The Benefits of Teaching Foreign Language in Elementary School
The ultimate goal in many classrooms is to communicate in meaningful and appropriate ways (Slavit 1998). In the United States, American students get the opportunity to learn a second language in high school, yet it has been proven that children learn better when they are young. Some schools are taking this opportunity to teach a foreign language to elementary students.
The United States may be the only nation where it's possible to complete elementary and secondary schooling without completing any foreign languages (Schulz 2001). In some countries, such as Lebanon, Asia, teachers within public elementary schools are required to teach two or three different languages, usually English and French, to their students. Many schools within European and Asian countries teach two languages to their students before they enter high school. In America, students are introduced to a foreign language in high school where it is difficult for them to master a second language (Naserdeen 2001).
Newsweek ran an edition that was mainly about the importance of early learning experiences on brain development. They said that within the first three years of a child's life, there is a "window of opportunity", and second language learning should start taking place around one year of age. They also said that after ten years of age, a person is unlikely to ever speak like a native of the language would (Why 2001). Mantrel explains this as "Synapses or avenues in the brain are opened up by foreign language instruction when it is introduced at an early age. If languages are not introduced at an early age, these synapses are not accessed, and language learning is much more difficult to ac...
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...ferent language have increased cognitive ability and exceed normal classroom expectations. This will also come in to play later on in their lives, and it will benefit the global economy, as everyone will better understand each other. It provides the learners with a competitive edge in the work force (Naserdeen 2001).
When interviews were done at randomly selected elementary schools in the 2000/2001 school year, the students had positive things to say about learning another language. All of them said that they wanted to continue with their studies in languages. By bringing language studies to the elementary schools, this is helping society and the kids too. They will later benefit in life from this; also as one of the results, we will teach them to respect other cultures. Overall, teaching a second language in elementary education will definitely benefit everyone.
“The lord shall raise-up coloured historians in succeeding generations, to present the crimes of this nation to the then gazing world.” David Walker was born in the confines of white America, but his vision expanded far beyond those limits. His view reached deep into the future of black people. From 1829 until his death in 1830, David Walker was the most controversial, and most admired black person in America. Walker believed in all manner of social relations in that self-reliance was most preferable rather than dependence on others. He felt that it is essential to self-determination. Walker argued that freedom was the highest human right ordained by God, in that African people should raise their voice in defense of their own interest and assume responsibility for speaking on behalf of their freedom. Hence, David Walker’s Appeal was born in 1829 (Turner 3).
Spanish should be required to be taken as a second language in grades K-9. American students should be required to speak Spanish fluently upon completion of their 8th grade year. Other societies such as Pakistan, Japan, and China can demonstrate proficiency in 3 or 4 languages by middle school years. "A child taught a second language after the age of 10 or so is unlikely ever to speak it like a native," said a February 1996 Newsweek article. Through extensive research it has been proven that the earlier a child is introduced to a second language the greater the chances are that this child will master both languages. A number of experts attribute this mastery to physiological changes that occur in the maturing brain as a child enters puberty.
Discuss at least four different methods that can be used to diagnose asthma and the results you would expect to see in Mr. TG’s case.
... “The Best Step-Up Regimen for Uncontrolled Asthma in Children.” Medscape Today. 25 May 2010. Web. 01 June 2010. .
Richards, H., V., Brown, A., F., Forde, T., B. (2006). Addressing diversity in schools: culturally responsive pedagogy. Retreived March 30th 2014from http://www.nccrest.org/Briefs/Diversity_Brief.pdf
Asthma is a disorder of the respiratory system in which the passages that enable air to pass into and out of the lungs periodically narrow, causing coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. This narrowing is typically temporary and reversible, but in severe attacks, asthma may result in death. Asthma most commonly refers to bronchial asthma, an inflammation of the airways, but the term is also used to refer to cardiac asthma, which develops when fluid builds up in the lungs as a complication of heart failure. This article focuses on bronchial asthma.
