Elementary Language Learning

Critical Age? Generally, younger = better in terms of language learning. Uh, oh, you’re 15, you’re too old. Critical or sensitive period Widely debated, puberty, 6 or 7???? Different aspects of language affected differently. Grammar later than pronunciation

Critical period: Evidence for and against It’s just a function of time on task (Evidence against) It’s really social interaction (Evidence Against) Deaf Children, Feral Children (Evidence for)Feral Children Ultimate attainment of kiddos… Kids end up better than adults (Evidence For)

Critical Period Regardless, starting earlier is better More time on task Social benefits: People encourage kids Mistakes are cute Correction is empathetic Contact is generally more immersive Compare immigrant adults v. their kids

Program types What’s the difference? Carla goes to a school where Chinese is taught as a subject like math or reading for 40 minutes 4 days a week. Juanito, a third grader, goes to a school where half the day content is taught through the medium of Spanish and the other through English. Language focus Content focus FLES Total/Dual Immersion Content- enriched

FLES Does it do any good? What is the role of time on task? How long does it take? How long does it take So does FLES do any good? Articulation Sequence of study

Program Types – Advantages/Disadvantages Planning a program Where do we start? At the end! Backwards planning What do we want to accomplish? What resources do we have? What kind of support at the community and administration level?

Strengths and Weaknesses What is good and bad about these programs? In languagelandia, students take a foreign language exploration class in 8 th grade for one semester focusing on conversation and cultural understanding. In 9 th - 12 th they may take a traditional sequence of 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd, and 4 th year language classes. Teachers use a four skills approach and employ the target language 30-50% of the time. In the state of Woohah, students often enroll in dual immersion elementary programs where content is taught 50% of the time in the target language through 6 th grade. In upper grades students take one or two content classes in the target language per year. In Linguolio, students take a foreign language in elementary school 4 days per week as a separate subject from grade 1 to 6. The class incorporates knowledge from the other subjects students are learning. In junior high and high school these students participate in the regular language programs offered to all students.

Methods for Elementary School CBI What is content based instruction? What is thematic planning? FLES example