Anonymous wrote:I think it is bizarre that Italian is offered at the middle school level unless of course someone else (like the embassy) pays for it. Italian is spoken in only one country in the world right? Maybe there’s some Italian in Ethiopia. And from my time in Italy, the Italians I encountered spoke at least a little English. So
what’s the point??

Omg. Americans are so dumb. It's the third most common language in the European Union, and is a required language in many Latin American countries...because....Italians...traveled...and emigrated. It's an official language in several countries and a widely-spoken one in many more. It's one of the most widely studied languages in the world...I am sure had a drunken honeymoon in Venice and fancy yourself an authority. It's also mutually intelligible with Spanish, and given the number of ESL students in DC who speak Spanish as a mother tongue, probably more easily acquired.

I think it is bizarre that Italian is offered at the middle school level unless of course someone else (like the embassy) pays for it. Italian is spoken in only one country in the world right? Maybe there’s some Italian in Ethiopia. And from my time in Italy, the Italians I encountered spoke at least a little English. So
what’s the point??

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There will only be 250 kids the first year, so they don't have to finish anything.

Weird that the only 2 languages offered for the first few years will be Spanish and Italian.

They should offer a placement exam for Italian speakers as an admissions preference. It's crazy that your only option for Italian in DC is Hardy/MacArthur.

Or crazy that any school offers it?

What happened to Chinese? Will MacArthur not have it?

How bizarre that you think it's crazy that DC would have schools that offer it -it is a major world language - and widely offered in NY, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, etc. The Italian embassy gives grants for these programs...it is another failure of DC that you don't have options throughout the city for languages, including a path to bilingual MS/HS for everyone who wants that.

Major, as in "about 20th most-spoken" according to Babbel.

Which is why it is an odd choice for 1 of 2 languages.

Hardy also offers Mandarin, which is the 2nd most spoken, and is educationally very different than Spanish and Italian (which are linguistically close).

Mandarin makes more sense as a priority.

Why? Because you think little Jagger is going to get into Harvard because he took two sections of Mandarin - a much harder language to learn - in MS? Look at the YY threads - your kid will never speak Chinese well if they start in MS. Italian is pretty important for musicians, art history, literature, philosophy, etc. But you knew that already.

Can't argue your point without making presumptions and attempting to be insulting?

Two observations:
-- I'm guessing you have never studied Chinese as a second-language and don't know people who have become fluent after beginning study as teens or adults? (I have and I do.)
-- Your assertion about language needs for the arts and philosophy is remarkably Euro-centric for this day and age. Were anyone to want to study east Asian (or African or Indian or whatever) art history, philosophy, literature, etc, Italian would be of little use.

Ha! Do the Chinese think they are fluent with good accents...no. You think that Italian has little relevance for music, art, or philosophy? Pretty nutty. Your ignorance aside, Hardy has offered Italian for many years...their students - and all students in DC - should have the ability to continue Italian at a higher level. It's one DC many planning problems. DCPS schools with Spanish immersion that don't feed to MS. Charter schools with Chinese, Hebrew, French that don't have a guaranteed MS/HS for continuing their languages. If DC were smart, they would have test-in language programs for DCPS and allow charter schools to partner up for MS/HS paths.

Anonymous wrote:JR, Duke Ellington, and CHEC all have Italian. The embassy funds the teachers. Other embassies are welcome to step up and do likewise.

It does seem odd that MacArthur does not offer continuing Chinese for the kids who had it at Hardy and elsewhere. Maybe they are still trying to hire a teacher?

Yeah, I think the goal is to offer Chinese too. I think they actually asked the hardy 8th grade class which ones they wanted. They ranked Spanish, Italian and then Chinese. So I think those were the hiring priorities.

JR, Duke Ellington, and CHEC all have Italian. The embassy funds the teachers. Other embassies are welcome to step up and do likewise.

It does seem odd that MacArthur does not offer continuing Chinese for the kids who had it at Hardy and elsewhere. Maybe they are still trying to hire a teacher?

This discussion devolved awfully fast....

Vai a cagare. Italian doesn't even make the top 10 of languages to study.

Here is the list:

English
Mandarin
French
Spanish
Arabic
Russian
German
Japanese
Portuguese
Hindi

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/12/these-are-the-most-powerful-languages-in-the-world/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There will only be 250 kids the first year, so they don't have to finish anything.

Weird that the only 2 languages offered for the first few years will be Spanish and Italian.

They should offer a placement exam for Italian speakers as an admissions preference. It's crazy that your only option for Italian in DC is Hardy/MacArthur.

Or crazy that any school offers it?

What happened to Chinese? Will MacArthur not have it?

How bizarre that you think it's crazy that DC would have schools that offer it -it is a major world language - and widely offered in NY, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, etc. The Italian embassy gives grants for these programs...it is another failure of DC that you don't have options throughout the city for languages, including a path to bilingual MS/HS for everyone who wants that.

Major, as in "about 20th most-spoken" according to Babbel.

Which is why it is an odd choice for 1 of 2 languages.

Hardy also offers Mandarin, which is the 2nd most spoken, and is educationally very different than Spanish and Italian (which are linguistically close).

Mandarin makes more sense as a priority.

Why? Because you think little Jagger is going to get into Harvard because he took two sections of Mandarin - a much harder language to learn - in MS? Look at the YY threads - your kid will never speak Chinese well if they start in MS. Italian is pretty important for musicians, art history, literature, philosophy, etc. But you knew that already.

