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DOCUMENT RESUME

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Castle, Pat, Ed. ; Jay, Charles, Ed.Toward Excellence in Foreign Language Education.Illinois State Office of the Superintendent of

Public Instruction, Springfield.6811Fp.; 4 special publication in commemoration of theIllinois Sesquicentannial Celebration, 1818-1968

EDPS Price MF-T0.90 HC-$5.90*Articulation (Program) , Conference Reports,Cooperative Planning, Cultural Education,Educational Improvement, Educational Objectives,Evaluation Techniques, Fles Programs, IndividualizedInstruction, Instructional Program Divisions,Instructional Staff, *Language Instruction,*Language Learning Levels, Language Proficiency,*Language Programs, Language Tests, *TeacherEducation

ABSTRACTPapers related to the work of the Bloomington

Conference (April, 1968) -?or foreign language education improvement

and standardization, particularly in teacher training programs, arepresented in this special publication. A major effort is made atestablishing the idea that good foreign language programs requirecooperation between the subject oriented, liberal artsrepresentatives and the faculty of the schools of professionaleducation. Concepts of vital importance relating to the concepts of"level", individualized instruction, teacher training programs, FLES,articulation of foreign language programs, and guidelines for theevaluation of such programs are discussed at length. Additionalmaterial on the National Defense Education Act, culture, teacher-madetests, and oral proficiency is included with well defined samples ofmodel foreign language programs and lists of problematic areas. (RL)

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U.S. DEPARTMENT Of HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE

OFFICE Of EDUCATION

THIS DOCUMENT HAS BUN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE

PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT. POINTS Of VIEW OR OPINIONS

STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION

POSITION OR POLICY.

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Our habits follow us even when theyno longer serve any purpose.

Marcel Proust

CO4'=r TOWARD EXCELLENCE

IN FOREIGN LANGUAGEEDUCATION0

OURI

A Special Publication

of the

Office of the Superintendent of

Public Instruction, State of Illinois

Ray Page

Superintendent

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77,77777-n' 1'4

a contribution to the

Illinois Sesquicentennial

Celebration

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for the improvement

of foreign language education

in our schools

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Edited byPat Castle and Charles Jay1968

Contributors

Dorothy BishopJohn BlombergAlice CallicounisPat CastleThomas ComfortHoward FrenchDaniel HarringtonRaymond HendeeLucie HomerCharles JayGilbert Kett lekampJames McKinneyCharlotte ManeikesDerald MerrimanMartin Miessjay Paul MinnRobert MorgenrothTravis PooleRaymond SpahnFlorence SteinerRaymond WilliamsPaul Woods

.........

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I NDEA: National Interest LegislationDoctor Paul Woods

II The Bloomington Conference: Hope and PromisePat Castle and Charles Jay

III Guidelines for Teacher Education Programs inModern Foreign Languages

Reprinted from PMLA

IV Foreign Language Teacher Training Programs in IllinoisPat Castle and Charles Jay

V A Recommended Foreign Language Methods Courseand Its Prerequisites

Doctor Lucie Horner

VI A Proposed Departure from Conventional ProgramsFor the Education of Foreign Language Teachers

Doctor Raymond E. Williams

VII Successful FLES Programs Can Be AchievedPat Castle

VIII Articulation of Foreign Language ProgramsDerald Merriman

IX Teacher-Made Tests: Vital in the Foreign Language ClassroomDoctor Florence Steiner

X Give Them a Better Chance: Once Successful DeviceTo Enhance Student Oral Proficiency

John Blomberg

XI Study of Culture: Relevance of Foreign LanguagesIn World Affairs Education

Charles Jay 84

XII Guidelines for Evaluating Foreign Language Programs93

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46

49

55

72

75

79

Pat Castle and Charles Jay

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We hear a great deal of talk about the communications revo-lution. The journey from air mail to telstar in little more than ageneration has had a radical impact on the content and context ofhuman communications. What has not changed is the basic con-cept of "language" as the translation of ideas and information intomutually understandable symbols and sounds. The key to com-munication, whether it be a contemplative perusal of Homer oran intercontinental phone call in a moment of international crisis

is still "mutual understanding".

But the pace of transportation and communication hasquickened. We are more often caught up in the immediacy offace-to-face conversation and confrontation. The importance oftranslation as a bridge across language barriers becomes moreapparent.

