Thinking Ahead

In a Ted Talk video, Sisters Camila and Cecilia Lopez explained why they chose to become polyglots. 14-year old Cecilia studies and speaks 12 languages.  Her 7-year old sister Camila speaks English and Mandarin. However, Camila says language is not her passion. To her, the power of language is the ability to communicate with others about the topics that are her passions.

Another inspirational video is a commercial for an initiative sponsored by UPS, Zipline, Gavi, and the Rwandan Government. The story began in Rwanda. Medical officials were desperate to stop the deaths of women who died in childbirth because they had no access to blood transfusions. This four-way partnership uses drones to fly needed medical supplies and precious blood through even the most rugged terrain within minutes of an emergency call. Further interviews with the partnership members and the people of Rwanda revealed numerous languages.

These videos reveal a critical way to think about world language learning. World languages do have the power to make us college, career, and civic ready by enabling us greater and more immediate access to resources, materials, and people across the globe. Yet, it is the intangible skill of being able to find unique and unexpected connections among seemingly unrelated concepts that is most often the true power of second language learning. Nebraska’s revised standards reflect this understanding. Moving forward, we will continue to focus on ways to embody enterprising associations and strategic thinking while delivering an exemplary academic standard.