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…

Seventeen years ago the author had left teaching secondary school Spanish at Dwight-Englewood School in Englewood, New Jersey, to create a FLES program at that same school. It's been a labor of love and a work in progress ever since. Along the way she has become convinced of a few things: an early start, long sequence, proficiency target and…

This survey has been carried out annually since 2002 to track developments in language provision and take up in secondary schools. The following sections are included in this analysis of key results from the Secondary Language Trends survey: (1) Survey background, methodology and sample design; (2) DfE (Department for Education) data trends of…

In their tenure as French teachers at the Avery Coonley School in Downers Grove, Illinois, the authors have continually sought an effective instructional model for their K-8 students. Their school is blessed to have a stable and historic French program for young learners, and each of their students is required to take French from kindergarten…

Glastonbury Public Schools hosted the NNELL Northeast Regional Workshop on September 24, 2011 in which the theme was "Engaging Digital Natives". Rita A. Oleksak, Director of Foreign Languages/ELL and NNELL vice-president delivered the keynote speech motivating the teachers to engage foreign language learners within the classroom and across their…

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…

One cannot teach language without teaching culture; culture is the context for language learning. Cultural instruction must be integrated into all lessons throughout the year, not just taught as mini-lessons in order. Teachers cannot expect their students to gain intercultural competencies through activities that are not embedded in cultural…

The theme of children and technology has been a prevailing topic of conversation among parents, teachers and researchers, stirring debate in all sectors of society. What is gained and what is lost by these "digital natives" born into an age of globalization, social connections, instant communication and gratification? How can technology be…

Like many elementary foreign language teachers, the author traveled from room to room to teach. Each room had different materials and a different classroom culture. This article describes how the author taught her students about Bolivia and how to motivate them through culture. It discusses a service-learning project that brings life-changing…

According to the Theory of Multiple Intelligences of Howard Gardner, there are eight intelligences. In the present study with two FLES classes, 35 students were asked to present Spanish vocabulary to their class to link their preferences of techniques used to introduce the vocabulary to their classmates with a spectrum of their multiple…

This report summarises findings from a survey of secondary schools carried out during the autumn term of 2010 by CILT, the National Centre for Languages, with support from the Association for Language Learning and the Independent Schools' Modern Language Association. It is based on responses to a questionnaire sent to a representative sample of…

Learning to speak another language requires students to adopt new ways of thinking. Some teachers believe that students can assimilate idiomatic expressions and cultural turns of phrase simply through the teacher's use and the students' practice. Others work to explicitly show the difference between the target language and native language, as if…

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,…

The question going into this action research was, "How can a language teacher encourage more positive attitudes toward language learning while building a learning community?" After incorporating "I Can" statements into the curriculum, more than 100 third grade students were surveyed. The survey asked what they thought they could do in Spanish.…

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…