In the United States of America we have become a large melting pot of ethnic and cultural peoples. Along with these peoples have come many different languages and alphabets. However the US has been seen as a mostly English speaking country. Yet many of this country's newcomers do not speak English. Adults and children alike come into the US speaking and writing only their native tongue. This poses a huge gap in communication. If the adults are unable to teach their children English, then it becomes the school districts' responsibility. However to make learning easier on the child, many school districts choose to teach the child in their native language, while they receive English lessons on the side.
Geneva Gay (2002) combines these two concepts of sociocultural consciousness and culturally responsive teaching in Restructuring Attitudes and Beliefs. Gay refers to culturally responsive teaching as a way of addressing “universal marginality, powerlessness, and disadvantages” within the classroom by taking a critical view of the curriculum (p.1). Culturally responsive teaching starts with the teacher’s identity and an awareness of their own ideologies and theories that influence how they act as a median between the student and curriculum. Similar to understanding their own identity, the sociocultural consciousness is how the teacher views the students’ identities in their community. Gay explains these relationship by saying, ”teachers’ instructional behaviors are strongly influenced by their attitudes and beliefs about various dimensions of student diversity” (p.3). The historical context of the community allows the teacher to use their individual students’ background as resources for scaffolding entire class’s curriculum and help meet the needs of the individual students. Assuming the role of public education is to act as an equalizer, culturally responsive teaching is a means of creating
Goals of treatment include interventions to help maintain good lung function (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). Asthma is treated with long-term control and quick relief medications (U. S. Department of Health and human Services, 2014). The severity of symptoms will dictate a medical treatment plan. As advanced practice nurses, we need to help asthma patients identify their triggers. This aspect is individualized based on the recognition of symptoms that lead to exacerbations. A few of common triggers include smoke, weather, pollen, and food. Additionally, we need to provide them with education related to their disease process.
Analyzing career theory is an important task, not only as an individual but also on a large scale. If everyone has the career they are best at and enjoy above all others, the world would be a much happier place. Imagine a world where each individual viewed work as not something they have to do, but as something they want to do. Productivity would increase at all levels. Charitable foundations and businesses would be abundant. Whereas this ideal may not be fathomable at this point, if each person used this information, it would be only a matter of time before we are moving in that harmonious direction.
Altogether, culturally relevant pedagogy is an approach of utilizing inclusive teaching practices in order to meet the needs of all learners. However, implementing such practices into teaching can be challenging for teachers, especially for beginner teachers. Therefore, the last section of this report will highlight challenges and the effectiveness in using culturally responsive teaching
Language is an important part of our lives. I remember when I arrived to USA I could speak a little English. I went to school to improve my language, reading and writing skills; even now I am learning my second language, without English I cannot survive in this new environment. Now I am raising my own kids and I want them to have this important skill, this privilege of knowing a second language, language of their parents and grandparents. By looking at studies of bilingual children, research shows how important it is for a child to learn a second language. Raising a bilingual child is a benefit because it improves social skills, academic proficiency, introduces child to a different culture, and prepares for the future.
With the increasing popularity of dual immersion programs in schools and the widespread notion that language acquisition is something that needs to happen early on life, is there an ideal age to learn a second language (L2)?
Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world because being bilingual, it turns out, it makes you smarter, it can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive, bilingualism has a much greater influence in workforce, improves memory and even shields against dementia in old age. German Christoph Harbsmeier talks about language in an interview for the French magazine ‘Epok’. That’s what interests him, though. He says how much language influences us and by knowing another language brings with it another role: “When I speak French, I can’t stop making gestures with my hands. I learnt Danish at Oxford, because my wife-to-be, who is Danish, didn’t like my Anglophone personality: when I was speaking English, I was becoming too intellectual.”
In today’s schooling system most high school students are required to take at least 2 to 4 years of a foreign language in order to graduate. However, some people do not understand the importance of taking a different language, until it is time to get a job or while they are in their current job. It is significant that we take at least 2 years of a foreign language in both high school and college and try to learn as much as possible because learning a new language can open up so many doors.