MANISTIQUE - A lack of interest in the open foreign language instructor positions at Manistique High School has forced the school board to implement Rosetta Stone, a computerized language program usually obtained for personal use.
Since the unexpected resignation of two Spanish teachers, who left prior to the start of the school year, administrators have sought a new instructor. With no responses to their advertisements, however, the school decided to use the program as a replacement. According to Butch Yurk, Manistique Middle and High School principal, the school still plans on looking for a teacher. "We are going to repost for the position this upcoming spring," said Yurk.
The Rosetta Stone program, which cost the school an estimated $10,000, is causing controversy between parents and school administrators. While most school officials support the use of the program, noting its benefits, as well as their lack of other options, some parents, teachers, and even students see the program as more of a hinderance.
"I took Spanish I with a teacher in my sophomore year," said Nicole Johnson, student at Manistique High School. "I liked having a teacher more because there was more interaction."
Laurel Ashbrook, a computer and English teacher at the high school, currently supervises one of the classes using Rosetta Stone. "It's certainly a differe a question and I can't answer it."
Ashbrook, who is not certified in Spanish, can offer only limited assistance to the students using the program. "I can help with technical issues, but hey have set me up with a student account as well as an administrator account," said Ashbrook. "I have been using this account at home in my spare time so that I can know how the program works and see it from the student's perspective."
Currently installed in the classrooms is a program which the Rosetta Stone company produces specifically for schools. It offers students a variety of language options, a choice which was not previously available to Manistique students. "There are 25 different languages offered with this program," noted Ashbrook. "Currently, students are only taking Spanish."
The program is geared toward individualized learning, allowing the student to progress at their own speed. It uses three main educational tools, depending on the lesson, which include: listening to a narrator, matching images with phrases, and stating into a personal microphone the phrase provided.
"My group is very well focused," said Ashbrook. "And I am able to track their progress through administrative reports." These reports, which are updated after every lesson a student completes, give the teachers a visual representation of each student's advancement through the program.
"It's not too bad," said student John Rahn. "You can work ahead of the class - you are more on your own and I like that better."
One of the frequently noted problems with the program is that it tends to be more conversational than grammatical. However, Yurk points out that the program is accompanied by online learning tools, such as workbooks and self-tests which allow students to learn the intricacies of the language. "The students can access this program at home," said Yurk. "But this is up to them."
Through the administrative tracking, Yurk points out that they have been able to determine that the students should be able to complete four of the five levels offered in the program by the end of the school year. "Someone did a lot of work to make sure that this program lines up with the Michigan educational standards," said Yurk, noting the 3,604 pages of Michigan foreign language grade level expectations that Rosetta Stone used in creating their program.
"Just like in the English language, we learn by hearing it from the time we are born," said Yurk. "You learn sentence structure by hearing it."
Though the school will continue to seek a Spanish teacher, there is also the possibility that a current teacher will obtain a Spanish endorsement from the State. Until then, the students of Manistique High School will be using the computerized program.
"Theoretically, it would be great to have a Spanish teacher and then supplement them with the Rosetta Stone program," said Yurk. "But trying to get a teacher to move to Manistique, in the Upper Peninsula, weeks before the semester starts, was impossible, so we went with this program."nt and more challenging way to learn," said Ashbrook. "You can understand the students' frustration when they ask