[PLUGGED IN] Curriculum

• PRINT
• EMAIL

Speak Easy

According to the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, D.C., students of foreign languages tend to score higher on standardized tests, and research reports that younger children learn languages better than older children and adults. Indeed, some studies have shown that the human brain is the most open to linguistic development during early childhood, so the earlier children are exposed to a foreign language, the better. To that end, Eden Prairie Schools, in Minnesota, will initiate an early language program next fall, in either kindergarten or first grade—and the district director of curriculum and instruction, Dr. Jean Lubke, thinks kindergarten may be most likely.

The Eden Prairie district is already involved in successful immersion programs such as the K–2 effort in which a licensed language teacher, also licensed in elementary education, speaks the language—in this case Spanish—to the students. Teachers need to be very fluent, and thus native speakers are the most desirable candidates. After all, immersion teachers never interact except in the immersion language—it’s all Spanish, all the time. “A lot of visuals and motions go along with it,” says Lubke. “The children get their English at home, as they learn about school through a different lens.”

The new early language classes, however, will be limited to two or three blocks of time per week under the direction of world-language-licensed instructors. Children could either go to a classroom for 30 to 45 minutes per class, or the teacher could come to them. Classes might also be incorporated into the classroom during the teacher’s prep time.A district-wide committee will choose from among Spanish, French, German, and Chinese. Arabic is a fifth possibility. Lubke notes that it could be one language in all schools, those used most in the community, or those suitable for the global economy. All elementary grade levels would participate in the program.“Bi- or trilingual language skills are best learned early, when they are very quickly and easily learned,” says Lubke. “In homes where two parents speak different languages, a child can easily speak both.”

“We try to find innovative programs,” says Lubke. “What you choose impacts enrollments in middle and high school. One reason we’re doing it is because we live in a global economy, a global world. It is wise for our students to be prepared. Multilingual skills are an advantage, giving a different understanding of culture and of the world. It also helps students to learn other disciplines.”

Speak Their Language
How to break down barriers for ELL families.

Classrooms Going Global!
Teaching Kids to be Global Citizens: Five schools that are breaking the borders.

February 2007
New Connections to English provides English-language learners in grades K-8 with carefully selected literature and instructional support that develops oral proficiency, academic language, and literacy skills.

ONLINE ACTIVITY	Spanish-English Bike Race Test your knowledge of Spanish vocabulary as you compete to win a cycling race.