Thinking Outside the Language Box

"We are not textbook-driven; we are kid-driven."

The findings of a recently released national survey, "Foreign Language Teaching in U.S. Schools," conducted by the U.S. Dept. of Education and the Center for Applied Linguistics, reports that "foreign language elementary school programs are still extremely limited in the United States." In 2008, only 15 percent of public elementary schools offered foreign language instruction, down 9 percent from a decade earlier. The survey found that "scheduling and budgetary crunches, as well as the increasing emphasis on English and math standardized testing, have pushed foreign language studies to the sidelines."

When speaking about the importance of offering a foreign language, McKeel District (FL) Superintendent Harold Maready cited three important points:

1. To be competitive in a global economy, U.S. students need to master foreign languages.
2. The earlier a child starts, the easier it is to grasp a foreign language.
3. There are more effective ways to learn a language than the traditional classroom setting.

"Research has shown that the earlier you start, the easier it is to learn a language," said Maready, who oversees charter and public schools in Polk County, located in central Florida. "And, if you look at European and Asian kids, they can speak at least one other language after high school and that's a definite advantage in a global economy," he added.

With regard to the classroom setting mentioned in point three, Maready said that teaching foreign languages by the traditional rote method can be greatly improved with technology-based language programs that are more engaging for students.

powerspeaK¹² Method — Designed for Kids

A firm believer in using technology to enhance education and outcomes, Maready said that the mantra for McKeel charter schools is: "We are not textbook-driven; we are kid-driven." To that end, Maready introduced the powerspeaK¹² Spanish language course to second grade elementary school children, as well as middle and high school students, in 2008.

The course was offered as part of the district's after-school program, and students had to sign up for a fixed number of slots for the course. The course was held two days a week as a lab utilizing interactive whiteboards and K¹² instructors. Slots filled quickly.

"The whole program was exciting to kids. Elementary kids get excited about a lot of things, but they love this program because it's relevant to them," said Maready.

Help for Struggling Students

Another contributing factor in the decision to offer the program was to give struggling high school students help with Spanish 1. "If a student doesn't get it, there is^pn't another alternative for learning Spanish," Maready said. "We noticed that a majority of students performed better and improved their grades after participating in the program. They're learning Spanish because powerspeaK¹² methods allow students to relate to the language. And if you can relate to it, you're going to use it," Maready said.

Maready noted that technology-enhanced education may not work for every student, but said he has observed that students have taken ownership of how they learn, which then encourages them to go further to learn more.

"powerspeaK¹² enhances learning through the building of avatars and by being hands-on. It really makes a foreign language relevant to students, so they learn more. I believe applications such as the powerspeak method are the future of education," he said.