STANDARD COURSE OF STUDY

SECOND LANGUAGES :: 2004 :: PURPOSE

PURPOSE

Rationale for Language Learning

The ability to communicate with others is central to human nature. Throughout the ages, humans have been able to share information, interests, needs, and values over time and space and thus have influenced others by their actions and their words. In recent years existing and emerging technologies have brought the world closer and have erased many of the existing borders. As boundaries between countries are being dissolved, the need for foreign language instruction has become a necessary component for linking with the rest of the world and for producing an enlightened citizenship able to function in today's ever-shrinking world.

In addition to the need for communication within a global world, the study of a foreign language is needed to ensure economic competitiveness, to maintain national security, and to teach tolerance and respect for others inside and outside of the United States.

Finally, learning another language is a passport to greater understanding of one's own language and culture.

Studies and Reports

Beginning in the late 1970's there has been renewed interest in the study of languages. Many studies and reports have highlighted the need for foreign language competence.

  • The National Commission on Excellence in Education published a report A Nation at Risk (1983) which ranked foreign language education at the same level as the "basic academic fields - English, mathematics, computer science, social studies, and the natural sciences" (pp. 25-26).
  • The College Board (1983) recommended expanding basic skills to include foreign language education for all students.
  • The American Council on Education Commission on International Education in the document What we can't say can hurt us: A call for foreign language competence by the year 2000 (1989) urged leaders of higher education to require competence in a foreign language as an admissions requirement.
  • The Goals 2000: Educate America Act states: "By the year 2000 all American students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated competency in challenging subject matter including English, mathematics, science, foreign language, civics and government, arts, history, and geography..."
  • The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE, 2003) stated that "...it is far more effective to initiate foreign language study in the elementary school than in secondary school both from the perspective of more advanced language study and enhancing general academic skills" (p. 1).
  • The Council for Basic Education (2004) states that research suggests that "foreign language instruction can help close gaps between white and minority students' performance on mathematics and reading assessments."

There are many other reasons for studying another language. These reasons can be divided in four categories:

  • economic reasons
  • national security
  • social reasons, and
  • academic reasons.

Economic

To be competitive on a global scale, the business world needs individuals with strong skills in a second language, who can work within a culturally diverse environment. The following data attest to the needs for such individuals.

  • Research shows that multilingual societies have a competitive edge over monolingual societies in international trade. (Halliwell, 1999)
  • Research shows that in the service industries, more than half of U.S. professionals working in a multicultural environment whether in the U.S. or abroad are linguistically unprepared to do so. (Lena & Reason Moll, 2000)
  • Global languages are important in over 100 occupations and are considered vital for the U.S. to remain competitive in technology, science and trade. (Nat'l Academy of Sciences)
  • In NC alone there are over 1000 international firms representing many countries.
  • "The business climate too is changing. We often face our foreign clients through electronic desktops, where the information from e-mail, videoconferencing, corporate chatrooms and web sites is ever current; the delivery often instantaneous. In these circumstances, expectations for a quick turn-around are as high as the stakes, less and less time to find a way around using our correspondent's language. Of the estimated 310 million regular internet users in the world, nearly 60% are from outside North America, and only about 50% are English-speaking. "(Tennessee Commerce Department , 2003)

National

The events of 9/11 have highlighted the shortage in the manpower needed to translate the messages gathered through intelligence.

  • The 2001 Hart Rudman Report on National Security in the 21st Century names foreign language study and requisite knowledge in languages as vital for the Federal Government to meet 21st Century security challenges properly and effectively.
  • The American Council on Education in its 2002 policy paper. Beyond September 11: A Comprehensive National Policy on International Education states "Developing global competence is a long-term undertaking and must begin at an early age, especially for foreign language acquisition."(p.10)
  • In the Public Statement Release of the 9/11 Commission Report, July 22, 2004: "What the FBI needs is a specialized and integrated national security workforce, consisting of agents, analysts, linguists and surveillance specialists.

Social Reasons

A less obvious but nonetheless compelling reason to study another language rests in the power that languages have to promote cultural understanding between people of different backgrounds.

