This study investigates children's attitudes and technology use for learning Spanish, and examines the type of technology-enhanced learning activities they enjoy. A survey with two versions was developed to gather attitudes and opinions of 2,220 children in grades K-2 and 3-8 in eight small rural school districts in the Midwest of the United…

Emphasizes the importance of developing literacy skills in the elementary school if communicative competence is the goal of a fully articulated K-12 curriculum for Spanish. The vehicle necessary for developing these skills lies in curricular objectives that emphasize literacy and in teacher education programs that foster the growth of this…

Bloom's taxonomy suggests that the learning process moves hierarchically, from simple to complex, in both the cognitive and affective domains. Spanish curriculum typically emphasizes the cognitive over the affective domain. However, the two domains appear to be interrelated. Spanish FLES programs could be enhanced by emphasizing the learning…

A university-elementary school partnership created a K-5 Spanish program staffed by elementary education majors with bilingual or English-as-a-Second-Language education endorsements. A central component is the FLES methods course for preparing college students to teach. A theoretical model provides the basis for integrating the course's two…

The University of Idaho and Moscow School District (Idaho) cooperated to create a Spanish enrichment program designed to stimulate academic interest among elementary school children and to provide preservice teachers with additional foreign-language teaching experience. The model offers content-based courses and addresses concerns of junior high…

A retrospective of over one hundred years reveals the evolution of different policies, approaches, and methodology for teaching foreign languages to young children and shows pivotal points in events and policies. Three periods are distinguished: 1898 to 1958; the growth period of 1958 to 1978; and development since 1978. Details concerning Spanish…

FLAME (Foreign Language Alternative Mastery Example) is a model for foreign language in the elementary school (FLES), conducted after school and focused on development of a broad vocabulary base, especially cognates and terms relevant to the student's everyday environment. In the program, FLES student teachers collaborate with a university-based…

This article describes a prototype for articulation for Spanish-language programs in the elementary schools, along with examples of how it can be used to create an articulated Spanish-language program within a current elementary school curriculum. (17 references) (Author/CK)

Teachers can encourage parental involvement and appreciation of studying Spanish through simple homework assignments. This article discusses how students and parents work together to discover the impact of the Spanish-speaking world on their surroundings. (Author)

Discusses the need to start second-language learning in the primary grades and the budget constraints impeding implementation of early second-language education. The article advocates using the young children themselves to persuade school administrators and parents to support the teaching of second-language courses in the primary grades. (CK)

Integrating a foreign language culture into the teaching of the language is discussed, and a list of methods is provided.

A study was carried out to extend the Spanish FLES program by integrating it into the language arts and social studies curriculum. The goals were to provide mini-courses integrating the three topics and to create a more positive attitude toward Spanish speakers and their culture. (Author/NCR)

This article describes a program in Buenos Aires at the tertiary level offering certification in elementary education plus language certification. The program is bilingual (English/Spanish); courses and methods are described. (CHK)

Several reading readiness activities developed in a class on teaching reading are explained in detail. The article shows how these activities can be adapted by the foreign language teacher for use in FLES classes. (CHK)