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ERIC Documents
Across the country, the interest in and need for early second language learning has grown tremendously. The two major program types that provide foreign language instruction in the elementary school are FLES programs and immersion programs.
Regular FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) programs concentrate primarily on the development of listening and speaking skills and on cultural awareness. Grammar is not ignored but is learned indirectly rather than through direct instruction (Reeves, 1989). FLES programs involve instruction three to five times a week for an average of 75 minutes a week. Classes meet throughout the entire school year. The goal of FLES programs is functional proficiency in a foreign language (Curtain & Pesola, 1994).
A variant of regular FLES is the content-enriched FLES program. Content-enriched FLES programs use a foreign language to teach subject content from the regular school curriculum. The focus is not on language instruction alone (Reeves, 1989).
Immersion programs use a foreign language to teach the entire curriculum. The foreign language is the vehicle for content instruction; it is not the subject of instruction (Met, 1993). The goals of immersion programs include functional proficiency in the second language, mastery of subject content material, cross-cultural understanding, and grade-level competence in English language arts (Curtain & Pesola, 1994).
Another type of program that is related to foreign language learning is FLEX (Foreign Language Experience). FLEX programs are designed to introduce students to one or more foreign languages and cultures and to motivate them to pursue further language study. FLEX programs are set apart from other foreign language programs because language proficiency is not a goal (Curtain & Pesola, 1994).
Curtain, H., & Pesola, C. A. B. (1994). Languages and children: Making the match. Foreign language instruction for an early start, grades K–8 (2nd ed.). White Plains: Longman.
Met, M. (1993). Foreign language immersion programs (ERIC Digest). Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics.
Reeves, J. (1989). Elementary school foreign language programs (ERIC Digest). Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics.
ERIC/CLL is grateful to Nancy Rhodes of the Center for Applied Linguistics for her valuable assistance in compiling this Resource Guide Online.
African Languages at the K–12 Level
Elementary School Foreign Language Programs
Foreign Language Learning: An Early Start
Foreign Language Immersion Programs
Guidelines for Starting an Elementary School Foreign Language Program
Implementing
a District-Wide Foreign Language Program
Integrating Foreign Language and Content Instruction in Grades K–8
Model
Early Foreign Language Programs: Key Elements
Planning
for Success: Common Pitfalls in the Planning of Early Foreign Language Programs
Thematic,
Communicative Language Teaching in the K–8 Classroom
Two
or More Languages in Early Childhood
The Benefits of Early Language Learning
Early Foreign Language Programs that Work: Following the Models
Where is the United States Headed with K–12 Foreign Language Education?
K–12
Foreign Language Education. The ERIC Review. Volume 6, Issue
1. Fall 1998.
Directory
of Foreign Language Immersion Programs in U.S. Schools
This searchable directory lists elementary schools, and a few secondary
schools, that teach all or part of their curriculum through a second language.
Directory
of Resources for Foreign Language Programs
This directory of resources for improving elementary foreign
language programs provides information about and links to national associations,
professional
organizations, state foreign language offices, funders, publishers of
language learning materials, centers, clearinghouses, instructional materials,
Web
sites, online publications, databases, regional conferences, and listservs.
National
Directory of Early Foreign Language Programs
This is a searchable database of public and private elementary and middle
schools in the United States that begin foreign language instruction
before Grade 7. It does not include immersion programs, which are listed
in a separate directory (see above).
Directory
of K–12 Foreign Language Assessment Instruments and Resources
Detailed descriptions of more than 200 foreign language assessment
instruments used in Grades K–12 are available by searching this directory.
Annotated bibliographies of the latest assessment publications and Internet
resources
are also
included.
Curtain, H. and Dahlberg, C. A. (2004) Languages and children Making the match. New languages for young learners, K–8. (3rd Edition ) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Curtain, H., & Pesola, C. A. B. (1994). Languages and children: Making the match. Foreign language instruction for an early start, grades K–8 (2nd ed.). White Plains: Longman.
Gilzow, D. F., & Branaman, L. E. (2000). Lessons learned: Model early foreign language programs. McHenry, IL, and Washington, DC: Delta Systems and Center for Applied Linguistics.
Lipton, G. (1992). Practical handbook to elementary foreign language programs, including FLES, FLEX, and immersion programs (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: National Textbook.
Lipton, G. (1995). Focus on FLES*. Planning and implementing FLES* programs (foreign language in elementary schools). Baltimore, MD: National FLES* Institute.
Met, M. (Ed.). (1998). Critical issues in early second language learning: Building for our children's future. Glenview, IL: Addison-Wesley.