These language skills can and are being taught in our schoolswith expanding emphasis and encouraging results. The growingneed and the growing awareness of the need to master languageas a communication skill are placing a serious responsibility onour educators. You are reaching out to meet it with the skill anddedication that has through our history built a system of educationthat responds to the present as it leads confidently into the future.

CHARLES H. PERCY,United States Senator

The teaching and study of foreign languages must be conceivedand directed in terms of the condition of mankind in the twentiethand twenty-first centuries. We must realize clearly that science andtechnology have created a world profoundly different from anythingthat man has known during the million years or more since heappeared on the earth. We have been catapulted into an age thatmarks the closing of a major cycle in history. Since he moved outfrom some Garden of Eden man has taken possession of the entireland surface of the planet. In this long process of migration, con-quest, and settlement the several races and varieties of homo sapiens,the many languages, cultures, religions, ethical codes, and politicalsystems were formed. Now, with all of our differences, ignorances,and prejudices, we are back in the little Garden. Since distancehas been annihilated, the most fateful question confronting mankindin the coming years is whether the peoples of the world can learnto live together in peace, tolerance, and friendship. Without com-munication this will be impossible. Hence the learning of otherlanguages and cultures assumes a crucial and revolutionary signifi-cance in the present and the coming age.

George S. CountsProfessor EmeritusTeachers CollegeColumbia University

Distinguished Visiting Professorin the Educational Administrationand Foundations Department,College of Education,Southern Illinois University

FOREWORD

Foreign language education in Illinoisis moving toward excellence in a signifi-cant and encouraging manner. Foreignlanguage teachers have every reason to beoptimistic about certain recent develop-ments which should improve the qualityof foreign language instruction at all levelsof learning.

The cause of foreign language educa-tion, and teacher-training programs in allother subject areas, will be more adequate-ly served when we have achieved bettercommunication between spokesmen for

liberal arts and for professional education. Those two essential ingredients,thorough knowledge of subject matter and the ability to teach it well, are in-

separable if we are to have effective teaching in our schools.

For that reason, the staff of the Office of the Superintendent of Public In-struction takes pride in the success of the Bloomington Conference which washeld in April, 1968. This publication, an outgrowth of that important meeting,attempts to amplify the work accomplished there, as well as to describe otherrecent developments in foreign language education.

The Foreign Language Supervisors in the Office of the Superintendent ofPublic Instruction are eager to serve the cause of good foreign language education

in Illinois. Their desire is really quite basic : to assist all who are genuinelyinterested in the future of their profession as it strives to move "toward excellence

in foreign language education".

Ray Page

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Ten Years After Sputnik . . .

CHAPTER I

NDEA: National Interest Legislation

Doctor Paul E. WoodsDirector, Title III, NDEA

Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction

In the spirit of perfect candor thereis much truth in the often heard chargethat the National Defense EducationAct of 1958 was primarily an attemptto meet the immediate needs of nationaldefense rather than to develop long-range programs for the improvement ofAmerican education. The use of theword "Defense" in the bill indicatedthe intent of Congress to correct theimbalances in American educationwhich had endangered American securi-ty. The role played by the federalgovernment in this emergency legisla-tion, prompted by Sputnik, is history.

It strikes me in a convincing mannerthat the Title III, NDEA program haspassed from its early "crash" programdesignation to something more accurate-ly resembling aid to general education.When Congress extended the Act in1964, while adding the new subjectareas of English, reading, civics, geogra-phy, economics, and history, there wasa realization of the need to supportthose subject areas which were in thenational interest rather than merelythose necessary for national defense.

While national security is stilltaut, the primary goal now isprove the qualitative aspectsAmerican education.

impor-to im-of all

NDEA in IllinoisThe consequences of Title III of the

National Defense Education Act withregard to foreign languages have beennoteworthy. In addition to an acquisi-tion program which has aided everyschool district in the State, Title III,NDEA has assumed broader supervisorydimensions in the schools. This is as itshould be if both "hardware" and"software" arc to be used most ef-fectively by classroom teachers. Thenarrative reports which are submittedby this Office to the United StatesOffice of Elucation reflect the widerange of activities of the four foreignlanguage supervisors in Illinois. Deeppride is derived from our in-servicetraining program for foreign languageteachers. Since the inception of TitleIII, NDEA in Illinois 144 workshopshave been conducted for foreign lan-guage teachers. The concern for quality

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teaching is but one of the by-productsof a materials and acquisition programwhich has amounted to approximately$4,500,000 in Illinois since 1958.

