This article briefly reviews the social, political, and economic context that explains the present status of elementary language education in the United States and addresses the challenges identified by recent reports on the state of language education in the United States. Different curricular models of world language education--exploratory,…

Makes a case for a sequential approach to teaching foreign languages middle schools and suggests that in the middle school must encompass both the goals of proficiency and exploration; the integrated exploratory model is more compatible with child development; exploratory can be a launching pad into sequential courses; after an exploratory…

Makes a counterpoint to a previous article that makes a case for using the exploratory approach to teaching second languages in middle schools. The article advocates a well-organized and sequential language program at the middle school level that includes interdisciplinary ties, content-based instruction, and a strong linguistic and cultural…

This article makes a case for using a sequential approach in teaching foreign languages at the middle school level. Specific sections address the limitations of the exploratory approach, a longer sequential study of a foreign language, and thematic curriculum development. (JL)