Can't argue your point without making presumptions and attempting to be insulting?

Two observations:
-- I'm guessing you have never studied Chinese as a second-language and don't know people who have become fluent after beginning study as teens or adults? (I have and I do.)
-- Your assertion about language needs for the arts and philosophy is remarkably Euro-centric for this day and age. Were anyone to want to study east Asian (or African or Indian or whatever) art history, philosophy, literature, etc, Italian would be of little use.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There will only be 250 kids the first year, so they don't have to finish anything.

Weird that the only 2 languages offered for the first few years will be Spanish and Italian.

They should offer a placement exam for Italian speakers as an admissions preference. It's crazy that your only option for Italian in DC is Hardy/MacArthur.

Or crazy that any school offers it?

What happened to Chinese? Will MacArthur not have it?

How bizarre that you think it's crazy that DC would have schools that offer it -it is a major world language - and widely offered in NY, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, etc. The Italian embassy gives grants for these programs...it is another failure of DC that you don't have options throughout the city for languages, including a path to bilingual MS/HS for everyone who wants that.

Major, as in "about 20th most-spoken" according to Babbel.

Which is why it is an odd choice for 1 of 2 languages.

Hardy also offers Mandarin, which is the 2nd most spoken, and is educationally very different than Spanish and Italian (which are linguistically close).

Mandarin makes more sense as a priority.

Why? Because you think little Jagger is going to get into Harvard because he took two sections of Mandarin - a much harder language to learn - in MS? Look at the YY threads - your kid will never speak Chinese well if they start in MS. Italian is pretty important for musicians, art history, literature, philosophy, etc. But you knew that already.

NP and I think studying any foreign language is better than studying no foreign language; it’s good for the brain, and it leads to better understanding of English mechanics, as well. If Italian is what’s available, I’m glad something is available.

But if you’re going to offer only a couple of languages, it would make sense for them to be broadly spoken. I’d argue for Arabic over Chinese. But if you’re looking at Romance languages, French makes much more sense than Italian.

Va’ a farti fottere!

Why not Swahili or Amharic?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There will only be 250 kids the first year, so they don't have to finish anything.

Weird that the only 2 languages offered for the first few years will be Spanish and Italian.

They should offer a placement exam for Italian speakers as an admissions preference. It's crazy that your only option for Italian in DC is Hardy/MacArthur.

Or crazy that any school offers it?

What happened to Chinese? Will MacArthur not have it?

How bizarre that you think it's crazy that DC would have schools that offer it -it is a major world language - and widely offered in NY, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, etc. The Italian embassy gives grants for these programs...it is another failure of DC that you don't have options throughout the city for languages, including a path to bilingual MS/HS for everyone who wants that.

Major, as in "about 20th most-spoken" according to Babbel.

Which is why it is an odd choice for 1 of 2 languages.

Hardy also offers Mandarin, which is the 2nd most spoken, and is educationally very different than Spanish and Italian (which are linguistically close).

Mandarin makes more sense as a priority.

Why? Because you think little Jagger is going to get into Harvard because he took two sections of Mandarin - a much harder language to learn - in MS? Look at the YY threads - your kid will never speak Chinese well if they start in MS. Italian is pretty important for musicians, art history, literature, philosophy, etc. But you knew that already.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There will only be 250 kids the first year, so they don't have to finish anything.

Weird that the only 2 languages offered for the first few years will be Spanish and Italian.

They should offer a placement exam for Italian speakers as an admissions preference. It's crazy that your only option for Italian in DC is Hardy/MacArthur.

Or crazy that any school offers it?

What happened to Chinese? Will MacArthur not have it?

How bizarre that you think it's crazy that DC would have schools that offer it -it is a major world language - and widely offered in NY, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, etc. The Italian embassy gives grants for these programs...it is another failure of DC that you don't have options throughout the city for languages, including a path to bilingual MS/HS for everyone who wants that.

Major, as in "about 20th most-spoken" according to Babbel.

Which is why it is an odd choice for 1 of 2 languages.

Hardy also offers Mandarin, which is the 2nd most spoken, and is educationally very different than Spanish and Italian (which are linguistically close).

Mandarin makes more sense as a priority.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There will only be 250 kids the first year, so they don't have to finish anything.

Weird that the only 2 languages offered for the first few years will be Spanish and Italian.

They should offer a placement exam for Italian speakers as an admissions preference. It's crazy that your only option for Italian in DC is Hardy/MacArthur.

Or crazy that any school offers it?

What happened to Chinese? Will MacArthur not have it?

How bizarre that you think it's crazy that DC would have schools that offer it -it is a major world language - and widely offered in NY, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, etc. The Italian embassy gives grants for these programs...it is another failure of DC that you don't have options throughout the city for languages, including a path to bilingual MS/HS for everyone who wants that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There will only be 250 kids the first year, so they don't have to finish anything.

Weird that the only 2 languages offered for the first few years will be Spanish and Italian.

They should offer a placement exam for Italian speakers as an admissions preference. It's crazy that your only option for Italian in DC is Hardy/MacArthur.

J-R also offers Italian.

They did because Hardy fed into it - but they won't once Hardy doesn't have feeder rights, because Deal doesn't offer Italian.