Program Types and Scheduling

There are different program types to utilize for a foreign language program. Each program is set up with different goals in mind as well as each requiring different things. The program types are total immersion, two-way immersion, partial immersion, content-based/content-enriched FLES, and FLES programs.

• Total Immersion programs are programs in which 50-100% of class time is spent learning subject matter taught in the targeted foreign language. It's goals are for students to become functionally proficient in language, master subject content, and to acquire an understanding of other cultures.
• Two-Way Immersion are programs that spend at least 50% of the time learning subject matter taught in the targeted language. The class includes students that are native English speakers as well as students whom are native speakers of the targeted foreign language. This class is set up so that students whom don't speak English can learn by interaction with the students whom speak English and vice versa. The goals of the program are for students to become functionally proficient in targeted language, master subject content, and to acquire an understanding of other cultures.
• Partial Immersion programs spend approximately 50% of the time learning subject matter taught in the targeted language. The goals of the program are the same as total immersion, just at a lesser extent.
• Content-Based FLES programs spend approximately 15-50% of the time learning subject matter taught in the the targeted language. The goals of the program are for students to acquire proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in the targeted language; to use subject content as basis for foreign language skills, and to acquire an understanding of other cultures.
• FLES programs spend approximately 10-20% of the time learning subject matter taught in the targeted language. These programs require a minimum of 30-40 minutes per class, 3-5 days every week. The goals of the program are the same as Content-Based FLES programs, except the goals for reading and writing are less due to the limited time allotted.

The next step to decide on is how to schedule the class. After deciding which program is needed, you'll  need to decide which type of scheduling will work best with it. There are different scheduling options:

•  Traditional scheduling - will allow for 40-55 minute classes
• Block scheduling - allows for class periods to be longer than those of traditional scheduling classes
• Intensive programs - are a formal instructional program that provides more than one hour per day of exposure to the targeted language
• Immersion programs - are programs that offer more than four hours of instruction in the targeted language.This includes total immersion, where 100% of the subject matter is taught in the target language, and partial immersion, where at least 50% of the subject matter is taught in the target language.
• Multilevel classes - this will help with conflicts, such as shortage on teachers, timing conflicts, and a low enrollment in the program. Multilevel classes combine students from different instructional levels into one classroom.

Why Some Schools May Not Have a Foreign Language Program

Some schools may not have a foreign language program installed in their curriculum for multiple reasons and each schools' reasons may be different from the other. If you've ever wondered why there isn't any foreign language in your child's school district it may be any of the following:

1. Lack of interest - The school may have tried to have a program before, but there wasn't enough interest in the courses. The lack of students in a course, will lead to the eventual dropping of it from the school's curriculum. Or if they were trying to get a program started, there wasn't enough interest from students, faculty, or parents to get the program installed into the curriculum.

2. Lack of funding - A school may not have the available funds to operate a foreign language program. They also may have lost funding for the program if they previously had one. One major key to a foreign language program is to have diverse funding.

3. Lack of teachers - It may be hard for the school district to find a teacher to teach a foreign language or they may not be able to find a teacher that is willing to stay for a set amount of time to teach.

4. Lack of time - School curriculum throughout the years has become more intense. This leads to the problem of teachers barely being able to find the time in the year to teach the required curriculum that is set by the state as well as county. This situation doesn't allow for any extra time to be allotted towards extra curriculum such as foreign languages or more extensive art classes. For instance, Robin Tempelton, a first grade teacher at Arthur I. Boreman Elementary School in Middlebourne, West Virginia, is required to teach the following during the year: “90 minutes of reading, which includes 30 minutes of response to intervention, as well as spelling and phonics; 90 minutes for handwriting sentence structure, and paragraph writing; 35 minutes for music and PE; 15 minutes for calendar time; 30 minutes for recess; and 1 hour for Lexia (computer reading program mandated by the state), reading lessons, math lessons, and Tech steps (state mandated) every week to be taught in the computer lab.” So her class is in lab for 2 ½ hours on Friday afternoons.

5.  Lack of knowledge - Some schools don't have enough information on foreign language programs. They may not know where to go to get a program started, how to get funding for one, or how to get people interested in the matter.

