International flavor flows at language fair

     By Tina Allen
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      The Palo Verde High School campus was transformed into an international fanfare April 24, when the school hosted the Clark County Foreign Language Teacher's Association Foreign Language Fair.
      More than 900 students from schools throughout the valley turned out for the day-long event to showcase their linguistic talents -- ranging from Spanish to Japanese -- in competitions. They also filled their stomachs with ethnic cuisine and watched flamenco dancers from Spain, among other performers.
      The fair, now in its ninth year, was open to high school students and middle school pupils in both public and private schools.
      "This is our big event that we hold every year as a way to allow students to put to use what they have been learning in school," said Lisa Cano, a Spanish teacher at Boulder City High School and president of the Clark County Foreign Language Teacher's Association.
      Nearly all the students in attendance vied for top honors in writing, song, poetry, skit, oral competitions, a language bowl, and group and individual projects. Clark High School was awarded the Sweepstakes first place trophy, based on the students' overall success in all the competitions.
      "I think the community needs to be more aware of how important it is to learn a different language, and how beneficial that it is to be able to speak more than one language," said Cano, who added she is in favor of a push for foreign languages to become part of the School District's core curriculum. Presently, languages are taken as electives.
      The district offers students courses in seven languages: German, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, French and Russian.
      "We are a little behind," she said of American schools. "In Europe, languages are plentiful there, and their students are leaving their schools with three or four languages. Nowadays, it's very difficult to be in competition with students who are so well-rounded, so foreign language is very important."
      Angela Kruse, a student at Silverado High School, recognized that importance and is one of the students who urged her school to add Japanese classes.
      "I've always had an interest in the culture in general, and I've just found it very fascinating," said Kruse, who has been studying the language for two years. "I love the food, love the traditions -- I just think it's very interesting. Plus, it's a great business opportunity for the future."
      The 16-year-old hopes to study in Japan while in college and said her language studies should help her in a career in international architecture and engineering.
      Brianne Battaglia, a sophomore at the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies and Performing Arts, had another reason for studying her second language of French.
      "It was romantic," said the 16-year-old who was selling iced coffee with whip cream at the fair with classmate Christina Seidelman. Both are in their third year of French studies.
      In 1993 the school district recognized the benefits of teaching children foreign languages at younger ages, and created the pilot Spanish program, "Espa–ol Para Ti."
      In the program, which has since gained national exposure, children in first through fifth grade watch instructional videos one hour per week during class time and participate in learning activities. In controlled teaching environments, assessments are showing the children are retaining between 85 to 90 percent of the material.
      Cecile Rousseau, a French and Spanish teacher at the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies and Performing Arts, like Cano, agreed that foreign languages should be required in American schools.
      "When I came to this country I was amazed that kids did not have to take foreign languages," said the France native, who has been teaching in the United States since 1975.
      But perhaps another benefit of learning a second language, Rousseau added, is students tend to learn more about their own language when comparing it with another.Fair winners
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      The following students from Southwest area schools placed first in the listed events at the Clark County Foreign Language Teacher's Association Foreign Language Fair:
      Group Project: (level one Japanese) Andrew Komery and Brittany Rickling from Clark High School; (level three Japanese) Yu Liu, Jon Kight and Ben Hagen from Clark High School; and (level two Spanish) Renee Brna, Kim Breen, Kevin Archibald and Michael Pilosof from Bonanza High School.
      Individual Project: (level one French) Christine Desvaux from Clark High School; (level two French) Maria Lagman from Durango High School; (level one Japanese) Kaylynn Ward from Durango High School; (level two Japanese) Meghan Rodela from Clark High School; (level three Japanese) Jadelynn Leung from Clark High School; and (level one Spanish) Rathany Eng from Clark High School.
      Language Bowl: (level one French) Victor Stefan, Claudia Avila, Nathalie Symes and Racheal Mastel from Clark High School; (level two Japanese) Biance Chan, Meghan Rodela, Martin Celemin, Sandra Chao and Nick DeFalco from Clark High School; (level three Japanese) Yu Liu, Jon Kight, Alfred Chan, George Harris and Ben Hagen from Clark High School; and (level three Spanish) Meng Lay, Sang Park, Darius Starkes, Adam Han, Sirui Jiang, Jonathan Maples, Robert Wills and Nathan Zwintscher from Clark High School.
      Poetry: (level two French) Courtney Dilts from Durango High School; (level one Japanese) Vishe Redmond from Clark High School; (level two Japanese) Alfred Hau from Clark High School; (level three Japanese) Mary Horikawa from Clark High School; (native Spanish speaker) Adriana Hernandez from Clark High School; and (level one Spanish) Leslie Tesoro from Clark High School.
      Oral Presentation: (level two French) Lauren Greene from Durango High School; and (level three French) Sana Ikhlas from Durango High School.
      Skits: (level one Japanese) Ami Collins, Alex Fung, Alex Chen and Greg Feng from Durango High School; (level three Japanese) Joseph Brezinski and Sammy Lee from Clark High School; (level three Spanish) Cody Helbert, Diane Kopilovich, Shaun McIver, April Francisco and Anoush Tacvonan from Durango High School.
      Song: (level three French) Christina Curran and Noelle Snell from Durango High School; (level one German) Amy Leavitt from Durango High School; (level one Japanese) Lia Enomoto and Bonnie Kwan from Durango High School; and (level two Spanish) Elizabeth Blasco and Amy Brinkerhoff from Clark High School.
      Written: (level one French) Victor Stefan from Clark High School; (level two French) Goran Drasko from Durango High School; (level two Japanese) Elizabeth Trujillo from Clark High School; (level three Japanese) Dennis Chang from Clark High School; and (level two Spanish) Marilyn Howell from Clark High School.