Salem School District

Salem German Teacher Karen Cox brings an energetic directness to her classroom that is infectious. There’s no hiding in the back of the class hoping to work on verb conjugations in quiet. From the minute they enter room B312 at Salem High School, students are responding to Cox’s enthusiasm for all things German.

A teacher for 24 years, Cox feels that grammar has often been overemphasized in language courses. She encourages students to hear and speak the language at every opportunity. In her classroom, and as an advisor for the German Clubs at SHS and Woodbury, Cox builds curriculum and activities that immerse students in the German culture.

To help bring this connection home to her students, Cox invited Dr. Sonja Kreibich, the counsel general for Germany in New England, for a recent visit to Salem High School and Woodbury. Cox arranged the visit after meeting Kreibich and learning about her passion for promoting the study of German as a foreign language.

“I’m delighted to see students in Salem who get the opportunity to study German, and who get to study it with a dedicated teacher,” Kreibich was quoted in a Lawrence-Eagle Tribune article about the visit. She sat in on a number of German classes and engaged students in German. As the guest at a luncheon with school administrators, Kreibich went on to advocate that students take advantage of study abroad programs to help learn about the country as well as the language.

Cox, the daughter of a Maine millworker, began her journey with the German language in 1989 when she had the opportunity to study in Germany thanks to a joint scholarship from the United States and Germany. “At the time, I could say sauerkraut and kindergarten,” Cox admitted. “But that experience changed my life.” Since then, she has made it her personal mission to offer students opportunities to gain exposure to life outside the United States.

“Here in the US, Spanish is often seen as a language that will be useful for employment, and rightly so,” Cox said. “But in Europe, German is one of the main second languages learned because there are so many opportunities with German-based companies.”
Cox has been working to expose more students to German within the Salem schools by forming clubs and teaching classes at both Salem High School and Woodbury Middle School. “I’m grateful to be in a district that is investing in German language,” Cox explained. “Most middle schools only offer Spanish and French. As a result, when students reach high school they’ve already started down a language path. In Salem, German is offered at the same time as the other languages. The earlier you are exposed to a language, the better.” The results now have nearly 150 students rostered in German classes at both schools.

Students in her classrooms experience language lessons that often revolve around some of the popular events in German culture. Examples include the 100th anniversary of the Gummy Bear, the German tradition of Carnival (‘Karneval’), and the multiple celebrations surrounding Easter.

“Language is so connected to the culture,” she said. “It’s important to expose the students to both so they understand how one influences the other.”

More About Mrs. Cox

Salem High School is proud to announce that Mrs. Karen Cox has been named the 2020 New Hampshire World Language Teacher of the Year.  Since 2000, Mrs. Cox has been an excellent, creative, and innovative world language teacher at Salem High.  She is a leader in world language in school and the community. Mrs. Cox is continually active in world language professional development to improve her skills, specifically in the German language.

Mrs. Cox led the Salem High School World Language Department in their implementation of standards-based grading in 2007.  She served on the 2007 Block Scheduling Committee, the 2014 NEASC Curriculum Committee, and the 2016-2018 Master Schedule Design Team which resulted in a new schedule for Salem High School students this year.  Mrs. Cox organized professional development for both the middle and high school world language teachers around second language acquisition research and took the lead on the SLA/CI movement.

She is the advisor for the German Club at Salem High and Woodbury Middle School, advisor for the LGBTQ+ Club, and was class advisor for the Class of 2004.  She sponsors trips to Germany for both staff and students and every other year welcomes German students to Salem to experience our culture. Her professional resume is extremely impressive.  She belongs to ACTFL, is a member of the NHAWLT board, an AATG officer, and a presenter at both the ACTFL and NHAWLT conferences.

Mrs. Cox was recently named the Greater Salem Boys & Girls Club Educator of the year and will be recognized at an upcoming ceremony.  Congratulations to Mrs. Karen Cox for being named the 2020 NHAWL Teacher of the Year.