By: Austin Yung

Editor-in-Chief

As students start to register for classes next year, they may have noticed an addition to the World Language Department: Chinese 1. Currently, LGHS provides students with the choices of French, Spanish, and Japanese – with Japanese being the newest addition about 20 years ago.  According to the World Language Department Chair Dominic Calmels, plans for the class remain tentative as it all depends on the number of students who sign up for the class. 

“[If] there are only ten students that sign up, then the course is most likely not going to run, but if we have enough students, then there is a much better chance that we will have a class next year,” he explained. 

As previously mentioned, the school last added a language about 20 years ago, so why add Chinese now? According to Calmels, the parent community requested that the language be added, as they believe that as China’s influence over the business world grows, their kids will need to learn Chinese. In addition, the World Language Department surveyed students on what world languages, aside from the current ones offered, they would like to see at LGHS. A majority of students selected Chinese and American Sign Language (ASL), which further encouraged the school to add Chinese to the class list for registration. While ASL isn’t currently an option, there is potential for it to be possibly added in the future.

Chinese 1 will allow students to branch into East Asian culture and language, as the class will focus on the basics of Chinese language and culture. If the class does come to fruition, the curriculum will somewhat mirror Saratoga High School, as they already have several Chinese classes. And since Saratoga High School also has the teachers for the elective, “[they] could potentially teach here at [LGHS],” Calmels mentioned. “As far as the course, it would probably be basic conversational Chinese and cultural appreciation, but we don’t know much more than that.” If students or parents would like to know more, the course description is listed on the LGHS website under Guidance.