District partners with Rosetta Stone to bring 25 languages to students
By the end of this school year, many Beaufort County students could be speaking a second language.
And not just Spanish or Mandarin Chinese, which are offered through language-immersion programs in the Beaufort County School District.
But Greek, Vietnamese, Russian or Swahili.
The district plans to launch a partnership with Rosetta Stone -- a language-learning software company -- to bring 25 languages to students and staff by the end of this month.
"I think students will get excited about the opportunity to self-select a language and learn something new," superintendent Jeff Moss said. "This is a way to make languages available to all students."
The district has used Rosetta Stone to teach English to speakers of other languages. Seeing its success, the district wanted all students to have the opportunity to learn a variety of languages, Moss said.
Students in third through 12th grade will have access to the program and so will all district staff, he said.
The district's contract with Rosetta Stone costs $190,000, according to Moss, and was included in its budget for software subscriptions. That amounts to about $8 per person, he said, much lower than the typical subscription for one language, which can cost more than $300.
Students will work with their teachers to determine which language to select, head of instruction Dereck Rhoads said. The software for the selected language will be loaded onto the student's school-issued electronic tablet.
Students will not be required to take a language through Rosetta Stone, and the programs will not count toward any class credit or grade, Rhoads said.
However, students will be given some time during the school day to use the programs, he said. Each school will determine how and when to structure that time.
"We don't see this as forcing kids to take a language, but trying to meet the needs of this community and provide students and staff with this opportunity," Rhoads said.
Students can only study one language at a time through the program. But after students have completed all levels and "mastered" the language, they can move to another, Rhoads said.
Nicole Holloman, principal of the Robert Smalls International Academy, said the programs allow students to learn a language at their own pace. It also allows them to begin learning languages at a younger age. Typically, language classes are taught in middle and high schools.
Holloman, whose school teaches prekindergarten through eighth grade, said many of her students and their parents are looking forward to starting the programs.
"The great thing about Rosetta Stone is that it is kid-friendly, and the students have the ability to do it on the tablet, a tool they are already familiar with using," she said. "It takes the 'foreign' out of 'foreign language,' making it more accessible."
Follow reporter Sarah Bowman at twitter.com/IPBG_Sarah.
Related content:
- Rosetta Stone list of languages
- Enrollment cap prevents some county students from entering academic-choice programs, June 28, 2014
- Beaufort County schools face challenges expanding Chinese immersion program, February 2, 2014
This story was originally published September 14, 2014 at 5:40 PM with the headline "District partners with Rosetta Stone to bring 25 languages to students ."