Brain Research

As we all know, the brain is a complex organ that controls the functions of our bodies as well as our thoughts. Many studies have been done to see just how the brain works. But with the brain being so complex there is only so much we can learn. One of the many topics of research studies on the brain is that of the effects of foreign languages in children. This post will be dedicated to giving facts that were found out through brain studies and facts about the brain.


Facts about the brain:
1. When a child is born, they have over 100 billion neurons (brain cells), this is enough to last a lifetime due to there won't be anymore neurons developed after birth. Neurons form synapses, connections, which create the wiring of the brain.

2. When an infant is eight months old they can have 1,000 trillion synapses. Yet by age ten the synapse count decreases to around 500 trillion. The number of synapses is determined by the child's early experiences and learning. The number of synapses is likely to decrease by as much as 25 percent. 

3. If a child doesn't use specific connections or pathways in the brain, they will be lost. This is why people often say "use it or lose it" about the brain. The connections that are used, however, can become stronger due to the brain discarding inactive connections.




4. When an infant is three months old, his brain is capable of distinguishing several hundred different spoken sounds. The brain will organize itself, over the next few months, more efficiently so that it will only recognize the sounds that are part of the language that they regularly hear. The brain is able to retain the ability to relearn sounds it has discarded, during early childhood, so young children typically learn new languages easily.

Some Finds on Foreign Languages and Young Children:
1. Researchers use functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the changes in blood flow of bilingual children and adults while having them name objects or describe events in different languages. People whom become bilingual at an early age use the same synapses for both languages, while those who learned a second language later on in life will use a different segment of the brain for the second language. A child's brain will be able to use synapses that will no longer be accessible later on in life.  

2.  The brain changes structurally in those of bilingual people. A bilingual person's brain will have denser grey matter than that of a monolinguals'. The left side of the brain that controls language will have the most pronounced change, as well as some change can be seen in the right hemisphere. The change will be more obvious the earlier the second language is learned. 

3. A child's brain have tremendous plasticity, this means that they are really flexible when it comes to adapting to new requirements, such as new grammar and sound perceptions.Infants are able to perceive sounds differently than adults.  

4. Bilinguals are better at multitasking than monolinguals are due to the brain being trained to attend to the meaning of the words and concept of one language, while suppressing the meaning of the other. Studies found that bilingual elderly people show a lower incidence of cognitive decline than that of their monolingual counterparts. 

Why study a Foreign Language you ask, well I'll tell you...

This post is going to give you facts about studying a foreign language, whether you are young or old. Along with the information I will give you the sources for each of the facts so that you can read more in depth on the facts if you wish.

1.Children who learn a foreign language often demonstrate greater cognitive development, creativity, and differing thinking patterns than monolingual children.
2. Communication skills are sharpened, as well as memory and listening skills
3. Brain research indicates that learning a second language helps the brain of a young child develop; it will allow the brain to grow connections necessary for learning a language. This is no longer possible after the age of 12.
4. The brain of a child has more synapses and greater plasticity, so is better suited for learning a foreign language than the brain of an older child or adult.
5. They grasp linguistic concepts faster and earlier than monolingual children, such as words having several meanings
6. A bilingual or multilingual person's brain will develop more densely than that of a monolingual person's
7. Bilingual speakers are better at dealing with distractions
8. Learning a foreign language in the elementary setting usually enhanced a child's knowledge in English.
9. Increase in children's ability in reading, writing, and mathematics
10. It may also help offset age-related declines in mental performance  
11. People who are bilingual or are multilingual tend to have higher scores on tests of verbal and nonverbal intelligence than monolingual people do.
12. Having a longer sequence of learning a foreign language leads to higher levels of language proficiency
13. Studying a foreign language helps in the development of global understanding

14. Enhanced career potential

15. Bilingual or Multilingualism can help under the circumstances of terrorist attacks

Foreign Language Programs for Children

Many of us have heard of Rosetta Stone and how it's extremely expensive. We've also heard about how great it is and that the military even uses it. But do we really hear that much about programs that teach children a foreign language? No, not really. The only program I have seen advertised to teach a child a foreign language is Muzzy. 

