Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools
Program Goals:
- To develop high levels of proficiency in Spanish at the beginning stage of language acquisition.
- To provide a meaningful context for developing communication skills in Spanish.
- To build an understanding and appreciation for the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world.
- To strengthen the language competency of Spanish speaking students (native or heritage speakers).
Ashlawn Elementary School Glebe Elementary School Jamestown Elementary School Patrick Henry Elementary School McKinley Elementary School
The purpose of the FLES Spanish Program is:
To prepare students to begin developing functional skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Spanish.
To provide a nurturing environment where students feel comfortable learning a second language.
To develop proficiency in oral and written communication in Spanish through the integration of language skills and concepts taught in the content areas.
To encourage all students to develop an openness, understanding and appreciation for other cultures.
Instruction Time
Students receive from 90 to 135 minutes of instruction weekly.
FLES Teachers
The FLES program requires that FLES teachers hold a Virginia's teacher's license in Spanish as Foreign Language (Spanish K-12). It is highly recommended that FLES teachers be dually certified in foreign language and in elementary education.
Curriculum
The FLES program follows the Arlington FLES curriculum framework, which is aligned with national and state standards. The expectations for students learning Spanish as a second language who complete the K-5 sequence are to attain the novice-mid to novice-high level as described in the performance guidelines of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. At a novice-mid level, the student can engage in simple conversations, can speak and write short sentences, and can read and understand brief text, among other skills.
Instructional Materials
All students in the FLES program have access to high-quality instructional materials to help them develop the desired proficiency. Arlington utilizes the Viva el español series of materials and resources from the National Geographic Language and Literacy en español series. These series are standards-based and allow for cross-curricular connections.
Cross-Curricular Connections
The FLES curriculum in Arlington provides opportunities for making connections between Spanish and other subjects. For example, students in kindergarten practice math skills by counting by 2's and by 10's or by making a bar graph of the students favorite colors. This allows the students to learn specific vocabulary (colors, in this case) in an authentic context (talking about what they like) while at the same time practicing an important math skill (making and reading bar graphs).
Students in new programs in SY 2011-12 (Barrett, Campbell, Carlin Springs, Drew) and all kindergarten students will have a specific science focus in their FLES class. In conjunction with the Science Office, curriculum was developed that integrates science goals for each year group with related content in Spanish.
Assessment
FLES teachers conduct periodic formative evaluations to determine students' progress in Spanish. The results of these assessments are used to modify instruction. Students' language development is assessed more formally twice a year, at the end of each semester, and a report is sent home with the second and fourth report card.
