On Feb. 19, some students in years four or five of a foreign language class will have the opportunity to earn the Seal of Biliteracy.

The Seal of Biliteracy recognizes high schoolers who can demonstrate the ability to communicate in two or more languages, including English.
Department Chair of Modern and Classical Languages, Lorri Starck-King, said, “This is very beneficial to our students who have worked so hard in their language class, because it opens a door for them to be able to use the language in college and the workplace.”

About 100 students will take part in this year’s pilot run of the State Seal of Biliteracy Test. Next year the test will be available to all students in the fourth or fifth year of their foreign language education

The test will be held in the language labs and is expected to last about two and a half hours. The cost is $20 and the test will be offered in Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Hebrew, Japanese, and Latin.

To get the seal, students must score at an intermediate to high level on the certification test and an 18 or higher on the English portion of the ACT, as well as a 22 or higher on the Reading ACT.

The test will be comprised of interpersonal reading and speaking, reading comprehension, listening, and writing sections.

However, this test won’t be a standard scantron format. Starck-King said, “It’s designed to measure how well you can speak in social situations, exchange info, and be understood by native speakers.”

Most of the test will be spent listening and speaking to a computerized person, responding to fake emails, or responding to questions about passages.
Unlike most language tests, it does not evaluate set vocabulary and grammar rules, but instead focusedson seeing how you can apply the language in everyday situations.

Senior Alec Chang said, “I think being biliterate would be a way to bolster any application and stand out, because as the world becomes more connected with technology, it is more important to be able to communicate with people in other countries. So being able to speak two languages will help you no matter what you do with your life. ”

The test was initially started in California as a way to show the abilities that people who speak English as a second language have to offer. Now, however, it is implemented to show the qualification of anybody that can speak as least two languages.

“It is so awesome that New Trier is able to provide this to its students. New Trier does an especially good job of making sure that its students are prepared to succeed, ” junior Orin Gilchrist said.

New Trier is one of only three schools in the state that will be implementing the test this year. Starck-King believes it is important to offer, because it will give New Trier’s students an advantage. “It shows employers and colleges that not only did you get an A or B in a language class, but you can use it and hold your own in a job or other setting in which you would need to use this language. That is something that would catch anyone’s eye.”

However, Starck-King hopes that a mark on an application isn’t the only reason students take the test. “We hope our students are lifelong learners of their chosen language because communication is the most important part of being a world citizen.”
greatest thing about these types of conversations we have is that, in the end, we get to the best answer.”