The Languages of NorthStar Academy

By the Navigator Staff

NorthStar Academy, a unique organization that spans the globe, is based in the United States but offers schooling worldwide. With this comes some challenges that in-person schools don’t have. However, things such as the abundance of different cultures and languages present at NSA can also serve as incredible opportunities for connection and interaction.

The Sound of NSA: How do we interact with one another at NSA?

The fact that NSA is an online and international school can make interaction slightly more difficult, as time zones have a way of complicating everything; and it takes a double meaning if you’ve ever experienced jet lag. However, it can be very rewarding.

Sophia, a Singaporean student here at NSA, said: “A lot of the time, it does not affect me too much as I am able to work it out. I either get up earlier or stay up later. There are some events, though, that I really cannot attend because it’s during Central daytime and that’s during the middle of my night. That’s always a bit frustrating because I miss out, but it’s not always like that.” But, it's not all bad. You get to experience new cultures, new ways of doing things, new people, and new friendships. Possibly one of the more prominent features of an online school is all the different cultures and, by extension, languages you can experience. This is often thought of as a hindrance or a barrier to interaction. And yes, sometimes it is a hindrance, just like time zones. Imagine trying to buy something from a foriegn market without knowing how to speak. Now compare that with the feeling you get when you miss class because of those troublesome time zones. Yes, there is no feeling quite like it. However, most international students that attend online schools specifically based in the United States speak at least a little English. They have to in order to interact with English-speaking peers and teachers. Think back to the market example. Many times, this is to learn English as a second language. But, the wide variety of cultures and by extension, languages at NSA is a wonderful thing. The many languages and cultures at NorthStar give students the opportunity to interact with new people in new ways. While working around time zone barriers, cultural barriers, and language barriers can be difficult, the result is more than worth it. 

The Idioms of NSA: How do we creatively express ourselves at NSA?

One of the most interesting aspects of cultures and their languages are their idioms. Idioms exist in all languages and are one of the hardest aspects of a language to learn. An idiom is, “an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements” (“Idiom”). They express meaning without directly saying what someone means. Idioms are rarely supposed to be taken literally and typically hold unpredictable meanings. Because of this, idioms are usually very difficult to translate into other languages.

These are examples of idioms from different languages spoken by NSA students:

Chinese: 骑虎难下/ riding a tiger is difficult. This describes difficult situations which are unable to be stopped halfway through (Richards).

Arabic: التكرار يعلّم الحمار / repetition teaches the donkey. This has the same meaning as practice makes perfect (Hooshmand). 

Spanish: Estar en la edad del pavo / being in the turkey age. This refers to being in the awkward teenage phase. 

French: avoir la moutarde qui monte au nez / to have mustard up your nose. This one is used to describe anger or losing your temper. 

German: da steppt der Bär’/the bear dances there. This is used to say that a certain party will be a lot of fun (“Translating Idioms”).

Elena, a student at NSA who speaks Chinese, described one of her favorite idioms from the Chinese language: 加油 ((jiayou). Elena said that this quite literally means, “‘add oil!’ But it’s something encouraging meaning like ‘just a little longer! Add some energy! Push yourself a little more, you can do it!’ So whenever someone has a game or does something good everyone says ‘加油！’”

Keenan also described an Afrikaans idiom that she likes: Moet nie die hoender ruk nie. This means, “do not rip/shake the chicken” meaning, “don’t take it too far or overdo it.” 

You can see how the cultures that these languages are from have uniquely influenced their idioms. Culture often influences the words used within an idiom, but their meanings come from what people experience and sometimes cultural practices. The idiom, “shed crocodile tears,” exists in at least 45 European languages, Arabic, Swahili, Persian, Chinese, Mongolian, and more (Underwood). I find it encouraging that different cultures and languages around the world share some idioms which carry the same underlying meanings because it proves the shared experiences that people around the world have had.

The Slang of NSA: How do we communicate uniquely at NSA? 

Many different languages exist, and most of them have some form of a written alphabet. The written language is different from the spoken language based on the fact that you need both writing and reading skills. That being said, the written language differs even more from the spoken language. Spoken language is informal: you do not say the same punctuation or capitalization out loud, there is no special emphasis on spelling, and it has a rhythm and flow to it. Additionally, while speaking, you’re able to show and express your emotions in your voice tone and expression. On the other hand, though, the written language makes use of formal and logical grammar and spelling rules. It also requires you to express emotion and feeling through words, rather than with tone. That being said, the written language, as we know it, has begun to change. Most people use the new form of the written language every day, in the form of texting. Texting is totally different from the formal written language because we write down our statements the same way that we would speak them. Because of this, text language has become informal with little care for grammar, punctuation, or capitalization. Nonetheless, it has grown its own culture, slang, and words. An example of this can be lol, which not only can mean Laugh Out Loud, but can also show emotion or tone down an aggressive or depressive text. As a society, we’ve also started using emojis to show expression since texting doesn’t always express our emotions the way we express emotions in voice tone or facial expressions. Over the last 20 years, the written language has changed to reflect better how we actually speak in real life. Though formal written texts will always exist, the new informal writing language is taking over and is not only affecting the English language but languages all over the world. At Northstar Academy, we apply this new form of spoken language to our interactions. We use slang, shortened words, or nicknames to further express what we want to say on our online school platform. 

The Communication of NSA: What do we speak at NSA?

