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Lower School World Language Teachers Use Summer Grant to Explore New Teaching Methods

The Lower School World Language teachers spent the summer of 2022 researching an innovative didactic tool, Narramus. The faculty members applied for a summer grant through Ranney School to explore the pedagogy and implementation of this tool, which aims to develop narrative language skills in reception and production.

Ranney School provides stipends to faculty through the school's summer grant program, which enables faculty to work collaboratively to explore cutting-edge pedagogy and develop best practices. The program is part of Ranney's commitment to ongoing professional development and is supported by contributions to the school's annual fund.
 
French teacher Caroline Terrason, Spanish teacher Jeannette Cordero, and Mandarin teacher Yunlin Zhou used the grant to explore the applicability and flexibility of this Narramus and Pictographs scaffolding teaching method as a tool in teaching three different foreign languages. Starting in the 2022-23 school year, the Lower School World Language teachers began using this method of teaching with the students and have seen great results!
 
To use the Narramus method, the teachers first present the vocabulary words that will be used in the story by showing image cards. The students then help to narrate the story with the pictures when the appropriate words appear. Those same pictures are used in all three languages throughout the year.
 
There was a group of educators in Maryland that ran a study on how young children learn languages at school and at home. The study included 70 schools with parents and teachers of different backgrounds, and how they interacted with children both in home and at school settings to understand how teachers and parents talk to younger children as they play with toys, read books, and do everyday activities. The research indicated that the influential natural environments of home and school can work together to accelerate learning a foreign language.
 
An additional study of French teachers in nurseries used the Narramus method to develop narrative language skills, both receptive and productive. The study used variable groups to research the written comprehension, narrative skills, and lexical acquisitions of 990 pupils, who were assessed six times throughout the year. The results showed those who used the Narramus method to learn achieved higher results.
 
Many studies indicate that learning another language increases mental ability: cognitive and critical thinking skills, memory, concentration and verbal ability. In addition, it also offers children a better understanding of their native language and an enriched experience of other cultures. As the world of business has become increasingly global, it is setting students up for success to communicate in other languages. 
 
At Ranney School, children in beginners, Pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade are exposed to all three languages, choosing a language to focus on in second grade. Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, students in grades 2-5 will increase attendance in their World Language class of choice, meeting every other day. The increased time will create consistent touch points while decreasing the homework expectations for students. 
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Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
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