Redmond, M. L., & Lorenz, E. (Eds.). (1999). Teacher to teacher: Model lessons for K–8 foreign language. Chicago, IL: National Textbook.
Thompson, L. (1995). Foreign language assessment in grades K–8: An annotated bibliography of assessment instruments. McHenry, IL, and Washington, DC: Delta Systems and Center for Applied Linguistics.
Learning Languages: The Journal of the National Network for Early Language Learning is the official publication of NNELL.
Foreign Language Annals is the official journal of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
American Council on the
Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Web site provides
information about ACTFL's annual conference, publications, programs, resources,
membership, and the national foreign language standards.
FLES
Web
This site is a directory of resources for teachers and researchers interested
in using computer technologies in elementary school foreign language programs.
Ñandutí
Ñandutí provides resources on foreign language learning in
Grades K–8. Major topics include foreign language standards, resources for early
language learning, model programs, and teacher development.
National Foreign Language
Resource Centers
Fourteen federally funded National Foreign Language Resource centers have
been established at universities around the country to improve and enrich
the nation's capacity to teach and learn foreign languages.
National
K–12 Foreign Language Resource Center
The mission of the National K–12 Foreign Language Resource Center is
the improvement of student learning of foreign languages at the elementary
and secondary school levels. The center seeks to strengthen foreign
language learning through collaborative efforts to promote extended-sequence
foreign
language programs and improved teacher preparation.
National Network for Early
Language Learning (NNELL)
NNELL is dedicated to promoting foreign language instruction for all
students, kindergarten through 8th grade, and to supporting educators
who teach those
students.
New
Visions in Action
New Visions in Action seeks to identify and implement the actions
necessary to revamp the language education system so that it can
more effectively
achieve the important goal of language proficiency for all students.
New Visions
in Action advocates that all students have the opportunity for
and access to quality language instruction regardless of race, ethnicity,
socioeconomic
class, or gender.
Ñandu participants discuss timely issues related to foreign language learning in Grades K–8, provide resources to one another, and share experiences with early-start, long-sequence programs. To join Ñandu, send the message
SUBSCRIBE YOURFIRSTNAME YOURLASTNAME
to
nandu-request@caltalk.cal.org
FLTEACH is the major listserv for foreign language teachers. For subscription information, see http://www.cortland.edu/flteach/
You may wish to conduct your own search of the ERIC database on the World Wide Web. If you need help with your search, call 1-800-276-9834 or email our User Services staff.
Information on obtaining the documents listed below can be found at the end of this section. These documents were identified by searching the ERIC database using the following ERIC descriptor:
FLES
ED461288
Establishing High-Quality Foreign Language Programs in Elementary Schools.
Perspectives on Policy and Practice.
Gilzow, Douglas F.; Rhodes, Nancy C.
Publication date: 2000
ABSTRACT: Using information from seven model programs that provide foreign
language instruction to elementary and middle school students, this publication
addresses common questions from administrators, educators, and parents who
are considering establishing early foreign language programs in their communities.
Questions examine the following issues: reasons to teach foreign language
in the elementary school; whether foreign language should be part of the
core curriculum; whether foreign language programs are suitable for poorly-funded
districts; whether students with disabilities should study foreign language;
how schools or districts determine which language to teach; how a program
can be sustained over time; characteristics of successful programs; which
program model is best; how foreign language study can be included in the
curriculum without adding time to the school day; whether there is a need
to hire a separate foreign language teacher; how new students are added to
language classes without hindering the progress of students already in the
program; what happens to elementary students who want to continue their language
study at a middle school where most students in their grade are just beginning;
and whether distance or video instruction is a good way of teaching language.
A list of resources, including Web-based resources, is included. (SM)
ED430405
A Celebration of FLES: Sequential FLES, FLEX, and Immersion.
Lipton, Gladys C., Ed.
