HOLLISTON MA PUBLIC SCHOOLS SPANISH PROGRAM
10/16/09 TSC
I. History:
The history of Holliston’s Elementary Spanish Program dates back to
the spring of 1995, at which time a K-12 Focus Group to study the
impact and advisability of a K-12 Foreign Language Program for all students
was formed.This group reviewed and critiqued the original World Languages
Framework from the Massachusetts Department of Education, set forth a
recommendation for foreign language instruction for all students, K-12. In
the fall of 1995, a focus group was formed at the Elementary level. Teachers,
Curriculum Coordinators and Principals worked for two years to familiarize
themselves with research and best practice in foreign language education at
the elementary level. In particular, Languages and Children, Making the Match
(Curtain and Pesola,Longman, 1994, 1988) proved to be an excellent basis for
program development. By the fall of 1997, the program curriculum was
completed, and in January of 1998, the Holliston Public Schools instituted
the first steps of our current Spanish FLES Program in Grade1 for 2 x 30
minutes per week. In the fall of 1998, the program was expanded to
Kindergarten and Grade 2. Students in Kindergarten receive a total of 20
minutes of instruction per week, and students in Grade 1 receive 3 x 30
minutes per week of foreign language instruction.
In the fall of 1999, the program was expanded to Grade 3 and a
start-up program was begun in Grade 6. In the fall of 2000, the Grade 3
Program moved to Grade 4 with a continuous sequence, and the Grade 6 start-up
moved down to Grade 5. Thus the program begun at the elementary level has
continued to move up through the grades, with a “domino effect” on the status
of the curriculum at each grade level.
In the spring of 2002, for budgetary reasons, the district discontinued
the Kindergarten component of the program and move Spanish instruction into
our teachercommon planning time, which is allotted in 50 minute periods.
Therefore, in the fall of 2002, we began a new program format of 2x50 minutes
per week in Grades 1 and 2, 3x30 min. per week in Grades 3 and 4, and 5x25
min. per week in Grade 5. We have adjusted our lesson plans to fit the new
format. We have documented all of our integrated activities in Grades 1-3
and will work on lesson documentation at the upper elementary level as we
continue our program.
II. Concepts/Goals:
The ultimate goal of Holliston’s elementary foreign language
(Spanish) program is the development of oral proficiency on the
part of every child. The program is inclusive of all students, except those
with severe special needs, and finds its base in the integration of all
subject areas with the foreign language instruction. Students are learning in
Spanish, and not simply learning Spanish. The curriculum document underlines
the integration possible with the regular English curriculum and individual
lesson plans detail this integration in a concrete manner. For example, in
the curriculum document, we define how it is possible to integrate the
teaching of Spanish with the area of Mathematics. Individual lesson plans
would detail the charting and graphing of information and the teaching of
number facts through Spanish. Teachers are careful to integrate each of the
curricular areas at some point during each month of instruction. Through this
level of integration it is possible for English classroom teachers to see
that what is being taught in Spanish in no way detracts from, but rather
enhances, instruction normally taking place in English.
The formatting of this program is based upon research cited in
Curtain et al, stating that a minimum of 75 minutes per week, no less
frequently than every other day ( therefore, 3 X 25 min.) are needed in order
to attain levels of fluency indicative of those stated in both the National
Standards for Foreign Language document and our own Massachusetts Foreign
Language Curriculum Framework (see attached chart). Again, due to budgetary
reasons, we did change our format from 3x30 minutes to 2x50 minutes per week.
All Spanish instruction is delivered by certified elementary school
teachers who are fluent in Spanish. The program is coordinated by a system-
wide foreign language coordinator whose job includes the training of new
teachers in elementary foreign language methods and materials. The
coordinator meets on a weekly basis with foreign language staff in order to
design long-range planning and assessments, as well as to conduct the
ordering of materials for classroom use. Each Spanish teacher has his/her own
materials, as lessons are planned together and are delivered in a similar
manner to each class, regardless of individual teachers. In this way, common
planning time may be used to assess the program and its curriculum. Teachers
collaborate on lessons and share feedback after lessons have been taught.
Students are immersed to the greatest degree possible, and simultaneous
translation from Spanish to English is never used to convey meaning to
students. Students acquire a second language in much the same way that they
acquire their mother tongue, through listening and acting upon verbal
information. Translating only slows down the process of listening
comprehension, in the long run. Certain cultural units of work will be taught
mostly in English, as the goal for these lessons is not language acquisition,
but the acquisition of cultural information. Listening through the target
language requires children to process information somewhat differently, and
causes higher order thinking skills (such as comparing and contrasting
information) to be accessed on the part of second language students.
III.
Advantages of Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES)Programs:
Research cited in Curtain, et al suggests the following advantages
to an early start in foreign language learning:
.The attainment of greater academic achievement in other areas of
study,including reading, social studies, and mathematics.
·The development of a clearer understanding of the English language
and a greater sensitivity to structure, vocabulary and syntax.
·The attainment of higher SAT scores, especially in verbal areas.
·The attainment of a greater awareness and deeper understanding of
other cultures and the development of a more positive attitude toward
persons from other nations.
·The improvement of geographic knowledge.
·The enhancement career opportunities.
·The development of more flexibility in the thinking process through
problemsolving, conceptualizing and reasoning.
·The satisfaction of attaining a personal goal - learning another
language.
IV. Program Research (see bibliography attached)
V. Individual Student/Program Evaluation : Students at the grades 1-3
levels are assessed on an informal basis throughout the course of the school
year.
Standards-based report cards are distributed to students in Grades 1-3 in
January and in June. At the end of the Grade 3 sequence, an informal
assessment including listening comprehension (words and sentences),
phonetic decoding, sight word reading, sentence reading and cultural
knowledge is administered to all students. Informal assessments in
Grade 3 are used to measure individual and group progress toward
the benchmarks in our standards-based curriculum documents. Assessments
at subsequent grade levels are based upon learning benchmarks for each
grade level.
BIBLIOGRAPHY - FLES PROGRAMS
Bialystok, Ellen and Hakuta, Kenji. In Other Words: The Science and
Psychology
of Second Language Acquisition. Basic Books, 1994.
Curtain, Helena and Pesola-Dahlberg, Carol Ann. Languages and Children, Making
the Match. Reading, MA. Longman Publishing, 1988, 1994.
Lipton, Gladys. Practical Handbook to Elementary Foreign Language Programs.
Lincolnwood, IL. National Textbbook Company, 1998.
Lipton, Gladys.A Celebration of FLES: Sequential FLES, FLEX and Immersion.
Lincolnwood, IL. National Textbook Company, 1998.
Met, Myriam. Critical Issues in Early Second Language Learning: Building for
Our Children’s Future. Reading, MA. Longman, 1998.