This article presents a perspective on elementary school foreign language programs in the United States. The author presents an overview of the history of elementary programs, a summary of present practices, and a discussion of the educational and political context of early language programs. Recommendations for future action by both language educators and early language advocates are offered, as is a summary of promising activity by professional language organizations. The author concludes that elementary programs will not expand significantly without the establishment of a national language policy and an extensive public-awareness campaign.
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References
1.
1. Nancy Rhodes and Rebecca Oxford, A National Profile of Foreign Language Instruction at the Elementary and Secondary Level (Los Angeles: University of California, 1988), p. 93.
2.
2. Connecticut State Department of Educational Testing and Evaluation, Executive Summary of the CAEP Testing in Foreign Languages (Hartford: Connecticut State Department of Education, 1988), pp. 1-25.
3.
3. Harold Abelo, CharlesHoffer, and Robert Klotman, Foundations and Perspectives of Music Education (New York: Schirmer, 1984), p. 10.
4.
4. Daniel Roach, interview “Art Education,”Glastonbury (Connecticut) Board of Education, 23May1993.
5.
5. James Crawford, Hold Your Tongue (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1992), p. 36.
6.
6. Ibid., p. 43.
7.
7. Frank Grittner, Teaching Foreign Languages (New York: Harper & Row, 1969), p. 9.
8.
8. Crawford, Hold Your Tongue, p. 59.
9.
9. Gail Arnall, Innovations in Foreign Language Education (Washington, DC: Department of Education, 1992), p. 11.
10.
10. Rhodes and Oxford, National Profile of Foreign Language Instruction, p. 93.
11.
11. Nancy Rhodes, interview “Update on Immersion Enrollments,”Center for Applied Linguistics, 17June1993.