Summiwy of FL Goals

John S. Dickhoff has listed in a pub-lication for the Modern LanguageAssociation, NDEA and Modern For-eign Languages, a summary of recom-mendations pertaining to the goals andcurriculum of modern foreign lan-guages. These arc as follows:

1. The profession should establish rea-sonable goals of language study forstudents of different ages and fordifferent sequences of languagestudy. It should provide guidancein planning the educational pro-gram not in ideal but in practicalterms.

2. When a language program is ini-tiated, it should be with the expec-tation of developing it into a se-quence that can result in a reas-onable language competence. With-out that expectation, it should notbe initiated.

3. A school system with a languageprogram should make language in-struction available to its studentsuntil they graduate, at whateverpoint it begins. Early beginningsshould continue through grade 12.

4. The same warnings against faddish-ness with reference to FLES pro-grams apply with reference to theintroduction of exotic languages insecondary schools.

5. The language program should beplanned from the top down. It isfolly to begin a FLES program thatwill be discontinued in junior highschool. It is unwise to introduceinto a school instruction in a sec-ond foreign language before a full

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sequence (at least four years) is es-tablished in the first foreign lan-guage.

6. There is need for continuingconferences and other means ofcommunication among languageteachers at various school levels.Some conferences should fromtime to time address themselvesto the coordination of languageprograms at the several schoollevels.

7. Well-planned sequential programsof language instruction beginningat different ages and grade levelsare needed, as are appropriate ma-terials for them.

8. Courses in which the freshmancontinues collegiate study in a for-eign language in which he has fair-ly advanced skills should be re-examined.

9. College courses for students be-ginning their second or third for-eign language should not be thesame as for students beginning theirfirst foreign language.

10. There is need for further researchon supplementing the study of lit-erature with the study of other as-pects of culture.

11. If the foreign language and educa-tion faculties of an institution or agroup of such faculties wish to ac-complish curricular reforms, theymight well spend a summer monthor a whole summer in conferenceto draft proposals for change to besubmitted to their faculty col-leagues. NDEA support might bemade available for this activity.

It would seem to a layman, suchas I, that the foreign language super-visors in the Office of the Superin-tendent of Public Instruction haveworked toward a fulfillment of theserecommendations. The tone of the

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articles to follow and the "Guidelinesfor Evaluating Foreign Language Pro-grams" at the conclusion of this publi-cation reflect, in concrete terms, anawareness of the problems which stillconfront meaningful foreign languageinstruction.

My staff and I take great pride inthe contributions, direct and otherwise,which Title HI of the National DefenseEducation Act has made on behalf offoreign languages, not only in Illinois,but throughout the nation.

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New Optimism and Co-operation in Foreign Language Ethic,,lition . . .

CHAPTER II

The Bloomington Conference:Hope and Promise

Pat Castle and Charles JayForeign Language Supervisors

Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction

During the past several years, for-eign language supervisors in the Officeof the Superintendent of Public Instruc-tion have become increasingly aware ofthe need to improve the quality offoreign language teacher education inIllinois. The glaring weaknesses inmeaningful instruction, which mem-bers of this Office have observed intheir visits to foreign language class-rooms throughout the State, revealed apressing need for a discussion of com-mon problems by those representativespokesmen who are instrumental in thepreparation of teachers of foreign lan-guages.

Illinois Conferencefor the Standardization ofForeign Language Education

The urgency of this situation, pre-cipitated by a lack of communicationamong leaders in the fields of educationand foreign languages as to what oughtto be the elements in effective teacherpreparation and the goals of such train-ing, led to the Bloomington Conference

on April 19 and 20, 1968. This impor-tant meeting was entitled the IllinoisConference for the Standardization ofForeign Language Education. A cross-section of those in attendance at thisconference indicated the following bal-anced representation: foreign languagedepartment chairmen and deans of col-leges of education from fourteen publicand private universities which have thelargest foreign language teacher-train-ing programs in the State; four ForeignLanguage Supervisors from the Officeof the Superintendent of Public Instruc-tion; the Director of Foreign Languagesfor the Chicago Board of Education; theExecutive Secretary of the Illinois StateTeacher Certification Board; andseveral authoritative spokesmen of spe-cial problem areas.

