WORLD LANGUAGE AND ESL

Thank you to our parents, Board of Education and district leadership for recognizing the importance of a global pathway. This generous and enlightened support of comprehensive World Language programs, our participation in the NJDOE Seal of Biliteracy Program and our unique Exchange Programs provide our students with essential skills to become global citizens.

Our global community is a source of strength at Hopewell. We are grateful to our families from around the world who graciously and generously share their world view and unique perspective with our community of learners. 

We offer English Language Learners an opportunity to grow and thrive in our schools through our excellent support services for language acquisition.

ESL Resources-NJDOE

Lois Baldwin
Supervisor (K-12)
609.737.4000 x7136
loisbaldwin@hvrsd.org

Proficiency in more than one language is no longer a "nice to have" skill; it is a "must-have" in today's interconnected world.

Photo of Lois Baldwin.

WORLD LANGUAGES 

WORLD LANGUAGES ARE AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF GLOBAL COMPETENCE

The ability to communicate with respect and cultural understanding in more than one language is an essential element of global competence. This competence is developed and demonstrated by investigating the world, recognizing and weighing perspectives, acquiring and applying disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge, communicating ideas, and taking action. Global competence is fundamental to the experience of learning languages whether in classrooms, through virtual connections, or via everyday experiences.

Intercultural Competence and Global Fluency: Why is this important?

Global Competency graphic

The World Language faculty at Hopewell Valley Regional School District is a talented team of individuals with diverse and multi-cultural backgrounds. At HVRSD we are committed to providing your child with the language skills and cultural competencies essential to global citizenship.es. Language learning contributes to an important means to communicate and interact in order to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world. This interaction develops the disposition to explore the perspectives behind the products and practices of a culture and to value such intercultural experiences. (ACTFL).

21ST CENTURY SKILLS

For more information about world language learning in the 21st century please refer to the following links:

NJDOE NJSLS World Languages

FAQ

How does learning a world language inform our understanding of world cultures and promote cultural competency?
Teen TED-Why learn languages?

SEAL OF BILITERACY

On January 19, 2016, New Jersey became the 15th state to implement a legislated statewide Seal of Biliteracy.

By achieving the Seal of Biliteracy, students demonstrate that they are able to speak, read, listen and write in two or more languages at a high level of proficiency.

In 2023, 50 students received the Seal of Biliteracy for their fluency in Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Polish, Romanian, Russian and Spanish. 

5 students earned the Seal of Biliteracy in more than one language.

These students receive certificates from the New Jersey Department of Education and an insignia has been affixed to their official transcripts indicating that they have been awarded the NJ Seal of Biliteracy. 

Biliteracy - State of New Jersey - Department of Education

World Language National Honor Societies

WLNHS

The World Language National Honor Societies recognize the commitment and academic achievement of high school students enrolled in World Language classes. This is the highest honor in World Language a high school student can achieve.

Congratulations to our 2022-23 World Language National Honor Societies’ Inductees

National Language Exams

The National Language Exams are administered in the spring to students enrolled in our World Languages Program. These are competitive exams that track student progress with proficiency in languages and recognizes excellence in World Language learning.

This year, in addition to winning a Gold medal for their performance on the National German Exam, 9th Graders Reilly Walsh and Oishee Sinharay were selected as recipients of the 2023 AATG Travel Award Scholarship for Central New Jersey. This is a highly competitive travel scholarship program that is usually awarded to only one student per testing region in each state. The fact that two of our students were selected speaks to their hard work and amazing accomplishments this year. Reilly and Oishee will travel to Germany this summer to participate in a homestay and language immersion program. This is only the second time that Hopewell students were selected for this program. 

Senior Katie Laitusis was accepted into the prestigious Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program. This scholarship program is organized by the U.S. Congress and the German Parliament, and involves taking a gap year between high school and college and doing a homestay program in Germany, as well as participating in seminar programs in Washington and Berlin. Katie is likewise the second student in the history of the school to be awarded this scholarship. 


World Languages AP Exam

College Board information about AP Exams

In the 2022-23 school year, students took AP Exams in German, Latin and Spanish. World Languages. Students' scores on these exams speak volumes of the dedication of our teachers of World Languages and commitment of our students studying Chinese, French, German, Latin and Spanish.

ESL PROGRAM FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

ESL PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY

We understand that language acquisition is not a separate subject but rather a systemically supported practice situated in the authentic context of the classroom. Integrated language and content learning provides ELLs the opportunity to acquire English through content-area lessons. This approach is a powerful way for ELLs to develop their academic and language skills.

(Dove & Honigsfeld)

FAMILY MENTOR PROGRAM

"It takes a village"

The Family Mentor Program is one way to join our current Hopewell families with new EL families in the community (preferably both families would have the same first language). The mentor family serves to help the new EL family acclimate and assimilate to the school environment. Mentor families are also advocates for these families. This may mean communicating with the school on the behalf of the family.

ELL FAMILY RESOURCES

Our district website, www.hvrsd.org, provides a translation feature in the upper right corner of the page labeled TRANSLATE. Use the drop down menu and select a language.

Using Google Docs to Write or Translate in Different Languages

Parent resources for ESL/Bilingual

LALDEF: Established in 2004, the Latin American Legal Defense Fund is an organization committed to serving low income immigrant communities of the Mercer County region.

We are always available and happy to assist our ELL families with questions and concerns.

Please contact

Janel Eines, janeleines@hvrsd.org for K-5 questions

Joyce Nagel, joycenagel@hvrsd.org for 6-12 questions

Lois Baldwin, Supervisor of ESL, loisbaldwin@hvrsd.org with any district level questions or concerns.