Elementary Foreign Language Program Observations
For the past couple of months, I’ve been taking a fantastic graduate course in elementary foreign language methods. One of the requirements is to spend 45 hours observing a variety of K-5 language programs. As a working mom, my first reaction was YIKES! 45 hours? How? When? Well, I’m tickled to report that I just completed my 45th hour this afternoon. Woo-hoo! And I must admit, I really enjoyed visiting schools, learning about programs, and watching an array of talented teachers. Best of all, I saw kids having fun with language. The only discouraging part of the experience is the feeling of wanting more . . . more minutes of language study, more language offerings, more schools with programs. Here’s a short synopsis of the program models I saw in action:
- I visited a French immersion school. It felt being in France. The students receive one hour of content-based English instruction each day, and Spanish is taught as a special. Every school administrator in the country should see an immersion program in action in order to witness the potential of ALL kids. Awesome!
- Two of my area public school systems offer a taste of foreign languages once per week. One district has Spanish in grades 1-5 for 25 minutes, and another one offers either French or Spanish for 45 minutes. Boy, teachers with so many students are energetic and highly organized. (In fact, one teacher I met sees over 1000 students each week!) Although no real language proficiency can happen in so little time, there is still real value in getting kids excited about languages and cultures at a young age.
- I visited a Montessori program that offers Spanish once per week in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 5.
- A private academy for gifted students offers languages twice per week for 45 minutes. Kindergarteners and 1st graders learn Spanish; 2nd and 3rd graders learn French; 4th and 5th graders learn Japanese. In the 6th grade, students choose a language to study every day for the next three years.
- Waldorf schools put a strong emphasis on language learning. I saw students in grades 1-8 learning both French and German. They receive instruction in the two languages twice per week for 40 minutes.
- I also returned to the private school where I used to teach. The students learn French in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 5, 2-3 times per week for 20-45 minutes, depending on the age of the child.
- Another one of my former schools taught one semester of French and one semester of Spanish twice per week in grades 1-5.
It’s really exciting to see the language learning that’s happening in my area. I’m disappointed that the kids in the school districts where I live and where I teach do not have programs 
Does your local school district offer early language learning programs? What do they look like? Which languages? How much time? Do they offer exposure or do they actually develop language proficiency? Do the programs continue into middle and high school? What would your ideal program look like? I believe immersion is the ultimate, but I’d be thrilled with a minimum of 30 minutes of a language every day K-8. Actually, I’d settle for just about anything.
Please comment and tell us about language programs (or the lack thereof) in your neck of the woods.
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