  • The study of language helps students develop a sense of cultural pluralism. Through the study of another language students interact and communicate with others and thus discover genuine similarities and differences among various cultures. At the same time, they develop respect and appreciation for the cultural perspectives, practices, and products of the different cultures.
  • North Carolina has a growing non-English speaking population. There are more than 150 languages currently spoken by students in our schools. North Carolina realized a 73% increase in immigrant population from 1995-1999. (Johnson, The Melting Pot) From April 1, 1990 to April 1, 2000, the Hispanic population increased 401.2 % and the Asian population increased 99.6%. The ability to speak a second language helps us to communicate directly with those who speak that language. In addition, it enables us to understand firsthand the process for second language acquisition and to be prepared to handle the challenges of living and working with non-English speakers.

Academic Reasons

The study of another language impacts other academic areas.

  • Data from the Admissions Testing Program of the College Board show a positive correlation between SAT scores and the study of a foreign language. Verbal scores of students increased with each additional year of language study. The Second Languages 2004 Modern Foreign Languages 15 most interesting piece of information is that the verbal scores of students who had taken four or five years of foreign language were higher than the verbal scores of students who had taken four or five years of any other subjects.
  • It helps students develop greater cognitive skills in such areas as mental flexibility, creativity, divergent thinking, and higherorder thinking skills.
  • The study of a foreign language has been shown to enhance listening skills and memory and can contribute a significant additional dimension to the concept of communication.
  • Cloud and Genesee(1998) argue that basic education in the new millennium must include second and third languages if the United States is to cope with the diversity within its borders and compete successfully in the global marketplace. They cite both cognitive and sociocultural benefits of language study. They conclude, "Linguistic and cultural competence will be the mark of the well-educated citizen of the 21st century." (65).
  • Curtain(2003) states "Every area of the curriculum can be reinforced or enriched in the foreign language classroom, and subject content can be taught through the second language." (p. 399)
  • The UNC system requires two credits in the same language to meet entrance requirements.
  • The North Carolina University/ College Course of Study graduation pathway requires two credits in the same language for a high school diploma.

Conclusion

The study of another language prepares students for the complicated world they inhabit. The value of such an education not only lies in job-related advantages but also in the added dimension of an understanding of other people and cultures.

Benefits

Over the past twenty years much research has been conducted documenting the immediate and long-range benefits of foreign language learning.
Modern Foreign Languages in the Elementary Schools

Acquisition Children have the ability to learn and excel in the pronunciation of a foreign language (Dulay and Krashen; Krashen and Long, et al.; Krashen and Terrell).

The Neuroscience Program at Stanford University has gathered much information on where in the brain the learning of a second language takes place in children vs. adults. According to Talukdar Second Languages 2004 Modern Foreign Languages 16 (2001) "A combination of listening and vocalization seems to be the most advantageous method of acquiring a second language for both adults and children."

As reported in News and Science, in 2002, researcher Laura-Ann Petitto reported that children exposed to two languages from a very early age "grow as if there were two mono-linguals housed in one brain." She added that there is no contamination of either language by the other. The researchers concluded, that "the earlier and more intensively the languages are introduced, the better."

Higher Scores

In the area of language arts, students of second languages are thought to improve their reading comprehension in the native language and also score higher in reading achievement, including vocabulary, cognitive learning, and total reading ability. (Masciantonio, 1977; Rafferty, 1986).

Basic Skills

The Louisiana Report: Second Language Study Improves Basic Skills (Rafferty, 1986). The results of this study indicate that regardless of their race, sex, or academic level, students in foreign language classes outperformed those who were not taking foreign language on the third, fourth, and fifth grade language arts sections of Louisiana's Basic Skills Tests. Foreign language study appears to increase the scores of boys as much as girls, and African Americans as much as other races. This finding supports the notion that, beginning as early as third grade, second language study facilitates the acquisition of English language skills.

Armstrong and Rogers (1997) showed that third graders who were taught Spanish for thirty minutes three times per week showed statistically significant gains on their Metropolitan Achievement Test scores in the areas of math and language after only one semester of study. It is particularly interesting that one class of students in the experimental group had actually received one and a half fewer hours of math instruction per week, and still outperformed the students in control classes in math.

Saunders (1998) examined the performance of third grade students enrolled in the Georgia Elementary School Foreign Language (ESFL) model program. She compared students who had not received any foreign language instruction with students one year younger who had received four years of foreign language instruction, five days each week, for thirty minutes per day. She found those students in the ESFL program scored significantly higher on the math portion of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. They also performed better on the reading portion, but the difference was not statistically significant.

