As an international school, St. Mary’s is home to people speaking a variety of languages. However, the school only manages to teach two languages in its classes. This is a striking difference from a decade ago, where the school was able to provide eight or more languages. Some examples include Dutch, German, Mandarin, Korean, and even Latin. One particular class, Spanish class, had a fair number of students until it quickly disappeared. In a school where a student might hear more than five languages every day, the limited number of languages raises questions of this diverse and intercultural school. The quick decline of language programs at the school reveals a shift in not only education, but culture. The experiences of ordinary students and long-standing teachers explore the management of classes, the quick withdrawal of programs, and how these past shortcomings can help bring back opportunities.
The IB (International Baccalaureate) is a curriculum used worldwide that influences high school grades and can help students skip college classes. Currently at St. Mary’s, the IB is used for all classes, including foreign language. AB initio was the beginner classes, for people who were interested in learning the language but who lacked the experience of two or more years. Ms. Kim, a world language teacher with years of experience teaching at St. Mary’s, dived into this, “(Currently) we have an A track and a B-track for Japanese because we’re in Japan and then of course, the French is B-track, because we’re not in France.” The school also provides the IB bilingual diploma program offered when student earns credit in both English and either French or Japanese classes. However, a few years ago, the world language department had more options for world language classes. Any time a student wanted to study languages other than French and Japanese, the school would provide it to the student, no matter what. Going back a few administrations, St. Mary’s was more flexible and open to other languages. Several languages, such as Mandarin, Italian, German, Dutch, and Spanish, were also offered as AB initio or B-track classes. B-track classes were for intermediate speakers learning a foreign language. This included the French class and Spanish classes. Most years, languages such as German, Mandarin, and Spanish were offered at the old school. The number of times the classes were held also differed. According to Ms. Kim, classes such as German were held every day. Only a few administrations ago, St. Mary’s had an elaborate world language department with a variety of daily classes offered. However, this quickly disappeared after a single factor changed the regulations.
A few years back, St. Mary’s had more than triple the current number of world language classes with around eight offered. Alongside English, students were able to have more freedom in choosing their second language. This was until a new rule by the administration ended it all. Ms. Kim, who recalls the shifts pointed it to one factor: Money. “At one point, they were hiring one teacher for one or two students, the school is using a lot of money because teachers picked up a big salary every day.” The school began to lose money as it had to use an unsustainable amount of resources for just one or two students. This led the administration to take action. “The administration started saying if you want (classes) every day, and if there’s only one person, that parent had to pay 1.2 million yen. If you have three to five, it was less. If you get 12 students, then the school provided for them.” Based on the tuition shown on the St. Mary’s school website, if one middle schooler at St. Mary’s were to take a non-French/Japanese foreign language class along with this rule applied, the additional fee would amount to a total payment of 4 million yen. Even though the tuition has increased since the introduction of this regulation, the extra payment dissuaded families from picking world language classes with a small class size. Ms. Kim gave an example, “even Chinese (classes) who used to always have four to five students, they were having a little trouble. No one started saying, ‘well, I want IB AB initio something.’” The classrooms that once held vibrant languages are now untraceable, with only a few knowing what they used to be. As of now, the 1.2 million yen policy is unknown as several years have passed. The high school administration has also seen shifts every few years. Ms. Kim said that the departure of Mr. Howard, who managed all the regulations, had left a gap in the knowledge within the school. Even if the people are gone, the effects still loom, ever since this regulation, no other classes have been reintroduced with one exception–Spanish class.
Even after the regulations were put in place, the administration decided to bring back Spanish class after repeating requests from students. 9th graders had the opportunity to transfer to this Spanish class. However, that year’s ninth grade was the only grade who ever had the chance to attend it, “We hired two teachers, and then we started from 15 students in ninth grade. I don’t like to say it all, but they dropped off from Japanese class or even from French.” Ms. Kim discussed how the class progressed over four years. Many students eventually dropped out of that Spanish class. The teachers frequently changed as well. Ms. Kim recalled one male teacher who left the position after three months. She remembers the teacher leaving because he couldn’t control them. The class was a scene of chaos and disorder as one sole adult desperately tried to control a dozen kids. By the time the 9th graders became seniors, the class only had 7 students. More than half of the students transferred back to Japanese or French classes. Currently at St. Mary’s, there are common perceptions of why students might transfer languages. Some students try and switch classes because of the difficulty of their current one. Steven Huang (class of 29) pointed this out, “I think a lot of people would join (another foreign language class), because a lot of people don’t find their language class that amusing.” Steven also believed that if people had the opportunity to transfer from Japanese to another class at the middle school, they would take that. He explained that this is because of how some people might view another language, such as Spanish, to be ‘easier’ and using that as a reason to get away from the ‘hard’ Japanese classes. At Japanese classes in St. Mary’s, there are often students who hold their pens motionlessly and others who eye the clock, waiting for their class to end. Even with these past failures and current perceptions, Ms. Kim expressed the need for more language classes, “I always think that you need 2 European languages and 2 Asian languages.” Some languages she hoped to have at the school included Japanese, Mandarin, French, and Spanish among others. Before these classes being introduced, explaining to the students about the difficulty of Spanish and how it’s not a bailout option from Japanese or French classes would help in preventing similar patterns as what happened in the previous reintroduction of Spanish classes. The first steps toward that seem close. With the arrival of the new headmaster, Mr. Davies, the future seems uncertain. As the school approaches a crossroads of new policies, there are lessons from previous setbacks that can be learned from.
At St. Mary’s International School, people across the world bring their cultures with them. One part of their culture is their languages. From English and Japanese to Swahili and Hindi, there are many languages spoken across the school. However, the only thing dragging down this significant component of the community is that the school doesn’t embrace this in its academics. As an international school, St. Mary’s underperforms in providing a variety of language classes for its students. Learning from its mistakes, St. Mary’s can reimplement their language programs, benefitting the community both culturally and academically. From its management, the reason for its discontinuation, and the lessons for the future, the past complications for world language classes in St. Mary’s help provide it a path to a better future. The student walks into the new classroom, vibrant walls plastered with foreign letters. The student takes a seat, surrounded by other nervous peers. The class starts, “Hola estudiantes, y bienvenidos a la primera clase de español.”