A language survey went out to the NorthStar student body, in which eighteen children of all different ages responded. Approximately 67% of students surveyed were born in the United States. However, only 33% of the eighteen students currently live in America. Other countries of residence include Italy, Turkey, England, Peru, and many more. Seventy-eight percent of surveyed students stated that English was their native language. (This percentage does not take into consideration NSA’s partner school, Lighthouse Academy, which is based in Kuwait, where a great many people speak Arabic.) Other native languages mentioned were Lebanese Arabic, Sorani Kurdish, Chinese, and German一a wide variety to be sure. And when it came to languages that students were learning, the responses were even more diverse! Apparently, NSA students are learning French, Gaelic, German, Korean, American Sign Language, Italian, Hebrew, Spanish, Japanese, and quite a lot more! 

It would also seem that these students’ efforts to dive into new ways of speaking have indeed paid off, because 77% reported that they feel proficient in one or more languages beside their native tongue. It also appears that they are having fun in the process, because 15 out of the 18 lifelong learners answered that they do, in fact, enjoy learning new languages! 

The Vocabulary of NSA: How do we learn at NSA? 

The results of the language survey sent out to the NorthStar Student Body clearly show NSA’s vast international community of foreign and stateside students, which creates quite the dynamic realm of language within the school. Teachers, who interact at the forefront of this complexity, have had unique experiences and have shared their thoughts on NSA’s extensive language pool. In particular, we will investigate the experiences of teachers in Physics, Spanish, English, and course building with ESL (English as a Second Language) students in mind as we explore the intricacies of language here at NSA. 

Ms. Klassen, who teaches AP and EVP level Physics, handles the task of teaching the intricacies of physics terminology in a way that can be understood by ESL students. ESL students are those who may not be as fluent in English as they are in another language or other languages. The concern with these students is that the distinct terms in physics must be clearly understood word-for-word. However, when asked about this, Ms. Klassen said, “Physics might be easier than other sciences to communicate in because math is its own language. I find that students that have English as a second or third language can communicate their questions or misunderstandings through their mathematical equations and diagrams.” Therefore, physics is not as difficult for ESL students to understand linguistically; the language of mathematics helps to bridge the gap with ease where English cannot.

Mrs. Carreno, a teacher of various levels of Spanish, handles a different problem: the virtual learning barrier coupled with learning a new language. The impersonal learning experience through online education could be another concern, but it is easily countered by the creativity in practices, activities, and even a program to speak with native Spanish-speakers. These possible difficulties are mitigated by the fascinating culture that NSA’s language pool brings to the school. As Mrs. Carreno said, “Having students from all over the world actually brings a richer sense of culture because people from all over the world are talking about their cultures and experiences. They are just doing this in Spanish.” Even with the challenges presented virtually and through language barriers, the diverse culture of NSA is made even stronger in classes like Spanish where languages become a melting pot of unique expression.

The student body is rich and diversified by so many of our ESL students; however, this certainly creates additional considerations within the course-building process. As Mrs. Marshall has noted, she must support the student’s learning through whatever language barrier may exist in a technique called differentiation instruction. “It has been my experience over the years that when a student who has learning differences from a language barrier enters a classroom, the content of the course does not change—rather the way that the teacher supports the student through the learning process changes,” said Mrs. Marshall. Such changes to this unique learning process include many of the following supports: note-taking supports, such as guided notes; anchor charts, like visual reminder graphics; reading supports with features such as embedded audio files; and vocabulary supports like including hyperlinked text to a dictionary. Another unique approach to the considerations in place for ESL students is the integration of choice assignments where students have the ability to choose an activity or method of completing an assignment that best suits their learning preference or level of comfort. As Mrs. Marshall noted, “This would be beneficial for a student with limited language proficiency in that they could give an oral response or a visual graphic representation rather than a written response.” From Mrs. Marshall’s valuable insight in course building, NSA creates both inclusive and flexible qualities within its courses through which ESL students can excel in.

English courses at NSA can be very interesting for ESL students, but we find some very notable trends in these courses. As these students interact more actively with a greater number of languages on a regular basis, they just may understand the intricacies of language better than most. As Mrs. Peterman, a teacher of several English classes pointed out, “Students who speak multiple languages often have a more advanced understanding of how language works; their study of languages results in a deeper understanding of English as well.” In a different respect, the global lattice of languages and worldviews intertwines itself in all engagements we have with fellow students. As Mrs. Peterman noted, “The diverse backgrounds of our students are part of what makes NorthStar special.” While our presence cannot be enjoyed by those students whom we interact with, our perspectives certainly contribute to the special community that we have. “The variety of languages and backgrounds can make a discussion much more engaging, because students are able to share their unique perspectives with one another,” Mrs. Peterman concluded. We would expect that courses in English present quite the obstacle for ESL students, but we find that their language competence and perspective significantly contribute to the courses they are a part of.

NSA’s language pool does present itself with certain difficulties that our teachers must work through in order to optimize the learning environment for all students. However, the troubles also come with the beauty of the diversity that we see in the student body. Teachers are among those who handle the task of ensuring everyone’s ability to excel, even ESL students. We see their hard work in the presentation of the classes. Students handle the task of connecting and interacting with each other, regardless of each person’s culture or language. 

In the end, we see the diversity in NSA flourish into a web of worldviews, including cultures and ultimately languages, that we enjoy. The sun never sets on NorthStar; and though we speak all different languages, we strive to communicate together as one school.

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