Chattanooga: Bright School hosting language immersion camp

After only one day, the students in a Bright School German language immersion camp knew to put their hands together when Frau Claypool sang, “Ich kann klatschen.”

“I can clap” was one of a handful of phrases German teacher Karen Claypool threw into a hand-motion song to help her eight elementary charges learn basic German in one week.

This summer is the first time Bright School has offered language immersion camps — later this summer there will be similar weeks of Chinese and Spanish instruction.

“Kids are such little sponges; they learn faster than the older ones,” said Ms. Claypool, who teaches German part time for the Hamilton County Schools system. “These kids will have a nice introduction (to German), and later on they’ll remember some of the songs they learned.”

After some interest last year in Bright School’s program by German families connected to Volkswagen, the school hired Claire Kyzer as an international student coordinator. Since then, Ms. Kyzer said, she has worked to provide opportunities both for international families to maintain their language skills and local families to learn new languages.

In Europe and other countries around the world, foreign language study is part of the core curriculum and not an elective as it is here, Ms. Kyzer said. So the teacher, who speaks five languages herself, said she’s had to be creative in coming up with activities to incorporate language, such as the camps.

“The concept of this camp, we’re trying to use English as little as possible,” she said. “Immersion isn’t just, ‘Let’s speak German all day.’ We actually do things in German.”

On Tuesday, Ms. Kyzer and Ms. Claypool took the students on a nature walk outside the school, where they had to draw pictures of objects such as leaves, trees and clouds once they had figured out the item’s German word.

Matthew Magill, 9, and his sister, Alexandra, 7, both are attending the German camp, partly so they can talk with their grandmother, who speaks the language.

“I’ve enjoyed learning new words,” said Alexandra. “We’re going to Germany to visit my grandmother’s cousin, and I have to speak German to them.”

Bright School rising kindergartner Natalie Lusk was one of the youngest in the group Tuesday. Although she lagged behind during the nature walk sometimes, she still seemed to enjoy the class.

“I think I’m gonna be a good German teacher someday,” the 4-year-old said, dragging her walking stick along the ground. “I just might be.”