High School Students Showcase Foreign Language Skills

HOUSTON, TX— April 1, 2009  Students from over 20 Houston-area high schools will show off their knowledge of French language and culture at a World Affairs Council of Houston education program.  This is the first of the Council’s annual Foreign Language Symposia, honoring students with proficiency in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish.

Launched in 2001, the symposia drew over 650 students from 45 Houston-area schools in 2008 alone. Thanks to the support of Aramco Services, Anadarko, Cole Chemical, ExxonMobil, Junior Chamber of Commerce, Schlumberger, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, the University of Oklahoma and local individuals Alan Livingston and Chris & Galena Saye – these events are free to students and teachers. 

In the language of the day, students perform skits, poems, songs or musical performances to demonstrate their linguistic skills. Native speakers help facilitate the conversation at each table in the specified language. Last year some of the more outstanding efforts included a rendition of “La Vie en Rose,” a power point about one student’s study abroad in Morocco, a traditional Japanese dance called “Yosakoi Soran", and acting of a scene from Cervantes' work Aventuras de don Quijote. There were even dances by award-winning Kolter Elementary School students of French and Chinese.