NOTE: BOLECTRONICO SEMANAL will not be
published
during the week of Memorial Day.
Also, beginning June
7, BOLECTRONICO will be published only
once monthly
(and only if there is important news to
share) during
June, July, and August. BOLECTRONICO
will resume
weekly publication after Labor Day.
Queridos socios:
Esta semana tenemos un Bolectronico bastante
breve,
pero hay algunas informaciones utiles:
I. NOTICIAS DE OLYMPIA. De
Eduardo Tobar viene estas
noticias:
Dear Jay,
I have just received some information about
the 1999
"Miguel de Unamuno" international short
story contest
organized by a Spanish bankcalled: "Caja
Duero".
1. Writers need to send two copies of a
short story
written in Spanish to:
Premio Internacional de Cuentos "Miguel
de Unamuno"
Caja Duero
Plaza de los Bandos, 15-17
37002 SALAMANCA
Spain
2. There is no specific topic this year.
The works
must be original and they can't have been
presented to
other contests previously.
3. There is a 400,000 pesetas prize (around
$2,600 )
and two 100,000 pesetas prizes (around
$700). The
maximum length is 10 pages with a maximum
of 22 lines
per page.
4. You can send as many original entries
as you want.
5. You will need to include an self-addressed
envelope
and telephone and an alias signed on the
story to
ensure the anonimity and fairness of the
process.
6. Deadline: July 31, 1999
7. For more information, contact:
Eduardo Tobar
Spanish Language Consultant
Office of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction
Old Capitol Building
P.O. Box 47200
Olympia WA 98504-7200
II. HOW TO TEACH USING IMMERSION.
Normally this
would go under "repeat items," but I have
a fuller set
of information, and I got the dates wrong
last time:
Course # Go601MVL
August 9-12
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Fees:
$140 Registration
$45 20 clock hours
$70 2 SPU credits
$20 materials fee payable to instructor
at first class
(includes cassette and book)
Location: SKagit Valley College
Keep your students speaking in the target
language.
Learn a variety of songs, games, listening
skills,
writing activities and other ideas based
around a
complete immersion program.
Instructor: Windy Veach
Contact Jennifer Taylor
jtaylor@esd189.wednet.edu
III. CLAMOR SEEKS SUBMISSIONS.
The issue which comes
out September 1 needs your participation
and articles.
Contact Ana Maria Rodriguez-Vivaldi,
rodviv@mail.wsu.edu OR clamor@wsu.edu.
This looks
great on a resume...
IV. BASQUE EVENT: MORE NEWS
III. HOW TO TEACH USING IMMERSION.
Normally this
would go under "repeat items," but I have
a fuller set
of information, and I got the dates wrong
last time:
Course # Go601MVL
August 9-12
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Fees:
$140 Registration
$45 20 clock hours
$70 2 SPU credits
$20 materials fee payable to instructor
at first class
(includes cassette and book)
Location: SKagit Valley College
Keep your students speaking in the target
language.
Learn a variety of songs, games, listening
skills,
writing activities and other ideas based
around a
complete immersion program.
Instructor: Windy Veach
Contact Jennifer Taylor
jtaylor@esd189.wednet.edu
III. CLAMOR SEEKS SUBMISSIONS.
The issue which comes
out September 1 needs your participation
and articles.
Contact Ana Maria Rodriguez-Vivaldi,
rodviv@mail.wsu.edu OR clamor@wsu.edu.
This looks
great on a resume...
IV. BASQUE EVENT: MORE DETAILS
I had dinner at Café Septième
with Eduardo Tobar,
OSPI's Spanish Language Consultant, and
we discussed
the Basque (December?) event at length.
Just as
Robert has a French Basque speaker, Edu
has a Spanish
Basque speaker, and Edu himself knows how
to prepare a
lovely Basque dessert for the cooking demonstration.
Eduardo has also already taken care of
the granting of
8 clock hours for this "class": Basque
Culture for
Teachers of French and Spanish. We
need to hammer out
several particulars:
1. What will the speakers discuss?
2. Where can this event take place?
?
3. What about Seattle Pacific University
credit as an
option? (E-mail me if this option
interests you: it
is important for me to gauge the demand.)
Can we get
a sponsor from Puget Sound ESD or ESD 189?
Let's go to town on this! This will
be our best event
yet!
V. GOOD NEWS ON THE NATIONAL FRONT
FROM FLES TEACHER
KRISTA SWENSON, EDMONDS SCHOOL DISTRICT
(I apologize
for the way this reformats, but the information
is
excellent and important):
Here's the Clinton Administration's ESEA
(Elementary
Secondary Education
Act) proposal re: FLAP, just released
yesterday.
The Educational Excellence for All Children
Act of
1999
Title X, Part I Elementary School
Foreign Language
Assistance Program
Whats New
The Educational Excellence
for All Children Act
of 1999:
Promotes the goal that all students will
develop proficiency in
more than one language;
Emphasizes the importance and effectiveness
of foreign language
instruction in the early grades by expanding
access
to high-quality
foreign language
programs in elementary schools;
Supports state leadership in improving
foreign language
instruction in all schools by supporting
the
development of standards and
assessments,
dissemination of information on promising
local practices, and
efforts to improve the supply of qualified
foreign
language teachers;
Stimulates an increase in the number of
elementary school foreign
language teachers by supporting the recruitment
and
training of new
teachers; and
Encourages the development and use of new
technology applications
to bring foreign language instruction
to students in
creative and
effective ways.
