As the end of the first semester approaches, terms like “subjunctive,” “past participle” and “adjectival clause” are beginning to resurface in the Communications High School (CHS) hallways.
The resurgence of these grammatical expressions is partly due to the New Jersey Seal of Biliteracy exam. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) administered test took place on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Room 107 for the duration of the school day.
In its third year of implementation at CHS, the Seal of Biliteracy recognizes students who are proficient in two or more languages by high school graduation. Although the test is not exclusive to one language, most schools within the Monmouth County Vocational School District (MCVSD) only offer the Seal of Biliteracy for Spanish.
In order to achieve the certification, students must show fluency in all four language modes: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Taking previous data into account, 68% of CHS students passed all four modes on the first attempt and about 71% achieved proficiency in at least three of the sections, granting them the opportunity to retake the exam the following year.
“You are able to superscore it and retake the one mode that you did not pass, so 24 of 34 students were eligible to have a second attempt by only missing one mode,” MCVSD World Language Curriculum Coach Courtney Van Arsdale said.
The most common modes that previous test takers missed were speaking and listening, but Van Arsdale continues to push students to develop these skills in her Spanish III through V courses.
“At Communications High School we have identified that we are doing very well with the writing and reading sections,” Van Arsdale said. “We just need a little bit of attention to the speaking and listening comprehension sections.”
Although students corroborate that the listening section required more training, seniors who passed the Seal of Biliteracy test owe their readiness to Van Arsdale’s rigorous Spanish III and IV courses.
“It was actually a lot easier than I thought it was going to be,” senior Cayla Carlson of Neptune said. “I think if you do Ms. Van Arsdale’s reading and listening [assignments], that prepares you.”
In CHS, there are currently 18 seniors who have achieved biliteracy, some of whom utilized Van Arsdale’s office hours to iron out any flaws with their Spanish.
“I felt like Ms. Van Arsdale prepared me in class enough to feel somewhat confident going in,” senior Sanka Mudalige of Neptune said. “Then I met with her during lunch [for] extra VHL assignments and things to practice my speaking.”
But unlike previous years, students won’t need to find time to fit in extra practice with Van Arsdale. This year, they have the opportunity to sharpen their Spanish skills differently. Those who waited to take the test will have used the skills they learned in class in conjunction with posts made to the first ever Seal of Biliteracy Google Classroom. Filled with resources such as YouTube tutorials, recounts of test experience and a platform to receive feedback from MCVSD language teachers, Van Arsdale felt the Classroom would heavily benefit the district’s results.
“I feel adequately prepared to take the Seal of Biliteracy [exam] because Spanish was my first language, and Ms. Van Arsdale does a very good job of creating a curriculum that makes you feel prepared enough to take a test like the Seal of Biliteracy,” junior Sol Zavala of Wall said. “I’ll also use the Google Classroom provided.”
Throughout the last few months, Van Arsdale has added Classroom posts in order to give students outlets to practice, as well as encourage prospective biliterate students to begin “changing their chips.”
Aside from the boost that the Seal of Biliteracy adds to students’ brag sheets, the certification also grants students academic and career opportunities, all the while promoting awareness and inclusivity of diverse cultures.
“I always think that it is super beneficial to be able to state that you’re biliterate,” Van Arsdale said. “And as the French proverb says, ‘a man who knows two languages is worth two men.’”
