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About CALNews Archive - 2007Because the direct links to these articles change as news organizations move articles to archives on their Web sites, we have provided links to the home page of the appropriate news outlet for those with inactive links. Many of these Web sites retain archives that can be accessed by visitors, some free and some for a small fee. If you are interested in any of the articles posted in our archive, please visit the appropriate news Web site for more details. The Republican-American The Kansas City School District also is at the vanguard of this movement. It incorporates about 60 minutes of Spanish instruction each week into 21 preschools. Soon, three teachers from China are expected to begin introducing Mandarin into six district preschools. It's a small world after all, and across the country, parents increasingly are clamoring for some sort of foreign-language exposure for toddlers and preschoolers. Visit the Republican-American Web site.
The Californian "I heard 'Spanish for Spanish speakers' and it kind of caught me off guard," he said. "Once they explained to me what it really was ... the light went on." Supporters say these classes are needed for the same reason that American children who grow up speaking English at home study English in school. Visit the North County Times Web site.
Post-Bulletin (Rochester, MN) FLES has three certified teachers who devote their time at each of the elementary buildings and Woodson Kindergarten Center teaching students Spanish. Visit the Post-Bulletin Web site.
Kansas City Star (AP) The Kansas City School District also is at the vanguard of this movement. It incorporates about 60 minutes of Spanish instruction each week into 21 preschools. Soon, three teachers from China are expected to begin introducing Mandarin into six district preschools. It’s a small world after all, and across the country, parents increasingly are clamoring for some sort of foreign-language exposure for toddlers and preschoolers. Visit the Kansas City Star Web site.
StatesmanJournal.com (Salem, OR) The new program makes Walker Middle School the third in the Salem-Keizer School District to use two-way immersion. The program -- offered in math, science and language-arts classes -- puts English and native Spanish speakers in the same classroom, where they receive ample exposure to both languages. The program has drawn some controversy, with some critics saying the teaching strategy hinders English acquisition for non-English speakers. Visit the Statesman Journal Web site.
NewsTimes.com "There is a much greater emphasis to begin earlier, because it's recognized that to be able to communicate effectively in another language you have to start earlier and have a longer sequence of education," said Mary Ann Redmond, an associate professor of education and director of foreign language education for kindergarten through 12th grade at Wake Forest University. The instruction is more fun and more situational in the early grades, with the goal of teaching students to communicate in a meaningful way. The grammar and structure comes in the higher grades, she said. "It's a very different approach than 30 years ago." Visit the NewsTimes Web site.
CNN Money.com The new SIOP Model Series includes a revised edition of the groundbreaking textbook plus two additional resources for teachers, staff developers and administrators. A fourth resource is expected to be published in January 2008. Visit the CNN Money Web site.
North Jersey Media Group On Manhattan's Lower East Side, children at the public Shuang Wen Academy spend much of their school day in classes taught in Mandarin Chinese. The school is so popular among parents of non ethnic Chinese children eager to prepare their offspring for a changing world that there's a waiting list for admission. Visit the North Jersey Media Group Web site.
The Morning Call But in the Lehigh Valley, foreign language instruction in the elementary school is the exception rather than the rule. Nancy Rhodes, director of foreign language education at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, D.C., says a center survey showed the number of districts offering foreign language in elementary school rose from 22 percent in 1987 to 31 percent in 1997. But when broken down between public and private schools, only 24 percent of public schools offer language while 54 percent of private schools do. Visit The Morning Call Web site.
North Jersey Media Group By following a structured method called Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol, or SIOP, teachers learn to incorporate language-learning goals in subjects such as math, science or social studies, often by writing them on the blackboard. They measure whether students have achieved both the academic and language objectives, and incorporate visual cues, hands-on activities and group discussion to promote language development. "It is a structured approach to help people who aren't really able to draw on a deep understanding of second language acquisition," said Carolyn Adger, director of the language education and academic development division at the Center for Applied Linguistics, which helped develop the program a decade ago. Visit the North Jersey Media Group Web site.
