Hermitage school officials are hoping a new foreign language series of materials will help make students better speakers and give students more flexibility in studying outside of class time.

To start with, the books in French, Spanish and Latin are old. Paula Leeds, chairwoman of the foreign language department and a French teacher, said the French book doesn't even mention the euro, the new European currency, and the Latin books are from 1981.

Officials are not recommending buying new German books because student participation is dropping.

The new books are more geared to helping students be able to speak the language, instead of just reading it, she said.

The books come with CD-ROMS, digital video discs and videos that also will encourage oral proficiency, particularly in French and Spanish students.

The district plans to put computers in the foreign language classrooms for student use.

Carol Gurrera, director of administrative services, said the additional material will allow students to do extra work or help them catch up if they miss school.

School officials are asking the school board to allocate $12,500 in the budget that is being formulated to buy 60 French books, 30 Latin books and 125 Spanish books for first-year language students.

The companies that would supply the books would also give the district about $10,000 worth of material, including teacher books and most of the technology, Ms. Gurrera said.

The district already has the computers to move into classrooms.

Over the next three years, the district would buy books and material for second-, third- and fourth-year students, with the total number of books declining each year.

As there are no state standards in foreign languages, the series would follow national standards.

"There seems to be more of an interest in world languages," Ms. Gurrera said. "They (students) seem to be thinking more global."

Next year, Spanish and French each will have more than 30 students at the four-year level.

Ms. Leeds said seniors are sent to Thiel College, Greenville, to take the world language entrance exam, which the college uses in determining student proficiency.

"Our students typically test out of that first-year language requirement," Ms. Gurrera said.