Common ProblemsDetermine the Agenda

Some of the specific problems offoreign language teacher educationwhich led to the Bloomington Confer-ence may be listed as follows:

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1. presence of an alarmingly high per-centage of teachers in Illinois, manywith only a minor in the language,who have not had sufficient train-ing in the methodology of effectiveforeign language teaching

2. many future foreign languageteachers in current teacher-trainingprograms who are still not offereda methodology course taught by aspecialist in the language

3. insufficient proof of competence bymany teachers in the four skills oflanguage learning

4. the existence of teacher-trainingprograms for foreign language ma-jors and minors which continue tostress literary competence in thelanguage at the expense of ade-quate linguistic and cultural train-ing

5. the persistent belief by some ad-ministrators and counselors that atwo-year high school program is

sufficient and that upon completionof the course, students may con-tinue successfully the next sequen-tial level in college

6. a general lack of understanding asto the meaning of the word "level"as it applies to foreign languagelearning and how it differs from"year"

7. the mistaken impression of manyteachers that the material in aLevel I textbook can be masteredin one year

8. the failure of college catalogues tostate performance requirements nec-essary for placement in terms of"levels" rather than "years"

9. the scarcity of individualized teach-ing in beginning classes in elemen-tary and secondary schools becauseof too many students and too manyclasses per day

10. no clearly defined minimum re-quirements for elementary foreignlanguage teacher certification

11. inability of most teachers to selectand use appropriate audio-lingual-visual equipment and materials

12. lack of cooperative supervision ofpractice teaching by foreign lan-guage departments and colleges ofeducation

13. paucity of concern on the part ofthe universities in assuming directresponsibility for raising their owndepartmental requirements abovethe minimum teacher certificationrequirements of the State of Illinois

14. relative non-existence of follow-upstudies by the colleges and univer-sities of their graduates to deter-mine weaknesses in teacher-trainingprograms.

It can be seen quite readily that thereis embodied here a wide gamut of ques-tions pertinent to the entire field offoreign languages. But all of them do,either directly or indirectly, revert toseveral broad areas of considerationall related to a need to standardize thegoals of foreign language educationthroughout the State of Illinois. TheBloomington Conference symbolized therealization that many of these problemsmust be faced jointly by foreign lan-guage and education departments. Forspokesmen of the two fields to meetformally to discuss these problems andto agree upon common resolutions wasthe breaking of historical precedent in

Illinois. There have been many re-quests that such meetings will be re-peated so that the old resentments be-

tween spokesmen for "education" andthe "humanities" will be mitigated bythe common concern which both feelfor good foreign language education.Hinting at previous difficulties in com-munication between the two groups,

5

the official program for the Blooming-ton Conference observed that "It isimpossible to achieve success in reach-ing . . . goals without better under-standing between the departments offoreign languages and the colleges ofeducation."

Resolutions of theBloomington Conference

Following the various panel discus-sions, whose topics the reader may findin the attached reprint of the confer-ence program, participants formulatedand agreed upon resolutions which theyfelt should be followed by those who aremoving toward excellence in foreignlanguage education. The resolutionsof the Illinois Conference on the Stand-ardization of Foreign Language Edu-cation are:

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1. All high schools should offer at leastone foreign language which studentsare encouraged to study for at leastthree years.

2. Foreign language educators shouldendorse the levels of achievement asstated in "Description of Competenceby Levels" which were defined byNelson Brooks and others in Lan-guage Instruction: Perspective andProspectus. (See page 8) Theselevels should be used as guidelines forpreparing goals of instruction andshould also serve as evaluative cri-teria for foreign language programs.

3. Participants of this conference agreethat if foreign language study isstarted in high school, at least threeyears are usually necessary to com-plete the proficiency requirements ofLevel II.

4. In order to achieve good articulationfrom high school to college courses,it is recommended that students who

have completed a three-year foreignlanguage sequence in high school con-tinue their foreign language trainingat the college or university level bytaking a course which is the equiva-lent of Level III.

S. College foreign language require-ments and prerequisites should beclearly stated in the college cataloguesin terms of levels rather than years.

6. It is the responsibility of all foreignlanguage teachers to inform the guid-ance counselors of the meaning of theterm "level" and how it differs from"years" of study.

7. Because a qualitative audio-lingual-visual foreign language program re-quires an individualized teaching proc-ess, teachers should not have morethan one hundred students or fiveclasses per day.

8. Each college and university in 'Hindswhose graduates will be certified toteach a foreign language should havea foreign language methods coursetaught by a specialist in the teachingof foreign languages.

