It Can Be Done: Introducing German in the Elementary Schools

Abstract

For a long time American educators have been unwilling to waste precious time on foreign languages in elementary schools (FLES). Even people ready to do everything to promote German had serious doubts and did very little for FLES. Partly responsible for this situation were the often haphazard programs starting in grade 4, 5 or 6 with teachers who were frequently not prepared for the new subject. In many instances after the first year, with neither additional teachers nor funds available to continue into the second year and to start a new class, the program ended. Since the beginning of the FLES movement we should have learned a lot. We should have seen how important it is to give students a choice of languages in elementary schools. In California, for instance, where a state law was passed requiring that every child study a foreign language in elementary school,' over 90% of the school districts offering FLES programs started with Spanish exclusively. Many of these children continued with the same language in high school, adversely affecting other languages in the existing foreign language programs. If we want to maintain the slowly developed German programs in our high schools, we should initiate as many German FLES programs as possible. All parents interested in having their children learn German and all teachers of German from the elementary to the university level should be instrumental in establishing such programs. We know from experience that this can be a difficult and slow task which demands preparation and patience. However, we also know that it can be done! A continuous effort by those interested can bring the desired results. The launching of one such program can very well serve as encouragement for others. At the time when California school districts prepared for compulsory FLES instruction, our own elementary district experimented officially with Spanish exclusively. It was taught in some 4th grade classes while the law (soon to go into effect) would require it from the 6th grade. At this time one teacher (let's call him Mr. Schmidt) who did not know Spanish was making good use of his German. With the support of his principal he had started a German class which met twice a week for half an hour before school. The children came voluntarily with the consent of their parents and did very well until in 1963 the program was discontinued by the district and all children had to take Spanish. The justification for this was the school board decision for the district to start out