A report in the May, 1997 issue of Developmental Psychology suggests based on the latest research on reading, that knowing a second language can help a child comprehend written language faster and perhaps learn to read more easily.

Listening Skills

Foreign language study has been shown to enhance listening skills and memory (Rattle, 1968), and the development of second language skills can contribute a significant additional dimension to the concept of communication.

Cognitive Development

Children who have studied a foreign language show greater cognitive development in such areas as mental flexibility, creativity, divergent thinking, and higher order thinking skills (Foster and Reeves, 1989; Landry, 1973; Rafferty, 1986; Ginsburg and McCoy, 1981; Bamford and Mizokawa, 1991).

With respect to cognitive abilities, Ginsburg and McCoy (1981) cited research findings to support that when students learn another language at the elementary level and there is good program articulation, second language students advance more rapidly than monolingual students in cognitive abilities, independent of IQ. Regarding creativity, in the Landry (1973) and Kessler and Quinn (1980) studies, students who studied a second language in elementary school scored significantly higher on tests of divergent thinking as measured in terms of figural fluency and figural flexibility independent of age and IQ.

Recent research indicates that "the length of time students study a foreign language relates directly and positively to higher levels of cognitive and metacognitive processing" (Rosenbusch, 1995).

Cultural Pluralism

Children who have studied a foreign language develop a sense of cultural pluralism, openness to and appreciation of other cultures (Carpenter and Torney; Hancock and Lipton et al.; Lambert and Tucker).

Self-Concept

Children studying a foreign language have an improved self-concept and sense of achievement in school (Genesee; Holobow et al.; Masciantonio).

Previous Knowledge

Second language learning in the elementary school, especially at its beginning stages is less dependent on previous verbal learning than are most other elements of the curriculum. This factor allows some students to succeed who have otherwise experienced repeated failure in school. In a study (Holobow et al. 1987) working class students did just as well in French as middle class students, even though their English skills were not as good.
Foreign Languages in the Secondary Schools

SAT Scores

During the past several years, data from the Admissions Testing Program of the College Board definitely show a positive correlation between SAT scores and the study of foreign languages. According to Profiles, College-Bound Seniors, 1981, a publication of the Admissions Testing Program, of 922,919 seniors tested, 13.6 percent had taken no foreign language courses. For this group the mean SAT score on the verbal portion of the test was 366; on the math portion it was 409.

Length of Study

Some studies have found that students who learn a foreign language have higher verbal and math SAT scores than students who have not had foreign language (College Entrance Examination Board 1992; Cooper, 1987).

Data from Profiles, College-Bound Seniors, 1984 and 1990, tell essentially the same story. Again, sheer time spent taking a subject appears to relate to a better test score, and concentration on foreign languages for periods of four or more years results in the highest SAT-verbal average of any of the subject group.

(Thomas C. Cooper. "Foreign Language Study and SAT-Verbal Scores." The Modern Language Journal ,Volume 71, Number 4, Winter 1987.)

ACT and Foreign Languages

A study by Olsen and Brown (1989) supports that English and mathematics performance levels of students who have studied a foreign language in high school are higher than those of students who have not. In prior research that controlled for variations in students' ability, the English and math performance levels of students who had studied a foreign language tended to be higher than those of students who had not. (Wiley; Eddy; Bastian; Timpe; Skelton; Olsen and Brown).

Further and more detailed study of interrelations among parts might reveal, as suggested by Jarvis, that the mental processing skills required to do mathematics problems are also developed by language processing and vice versa.

Career

Global language competency, cultural sensitivity, political and economic awareness, flexibility, and computer skills are the five skills needed to compete in the global marketplace of today and into the 21st century. (Careers, 2000)

Second language learning provides a competitive edge for all students regardless of their chosen career path, and addresses a shortage of workers in virtually every field that uses languages to communicate successfully. (NASBE - The Complete Curriculum, 2003)

Status of Modern Foreign Languages in North Carolina

Enrollment

The Public Schools of North Carolina Statistical Profile reports that the modern foreign language enrollment for K-12 students during the 2002 - 2003 school year was just under 350,000 students. Spanish is the language of choice followed by French, Latin, German, Japanese, and other languages.

Currently, students begin their study of a second language at different entry points (reflected by the beginning and continuing headings for some objectives in this Standard Course of Study). Fifty-two percent of high school students are studying another language compared with twenty percent at the middle school level and twenty-seven percent at the elementary level.

