Foreign Language In The Elementary School Research Articles

The Unique Skills and Traits of Principals in One‐Way and Two‐Way Dual Immersion Schools

AbstractThis study considers the opinions of dual immersion elementary school principals in investigating the following research questions: (1) What do dual immersion principals identify as the skills and traits for the school leader that lead to the principal's success in a dual immersion context? and (2) What were the differences of opinion, if any, between principals of one‐way and two‐way dual immersion programs about the traits and skills required for the school leader? Data was collected from 12 interviews and an online survey of 29 principals of dual immersion schools in Utah. Dual immersion is a model for teaching foreign language in the elementary schools where two languages are studied simultaneously, thus differing from total immersion models, where the foreign language is the only language used at school (Roberts, 2015). Understanding the role of the principal at these schools was the central focus of this research. The themes and patterns that emerged from the data analysis point to five key roles for dual immersion principals. Findings also indicate that these needed skills and traits for school leaders vary between one‐way and two‐way dual immersion programs.

Trying to Reach More Children: Videoconferencing in the Spanish Foreign Language Elementary School Classroom

Given the need to expand the offering of language classes to all elementary students, elementary schools have looked for innovative ways to teach young learners one or more languages while mitigating the costs. This study analyzed a Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES) program in an inner-city elementary school in the Southeastern United States that was designed to help underserved students experience the benefits of early language learning. This article describes a yearlong case study of a fifth-grade class participating in the technology-enhanced Spanish instructional program, comparing student and teacher language behavior in each context. The FLES program offered daily Spanish instruction through videoconferencing, videotaped lessons, and an on-site teacher. Although student language production and student-to-student interaction were minimal in all three contexts, student interviews showed other benefits of early Spanish study, including enthusiasm for learning other languages and experiencing other cultures, a feeling of success in second language study, and increased awareness and knowledge about and appreciation of the Spanish-speaking world. This article concludes by offering suggestions for further research and the development of FLES programs, especially in areas where it is difficult to have a full-time language teacher.

The Application of Readers Theater to FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools) Reading and Writing

This study used a mixed-method approach to investigate the effectiveness of Readers Theater (RT) in promoting English as a foreign language children's reading and writing proficiency after a participation period of one semester. In addition, the researcher recorded and analyzed children's learning motivation and feedback toward RT. The quantitative results of the study indicate that the RT group outperformed the control group in reading accuracy and fluency but not in reading comprehension. In writing performance, the researcher found significant differences for most aspects of writing proficiency, except for sentence structure. The qualitative results, on the other hand, support the idea that with RT, students have a purpose to interact in class, to work with others, to read and write for an audience, and, at the same time, enjoy their learning.

Spanish Only for Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES): Competing Discourses in Local Language Policy

Abstract: Teaching Spanish has become increasingly popular in the United States due to demographic shifts. This study focuses on a Spanish‐only initiative for an existing Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) program proposed by a southeastern public school district's school board. It analyzes discourses underlying the policymakers' rationales and resistance from teachers, students, and community members. Analysis of documents, video recordings of school board meetings, newspaper articles, and e‐mail exchanges reveals competing discourses that constructed particular views on language, language learning, and the benefit of Spanish for Latino and African American students. Characteristics of these discourses include language ideologies, racialization of the arguments, hospitality as a reaction to “language panics” (Hill, 2001, p. 245), and the constructed nature of Latino parents' knowledge. The study suggests the importance of multilingualism for world language education.

한국 초등영어 교육에 관한 탐색적 연구: 듣기를 중심으로

The purpose of this research is to review studies on Teaching English as a Foreign Language in the Elementary School (TEFLES)...

A Ten‐Year Chronicle of Student Attitudes Toward Foreign Language in the Elementary School

This article reports the results of 2 studies conducted over a 10‐year period that researched student attitudes toward early foreign language learning. These studies are unique because of the long time frame in which the students were followed, and the large data sets collected at the elementary school level. Surveys of students in the Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES) programs examined the attitudes of all children in 2 school systems in North Carolina: one suburban and one urban. The students studied either French or Spanish. The number of responses to the survey questions ranged from 22,549 to 52,227 for a 4‐year period. The results indicated that boys and girls had positive attitudes when responding to 2 questions about enjoyment of their FLES classes and teachers. The girls were positively inclined, and the boys were neutral, in their desire to continue with foreign language study in the next grade. Two items about the use of foreign language outside the school venue and comprehension of foreign language teacher input revealed negative attitudes for both genders.As a follow‐up to the quantitative study, qualitative data about attitudes toward foreign language speakers, foreign cultures, and their own education with respect to foreign language study were gathered through structured interviews. The participants were the same students who had completed the original surveys 10 years earlier. In corroboration of the quantitative data, a qualitative analysis revealed that, for a majority of the students, foreign language study was viewed positively, as were foreign language speakers and their cultures.

