Rebecca Karol and Max Reynolds Win Foreign Language Podcast Contest

Rebecca Karol and Max Reynolds, juniors at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, have taken the top high school-level prize in the 2014 podcast contest sponsored by the Foreign Language Educators of New Jersey (FLENJ).

The theme of the competition was "Children of Many Languages in New Jersey".

As in years past, all world language educators in New Jersey were invited to submit a student-created one-minute video podcast celebrating and communicating the value of learning languages. The podcasts were judged for their effective demonstration -- through a performance in the target language -- of the impact that studying the language has had on the lives of the participating students. 

Rebecca and Max created and starred in "The Flamboyance of French," a video podcast showing that "the world is brighter in French" ("Le monde est plus vif en Français"). The podcast can be viewed on YouTube/The Flamboyance of French.

The students were awarded a plaque, which was presented on March 15 at the annual FLENJ conference. 

“We are so grateful to have had this opportunity, and we hope to make more videos in the future," said Rebecca. Max added that he and Rebecca are "still waiting for their Oscar to arrive in the mail."

Rebecca and Max were first-runners-up among high school students in last year's FLENJ podcast contest.

RFH French teacher Christine Berg, who submitted the winning video on behalf of the students, was awarded a mini-grant from FLENJ in the amount of $1,724.00. Berg intends to use the grant money to purchase mini-Ipad devices for a planned project she calls "Solution Fluency in the 21st Century".

Through this project, Berg proposes to help her students develop a solution to a real-world problem in a French-speaking community by collaborating with a school in Quebec through the use of technology. The project was inspired by the district’s focus on improving critical thinking skills and preparing students to succeed in the 21st century.