The French, Spanish, and Mandarin classes go beyond the memorization of verbs and conjugations by making the heritage and culture of language a vital portion of their curriculum.

Through creating a separate Spanish three class called Spanish 3 in Action,  Spanish Teacher  Joanne Guillén-Donohoe is able to incorporate grammar components in the course while still having an emphasis on culture. Spanish three in action focuses on four major themes: relationships, communities, environment, and art. Currently studying relationships, Guillén-Donohoe is teaching students about the family dynamic in Puerto Rico and its differences with America.

“There are 20 different Spanish countries and each county has similar beliefs or different beliefs and I think that’s beautiful. When my students travel abroad they will get that feeling that we are the same, but we are a little different,” Guillén-Donohoe said.

Guillén-Donohoe believes that it’s equally important for students to learn about language and culture.

“I can’t imagine traveling and speaking the language but not knowing the traditions, customs, food, and dance of the country,” Guillén-Donohoe said.

Students from Piedmont are able to incorporate their knowledge of language and culture on their study abroad trips.

Whether touring Paris or volunteering in the Dominican Republic, senior Julia Sweeney and junior Alex Darwish acknowledge the importance of learning culture in foreign language classes.  Darwish’s AP French class revolved around AP themes and French culture.

“Language is very important to the French and is very representative of their culture so understanding their background in turn helped understand the language,” Darwish said.

Through spending a month in Paris last summer, Darwish was able to put her knowledge of French culture to use.  However, Darwish believes that her trip to France is what gave her the most accurate representation of French customs.

“The articles and videos we watched accurately portrayed French culture, but a lot of the information in the textbooks was outdated and based on American stereotypes of French lifestyles,” said Darwish.

Incidentally, the Language Department received up-to-date textbooks this year.

“We got new textbooks this year for AP Spanish and they definitely incorporate culture way more than the previous ones,” Sweeney said.

Like Darwish, Sweeney took her foreign language class to the next level by volunteering in the Dominican Republic. Sweeney found that there were direct parallels between what she learned in Spanish and what she observed in the Dominican Republic.

“It was very useful in the Dominican Republic to have learned about formal versus informal commands and how elders are spoken to with a lot more honor than in English,” Sweeney said.

Sweeney believes that it is important for language classes to emphasize culture, but trying to cover all Spanish-speaking cultures within one or two pages in a textbook does not accredit the hundreds of unique cultures that exist.

“The best way to learn about a new culture is to go out and experience it if you have the opportunity,” Sweeney said.

Spanish and French teacher Christelle Hutin-Lee hopes to make this outside-of-the- classroom experience a viable option to students by organizing a student trip to Panama.

“Culture is an intrinsic part of foreign language,” Hutin-Lee said. “To understand people’s perspective, you have to understand their culture.”

By celebrating holidays like Cinco de Mayo and Poisson d’Avril in class, Hutin-Lee tries to bring Spanish and French traditions to the classroom. Hutin-Lee also addresses the importance of knowing the perspective of the French and Spanish in order to really understand their cultures.

“In France, for example, we have different family values and work ethics than Americans. The French value time with family, relationships over individual goals. Not to say that these things aren’t valued in America, but it’s a vital part of French culture,” Hutin-Lee said.

Sophomore Ben Fung believes that the cultural highlights section in his Mandarin 3 textbook, display of Chinese films, and in class parties with Chinese cuisine give him a broader sense of the mandarin language.

“It’s important to learn about culture in Mandarin so we can understand China and its language a little more.” Fung said.