focusing on the "what" the students can do with the language and "how well" they can do it combined with the thoughtful application of the cultural aspects of the language under study, the Foreign Language Department is committed to helping prepare students for collaboration and leadership roles in the global marketplace.

          In conclusion, we recognize that our conscious efforts in the foreign language classroom can have a far reaching impact upon the choices that students will make in their future. In our multicultural society everyone must be able to understand, function within and positively contribute to his own and other cultures, and Second Language study is a vital first step in realizing this goal.  As part of our mission, we are dedicated to helping build character in our students so that the Byram Hills core value of “respectful dialogue” is truly understood and practiced whether between two individuals or among a diverse community of individuals. Singular events of the 21^st century that have unfolded within just these seven fledgling years already make more and more obvious the necessity of Foreign Language study.  As participants within an interdependent world whose success will always greatly depend upon a true spirit of camaraderie, students who have studied foreign languages in the Byram Hills School District will be better equipped to make informed and insightful decisions for the betterment of our world.  This realization is of paramount importance for achieving peaceful, productive and permanent coexistence.

 January 2008