Language learning truly comes alive when your growing speaking, listening, and writing skills allow you to connect with new people, and that’s exactly what happened when Spanish IV Honors students from Landon and Connelly School of the Holy Child came together for an interschool collaboration.
“It was motivating to speak with new peers in a larger- than- usual Spanish class because I wanted to make sure that I was coherent to everyone in the room when speaking Spanish,” Nicholas Roscetti ’28 said.
Dr. Prinkey, Upper School Spanish Teacher, connected with Sra. Andrea Castelluccio of Holy Child during the Washington International Summer Institute for Teachers (WISIT). Once they discovered the similarities between their curricula, the plan for a joint classroom experience quickly took shape.
The collaboration began virtually, where students asked each other lighthearted questions in Spanish like, “Do you have a dog?” and “Tacos or burritos, and why?", before meeting in person at Holy Child.
Before the activities for the day even began, students were motivated by their teachers.
“I really enjoyed experiencing the conversation between Dr. Prinkey and Sra. Castelluccio. Witnessing such an advanced Spanish conversation at this level was really eye-opening,” said Reese Deller ’26.
Once together in person, students explored the Caribbean during the Spanish colonial period, diving into a reading on piracy. They were then challenged to translate a complex English description of the infamous Blackbeard pirate ship. Using that translation, students then prompted AI to generate an image approximating the original engraving.
“I really enjoyed working in a new environment and meeting new people,” said Alex Farahpour ’28. "The activity using AI was really creative and very different from a normal Spanish class.”
Dr. Prinkey noted students tested and improved their reading comprehension by tackling such a challenging assignment, Dr. Prinkey said, students effectively tested and improved their Spanish reading comprehension.
“They were stretched linguistically to render some complex syntax and to expand their lexicon,” he said. “Additionally, the use of AI in a way that confirmed their growing language proficiency was gratifying to them.”
The students’ reactions to the image generated by their AI prompt say it all, Dr. Prinkey added.
“When ChatGPT spit out a near-perfect rendering of the Baroque engraving of Blackbeard and was met with cheers and gasps, it was pretty clear that the activity was successful.”
Dr. Prinkey and Sra. Castelluccio also measured success by the interactions and smiles exchanged that day. Putting a plan in place to host the girls at Landon was a no-brainer. The goal is to welcome them to campus for another collaboration in January.