Teaching Foreign Language in Elementary Schools

K-W-H-L Statements Topic:   

     Emphasizing the importance of providing students with a well-rounded education, rather than focusing on a limited range of disciplines.   

K:            The No-Child-Left-Behind Act has caused school to devote increased attention to the subjects of math and English, and this has cause them to neglect other important subjects, especially those geared towards the creative development of students.  Schools have made this move because they are concerned about students’ performance on national standardized testing assessments which concentrate on math and English skills.  Schools need to reinstate the importance of teaching diverse topics in the classroom to best help their student success in their future educational and life endeavors.  Audience:  educators and other educational professionals, parents, students, government law-makers Sources of Information:  Elementary Education course at Pitt, articles on the topic of NCLB, educators, documentaries on educators’ experiences with NCLB   

W:          How can individuals set out to change the NCLB law or alter it in some way so that it does not adversely affect the students in concern?   Who is the best target to direct this information towards?     

H:            Education journals, interviews or correspondences with educators, government websites, educational websites       

L:             The solution to this topic will probably be difficult to develop because of the complexity of the issue with regards to political aspects of the situation.  Educational sources will probably be the best source of researching information on this topic.    (Read on …)

3 Potential Topics for Analysis:1.  Beginning language learning in elementary school:    The fact that children acquire languages with greater efficiency when they are introduced to them at a young age suggests that it would be more beneficial to implementing language instruction in elementary school instead of waiting until secondary school.2.  Trend of increased emphasis placed on young children for high academic achievement:  With the stakes of education today, more pressure has been place on children for high achievement.  Yet this emphasis can have various negative impacts on students’ ability to succeed.3.  Value of diverse and creative subjects for teaching and learning:  With the No Child Left Behind Act, schools have placed heavy emphasis on the math and language disciplines while giving less attention to other disciplines.  Yet these neglected subjects are vital to well-rounded academic and personal development and should not be cast aside.

Hello, my name is Lindsey Zettl.  I am senior Italian studies major at the University of Pittsburgh.  I plan to do graduate study for Elememtary Education at Pitt after I finish my undergraduate degree.  I greatly enjoy working with children, and I would like to Au Pair in Italy for awhile.  My hope is to eventually become an elementary school teacher and possibly teach English in an elementary school in Italy.