Long Island News "It's about time," says Jaumont, the education attache at the French Embassy in Manhattan, the cultural branch of the main embassy in Washington. "This is a competitive country, and if Americans want to compete globally, they won't be first any more if their language skills are not good," says the energetic young diplomat, whose English is peppered with American jargon. Visit the Long Island Newsday Web site.
Kansas City Community News UMKC will be the fiscal agent of the grant, while the school district will be the actual provider of the program, which is called Project EXCELL. University and district officials are getting technical assistance for the project from Dr. Betty Smallwood and Judy O'Laughlin, consultants with the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, D.C. Read the rest of the article online.
Gazette.net (MD) Becoming bilingual is simply a necessity, especially in the Washington metropolitan area, said Gideon Lachman, of Bethesda, whose son Micah, 3, is a student at the center. ‘‘You can hear people speaking other languages on the street all the time,” he said. ‘‘[Micah] has friends from South America and Germany who are growing up in bilingual households. It’s just a reflection of our changing culture.” Read the rest of the article online.
North Jersey Media Group In the last five years, the Clifton public schools have added a new elementary school, implemented SmartBoards and new computers, completed many capital projects, revised more than 200 curriculum guides, and added professional development in differentiated instruction, mathematics, writing, science, instructional technology, and other areas. In the last five years, Clifton students have improved their math, science, and language arts state test scores at all levels, high school Advanced Placement course participation has doubled, and we have been recognized at both the state and national levels for our work with English language learners. Visit the North Jersey Media Group Web site.
The Cincinnati Enquirer However, there are plenty of options outside of schools. There are old standbys, such as the Berlitz Language Center in Montgomery, which primarily targets adult students but has an after-school program in French and Spanish. Read the rest of the article online.
Education Week (edweek.org) Read the rest of the article online.
Omaha World Herald This fall, classes for eighth-graders will be added at Marrs, and two new schools — Crestridge Elementary Magnet and Beveridge Magnet Middle School — will participate in the program. For the first time this fall, OPS students will be studying in dual languages in all 13 grades. VRead the rest of the article online.
SignOnSanDiego.com (Union-Tribune) Although participants overall test lower in English-language skills in first and second grades, they ultimately do as well as or better than their peers in academic achievement by the fifth grade, plus they become bilingual, said Judy Lambert, education consultant for the California Department of Education, Language Policy and Leadership Office. Read the rest of the article online.
Lancaster Online.com (Lancaster, PA) The immersion program runs from kindergarten through sixth grade. From the start of kindergarten, the children receive all of their instruction in Spanish, except for music, art, library and physical education. In McKenna's Spanish kindergarten class, children learn to recognize the alphabet and what each letter sounds like and to make syllables and pair syllables to create words. The words are all in Spanish. Visit the Lancaster Online Web site.
The Cincinnati Enquirer Times - and the world - have changed. Globalization has blurred our borders and expanded our horizons. In today's global economy, foreign language skills have become vital to our children's future as members of the workforce and to our nation's future success in the world. Visit the Cincinnati Enquirer Web site.
Education Week (edweek.org) On June 14 at noon, Diane August, a senior research scientist at the Center for Applied Linguistics, will review findings about ELLs from the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. I'm thinking the Webcast could be an agreeable alternative to reading the 669-page volume--or at least a big help in knowing what to focus on in reading the actual study. (A 15-page executive summary is also available.) Read the rest of the article online.
San Jose Mercury News It's not just parents of the Mandarin students who are celebrating. Proponents of school choice, business leaders and advocates of foreign-language education see the growing number of immersion programs as an educational advancement and economic necessity. They argue that more Americans need to become proficient in multiple languages as the world effectively shrinks. Visit the San Jose Mercury News Web site.
Tennessean.com The purpose of the Cultural Orientation Trainers Exchange Program is to allow U.S. refugee resettlement professionals to observe the cultural orientation workshops that are conducted in refugee camps to prepare refugees for departure to the U.S. Visit The Tennessean Web site.
