In September ten Catholic schools under the Diocese of Rockville Centre began working with Rosetta Stone to provide more language learning options. Students now have the opportunity to choose between six languages, Spanish, French, German, Polish, Italian, and Latin, at some schools. The number of options varies by school. The selection of languages offered often reflects the students’ communities and heritages as well as their personal and academic interests.
St. John Paul II chose to offer six [languages] because they have families that are of Polish decent in their community, and they had students interested in Latin,” says Gary Layton, director of marketing for Diocese of Rockville Center.
This supplement for instructor-led classes allows for students to move at their own pace, take control of their learning, and gain more experience working with computers and utilizing software. Additionally, without needing a separate teacher for each language allows for the more cost and time effective way to introduce more options since only one instructor is needed per class.
“Rosetta Stone changes the focus away from memorizing columns of words and learning conjugation of verbs to a focus on speaking and understanding a foreign language,” Layton says. “The audio labs teach accent and pronunciation, making students more confident in their understanding and more capable of speaking.” Based on the success of the pilot program this year, the Diocese plans to expand the program to more schools under its guidance.
Diocese of Rockville Centre’s education department is located at 128 Cherry Lane, Hicksville. For more information, you can call 516-280-2479 or visit the Diocese of Rockville Centre website.
Main Image: Students at the St. John Paul II School in Riverhead using their computers and headphones in the language lab
Image Courtesy Diocese of Rockville Centre.