Muzzy is a program, in which was created by BBC in 1982, that claims to be "The World's #1 Language Course For Children". Muzzy is available in eight languages: Spanish, French, German, Italian, English, Mandarin, Russian, and Portuguese (Brazil). The two newest programs are Russian and Portuguese (Brazil). Muzzy is a total immersion program that utilizes cartoons, a colorful scriptbook, audio CDs, and a vocabulary builder DVD.
Little Pim is a program that utilizes animations and actual children to immerse a child in the foreign language. “Little Pim is an affordable, fun and convenient way to introduce a child to a foreign language at the age it matters most.” Little Pim currently has programs for Spanish, French, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Hebrew, English (ESL), German, Arabic, and Russian.
Baby Einstein™ Language Nursery introduces the sounds of foreign language to a baby. “The audio includes nursery rhymes sung by mothers in their native languages of English, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Russian and Spanish.”
Professor Toto is a program that utilizes English along with the foreign language to introduce the language to the child. The program uses animations song-filled CDs, and colorful workbooks to teach these languages: French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese or German. “Professor Toto is a series of multi-award winning language education tools for ages 2 to 8.”
Other programs include: Berlitz Kids Language Packs,  Teach Me, and  Usborne First Thousand Words Books

Whether you like it or not your child is already being exposed to a foreign language

Today, TV introduces us to different languages whether we like it or not. Not only do we have shows such as Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go!, but commercials also throw in different languages as well. The most familiar commercial with a foreign language phrase is Taco Bell's Chihuaha saying: "Yo quiero Taco Bell!" meaning "I want Taco Bell!" Another example of a commercial with a different language is for Old El Paso Taco. In this commercial you see a father nailing into a table so that he can make a taco stand up straight, so it won't fall over and lose all of its contents. The son then asks in Spanish "What if it had a flat bottom?"
TV shows that actually teach your child various phrases from a foreign language include: Dora the Explorer; Go, Diego, Go!; Ni Hao, Kai-lan; and Sesame Street. Back in 1989, Sesame Street had a special (Big Bird in Japan) where Big Bird goes to Japan and teaches children phrases such as "Good Morning" - "Ohayoo"; "one" - "ichi"; "two" - "ni"; "three" - "san"; "Thank You" - "Arigato"; "Please" - "Douzo"; etc. In 1983, Sesame Street did a special (Big Bird in China: Learning Mandarin for the Olympics) where Big Bird went to China. Big Bird learns phrases like: "Hello" - "Ni hao"; "Goodbye" - "Zai jian"; and "I love you" - "Wo ai ni." Shows like Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! allow kids to learn Spanish. Ni Hao, Kai-lan is a show that teaches children Mandarin. These shows give children a fun way to learn a foreign language. They'll have the child shout out stuff like "Rapido!" to have the dolphin swim faster. The characters of the show will also greet the audience in their spoken language. For instance, Kai-lan will say Ni hao to the children whereas, Diego and Dora will say Hola.

Mandarin as a second language?

China has become more influential in business and economics within the United States. 87% of the 346 American businesses in China have had an increase in revenue, whereas, in 2009 there was a 47% rise in revenue. With more of our companies establishing themselves in China, we are in more need of bilingual speakers who speak English and Mandarin. If we learn Mandarin, then we will be better able to communicate with company officials and other Chinese officials. We would also have a better chance of being able to do business with other Chinese companies.
With this rise in U.S.-Chinese related businesses it's only natural that the number one spoken language has become more in demand in schools. Many schools have been adopting Mandarin courses into their school's education.The learning of Mandarin specifically could help with furthering the globalization of our country. It has been found that thousands of public schools have stopped teaching foreign languages in the last decade. Yet now, a lot of schools are picking up Mandarin courses. The Chinese government has even sent teachers from China to teach Mandarin at US schools. The Chinese government pays for part of their salary while the school district where they are hired pays the rest. "The number of Chinese programs in prekindergarten through 12th grade in the United States has grown by almost 200 percent since 2004, according to the Asia Society, a nonprofit group that promotes education about the continent" (Citation).
Little Lingoes and Bilingual Buds, preschools, both have Mandarin classes available to their students. The classes taught at Bilingual Buds are total immersion courses. The teacher, Jing Zhou, read the students Goldilocks and the Three Bears in Mandarin (Jin Fa Nu Hai Er He San Zhi Xiong). The teachings, such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears, are familiar so that it's easier for the students to understand the context. In 2008, Grimes Elementary School, received a grant for a three year Mandarin program.