- Glod, Maria. "Schools Try Elementary Approach To Teaching Foreign Languages - Washingtonpost.com." Washington Post - Politics, National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - Washingtonpost.com. Web. 28 Jan. 2011.This article is about Washington schools adding foreign languages in to their elementary education. The schools added the foreign language classes to the education program because of government and business leaders recognizing the need for bilingual speakers in today's economy. The article also recognizes the downfalls of having foreign languages offered in elementary education: lack of teachers, lack of funding, and the possibility of not comprehending other subjects due to too many courses. This article will appeal to my audience because it recognizes the pros and cons to the topic of foreign languages in elementary education. It also talks about specific people (school faculty, students, and parents) that are experiencing foreign languages in their elementary education.
-Stewart, Janice Hostler. "Foreign Language Study in Elementary Schools: Benefits and Implications for Achievement in Reading and Math." Early Childhood Education Journal 33.1 (2005): 11-16. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 3 Feb. 2011. This article is about the benefits of having a foreign language in elementary schools. The main benefit that they talk about is that the study of foreign languages in elementary education increases cognitive ability. The increase in cognitive ability will allow for the better learning in reading and math courses. I believe that this article will be worth while for my audience to read because it tells about benefits of learning a foreign language that people may not have thought about before.
-Tagliere, Julia. "Foreign Language Study--Is Elementary School the Right Time to Start?" Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 03 Feb. 2011.
-Tagliere, Julia. "Foreign Language Study--Is Elementary School the Right Time to Start?" Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 03 Feb. 2011.
This article talks about the benefits of having foreign languages in elementary schools along with the drawbacks. The article even has statistics from a couple of studies. The audience of my blog will be interested in this article because it gives a couple of different views on the issue. The article also gives a biblical story that can relate to the issue.
-Walker, Cheryl. "Foreign Language Study Important in Elementary School." Wake Forest University. 26 June 2004. Web. 03 Feb. 2011. This article is about Mary Lynn Redmond, she is an advocate for the teaching of foreign languages in elementary education. The article talks about the various ways in which Redmond is active in making foreign languages available to children. Redmond also wants parents to think of ways to help their children learn a foreign language if it isn't available in their school system. I believe that this article will appeal to my audience because it is about somebody who is active in pursuing the needs of foreign language education to children.
Required Reading List 2
Required Reading List #3
Required Reading List 2
-Farrug, Diane. "Foreign Language Learning Materials for Kids: Resources in French, Spanish, Italian, German, Chinese, ESL." Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. 6 July 2008. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.
This article lists and describes different programs that can teach a child a foreign language. The programs will allow the child to learn a foreign language at the comfort of their homes or at school. The website describes programs such as Muzzy and Berlitz Kids Language Packs. The weakness of the the article however, is that it just simply states the details about the programs. They don't talk about what the program is like or give any feedback on the programs. However, the site can be a beginning step in the finding of programs for teaching a child a foreign language.
-Marcos, Kathleen. "Why, How, and When Should My Child Learn a Second Language?" KidSource OnLine Welcome Page. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.
This website is worthy of my audience because it talks about different questions surrounding children learning a foreign language. The source answers questions such as "what are the benefits of knowing a second language?" and "why is it better for my child to learn a language in elementary school?". It also talks about the different ways that languages are taught to children. The weakness of the source is is that it doesn't talk about the limitations of foreign languages in elementary education. They don't tell you how to go about trying to get foreign language into the elementary setting at your child's school district. However, the strengths of the article is is that it tells the readers about the strengths of a child learning a foreign language and how to help the child practice if they are learning a foreign language.
-Peckham, PhD, Robert D. "Why Study a FL." The University of Tennessee at Martin - Http://www.utm.edu. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.
This website article is worthy of my audience because not only does it tell about the benefits of foreign languages it also lists the sources for the findings. So not only do the readers get a summary, they also get the link to the full findings. At the end of the article the publisher says, "join your arguments with some of these for a local or school newspaper article, a statement before the school board, your dean or principal. Now is the time. If the arguments sit inactive in your head or on this web page, they will do about as much good as a closet full of unused body armor in a police precinct." This phrase can get the reader to start thinking about things they can do to try to get a foreign language into their child's elementary setting.
-Walton, Beth. "More Children Learn More than One Language - USATODAY.com." News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World - USATODAY.com. 10 Jan. 2007. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.
This article is worthy of my audience because it talks about two different schools that have foreign language programs and a couple of the students that attend them. The article can allow the readers to see that early introduction of a foreign language can allow for a child to learn many foreign languages. The strength of the article is is talking about the students and the benefits of foreign languages.
