Shadow Ridge offers many great opportunities to learn more about different cultures around the world whether it be through extracurricular activities or even foreign language classes. These classes include French, Japanese, and Spanish.
French 1-French AP is taught by Regina Spanier or as her students call her, Madame Spanier.
Spanier’s passion for teaching French sparked when she was in school and was eager to teach something she found she was good at.
Spanier states, “I love words and I was so happy to learn a new language because it was always something I was good at doing. I was first introduced to French in school which made me happy because I always loved France, then over time I started learning Latin and Spanish as well.”
Spanier loves what teaching a language can bring to the table for students.
“Teaching an entirely new class to high school students is something I love so much. It gives them something new rather than the same classes that they have been taking since elementary school. It also helps you better your first language as well as give you a new perspective,” Spanier mentioned. “Another thing is that we are in a worldwide culture now. It’s not just about the United States. Learning about other cultures of the world helps make people more respectful. The other cultures aren’t going anywhere, so we should take the time to learn about them too.”
Japanese is taught by Joel Bertsch. Mr. Bertsch has always known in a way that he wanted to explore and experience other cultures even as a little third grader.
“I had a teacher in third grade who gave us an assignment that was if we had a million dollars what would we do with it? I replied by saying, ‘I would travel the world and experience other people and cultures’. I always found traveling as a must-do bucket list item,” Bertsch stated. “Then came my sophomore year in college. I signed up for the French in Paris, a class that would satisfy a credit for music, art, and culture. As we stayed in Paris for 40-plus days, I learned a little French and it sparked my interest even more in travel, language, and culture. Six of us went on a ski trip in Switzerland for the last four days. Since that day, I have never looked back. The seed was planted, and I needed to grow with travel and the world.”
Though Bertsch knew a bit of French already, he wanted to learn more, and learning Japanese is something he’ll never regret.
“In 1984 the Japanese came to USC to look for football coaches. I was a graduate assistant in the weight room working with all sports, mainly the Trojan Football Team. I interviewed twice in two weeks for a football coaching job in Japan and got it. I became ever increasingly motivated to learn Japanese for personal reasons and how lucrative the job was,” Bertsch mentioned. “The more Japanese I learned the better things got professionally and personally. We ended up winning most of our games over the six years I spent in Japan and I decided that I would like to teach Japanese in the future. I also worked as the vice president of a Japanese company specializing in air filtration and clean room equipment for two years before coming to Clark County School District to teach Japanese.”
Teaching and learning a new language can be quite a challenge, but the most rewarding part is seeing how the students come out of said challenges and rise above them.
“The sky is the limit. Each student will excel to the height or level of their desire,” Bertsch stated. “Many of my former students have gone on to do great things with Japanese language and culture. This includes a student of mine who received the Biliteracy Award after three years of Japanese study.”
Learning a new language can overall better the way the brain processes information according to scientific research.
“Science shows that people that can process more than one language can think and process differently than people that speak just one language,” Bertsch mentioned.
Whether the reason for studying a new language may be, both Madame Spanier and Mr. Bertsch are ready to help those thrive.
