In the United States, research on reading difficulties is predominantly carried out by scholars who project findings on L1 English reading difficulty to generalized difficulty in learning a second language (L2; e.g., Galuschka et al., 2020; Shaywitz & Shaywitz, 2020; cf. Sparks, 2023). This research extrapolation creates a negative feedback…

This essay offers a candid overview of the past one hundred years of preK-fifth grade Spanish language teaching and learning in the United States. Among the topics addressed are numbers of programs, program models, and factors that impact the success of learners and programs.

A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest, non-equivalent control group design was used to examine the effect of a mobile gamification application on third and fourth grade students' Spanish language achievement and student academic self-efficacy. In this study, the treatment group's Spanish language instruction was through the use of…

In this mixed methods action research study, the teacher-researcher designed a blended learning model for a fifth grade class of Spanish in an independent private school in Northern New Jersey. The need for the study was to update the Spanish curricula, allocate resources to promote Spanish outside the classroom by providing a cost-effective…

Teachers and students can have ambitious educational goals, including critical reflection on the world around them, both that which is "home" and that which is "foreign." The environmental questions which face us all can be part of the elementary school curriculum, and the Foreign Language Elementary School (FLES) contribution…

At Sonrisas Spanish School, educators are interested in finding ways to teach children in the way children actually learn. Their mission is to create high quality, standards-based Spanish classes and curriculum materials that are both effective for teachers and also provide a positive foreign language learning experience for students. They value…

Sistema de formas en colores (SFC) is a symbols-based system for teaching Spanish grammatical structures and concepts within a communicative context in the elementary school. The (ACTFL) Standards for Foreign Language Learning: Preparing for the 21st Century states that, "While grammar and vocabulary are essential tools for communication, it is…

Foreign Language Elementary Summer Camp is a fantastic way to spend part of the summer. For the past ten years in Glastonbury, Connecticut, the authors have offered a variety of foreign language elementary camps that meet daily for three hours for three to four weeks during July. Currently, they offer camps for Chinese, English Language Learners…

Teaching Spanish at the K-5 level is a passion of mine, and the author would like to share some of the practical applications that she finds most rewarding and effective. She has found enthusiastic response to the creation of detailed language learning kits that are rooted in storytelling, but expanded to include home-made board games,…

This article reports on the implementation of the Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) in an Early Foreign Language Learning program. The goal of this research was to examine the performance of grade 4 and 5 students of Spanish on the IPA. Performance across the three communicative tasks is described and modifications to IPA procedures based on…

Although researchers have begun to explore the implementation of dynamic assessment (DA) with foreign language learners, few of these studies have occurred in the language classroom. Whereas DA is typically implemented in dyads, promising research in the field of foreign language learning suggests that DA may promote development with groups of…

Google Earth is a computer program that allows users to view the Earth through satellite imagery and maps, to see cities from above and through street views, and to search for addresses and browse locations. Many famous buildings and structures from around the world have detailed 3D views accessible on Google Earth. It is possible to explore the…

After a teaching experience with the children of Ecuador with so little support, the author has come to greatly appreciate what is available for teachers in the states. Sometimes the best encouragement for a new teacher of FLES is a success story straight from the classroom. In this article, the author shares a few of the tools she has picked up…

When the author was teaching in an elementary foreign language exposure (FLEX) program several years ago, she completed a research project that documented student learning gained from student dialogue journals. The action research initiative taught her the value of being reflective about her teaching practices. Her thesis research requirements…