All of the links referred to in this presentation are available at…
http://ctworldlanguagesk8.wikispaces.com/ProgramAdvocacy
View the presentation online at
http://prezi.com/rgnwc5rutrwo/
Why teach languages?
"What the research shows" about the benefits of language learning in general:
http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4524
The Effect of Second Language Learning on Test Scores, Intelligence and
Achievement: An Annotated Bibliography
http://www.uwyo.edu/fled/documents/FLAnnotatedBibliography.pdf
"What the Research Shows" about elementary language learning:
http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3653
Choose a language:
- community wants
- community needs
- ability to articulate
- teacher availability
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.
If you talk to a man in his language, that goes to his heart.
Nelson Mandela - Former President of South Africa
Choose a program:
- Immersion
- Two-way immersion
- Partial Immersion
- FLES: content-related
- FLES: content-based
- FLEX
Schedule sensibly for students and teachers:
- at least every other day
- at least 20 minutes per lesson
- same grade levels kept together
- preparation time for teachers
- travel time for teachers
- extra time in the first year
Budget
- teacher salary
- teacher benefits
- consumable materials
- other materials
- technology
Foreign Languages
Assistance Program
"FLAP"
Find a Teacher
but don't
stop at that...
life-long learner
flexible
This person must understand the continuum that is language learning as well as the continuum of child development.
This person will create materials, write curriculum, develop assessments, interact with parents, make websites, collaborate with colleagues, plan large events, and probably talk to the media.
standards-based
curriculum
Backwards Design
"start with the
end in mind"
units
with
meaning and purpose
real
communication
culture
content
comparisons
communities
fun!
can guide brainstorming
for instruction
stay in the
target
language
linked to
national and
state standards
may contain
self-assessment
options
Linguafolio
Linguafolio, Jr.
"can do"
statements
regular
age-appropriate
feedback
to students
progress
regularly
reported
to parents
decide: report card or progress report?
(for the long term)
Information
Special Events
strong teacher = strong program
Participation in
Listservs: FLteach,
language-specific
regular
articulation
meetings
with local
teachers
observing
other
teachers
participation
in PLC's in school
opportunities
to travel and
practice language
ACTFL Conference
NECTFL Conference, SWCOLT, etc.
State Language Conferences
Magnet School Conferences
Teacher Professional
Development
16 years and counting!
Elementary School
Foreign Language
Programs
Build a Strong Ship
Stay the Course
Adjust the Sails
Stay Afloat
Program Design
High Quality Instruction
Assessment
Advocacy
Keys to a
Successful
Voyage
Jessica Haxhi
Maloney Interdistrict Magnet School
Waterbury, Connecticut
accurate, interesting, efficient
social studies
science
math
art
physical education
music
language arts
- ACTFL Proficiency Scale (7th -adult)
- ACTFL Performance Guidelines (K-12)
- SOPA Scale (PreK-6)
- Check for state scales/guidelines
- Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
maintain the excitement
Technology
for students
and teachers
Create units with
real-world
connections
http://maloneyjapanese.wikispaces.com/World+Language+Teachers
This person must be able to
speak, read, and write in the
language, as well as sing, play
games, over-act, be silly, laugh,
guide students through the culure,
teach other subject area content, and
BE
that language and culture
to the studentsof your school.
HIGHLY
QUALIFIED
FUND-
RAISING
SURVEYS
State World Language
Standards
COMMITTEES
Standards for
Foreign Language
Learning
Arabic, Chinese, Urdu, Hindi, and Persian
The nine languages with the
estimated largest numbers of
native speakers in the world,
according to SIL Ethnologue,
2005, www.ethnologue.com
Downloaded from
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Native_speakers_in_the_World.jpg
Why start early?
An example from the above document, prepared by Elizabeth L. Webb
Saunders, C. M. (1998). The Effect of the Study of a Foreign Language in the
Elementary School on Scores on the Iowa Test Of Basic Skills and an Analysis of
Student-participant Attitudes and Abilities. Unpublished dissertation, University of
Georgia.
Saunders specifically examined the performance of third grade students enrolled in the
Georgia Elementary School Foreign Language Model Program. She compared students
who had not received any foreign language instruction with students one year younger
who had received four years of instruction, five days each week, for thirty minutes per
day. She found those students in the ESFL program scored significantly higher on the
Math portion of the ITBS than the older students had scored. They also performed better
on the Reading portion, but the difference was not statistically significant.
THESE ARE THE TOPICS SUPPORTED BY RESEARCH AT THE ACTFL LINK:
Language learning correlates with higher academic achievement on standardized test measures.
Language learning is beneficial to both monolingual English and English language learners in bilingual and two-way immersion programs.
Language learning is beneficial in the development of students’ reading abilities.
There is evidence that language learners transfer skills from one language to another.
There is a correlation between second language learning and increased linguistic awareness.
There is a correlation between language learning and students’ ability to hypothesize in science.
Language learning can benefit all students.
There is a correlation between young children’s second language development and the development of print awareness.
Heritage learners who use their language skills to interpret and translate for family members experience higher academic performance and greater self-efficacy.
There is a correlation between language study and higher scores on the SAT and ACT Tests.
There is a correlation between high school foreign language study and higher academic performance at the college level.
How does language learning provide cognitive benefits to students?
There is evidence that early language learning improves cognitive abilities.
There is evidence bilingualism correlates with increased cognitive development and abilities.
There is a correlation between bilingualism and the offset of age-related cognitive losses.
There is a correlation between bilingualism and attentional control on cognitive tasks.
There is a correlation between bilingualism and intelligence.
There is a correlation between bilingualism and metalinguistic skills.
There is a correlation between bilingualism and memory skills.
There is a correlation between bilingualism and problem solving ability.
There is a correlation between bilingualism and improved verbal and spatial abilities.
Find out more about the benefits of language learning by investigating these resources.
Find out more about the benefits of bilingualism by investigating these reviews of the literature.
How does language learning affect attitudes and beliefs about language learning and about other cultures?
Click on the statement to review the specific studies that support this claim
Research suggests that language learners develop a more positive attitude toward the target language and/or the speakers of that language.
Helpful Resources on the topic of attitudes and foreign language learning.
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Thanks to Amanda Kibler and Sandy Philipose, Graduate Research Assistants of Guadalupe Valdés at Stanford University, for assisting in the compilation of these studies.
This information is not designed to provide a comprehensive review of the research studies available but instead has been compiled to provide support for the benefits of language learning.
Some examples from the ACTFL website:
Andrade, C. et al. (1989). Two languages for all children: Expanding to low achievers and the handicapped. In K. E. Muller (Ed.), "Languages in elementary schools" (pp. 177-203). New York: The American Forum.
Describes student performance in the Cincinnati Foreign Language Magnet Program. These children score well above anticipated national norms in both reading and mathematics and higher than the average of all magnet school participants, despite the fact that they represent a broad cross-section of the Cincinnati community.
Johnson, C.E., Flores, J.S., & Ellison, F.P. (1963). The effect of foreign language instruction on basic learning in elementary schools. "Modern Language Journal, 47," 8-11.
Performance on Iowa Test of Basic Skills was compared for fourth-graders receiving 20 minutes per day of audio-lingual Spanish instruction and similar students receiving no Spanish instruction. No significant loss in achievement in other subjects was found; the experimental group showed greater achievement in reading, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Nespor, H.M. (1971). "The effect of foreign language learning on expressive productivity in native oral language." (p. 682). DA, 31 (02-A) University of California, Berkeley.
Foreign language learning in Grade 3 is shown to increase expressive oral productivity in pupils' native languages.