Education Week (edweek.org) Read the rest of the article online.
The Chronicle of Higher Education Visit The Chronicle of Higher Education Web site.
Herald Tribune (SW Florida) It has been eradicated along much of the state's east coast and in the Orlando area. In places such as Tampa, its survival is mixed. The Florida dialect of author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings likely won't vanish, linguists say. But it likely won't remain the same, either. Visit the Herald Tribune Web site.
DailyBulletin.com (Ontario, CA) As students from the initial Dual Immersion kindergarten class near the end of elementary school their parents are pushing to bring Dual Immersion to the intermediate level. "These parents committed their children to seven years of language instruction and they don't want that to be wasted in a two to three year lapse," Board of Education member Bill Hedrick said. "A lot of that will be lost." Visit the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Web site.
Education Week The report characterizes the Education Department’s programs for the teaching of foreign languages and cultures as “fragmented.” It says that “there is no apparent department master plan or unifying strategic vision.” Visit the Education Week Web site.
Boston Globe (AP Article) At least 27 states offer Chinese language classes in either elementary, middle or high schools. And according to the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington D.C., there are 12 public and private immersion schools across the country where most subjects are taught exclusively in Mandarin Chinese. "It's about jobs and a world economy," said Richard Alcorn, who spearheaded the first Chinese immersion charter school in Massachusetts with his wife, Kathleen Wang. "There are unbelievable opportunities to do business in China, so there's a need for Americans to learn the language so we're not left out." Visit the Boston Globe Web site.
Houston Chronicle "There really is no 'too soon,' " Marty Abbot of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign languages told the Chronicle in December. "Because they are young and are able to duplicate the sounds of another language, they are more likely to have native-like pronunciations and intonations. Around puberty, you start to lose the ability to do that." Visit the Houston Chronicle Web site.
New York Times National data on Arabic education in kindergarten through 12th grade is spotty. But the Center for Applied Linguistics, a research group in Washington, estimates that there are roughly 25 full-credit programs in public and non-Islamic private schools nationwide. And Connecticut can claim at least five. Visit the New York Times Web site.
The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA) This is the second year that Arabic has been offered at Washington. And like many other high school teachers of Arabic, Ikram Easton had to develop her curriculum from scratch. Visit the Cedar Rapids Gazette Web site.
Yourhub.com (Denver,CO) There are several research studies that show that children who are exposed to a second language or raised bilingually can perform certain cognitive tasks more accurately than monolinguals. These students also tend to achieve better scores in verbal intelligence (English and second language), conceptualization, global thinking and original approaches to problem solving. In fact, learning a second language can also improve a child's understanding of his or her native language. As a child acquires language structures in the second language, he or she is continuously scaffolding, connecting and comparing these new structures to what is already known. Visit the yourhub.com Web site.
CANOE.CA Travel News Some programs are tailored specifically to certain fields, like medical Spanish for professionals in the health care industry. Others combine adventure travel: You can ski while learning French in the Alps or surf before classes in Ecuador. If you have to achieve a level of proficiency for your job, schools often have a special track for that. Visit the Canoe.CA Travel News Web site.
North Jersey Media Group About 10 percent of Englewood's approximately 2,800 students are enrolled in the program, which by many indications is a success. Demand is so high the school must hold a lottery to determine which English-speaking children can enroll. Visit the North New Jersey Media Group Web site.
Summit Daily News (Frisco, CO) Research shows that the more grounded a child is in their native language, the more easily they acquire a second language. Also, learning at a young age makes proficiency more likely. Visit the Summit Daily News Web site.
Beaver County & Allegheny Times Online (PA) "The problem with foreign languages in Pennsylvania and other states across the nation is that many school districts, because of increasing pressure of funding of school budgets and test preparation, are cutting back on foreign language as far as total offerings," Keever said. Visit the Beaver County & Allegheny Times Web site. |
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