This article peers through the lens of one district's journey of World Languages program refinement, and identifies a blueprint for success by aligning targets. The author begins by proposing the following questions: (1) Is your program where you want it to be? (2) Is it producing desired results? and (3) Are students yielding the greatest results…

Certain aspects of the implementation of language immersion programs in Delaware are unique given the state's size, demographics, and role in national education initiatives including Race to the Top, Common Core, and Smarter Balance. The Delaware experience typifies what every state, district, or even school goes through as they try to provide…

Two articles address issues in the development of French and Spanish language programs in elementary schools: instructional materials and time and money factors. The information presented is drawn from experience in developing the Radford, Virginia FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) program. The first article describes some aspects…

This paper describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of the first year of a three-year pilot project to teach Japanese to all students in grades K through five at a Pittsburgh elementary school. Findings from this multiple perspectives analysis are reviewed. (41 references) (JL)

La Escuelita, a Warwick (Rhode Island) Spanish language instruction program for children in grades 3 through 6, originated in 1983 in a group-tutoring program and expanded under the auspices of the local Parent-Teacher Association into an after-school activity for all city schoolchildren. The PTA undertook the administrative tasks, and the…

In response to requests of adult students for foreign language instruction for their kindergarten and elementary school aged children, and after researching the availability of such instruction in the area, Tarrant County Junior College developed a series of nonsequential courses of 12 lessons each on common topics such as parts of the body, the…

To provide a more permanent foundation for foreign language education in general and for extracurricular FLES programs in particular, a project was funded by the Iowa Humanities Board and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Its overall goals were to ensure positive foreign language learning experiences for elementary and secondary school…

A discussion of foreign languages in the elementary school (FLES) begins with a brief history of the program's emergence and status in the United States, a summary of the rationale for early language study, and descriptions of the major FLES program types. An Ohio survey of elementary school foreign language instruction is reported, and the…

A high intensity language training (HILT) summer program in English as a second language and Spanish as a second language offered to second through eighth grade students in the North Monterey County Unified School District (California) during the summers of 1982 and 1983 is described. The program funding, design, admission, development, and…

The report details developments in three areas of United States foreign language instruction, each reflecting major changes in the way foreign language educators think about their role and the way in which they structure the learning process for students. The first section describes the adoption of a voluntary national standard for testing…

The history and organization of a community college program in French, Spanish, and German language instruction for gifted elementary school children are described. The collaborative effort of the college and school districts, funded by the Federal Government and the Gifted Students Institute, provided 21 elementary teachers with methods training…

The Minneapolis public elementary school program in Spanish is described. It was established in 1974 as a FLES program in kindergarten and first grade, later established as part of a fundamental school alternative, and recently expanded to a partial immersion program. Children ideally follow the program from kindergarten through sixth grade. A…

The manual provides information to assist elementary school level program and curriculum designers in the creation and administration of second language programs. It is not a how-to manual, but includes descriptive data about program types in existence and criteria for evaluating language proficiency. It contains: a list of terms used and their…

The purpose of this report is to promote further development of international education in Colorado through the expansion of foreign language instruction, student and faculty exchanges, enrollment of international students, collaboration with state and private sector entities in international commerce, and the establishment of consortia…