Mentorship Program

Primary Goal: To motivate students studying a foreign language and allow them to see applications of world languages and cultures in the business world.

Student Profile: High school students currently enrolled in the second year or higher of a foreign language. The teacher shall determine the number of students enrolled in the program.

Scope of the Program: The mentor, who is a corporate professional, will meet with participants from each school and establish a professional relationship with the students. His/Her aim is to show the students the importance of foreign language competence in a global economy. The mentor will share information about the current project with the group. Students will see how foreign languages and cultural communication are related to the success of such a project. Students will explore the problems of dealing with other cultures with different traditions and values.

Visitations: The mentor will meet with the group approximately three to four times during the year. It is recommended that companies send some of their literature to the schools before the visit to allow students and faculty to understand the corporation’s involvement in the global economy.

Visit #1. The corporate mentor will introduce himself/herself and his/her corporation to the assembled students who have expressed interest in becoming involved in the marketing competition. He/She will also explain his/her job qualifications to give students an idea of current international careers. If a local business student has accompanied the mentor, he/she will comment on his/her course of study and his/her reasons for international business study. The speaker(s) will focus on the connections between business, foreign language competence, and intercultural understanding, incorporating anecdotal information and personal experience. The presentation will also include a CCA video and an overview of the marketing project. Finally, students will determine if they wish to participate in the project and will form teams of no more than five members.
The mentor will then give the marketing project challenge and brainstorm with students some areas on which they need to focus their research. He/She will also present some basic marketing information and an overview of the general competition criteria. Teams will begin to plan, and the mentor may offer advice. This meeting will take place at the school.
Over the next weeks as students complete their research, they may have teacher-monitored e-mail communication with their mentor. Teachers, however, should have a hands-off approach in regard to their personal giving of project information, although they may work with students on time management skills.

Visit #2. During this optional visit to the school, the corporate mentor, working in cooperation with the district teacher(s), will again meet with student marketing teams. During this visit, encouragement from the mentor will be important as he/she reviews the project and its requirements with students.

Visit #3. This is the intra-school competition of marketing strategies at each school between the groups within the school. The teacher(s) will choose a minimum of three judges in addition to the corporate mentor. School administrators, guidance counselors, a business teacher, a foreign language teacher, and local businessmen are good choices, depending on the needs for expertise and for good publicity. Specific guests from these groups could also be invited. Each presentation should last a maximum of 10 minutes. The winning team will represent the school at the final competition. After the winning group has been chosen, all students might also reflect on the project, either as a discussion with the mentor and/or the judges and/or as an exit essay. The computer disk will be collected by the mentor and then used for the final competition; the student presentation should not to be changed before the final competition.

Visit #4. This will be the competition between schools and will take place at the site of the corporate sponsor. The top three winners will be chosen according to specific criteria.

Overview: The mentor program will constantly be monitored and adjusted to fit the wants and needs of the participants. The mentor may stay in e-mail touch with his participants and also send progress updates to keep students involved in the project.