An Integrative Approach to FLES Teacher Training: The Delaware Model

Abstract: While the need for certified elementary foreign language teachers is on the rise, foreign language teacher educators frequently encounter difficulty in securing good elementary field experiences for their student teachers due to the dearth of fully developed programs of foreign language in the elementary schools (FLES). This article presents a student teaching model designed to meet that placement challenge. The Delaware model, by integrating significant field experiences in the regular elementary grade classroom with those in the FLES classroom, makes it possible to place student teachers in schools with less than fully developed FLES programs. Moreover, positive results obtained during two integrative placements demonstrate the important curricular and classroom management advantages that are gained when student teachers are given opportunities to acquire knowledge and experience in the elementary grade classroom as well as in the FLES classroom. Key words: clinical experience, field experiences, FLES (foreign language in the elementary schools), student teacher placement, teacher training Languages: Relevant to all languages Introduction An elementary school foreign language teacher needs to have the qualities of both an excellent foreign language teacher and an excellent elementary school teacher. (Curtain & Pesola, 1994, p. 250) In the quotation above, Curtain and Pesola have pointed out the dual aspects of the elementary foreign language teaching profession, asserting the importance of equal training in both foreign language and elementary education. In this article, we propose a model for structuring student teaching field experience so that it incorporates both of these essential elements. We applied this model in the placement of two foreign language in the elementary schools (FLES) student teachers, allowing us to compile qualitative data through observations, mentoring, student teachers' written reflections, journals and final summaries, cooperating teachers' comments and evaluations, surveys of the school community (parents, teachers, and the administration), and student teachers' post-interviews two years later. The need for well-trained certified elementary foreign language teachers is on the rise due to the renewed interest in beginning foreign language studies in early childhood. An early start to foreign language learning has been advocated ever more urgently by the profession (Pufahl, Rhodes, & Christian, 2001) and, encouragingly, some state legislatures have in recent years mandated the offering of foreign languages in elementary schools. Furthermore, national reports by groups outside the profession, such as the National Association of State Boards of Education in its Complete Curriculum (2003) and the National 1-anguage Conference in its Call to Action for National Foreign Language Capabilities (2005) have also recommended sequential foreign language study beginning in the elementary grades. However, there is still a serious lack of qualified teachers to fill available positions (Roscnbusch, 2004), which represents a threat even to the existing programs. The currently small number of fully developed FLES programs presents a significant challenge to foreign language teacher education programs striving to ensure rich field experiences for teacher candidates. Foreign language teacher educators, in seeking FLES placements for their students, face not only the challenge posed by a scarcity of programs, but also that of the wide variability among programs that do exist. It is, of course, to be expected that as school districts create foreign languagc learning opportunities for elementary school children, there will be a variety of models adopted-from FLEX to FLES, from exploratory to dual or full immersion. Since many of the current programs are fledgling, however, they frequently do not offer enough foreign language classes to provide the extensive teaching and observation hours required for the training of a student teacher. …

Did a Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES) Program in a Kansas School District Affect Students' Academic Achievement in English?

Abstract: What happens to English academic achievement when valued class time is devoted to a foreign language in the elementary schools (FLES) program? Is there a reduction in achievement as suggested by a time‐on‐task hypothesis, or is there some form of compensation, as suggested by additive bilingualism? The school district in this study started a FLES program with Grade 2 students in five schools in 1995–96, and the students continued FLES through Grades 3, 4, and 5. Students in the other eight district schools received no FLES. The FLES and no‐FLES students were compared based on the Grade 6 Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), using Grade 2 ITBS Survey Battery to control for initial variation in test scores. No significant statistical difference was found.

