Volusia County School's World Languages Festival highlights linguistic talents, world cultures

In its 52nd year, the Volusia County World Languages Festival had nearly 800 individual participants enter this year's event.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 12:30 p.m. March 6, 2024
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Neighbors
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Emcees Mr. Seabreeze Gavin Martinez and Miss Seabreeze Anna Larson, announced the opening of the Volusia County World Languages Festival with the Parade of Flags on Saturday, March 2. Foreign language students from multiple high schools marched amid a flurry of colors representing countries from around the world in Seabreeze High School’s auditorium.

Dr. Grace Kellermeier, Volusia County Schools World Languages, Programs and Special Programs coordinator, said this year there were close to 800 individual participants in the festival’s 52nd year. This year included the addition of digital events, which opened participation up to kids that may not have the resources to get to the venue.

“It has changed over the years because we try to meet the teachers and the kids where they want to be,” Kellermeier said. “It looks different than what it used to. Adding the digital events this year allows everybody to participate because everybody has a laptop. Also, not everybody wants to speak so that’s why we try to add something for every student. We try to be as inclusive as we can.”

The VCWLF gives foreign language students an opportunity to showcase their linguistic talents, highlight global cultures and demonstrate knowledge they have garnered while taking Volusia County schools language courses. Students had the option to compete in a variety of speaking events, including impromptu French and Spanish; Japanese, Spanish and German poetry recital and a talent show.

They could also don clothing from a specific region of the world to take part in the traditional dress competition.

It brought me back to being in your shoes. This is where it all started for me. And let me tell you, keep at it because the world is going to open up for you. Embracing foreign languages is a skill that, if you work on it, will open doors throughout your life." — Krista Goodrich, keynote speaker

Spruce Creek High School teacher Victoria Patrick-Gonzáles manned the Spanish poem speaking event in the Seabreeze band room. She teaches Spanish II in the pre-International Baccalaureate Organization program. She said there has been a shift away from the classical method of teaching, which was based on written memorization. That has not been working for the current generation.

“There are a lot of different reasons, but we can focus on the positive reasons,” she said. “Kids want there to be a purpose in their learning and they are starving to interact with each other, especially in the world language classroom. You have so many opportunities to get students to interact, not only with the teacher but with each other — using the language, investigating culture and talking about things they want to talk about.”

Patrick-Gonzáles organizes activities that center around her students talking and writing about themselves. In her class, they use creative writing, plays where they can act out scenarios and funny stories to give them context. 

“The kids are learning phrases, the syntax of the language, the order of words and the grammatical structures in a more natural way, through experience, through using it, through seeing it versus just memorizing rules,” she said. “I think that’s the big difference in the modern world language classroom.” 

Seabreeze teachers and VCWLF co-presidents Mirthia Feliciano-Pérez and Kim Griffith organize the festival with the VCWLF president Kellermeier. After 36 years of teaching Spanish, Feliciano-Pérez will be retiring at the end of the school year. It will be the last time organizing the festival but she said she hopes to return.

“This is my last one but I’ll probably come back as a judge,” she said. “I really love this. I encourage everyone, every student and every teacher to participate. I wish all the teachers could be part of this. It’s amazing. The kids love it. You have to make them fall in love with it. That’s the only way that they will participate. That’s what I do.”

Griffith teaches American Sign Language and stepped into the role of VCWLF co-president last year. Feliciano-Pérez said she brings the passion and Griffith brings the energy.

Keynote speaker, businesswoman Krista Goodrich, said when she was asked to speak at the festival, it brought her back to being a student at the cusp of her pursuit to learn different languages and cultures while traveling the world.

“It brought me back to being in your shoes,” she said to the students in the audience. “This is where it all started for me. And let me tell you, keep at it because the world is going to open up for you. Embracing foreign languages is a skill that, if you work on it, will open doors throughout your life.”

At 14 years old, Goodrich convinced her parents to let her spend the summer in France with her best friend. She said her parents could not afford the trip, but her desire was so great, she took on as many babysitting jobs as she could and started earning money gutting pigs just to be a be able to pay for the trip.

“It was absolutely the most amazing experience in my lifetime, at that point,” she said. “It’s what made me solidify my decision to always be part of every culture I could be a part of and travel the world as much as I could.”

Spectators were also invited to enjoy the sounds of the Seabreeze jazz band, peruse the global project displays or grab a bite of international cuisine provided by Ormond Beach Middle School Spanish Club, DeLand High School French National Honor Society, Mainland High School French and Japanese clubs, Seabreeze High School Spanish National Honor Society and Multi-Cultural Club and Spruce Creek High School Asian Association and German Club.

Kellermeier taught at New Smyrna Beach High School for 18 years and has been with the Volusia County School District for nine years. She said she is passionate about world languages and the people that speak them.

“I just think it’s important to learn about each other,” she said. “The idea that you learn languages, you learn the culture of the people that speak the languages and it makes you realize that there is no such thing as weird. When I was teaching, if any student was going to say the weird word, I would say there’s no such thing as weird, we say “How interesting, tell me more.”

 

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