Oak Forest HS Celebrates National Foreign Language Week

The Oak Forest High School World Language Department celebrated National Foreign Language Week in style. The theme for National Foreign Language Week is “Learn a Foreign Language; Gain a New Perspective.”

During National Foreign Language Week, students in world language classes enjoyed a variety of activities to highlight the importance of foreign language study, especially in today’s increasingly global society.

Students rotated through several stations in the Instructional Materials Center, where they created Mardi Gras masks, played board games in different languages, or enjoyed a henna tattoo session with talented henna artists. Some students watched a film in Spanish, or worked on a web quest about other cultures.

One of the highlights of the day was when the Arabic Club danced their native dance called the Dabke. According to student Malaak Saleh, this traditional dance is “done at weddings, dance parties and other more formal occasions.” The Arabic Club practiced this dance together for several weeks to get the dance perfect for their student colleagues. The Arabic Club girls wore traditional belly dancing scarves and the boys wore a hata, the traditional neck scarf.

Pictured are the OFHS Arabic Club performing their native dance called the Dabke, and student Ana Lambros learning to make an Ojo de Dos, or Eye of God, from Spanish teacher Mr. John Stevens.