Publication date: 1998
A collection of essays on FLES (foreign languages in the elementary school)
includes: "Public Education in America and the Implications of Foreign
Language and Second Language Acquisition" (Peter Negroni); "The
People Factor in the Glastonbury Public Schools" (Christine Brown); "Public
Relations: Inside and Outside" (Kathleen Riordan); "The Georgia
PTA Foreign Language Resolution" (Lynne B. Bryan); "Guidelines
for FLES Programs" (Gladys C. Lipton); "ICAL: Variation on a FLEX
Theme" (Dora F. Kennedy, Pat Barr-Harrison); "Allegro Sostenuto:
A Baker's Dozen of Challenges for the Immersion Administrator" (Paul
A. Garcia); "A Teacher's View of Advocacy" (Harriet Saxon); "A
Salad of Language Learners" (Elizabeth Miller); "The Northern Kentucky
University FLES Troupe: Reaching Foreign Language Learners of Today and Tomorrow" (Katherine
C. Kurk); "Differing Abilities in the Sequential FLES Class" (Virginia
L. Gramer); "We Can Teach All Students: FLES Students Rarely Fail!" (Lipton); "Mon
Parcours: Letting Them Tell Their Story" (Lena L. Lucietto); "Reaching
Them All via Multiple Intelligences: Floor Mapping" (Patricia R. Duggar); "Reading
in Second Language Acquisition" (Gramer); "Bridging the Gap in
FLES: Suggestions for the Transition to the Written Word" (Juliette
Eastwick, Elizabeth Tomlinson); "A Kaleidoscope of Discovery: The Sequential
FLES Program in Rutherford, New Jersey" (Harriet Saxon); "Reading
the World: FLES and Global Education" (Kurk, Hilary W. Landwehr); "Is
There Life After'simon Dit'?: Expanding Your FLES Classroom Through the
Use of Learning Centers" (Astrid M. DeBuhr); "Let the Theme Draw
Them In" (Suzanne Cane); "Linking Language and Context: An Example
of an Interdisciplinary Approach" (Lucietto); "A 'French-ship'
with the Community" (Saxon); "Of Tapestries, Tortillas, and Mulberry
Bushes" (Lucietto); "From Sukiyaki to Croissants: Global Education
at Work in the Elementary School" (DeBuhr); "The Jewel in Our Crown" (Alan
S. Wax, Lydia Hurst, Kathleen Durkin, Diane Merenda); "Summer Immersion
Language Day Camps" (Evelyne Cella Armstrong); "All The Word's
a Stage (You and Your Students the Actors)" (Miller); "Using Class
Quizzes To Promote the Linguistic Accuracy of Younger Learners" (Rebecca
M. Valette); "Portfolio Assessment of Second Languages in the Elementary
Classroom" (Philip Korfe); "Assessment, Evaluation, and Accountability:
Why Bother Evaluating FLES Programs?" (Lipton); "Making the Grade:
Continuous Evaluation in the FLES Classroom" (Maureen Regan-Baker); "He
or She That Tooteth Not His or Her Own Horn..That Horn Goeth Untooteth" (Miller);
and "Celebrating the Successes of FLES Through Evaluation" (Deborah
Wilburn-Robinson). (MSE)
ED391377
Developing Second Language in the Elementary Grades.
Publication date: 1995
The manual provides information to assist elementary school level program
and curriculum designers in the creation and administration of second language
programs. It is not a how-to manual, but includes descriptive data about
program types in existence and criteria for evaluating language proficiency.
It contains: a list of terms used and their definitions; a chart detailing
enrollments in 14 languages at each grade (kindergarten through sixth)
and the percentage of total students they represent; a list of early foreign
language program goals; descriptions of the characteristics of program
models
(total immersion, two-way immersion, partial immersion, content-based language
instruction, Foreign Language in Elementary Schools/FLES, and Foreign Language
Exploratory Programs/FLEX); American Council on the Teaching of Foreign
Languages (ACTFL) guidelines for assessing second language proficiency
at four levels;
and a second language scoring guide for communication of messages, interviews,
narration, and skit performance. Appended materials include a list of commonly-asked
questions about elementary school language instruction, lists of characteristics
and principles of effective second language teaching, legislative materials,
lists of references and additional information sources, professional contacts,
and lists of Oregon elementary school foreign language program sites, by
program type. (MSE)
EJ659489
Activities as a Vehicle for Linguistic and Sociocultural Knowledge at the Elementary
Level.
Huang, Jingzi
Language Teaching Research, v7 n1 p3-33 Jan 2003
Reports on a content-based elementary Chinese as a foreign language program.
Focuses on classroom language activities that are designed and implemented to
serve the dual goals of language development and cultural learning. Investigated
how classroom activities are organized to integrate culture/content and language
learning for young beginners. (Author/VWL)
EJ659135
Foreign Language Instruction: What Principals Should Know.
Lipton, Gladys C.
Principal, v82 n3 p40-42 Jan-Feb 2003
Employs a question-answer format to discuss how and why principals should introduce
foreign language in the early grades. Includes such questions as what foreign-language
programs are suitable for K–8 schools? Describes four models for foreign-language
instruction in elementary schools: Sequential FLES, Sequential FLEX, Exploratory,
and Immersion. (PKP)
EJ657520
The Impact of National and State Policy on Elementary School Foreign Language
Programs: The Iowa Case Study.
