Despite the growing societal demand for multilingual graduates prepared to engage in local and global contexts, programs to meet these demands are scarce, especially in K-8 contexts. When schools do seek to implement programs, stakeholders struggle to choose from the established models because research documenting desired outcomes is lacking.…

The job description for a homeschool Spanish teacher has many of the requirements one would expect. The candidate must be fluent in Spanish, love working with children, be willing to work with all kinds of learners, communicate well with parents and students, and have great enthusiasm for teaching. The Home School Assistance Program (HSAP) classes…

An Iowa high school's experience with producing a biennial statewide foreign language fair is described. The objectives have been to have students enjoy using their second languages, especially with people to whom they have never spoken before, and to enliven the winter months. Every language teacher and student, as well as others on the staff,…

College undergraduates and upper-level high school students are teaching Spanish, under the supervision of their foreign language teachers. The program is mutually beneficial, providing "hands on" teaching experience for the college students, while at the same time, providing an enjoyable and different learning environment for the…

Since 1965, Amish children in Buchanan County, Iowa have been exempted from state requirements to attend centralized schools and, instead, are taught in small rural schools with a traditional curriculum through grade 8. More recent federal laws mandate provision of special services to limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in this group. Some…

The experience described by Kay Hoag, Advocacy Chair of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL), exemplifies the threat of program elimination and/or cutbacks that elementary school foreign language programs across the nation experienced with increased frequency during the 2002-2003 academic year. Reports of these threats…

The Iowa guide to foreign language curriculum development, the result of a 1985 state mandate, is designed to help local teachers and administrators build on and improve current curriculum and instructional methods. An opening section outlines the rationale, philosophy, and goals of the guide, and subsequent sections focus on curriculum design and…

The State of Iowa, in order to insure that students have access to educational programs essential to their needs and abilities regardless of race, sex, handicapping condition, language, socioeconomic background or geographical location, has promulgated these guidelines for insuring that foreign language programs are multicultural and nonsexist in…

Iowa's guide to developing and implementing programs for the state's limited-English-proficient (LEP) school population addresses issues in developing policies, identifying student needs, and planning educational programs. The first chapter discusses the legal and educational rationale for providing equal education to the LEP population, outlining…

The first ten years (30 issues) of the newsletter for Iowa teachers of foreign language in the elementary school (FLES) contain a variety of articles on both curricular and extracurricular FLES programs and teaching. Topics addressed include: teacher certification; summer language camps; multicultural education and cultural awareness; program…