The Elementary School Foreign Language
program
responds to the growing
demand for multilingualism created by
growing
diversity within the United
States and
increasing cultural exchange and economic
interdependency worldwide.
Research indicates that, although foreign
language
instruction is most
effective when it begins
in elementary school, fewer than one-fourth
of
public elementary schools
in the United States teach a foreign language.
The Foreign Language Assistance Program
(FLAP),
currently authorized under
Title VII-B, supports the instruction
of a foreign
language for all
children. Our
proposal would strengthen this program
by supporting
new and promising
approaches to improving the quality of
foreign
language instruction and
dramatically
increasing access to them, particularly
for
elementary school students.
What We've Learned
Foreign language instruction in public
elementary
schools has grown over
the past 10 years. The portion of public
elementary
schools offering a
foreign language
increased from 17 percent in 1987 to 24
percent in
1997. However, public
schools still lag behind private elementary
schools
and international
schools in offering
such instruction.10
Percentage of
Schools with Foreign
Language Instruction
1987
1997
Public elementary schools
17
%
24 %
Private elementary schools
34
53
Elementary school foreign language programs
are
often "exploratory,"
characterized by developing only basic
reading and
writing skills and an
appreciation for other
cultures. Despite indications that such
programs
produce significantly
fewer gains than programs directed at
developing
proficiency, roughly 45
percent of elementary
language programs in 1997 were exploratory.11
With increasing numbers of elementary
schools
offering a foreign language,
continuity with middle and secondary school
programs
has become an issue.
Recent
research indicates that only 10 percent
of secondary
schools take previous
language achievement into account when
assigning
students to classes.
State leadership can help ensure the growth
of
high-quality foreign
language programs. Currently, 35 states
have
policies or mandates for
secondary school foreign
language programs; six statesArizona,
Arkansas,
Louisiana, Montana, North
Carolina, and Oklahomahave foreign language
mandates
for their elementary
schools. By 1998, 19 states had developed
foreign
language standards.
Technology is also beginning to expand
opportunities
for foreign language
exposure and learning. While most of the
current
commercially developed
foreign language
software emphasizes grammar drills and
practice,
translations and
modifications of popular math, language
arts, and
word processing software
are being developed
in foreign languages.12 To meet the demand
for
instructional support, the
emphasis in technology should be on the
innovative
uses of developing
tools including
software, Web-based instruction, and digital
television that explore the
necessary balance between exposure, guided
practice,
and interactive
experiences to help
students become fluent.
According to recent survey data, 40 percent
of
elementary schools would
like to add a foreign language program.
This
interest signals a
significant opportunity to
create and expand high-quality elementary
school
foreign language
programs.13
What We Propose
Our proposal establishes a national goal
that 25
percent of all public
elementary schools should offer high-quality,
standards-based, foreign
language programs by
2005, and that 50 percent should offer
such programs
by 2010. These
programs would be tied to challenging
standards and
focused on developing
student language
proficiency, not simply exposing students
to the
language or culture.
Finally, our proposal would support transitions
between elementary and
secondary school
foreign language programs.
The Educational Excellence for All Children
Act of
1999 would:
Support
state capacity to expand and improve
foreign language
instruction at the elementary school level.
Our
proposal would support the
development of
foreign
language standards and assessments, as
well as the
dissemination of information on promising
practices
and use of technology
to improve instruction.
Our proposal
would also encourage states to
work as partners with
teacher preparation programs to expand
the pool of
elementary school
foreign language
teachers.
States could, for example, work to
develop or expand
teacher education programs, support alternative
routes to teacher
certification, or stimulate
recruitment
of multilingual teachers into
foreign language
instruction in elementary schools.
Continue
support for local programs to create
and improve elementary
school foreign language programs. Over
the past five
years, FLAP has
helped almost
60,000 public
school students learn foreign
languages. The program
helps meet the growing need for professional
development, innovative
classroom
materials,
and curriculum development.
Our proposed
Elementary School Foreign Language
initiative would
continue to support these efforts, with
an emphasis
on increasing foreign
language
instruction
in elementary school and improving
transitions between
middle and secondary school language programs.
Efforts would emphasize
developing
fluency,
rather than cultural exposure.
Increase
access to high-quality foreign
language instruction through
the use of advanced technology and
telecommunications applications. Our
proposal would
stimulate
the development of new applications,
software, authoring
and tutoring tools, and methods for delivering
high-quality instruction by
encouraging states
and districts
to explore new uses of
educational technology in
foreign language instruction.
Note
10 Schulz, R. (1998). Foreign language
education in
the United States:
Trends and challenges. ERIC Review, 6(1,
Fall),
6-13.
11 Branaman, L.E., & Rhodes, N.C.
(1998). A national
survey of foreign
language instruction in elementary and
secondary
schools. Washington, DC:
Center
for Applied Linguistics.
12 Curtain and Pesola. (1998). Languages
and
Children: Making the Match.
13 Branaman, L.E., & Rhodes, N.C.
(1998). A national
survey of foreign
language instruction in elementary and
secondary
schools. Washington, DC:
Center
for Applied Linguistics.
REPEAT ITEMS:
VI. DEADLINE TO FILE FOR ELECTION:
OUR AATSP BOARD
NOMINATIONS/FILING DEADLINE IS MAY 31,
1999. The
slate thus far is as follows:
President: Steve Green (I)
Vice President (East): Sonja Hokanson
(I)
Vice President (NW): Paloma Borreguero
(I)
Vice President (SW): Oriana Cadman
Secretary: Jay Adams-Feuer (I)
TreasurerL Alexandra (Dandy) Porter