Rosenbusch, Marcia Harmon
Foreign Language Annals, v35 n5 p507-17 Sep-Oct 2002
Reviews selected national policy recommendations and examines their impact
on state policy making in Iowa, specifically in terms of the number and quality
of Iowa elementary school foreign language programs and teacher qualifications
from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. (Author/VWL)
EJ655689
Japanese Immersion: A Successful Program in Portland, Oregon.
Gilzow, Douglas F.
Learning Languages, v7 n3 p5-9 Spr 2002
Describes a successful early start, long sequence Japanese foreign language
in the elementary school (FLES) program that was identified as one of seven
model programs in a national project funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
Highlights literacy instruction in Japanese, student assessment, language camps,
visits to Japan, parent involvement, and distance learning. (Author/VWL)
EJ650619
Japanese at Mimosa Elementary School.
Uchihara, Azusa
Learning Languages, v7 n1 p4-9 Fall 2001
Describes the Japanese program at Mimosa Elementary School in Roswell, Georgia.
The success of the program has been aided by collaborative team teaching, a
spiraled curriculum, creative teaching methods, Teacher-made materials, and
communication among teachers, parents, and administrators. The challenges are
also discussed. (Author/VWL)
EJ648948
Exploring New Frontiers: What Do Computers Contribute to Teaching Foreign Languages
in Elementary School?
Nutta, Joyce W.; Feyton, Carine M.; Norwood, Annette L.; Meros, John; Yoshii,
Makoto; Ducher, Jeannie
Foreign Language Annals, v35 n3 p293-306 May-Jun 2002
Compares the use of a print and multimedia program to teach Spanish to second
through fifth graders from quantitative and qualitative perspectives. Showed
that achievement and proficiency of students using print or multimedia materials
did not differ at posttest. A small but statistically significant difference
in achievement emerged at the delayed test point in favor of the students who
used the multimedia materials. (Author/VWL)
EJ648945
Journal Reflections of a First-Year Teacher.
Pope, Sarah
Learning Languages, v7 n2 p8-10 Win 2002
An elementary school foreign language teacher reflects on her first year
and a half of being a Spanish foreign language in the elementary school
(FLES) teacher. Highlights challenges, frustrations, and positive aspects
of the
job.
(Author/VWL)
EJ609856
Converging Evidence: Attitudes, Achievements, and Instruction in the Later
Years of FLES.
Donato, Richard; Tucker, G. Richard; Wudthayagorn, Jirada; Igarashi, Kanae
Foreign Language Annals, v33 n4 p377-93 Jul-Aug 2000
Examined the sixth year of a Japanese foreign language in the elementary school
(FLES) program. Provides results from attitude surveys of children, teachers,
and administrators; data on parental support for their children's learning
of Japanese; proficiency ratings on an end-of-year prochievement interview;
comparison of ratings of the cohort of students over a 6-year period; and student
self assessment.(Author/VWL)
EJ606679
Changing Practice: Impact of a National Institute on Foreign Language Teacher
Preparation for the K-6 Level of Instruction.
Rosenbusch, Marcia Harmon; Kemis, Mari; Moran, Kelli Jo Kerry
Foreign Language Annals, v33 n3 p305-19 May-Jun 2000
Investigates the impact of a national institute on effecting change in the
number of colleges and universities that prepare elementary school foreign
language teachers. Results of survey instruments and telephone interviews with
teacher educators indicate that the number of sites that prepare teachers for
early levels of instruction increased and that the institute resulted in
additional positive benefits. (Author/VWL)
EJ605148
Encouraging Second Language Literacy in the Early Grades.
Hayes, Nancy; Schrier, Leslie
Hispania, v83 n2 p286-96 May 2000
Emphasizes the importance of developing literacy skills in the elementary school
if communicative competence is the goal of a fully articulated K–12 curriculum
for Spanish. The vehicle necessary for developing these skills lies in curricular
objectives that emphasize literacy and in teacher education programs that foster
the growth of this instructional skill in elementary school foreign language
program (FLES) teachers. (Author/VWL)
The full text of most materials in the ERIC database with an "ED" followed by six digits is available through the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS) in microfiche, by email, or in paper copy. Approximately 80% of ERIC documents from 1993 to the present are available for online ordering and electronic delivery through the EDRS Web site. You can read ERIC documents on microfiche for free at many libraries with monthly subscriptions or specialized collections. To find an ERIC center near you, contact our User Services staff.
The full text of journal articles may be available from one or more of the following sources:
To obtain journals that do not permit reprints and are not available from your library, write directly to the publisher. Addresses of publishers can now be accessed online through the CIJE Source Journal Index.
If you would like additional information about this or any topic related to language education or linguistics, contact our User Services Staff.