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The benefits and methods of learning a foreign lanExperiencing a foreign language:Knowing a foreign language is one of the most useful things a person can do to improve an educational and personal career. By beginning a full time foreign language program at the middle school level, students are presented with the opportunity to learn not only the foreign language but also learn about their own language/culture. The Massachusetts Department of Education’s Frameworks for foreign language provide the basis for teaching foreign languages at every level. The standards are organized around five main goals: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities. (Brown and Philips) Furthermore, the use of Bloom’s Educational Philosophy at the middle school level has proven invaluable. Foreign Language Programs at the Middle level: Middle school students generally begin studying a language fulltime in 7th grade. It tends to vary from town to town and state to state. Many programs have been reduced due to budget constraints. Students who begin studying a foreign language at the middle school level will succeed better in their present and future educational experience. Students of foreign languages tend to score higher on standardized tests such as the S.A.T.s. Data from the Admission Testing Program of the College Board show a positive correlation between Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and the study of foreign languages. In one recent test group, for example, students who had not taken a foreign language in high school achieved a mean score of 366 on the verbal portion of the SAT, and 409 on the math portion. Students who had taken only one year of a foreign language had slightly higher scores (378 and 416), whereas students with two years of foreign language showed more dramatic increases (417 and 463). Each additional year of language study brought a further rise in scores, with students who had studied a language for five years or more achieving an average of 504 on the verbal and 535 on the math portion of the exam. (Weatherford) In addition to developing a lifelong ability to communicate with people from other cultures, children may derive other benefits from early language instruction, including improved overall school performance and superior problem-solving skills. Knowing a second language ultimately provides a competitive advantage in the workforce by opening up additional job opportunities. Students of foreign languages have access to a greater number of career possibilities and develop a deeper understanding of their own and other cultures. Evidence also suggests that children who receive second language instruction are more creative and better at solving complex problems. The benefits to society are many. Americans fluent in other languages enhance our economic competitiveness abroad, improve global communication, and maintain our political and security interests. (Weatherford) Currently, the second most spoken language in the U.S. is Spanish. By 2010, the U.S. Latino population is estimated to reach 42 million, and will become the largest minority group in the U.S. It is for that reason that the U.S. needs bilingual people for both public and private jobs. (spanishmaster.com) Foreign Language Assessment and Instruction: At the middle school level, students benefit from Performance-Based Instruction. This type of instruction focuses on what students can do with what they know. Performance-based assessment is the process of using student activities, rather than tests or surveys, to assess skills and knowledge. Class assignments, auditions, recitals, and projects, while intended to evaluate the individual student, can be reviewed as a whole (using all or a sample) to evaluate the course. The proficiency movement, which has driven foreign language reform in the last decade, is performance based. In middle school foreign language settings, classroom activities that engage students in meaningful and purposeful language use should predominate. (Kennedy, Knop) The last few years have seen remarkable growth in the use of portfolios and other types of performance-based assessment. These activities are used in conjunction with tests to provide a complete picture of student skills and abilities, rather than simply relying on one test score. Test scores can be adversely affected by a student's health, personal life, or even the weather. Critics of testing also point out that tests, particularly multiple choice tests, don't provide sufficient opportunity for students to think through what they are doing, or to want to do their best. Portfolios and other forms of performance-based assessment, on the other hand, invite the student to show his or her "best" work (Belanoff & Dickson, 1991, p. xvi). Many foreign language educators use a rating system or a rubric, by which they can determine at what level of proficiency a student is able to perform a task or display knowledge of a concept. With rubrics, you can define the different levels of proficiency for each criterion. Like the process of developing criteria, you can either utilize previously developed rubrics or create your own. When using any type of rubric, one needs to be certain that the rubrics are fair and simple. Also, the performance at each level must be clearly defined and accurately reflect its corresponding criterion.(Brualdi) Middle School Philosophy It is also important to align a foreign language program with the middle school philosophy. Thus the materials should be age appropriate and flexible enough to accommodate the intellectual diversity found in middle school learners. Materials need to reflect a variety of learning styles, interests, abilities, attention spans, and backgrounds. Activities should reinforce positive aspects of students' self-image. Students who perform skits or plays in the foreign language classroom gain confidence and positive reinforcement from their teachers. They become less fearful of standing up and speaking during other classes because they are encouraged to do so during their foreign language class. (Kennedy, Knop) Learning a language at the middle school level must be concrete through contextualized vocabulary presentations and the extensive use of visuals such as pictured vocabulary, videos, and charts. Exercises and activities should involve hands-on student involvement, whether through the use of manipulative or other forms of physical interaction. (Kennedy, Knop) Every class should include a kinesthetic activity that encourages movement. It’s very important at the middle school level that children are given the opportunity to move during class due to their stage of adolescent development. Also, instructional experiences for middle school learners should emphasize the development of understanding rather than the inconsequential memorization of vocabulary lists and grammar rules. Interaction with peers should be integrated into these materials to provide for the cognitive and social benefits of pair and group work. Materials should be seen by students as relevant to their interests. (Kennedy, Knop) Middle school students are taught to read, write and speak in the target language they are studying. Educational professionals know that there is more than one type of learning. A committee of colleges, led by Benjamin Bloom, identified three domains of educational activities. The three domains are cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. Students at all levels are given the opportunity to demonstrate their own understanding of the concept being taught. At the first level, knowledge, students at all levels can recall, describe, identify, label and match vocabulary words in the target language. At second level, comprehension, students are able to comprehend, explain, interpret, summarize and translate in the target language. Students do this through role-playing activities, reading short stories in the target language and reading a short story in the target language and are able to translate it into English. (Clark) The third level of Bloom’s taxonomy, application, enables students to use a concept in a new situation and in foreign languages students learn to construct their own dialogs, essays and stories in the target language. Students also are able to prepare and solve higher level grammatical concepts. The next level, analysis, allows students to compare and contrast in the target language and to identify the similarities and differences between their own language and the target language. The fifth level of Bloom’s taxonomy, synthesis, makes it possible for students to categorize word groups in the target language as well as summarize their own stories or essays in the target language. It is in this level that students are able to revise and rewrite their own work with a higher level of understanding. The final level in this cognitive learning domain, evaluation, students are able to make judgments about the value of ideas. In their language classes they are able to explain and defend themselves in the target language. (Clark) Conclusion: It is evident that knowing a foreign language can only help a middle school student feel more successful in their middle school experience. Languages have an important place in the learning of a middle school student. Using the state frameworks and Bloom’s taxonomy as a model, middle school language teachers are able to teach students how to speak a foreign language, to appreciate different cultures and to examine their own language and culture. Language programs at the middle level are invaluable for creating more informed and capable students whose lives will be enriched due to the study of a foreign language. References Belanoff, Pat & Dickson, Marcia. Portfolios: Process and Product. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers, 1991. Brown, C., & Phillips, J. K. (1997, April). National standards familiarization workshop. Presented at the annual meeting of the Northeast conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, New York. Brualdi, Amy (1998). Implementing performance assessment in the classroom. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 6(2). Clark, Donald. (2000, May) Learning Domains or Bloom's Taxonomy http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html Kennedy, D., & DeLorenzo, W. (1994). Point: The case for exploratory programs in middle/junior high school. Foreign Language Annals, 27, 69-73. Knop, C.K., & Sandrock, P. (1994). Counterpoint to the exploratory approach. "Foreign Language Annals," 27, 74-76. Weatherford, H. Jarold. (1986). Personal Benefits of Foreign Language Study. ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics. Washington DC. http://www.spanishmaster.com/SpanishMaster/WhySpanish/WhySpanish.html |
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