Investigating Interviewer‐Candidate Interactions During Oral Interviews for Child L2 Learners

Abstract: One common procedure for oral performance testing of Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) learners is one‐on‐one interviewing wherein the interviewer asks questions and the child candidate responds to them. While existing research has focused primarily on outcomes elicited by such procedures, this study examines the processes involved. During the present interview test for Japanese FLES students, the interviewers were permitted to provide support but without specific advice on how interviewers should give support to the candidates' problematic responses. Under such circumstances, (a) there were apparent inconsistencies between and within interviewers in the way they dealt with erroneous responses, and (b) the child candidates were not able to initiate the negotiation of meaning or repair processes. This study also suggests that, when interviewer support is taken into account in ratings of oral performances, such ratings may be significantly higher than ratings without interviewer support that are determined simply by the frequencies of correct responses to initial prompts and correctly formulated questions.

Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES) SIG

Foreign Language AnnalsVolume 37, Issue 2 p. 328-329 Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES) SIG First published: 31 December 2008 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2004.tb02214.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume37, Issue2May 2004Pages 328-329 RelatedInformation

A CELEBRATION OF FLES*: SEQUENTIAL FLES, FLEX, AND IMMERSION.Gladys C. Lipton (Ed.). Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company, 1998. Pp. x + 226.

As indicated by the title of this volume, this collection of public speeches, conference presentations, and practical tips for the elementary foreign language classroom truly celebrates the vibrancy and mission exhibited by many teachers of foreign languages at the elementary level. The designation FLES* (pronounced “flestar”) has been created by Lipton as an “overall term for all types of elementary school foreign language programs” (p. 1), including sequential FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School), FLEX (Foreign Language Exploratory), and Immersion. According to Lipton, the term “sequential FLES” subsumes the model usually referred to as FLES.

The FLES Attitudinal Inventory

Abstract: This study investigated attitudinal changes experienced by elementary students studying a second language and presents the development of an attitudinal assessment instrument, its reliability, and a summary of findings from initial administrations of the inventory. The primary purpose of this study was to compare attitudinal differences between elementary students (K‐5) involved in a regular Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES) program with their peers who were not provided with additive foreign language curriculum. Results from the study showed that students participating in FLES programs had positive attitudes relating to school, perceived difficulty in language acquisition, perceived desirability of foreign language study, cultural views, and student self‐esteem and confidence levels in relation to their academic achievement in comparison with their non‐FLES peers. The conclusions of this study suggest that FLES programs provide students with improved motivation to participate, to persist, and to succeed in second language study.

Trends and Issues in Content-Based instruction

In the last two decades, content-based instruction (CBI) has grown by leaps and bounds; it appears across educational levels and under various guises. In foreign language education, immersion education and “content-enriched” Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) are popular examples. Sheltered classes and thematic curricula are two variations commonly found in ESL settings. The degree of language and content integration which underlies these various program types is perhaps best captured by means of a continuum.

The “Ill-Structured Problem” is NO PROBLEM for Gifted Curriculum Design

A unique curriculum design approach, “the ill-structured problem,” used for a gifted foreign language program has implications for many subjects. This approach is based on the premise that school curricula should be designed close to real life situations. Answers become solutions to real problems—problems that are defined and explored by students, not structured by teachers. Chesapeake Public Schools offers a summer FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) Program for its academically gifted fifth and sixth grade students. This curriculum design approach has been very successful in motivating both pupils and teachers. On the first day of class students confront an “undecorated” room. It becomes their task to make the classroom an island of the culture they are studying. This cultural island becomes a place where students exhibit their ongoing exploration of the target language. Students are asked a series of questions designed to guide them toward a structure for their language acquisition. What do you want to learn? How do you want to learn it? With these questions, students begin to build their curriculum. The acquired knowledge of the new language and culture is reinforced daily. The “ill-structured problem” curricula design model is a perfect match for the creative, intelligent student.

Using Video as an Advance Organizer to a Written Passage in the FLES Classroom

We compared the effects of two visual advance organizers on comprehension and retention of a written passage in a FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) Program: (a) Video and (b) Pictures + Teacher Narrative. Sixty‐two English‐speaking students enrolled in fifth grade in a parochial elementary school served as subjects. Investigators randomly assigned students to one of two conditions. Students in both conditions read 12 identical passages in French. The two groups differed only in their introduction to the passages. For students in the video group, a short video clip presented the narration of the advance organizer while for the comparative group, the teacher presented the identical narration by reading it aloud and showing four pictures related in context. Findings indicated that Video was a more effective advance organizer than Pictures + Teacher Narrative. The investigators interpreted these results as evidence of video's potential to enhance comprehension and enrich instruction.

Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools and Computer-Assisted Language Learning

Within the last five years, state mandated environment in a FLES* program. The project foreign language instruction at the elementary consisted of classroom observations and anatyschool level has tripled (Education Week). This ses of materials usage in a FLES* program. The interest, although meritorious, has caught the object of the project was to try to define current foreign language education profession ill-prematerial needs in FLES* instruction and to ascerpared to meet the demands for qualified teachers tam whether or not current software already and materials that fulfill the special needs created developed for computer-assisted language by the elementary school language teaming enteaming (CALL) might be used to augment vironment (Rhodes & Oxford; Schrier). Pesota elementary school foreign language instruction.

Foreign Languages for Children: Let's Do It Right This Time

title of this article implies that mistakes were made in the past with programs for elementary school children. And, one clear advantage that I have here is that I have been around long enough to have made just about every mistake possible. So, I can attest to our fallibility. In fact, even acronyms have caused problems. I remember a night school project for adult language learners which was called Foreign Languages for Older People, or FLOP. And even the familiar term in reference to foreign language in the elementary school was not without pitfalls.... Inevitably, a number of school principals admitted to having put FLEAS into the local curriculum. And even the correct pronunciation caused problems. For, as criticism began to build against elementary school programs back in the 1960s, an unkind critic made the comment, The spirit is willing, but the FLES is weak. And, what made this outrageous pun doubly devastating was the fact that it correctly described what was then happening in many elementary school programs. That is, many parents, teachers and school administrators had been led to believe that, by exposing elementary school children to anything called FLES, near native fluency would automatically bloom forth. And the problem was that only the one variable-that of starting earlywas taken into account. In our enthusiasm for getting foreign languages into the elementary schools, we failed to consider other important

An exploratory study of teaching English in the Saudi elementary public schools

This paper attempts to explore, evaluate and discuss the proposal to introduce English as a foreign language (EFL) in Saudi elementary public schools. The paper evolved around an empirical study conducted to detect the possible effect of FLES on Saudi school children. The study compared the EFL achievement of private intermediate school students who had studied this language in the elementary school (i.e. FLES group) with the achievement of their counterparts (i.e. non-FLES group) in the same language in the public schools. It was found that there was a statistically significant difference between these two groups in favor of the FLES group. This difference was attributed to the FLES group's greater exposure to EFL, more than to learning this language at an earlier age. The conclusion is that if English were to be recommended for introduction into the Saudi public elementary schools, this recommendation should be based on two factors: providing greater exposure to EFL and exploiting the affective characteristics of younger children that are related to language learning. However, this should be combined with a good quality of exposure in order to effect the desired results of teaching a foreign language in the elementary schools.

A Conceptual Framework for the Integration of Language and Content in Second/Foreign Language Instruction

This article proposes a conceptual framework for the integration of language and content teaching in second and foreign language classrooms. In this model, language and content teachers work collaboratively to determine language-teaching objectives. These objectives derive from two considerations: (a) content-obligatory language (language essential to an understanding of content material) and (b) content-compatible language (language that can be taught naturally within the context of a particular subject matter and that students require additional practice with). The conceptual framework is illustrated in four instructional settings—the mainstream class, the ESL class, the foreign language immersion class, and the FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) class. General implications for the integration of language and content teaching are also discussed.

Current Foreign Language In The Elementary School Programs in the State of Michigan

ABSTRACT Foreign language experiences in the elementary schools are making a comeback. Several states and numerous school districts are instituting extensive early second language experiences; others are investigating the option and are looking for information from programs currently in existence. This study describes basic characteristics of Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) programs in the state of Michigan. Goals and objectives were identified, and perceptions were recorded as to whether the indicated outcomes were being achieved. Also ascertained were the languages offered, learning materials and pedagogical techniques used, and time spent on foreign language instruction for various grade levels. Other topics covered in this paper are articulation with the junior high and high school, program strengths and weaknesses, perceived collegial and community support, and evaluation. The information gathered from this research is intended to be used for comparison with findings of earlier studies, to furnish information to schools interested in establishing FLES programs, and to provide a vehicle of self‐evaluation for programs already instituted.