9. All prospective graduates who will becertified to teach a foreign language,either as a major or minor field ofstudy, must complete a foreign lan-guage methods course. Those teach-ing foreign languages at the collegelevel should, likewise, have taken acourse in the art of teaching a for-eign language.

10. Prospective teachers should demon-strate competence in the four basicskills: comprehension, speaking, read-ing, arid writing. The oral skills mustinclude: a) acceptable accent, intona-tion, fluency; b) linguistics as it per-tains to the teaching of foreign lan-guages; c) phonetics, morphology, etc,as they pertain to the science of soundproduction.

11. Minimum requirements should be es-tablished for teachers of foreign lan-guages in the elementary school.

12. All prospective foreign language teach-ers, prior to beginning their teachingexperience, should be very stronglyencouraged to spend time in a countrywhere the language is spoken.

13. The responsibility for the supervisionof practice teaching should be sharedby the foreign language and educationdepartments working cooperatively inteams who plan, organize, and con-duct the supervising and evaluatingvisits to the student teachers.

14. Foreign language organizations shouldjoin with other organizations that areinterested in the education of teachersto support a stronger program of certi-fication through institutionally creditedprograms, rather than trying to modifycertification by pressure groups involv-ing legislative action.

15. Commendation should be extended tothose teacher-training institutions whoconduct follow-up studies of theirgraduates. College personnel shouldvisit their recent graduates to ascer-tain performance in the classroom.

16. College foreign language placement ex-ams should test language competencerather than intelligence.

17. The Office of the Superintendent ofPublic Instruction should publish reso-lutions of this conference and presentthem to the following organizations:Illinois Curriculum Council; IllinoisTeacher Education and ProfessionalStandards Commission; Illinois Asso-ciation of School Administrators; Illi-nois Foreign Language Teachers As-sociation; American Associations ofTeachers of Spanish and Portuguese,French, German, and Slavic and EastEuropean Languages; and other pro-fessional associations.

The Question of "Levels"Inasmuch as several of these vital

resolutions deal with the topic of"levels", we are reprinting here the"Description of Competence by Levels"

which has been previously mentioned(Brooks, Nelson; Hockett, Charles F;O'Rourke, Everett V., Language In-struction: Perspective and Prospec-tus, California State Department of Ed-ucation, January, 1963) :

The boundaries between successive levelsmust be recognized as somewhat arbitrary,since the learning of a language is in a sensecontinuous and unending. However, it is

possible to specify approximately what shouldbe achieved by the end of each level. Thisachievement can be neither described nortested in terms of the amount of time thelearner has spent in class or the number ofpages he has "covered" in a textbook. Suchinformation is useful, but must be supple-mented by answers to questions as these:

How well can the student perform inthe four basic skills?

In what situations is he at home?How well does he control the sounds of

the target language?What patterns can he use with accuracy

and fluency when he speaks andwrites ?

How extensive is his passive vocabularyas he listens and reads; his activevocabulary as he speaks and writes?

What literary texts has he read andstudied?

What cultural information has he as-similated?

How well can he retell what he hasheard and read?

How well can he initiate talk and writ-ing on his own?

What the student should be able to do bythe end of each of the first four levels isbriefly outlined here. For the sake of ex-plicitness, we mention such matters as tense,gender, and number. This renders the out-line directly applicable only to the more fa-miliar languages of Western Europe. Special-ists in such less familiar languages as Chi-nese and Japanese bear the responsibility forappropriate adaptation. Such adaptation isalso necessary for languages that have morecomplex or alien writing systems.

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LEVEL IDemonstrate, in hearing and in speaking,

control of the whole sound system.Repeat the account of a brief incident as

he hears it read, phrase by phrase.Retell aloud such an incident after re-

peating it in this way.Participate (with a fluent speaker) in a

dialogue about any one of perhapstwenty situations.

Read aloud a familiar text.Write a familiar text from dictation.Rewrite a simple narrative containing

familiar material, making simplechanges in tense.

Do orally and in writing exercises thatinvolve a limited manipulation ofnumber, gender, word order, tense,replacement, negation, interroga-tion, command, comparison, andpossession.

LEVEL IIDemonstrate continued accurate control of

the sound system.Demonstrate accurate control, in hear-

ing and in speaking, of all the basicsyntactic patterns of speech.

Read aloud a text comparable in con-tent and style to what he hasstudied.

