French Teacher Scott Donaghe’s classes took 1st place in all blocks except 7th  and 8th block at this year’s Central World Language Sing Off’s. First year Punjabi teacher Jasbinder Saini’s  7th block and Hmong teacher Nalee See’s 8th block provided an upset.

Punjabi and Hmong classes were added this year, additional levels of French and Spanish have been introduced over the years, and as the program has expanded, so has the sing off. Language classes now compete in the PAC and judges began scoring the event in 2013. The friendly competition has grown as well, with performances becoming more elaborate each year. Teachers and classes are clearly out to dominate the competition, which keeps raising the bar in terms of language acquisition and presentation.

Due to all reports, Scott Donaghe’s French class is a tough competitor. “Donaghe does go all out because he does want to win. That’s when it gets really competitive,” states junior Chloe Roquta. After participating in the sing-off for the first year, junior Isaiah Perales agrees that the long-standing French champions are hard to beat, “It’s really hard to compare to Donaghe, but we got 2^nd place.”

Aside from the fun of seeing their peers perform, the competition helps students learn more about language, culture, collaboration and how to confidently present themselves in public. Spanish teacher Alfonso Jimenez comments, “It teaches students language while teaching them stage presence.”

Donaghe adds, ”The best part about the sing off is that it creates a very strong class bond while providing a window into the target culture.”

Junior french student Seth Ladd agrees that the sing off helps students learn more. He states, “It’s one thing to just see a word on a board, but it’s another thing to hear it in music.”

Most essentially, students are moved by music and this motivates them to learn more about language.  Ladd adds, “I think it’s just another way to teach students about different cultures, and music is one of those branches that students connect to most.”