How Language Acquisition at WAB Enhances Connections

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Language learning is often described as a way to gain new perspectives, connect people, and build relationships. In a school context, it can also be used as a tool to bridge academic disciplines.

At the Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), language learning is valued for a variety of reasons: to connect people, to build bridges between academic disciplines, to interact with our host country, and more.

“The way we look at languages at WAB is trying to make it relevant as much as possible for our students and for them to get a better inter-cultural understanding of the world around them,” French Teacher and Head of High School Languages Ludivine Kennedy said on The WAB Podcast (listen below for full episode). “We make it fun, and we make it relevant, because it helps students remember things. But we also have a curriculum that’s rigorous and that ensures the students develop their speaking, reading, writing and listening skills.”

Lynn Xing, a Chinese Teacher and Head of Languages in the Middle School, agrees. Lynn sees the value of immersing students in China as our host country and connecting them with the people and places around us as an extremely valuable tool for language acquisition.

“We actually view language learning as a tool for students to connect themselves with the people around them, to explore the world with language as a tool.”

Tune in to this week’s episode of The WAB Podcast (wabtiger.libsyn.com) by using the player above or by searching for The WAB Podcast on your favorite podcast platform. New episodes are released every Friday, so make sure to subscribe!

To find out more about how language acquisition enhances connections at WAB, register for the upcoming open house below.

Images courtesy of WAB

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