The K-12 population learning Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) has been increasing rapidly within recent years in the United States. Ruan, Zhang, and Leung (2015) state that summer programs are one of the most recognized forms of Chinese learning, cultivating immersion language environments in the United States. As CFL programs expand, there is…

This paper addresses the issue of integrating students with special needs into foreign language programs in the early childhood years. A partnership between a university and a charter school in central Florida began as a result of parent and teacher interest in providing a foreign language program for its prekindergarten students. Since 2014,…

This action research study examined the experiences of a heritage speaker of Spanish who was training to become a Spanish teacher within a Spanish Education program that was in the process of transforming the traditional, front-loaded and theoretical methods course into a practice-based approach to teacher education. The goal of this…

There is no denying the importance of multilingualism in the 21st century; increased travels, student exchanges, global business, diplomacy, and security are mediated by communication. Education is the key to building a strong multilingual world community that will work for peace and stability. However, it may be often overlooked that a successful…

The author primarily delivered comprehensible Spanish input to her novice 3rd and 4th grade Spanish students via stories she revealed and simultaneously illustrated on a white board. To document comprehension, she obtained student retells of the stories. This approach, used over six months, became an action research project with the goal of…

The purpose of this study is to find out how young children can learn, understand, and progress in the Chinese language. This study focuses on 13 students between two and three years old. The data collection methods used classroom observation, benchmarks, and parent questionnaires about at home behavior. The data analysis used is qualitative…

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…

Among the reported proven positive results of early world Language (WL) study are improved cognitive abilities and "higher achievement test scores in reading and math" (Stewart: 11), which are expected student performance outcomes for the Common Core Standards. The future viability of Foreign Language in Elementary Schools (FLES)…

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 research study evaluates the effectiveness of a Spanish-English dual language immersion (DLI) program. Many researchers have found that high-quality and long-term DLI programs promote academic achievement and high levels of language proficiency for both language groups. Despite the evidence, leaders from the field of bilingual education have…

The present research study was conducted to explore how structured Spanish instruction (30 minutes, twice a week, for a semester) impacts the level of class participation and on-task behavior and the reading fluency rate of a group of self-contained, special needs, elementary school children (grades K-5). Data for this mixed methodology study were…

During the summer of 2005, a longtime Japanese teacher at a K-8 school in southwestern Pennsylvania unexpectedly resigned. The school, unable to recruit a new teacher for the 2005-2006 school year, chose to suspend the teaching of Japanese and to establish a committee to examine the foreign language program within the overall school curriculum. In…

Discusses a French immersion program in Louisiana, highlighting indications that students in the program are scoring higher on the state's mandated standardized tests than students in the district not participating in the program. Attempting to overcome deficits in language immersion research using testing and demographic data from a large sample…

Reports the results of a national survey on foreign language education in the United States. The survey focused on elementary and secondary schools and was conducted during the 1996-97 school year. The goal was to gain greater understanding of current patterns and shifts in enrollment, languages and programs offered, curriculum, teacher…

Investigated reasons for student choice in foreign-language study when moving from 8th to 9th grade. Eighth graders from districts that varied in how and when they offered foreign languages completed surveys after registering for ninth grade. Their main reasons for language selection were utilitarian, including the desire to satisfy future college…