Programs

Contributing to the diverse second language learning opportunities is the variety of programs available in North Carolina. FLES, Immersion, Content-Enriched, Exploratory, Beginning Sequential programs, International Baccalaureate, and Spanish for Native Speakers are a few of the programs found at the elementary, middle and high school level. These programs differ not only in their overall goals but also in the amount of time students are engaged in the language, in the level of proficiency they reach, and in the types of resources and activities used in the classroom.

 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) FLES classes usually meet from two to five times a week for 20 to 40 minutes. FLES programs form the majority of elementary programs in North Carolina. These programs emphasize the development of the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The primary focus is on understanding and speaking with the teaching of culture integrated throughout the program.
Immersion Programs
  • In total immersion programs, the entire school day is spent in the foreign language during the first two to five years of instruction.
  • In partial immersion programs, the foreign language is used during half of the school day.
 The focus of immersion programs is to help students become proficient in the target language while mastering subject content from other disciplines. In immersion programs, the "regular" curriculum is taught in the foreign language.
Dual Language Programs   A variation of immersion programs includes dual language (two-way bilingual) programs. These programs group native speakers of English with native speakers of the target language. Instruction is provided both in English and in the target language on alternate days, according to academic subjects, or according to a daily schedule (morning in one language and afternoon in the other).
Content-Enriched Programs Content-enriched classes usually meet from two to five times a week 20 to 40 minutes. In content-enriched programs, students develop foreign language skills while reinforcing their study of math, science, social studies, or another subject area.

Figure 3. Elementary School Foreign Language Programs in North Carolina

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Exploratory Programs Exploratory programs can vary in length from a few weeks to one semester. These programs are usually short term. These programs are mostly found at the middle school level. Exploratory programs are non-sequential. They introduce students to one language and culture and do not lead to the development of communicative proficiency.
Beginning Sequential Programs Beginning sequential programs vary in their scheduling, some meet daily for the entire semester or year, others meet on alternate days throughout the year. Many students begin the study of another language at the middle school level. These programs focus on the development of communicative proficiency with culture being integrated throughout the program. Listening and speaking skills are developed first followed by reading and writing skills. Depending on the extent of the program, beginning sequential programs may allow students to place out of some foreign language classes at the high school level.
Continuing Sequential Programs Continuing sequential programs vary in their scheduling, some meet daily for the entire semester or year, others meet on alternate days throughout the year. Students who have participated in an elementary program pursue the development of their language skills in continuing programs.

Continuing programs allow students to take the language without any major break in the sequence.

With adequate instructional time, continuing programs allow students to place out of some foreign language classes at the high school level.

Figure 4. Middle School Foreign Language Programs in North Carolina

A few middle schools and elementary schools in North Carolina are implementing pre-IB programs to prepare their students to be successful in the high school IB program. Only schools approved by the International Baccalaureate Organization are authorized to offer the curriculum and to present candidates for the examination. At the high school level programs such as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Spanish for Native Speakers complement the "traditional" programs.

HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Traditional Programs These programs form the majority of programs at the high school level. They start at level I and continue to a possible level VIII in high schools following a block schedule. High school programs are geared toward the development of communicative proficiency in the four language skills and the understanding and appreciation of other cultures.

Because the course length has been shortened by 30 hours in a block schedule, careful examination of what students can realistically learn at each level of instruction must take place. Locally-developed pacing guides are helpful to address this concern.
Advanced Placement Program (AP) The AP program is an opportunity for students to pursue college level studies while in secondary schools. The AP program offers a variety of courses for students who have gone beyond a high school level III or IV. They are: AP French Language, AP French Literature, AP German Language, AP Spanish Language, and AP Spanish Literature.

The AP language courses emphasize the use of active communication. The AP literature courses are an introduction to representative works of prose, poetry, and drama from different periods. Literature courses may or may not have a required reading list; however, the content of the courses is geared toward helping students do well on the AP examination.
International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB) Program is a rigorous twoyear curriculum leading to examinations. The general objectives of the program are to provide students with a balanced education; to facilitate geographic and cultural mobility; and to promote international understanding through a shared academic experience.
Spanish for Native Speakers A complete description for this course can be found in the section preceding the Spanish for Native Speakers curriculum.

Figure 5. High School Foreign Language Programs in North Carolina

 

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