Required Reading List #3
-"CAL: Digests: Guidelines for Starting an Elementary School Foreign Language Program." Center for Applied Linguistics. The Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Dept. of Education, 2010. Web. 31 Mar. 2011.
This article is exactly as it says, a guideline for starting foreign languages in elementary schools. I find this article helpful because it tells you things to be cautious of while planning a program, things to think about while designing the program, programs that lead to high levels of fluency, and determining feasibility of the program. The article also cites sources that can further help a person whom is looking into starting a foreign language program in the elementary setting.
-Kara, Jake. "Parents Push for Foreign Language in Elementary Schools." Darientimes.com. The News of Darien, Connecticut, 17 Jan. 2011. Web. 31 Mar. 2011.
I find this article to be worthy because it talks about what a woman did to get a foreign language into her child's elementary school. She starts talking to other parents and school officials, brings the matter of foreign languages in the elementary setting up at a board meeting, and starts a petition. This can get readers to be aware of what they can do. They'll start to realize that they can also go to other parents and school officials and even start a petition on the matter. The only weakness I find for the article is it doesn't go in more depth on what and how she went about getting the program available to the school. They didn't even give any suggestions for other parents whom believe in the matter.
-LAB - Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University. "Establishing High-Quality Foreign Language Programs in Elementary Schools." Brown University, Dec. 2000. Web. 31 Mar. 2011.
I find that this article will be one of the most useful to my audience. The article uses a newsletter to answer multiple questions on the matter of foreign languages in the elementary setting. The ones I find that will be the most helpful will be about how to get a program started and which programs work best. The article even gives useful web sources.
-The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA). "The Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA)." U.S. Department of Education. Web. 31 Mar. 2011.
This website will be helpful because it gives information on grants specifically for public schools that have or want a foreign language program. The Office of English Language Acquisition or OELA provides a pdf on three different programs and gives a description of each. It also lists contact information for each. A parent or school official would be able to take information on these grants to the school board to propose foreign language in the elementary setting. This will show the school boards that not only can whomever did their research and are strong-willed on the matter, but also that there is the possibility for grants for the program.
REQUIRED READING LIST #4
REQUIRED READING LIST #4
-"Foreign Language Assistance Program on the Chopping Block: a Major Threat to K-12 Language Instruction in the US « Speaking In Tongues." Speaking In Tongues. Web. 13 Mar. 2011. This article posted a copy of an article from asiasociety.org about the recent cut of FLAP Foreign Language Assistance Programs. Due to the House of Representatives recently passing a proposal of HR 1, which contains $100,000,000 from the President's FY 2011 budget request. This request included the elimination of the FLAP grants. This site tells people where and how to protest the elimination of these grants. They tell supporters of the FLAP grants to call or email their senators.
-"K-12 Foreign Language Education." The ERIC Review 6 (Fall 1998). ERIC: Educational Resources Information Center, 2 Nov. 2001. Web. 2 Apr. 2011. This newsletter allows for viewers to find out many things on the matter of foreign languages in elementary schools. Some of the information within the newsletter are: schedule types for programs, federal support for foreign language programs, state initiatives for foreign language programs, etc. This newsletter is worthy of my audience because they can see what the standards are for the programs. This would allow them to better create a foreign language program for their school district.
-MSNBC. "Foreign Policy 101: Teach Key Languages - US News - Education - Msnbc.com." 24 Aug. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. This article is comprised of a few different sections about one school. It is worthy of my audience because it tells of a school that has foreign language programs, tells which languages are in need of critical need, and the length of the courses. This article tells about a school in Fairfax, Virginia that seen the need for foreign language programs due to the globalization of the nation.
-Taylor-Ward, Carolyn. "THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDY IN GRADES THREE THROUGH FIVE AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT ON THE IOWA TESTS OF BASIC SKILLS (ITBS) AND THE FOURTH-GRADE LOUISIANA EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT PROGRAM FOR THE 21ST CENTURY (LEAP 21) TEST." Diss. Louisiana State University, 2003. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. This dissertation was done on foreign languages in elementary schools. I find it to be helpful to my audience because not only does it tell about research, program types, but it also tells about when foreign language study started in American schools. I found this interesting, due to not being able to find the information in other works. It tells why some of the languages were taught and then why they weren't taught as often. For instance, German wasn't taught as much after and during World War 1. This article will allow for the audience to better understand the history of foreign language. The statistics within the dissertation show the percentage of foreign language programs throughout the years. The statistics allow for us to better see the roller coaster affect of foreign language programs. Through the past few years, the rate of programs has gone down.
