Teaching Foreign Language in Elementary Schools

Risk Communication on the Need for Introducing Foreign Language Education in US Elementary Schools

Research Outline and Sources

I have decided to research the topic of implementing early foreign language programs in elementary school classrooms within the US.

 Aspects of this issue which I plan to address include:

  • Reasons why students would benefit from starting to learn a language in elementary schools instead of waiting until secondary school
  • Research data that supports claims of the benefits of early language exposure for foreign language acquisition
  • Obstacles encounted in attempts to incorporate language learning into elementary schools’ curricula
  • Examples of successful elementary language immersion programs
  • Examples from European countries of incorporating foreign language instruction at the elementary level
  • Importance of being bilingual in today’s global society

For my research, some of the sources I plan to consult include:

  • The article “Maturational Constraints in the Acquisition of Second Language Accents,” by Herbert W. Seliger, et. al., in Language Sciences, 36, 20-22, Aug 75 
  • The article “The Sensitive Period and Comprehension of Speech” by Susan Oyama, found in NABE: The Journal for the National Association for Bilingual Education, v3 n1 p25-39 Fall 1978
  • Journal article “Ultimate Attainment in Second Language Acquisition,” by David Birdsong, in Language, Vol. 68, No. 4, Dec. 1992, p. 706-755.
  • Journal article “The Optimal Age to Learn a Foreign Language” by James J. Asher and Ramiro Garcia, found in The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 53, No. 5, May 1969, p. 334-341.
  • Journal article “The Critical Period for Language Acquisition: Evidence from Second Language Learning” by Catherine E. Snow and Marian Hoefnagel-Höhle, found in Child Development, Vol. 49, No. 4, Dec. 1978, p. 1114-1128.