Demonstrate the ability to understandthrough listening a variety of textsprepared for comprehension by theear.

Write from dictation a text he has pre-viously examined for the detailsof its written forms.

Demonstrate adequate comprehensionand control of all but low-frequency patterns of syntax andunusual vocabulary encountered inprinted texts.

Have firsthand knowledge of one to twohundred pages of readings of acultural and literary nature, be ableto discuss orally, and to write ac-ceptable sentences and paragraphsabout their contents.

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LEVEL IIIDemonstrate continued accurate control of

the sound system.Demonstrate accurate control, in hearing

and in speaking, of all the basicsyntactic patterns of speech.

Read aloud a text comparable in con-tent and style to what he hasstudied.

Demonstrate the ability to understandthrough listening a variety of textsprepared for comprehension by theear.

Write from dictation a text he has pre-viously examined for the details ofits written forms.

Demonstrate adequate comprehensionand control of all but low-fre-quency patterns of syntax and un-usual vocabulary encountered inprinted texts.

Have firsthand knowledge of one totwo hundred pages of readings ofa cultural and literary nature, beable to discuss orally, and to writeacceptable sentences and para-graphs about their contents.

LEVEL IVRead aloud an unfamiliar printed text.

Write from dictation, (a) following apreliminary reading and (b) with-out a preliminary reading, passagesof literary prose.

Converse with a fluent speaker on atopic such as a play seen, a novelread, a trip taken, or a residencelived in.

Read in a text; then, in writing, (a)summarize its contents and (b)comment on the ideas expressed.

In a page or two of text, carefully se-lected for the purpose, discover andcomment upon a stated number ofpoints that are culturally signifi-cant. These may be in linguisticstructure, in idiom, or in vocabu-lary reference (e.g., if English werethe language being learned, a textabout the United States in whichthe term "night school" appears).

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ILLINOIS CONFERENCE FOR THE STANDARDIZATIONOF FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

April 19-20, 1968

Holiday Inn, Bloomington, Illinois

The proceedings and resolutions from this conference

will be printed and distributed to all state departments

of education and will be submitted to MLA-ERIC.

Hopefully, these resolutions will serve as a guideline

for Illinois foreign language education and teacher

training programs.

Mrs. Pat Castle

Conference Chairman

1`.3,2 4

OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTIONSTATE OF ILLINOIS

RAY PAGE, SUPERINTENDENT

PAUL E. WOODS, DIRECTOR, TITLE III, NDEA

PURPOSE OF THIS CONFERENCE

1. To establish sound articulationrequirements at all levels ofinstruction, emphasizing highschool to college articulation

2. To establish a similarity ofteacher training requirementswith special emphasis uponmethodology and the supervi-sion of practice teaching

3. To establish agreement betweenforeign language and educationdepartments for the responsi-bility of these requirements

It is impossible to achieve success in reaching these three goals without betterunderstanding between the departments of foreign languages and the collegesof education.

Morning Session, Friday, April '19, 1968

9 : 30 a.m.Registration, coffee and rolls

10:30 a.m.Introductions, Mrs. Pat Castle, Chairman of Conference

10 : 40 a.m.Welcome, Mr. Derald Merriman

Assistant Director, Title III, NDEASpringfield, Illinois

0 : 45 a.rn.Address: The Goals of FL Education

Mr. Helmut MeyerbachDean, Faculty and InstructionCrane CollegeChicago City CollegeChicago, Illinois

11 : 45 - 1:15 p.m. Lunch

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Afternoon Session, 1:15 p.m.

1:15 p.m.Panel: FL Articulation in the Long Sequence

Moderator :

Dr. James McKinney, Chairman, FL Dept.W.I.U., Macomb

Panelists:Dr. Hellmut Hartwig, Chairman, FL Dept.

S.I.U., CarbondaleDr. Roger Pillet, Assoc. Prof. of Educ. in French

Graduate Sch. of Educ., U. of ChicagoMr. Travis Poole, FL Coordinator

Champaign Unit Dist. Schs.Dr. Henry J. Hermanowicz, Dean, College of Educ.

I.S.U., Normal

Topics for Discussion:1. Proficiencies necessary for continuation at each level

2. Ways to achieve cooperation between FLES, Jr. H., Sr. H., andCollege FL teachers

3. Ways that education departments can assist in the development ofcurriculum at all levels to promote sequential FL study

3:00 p.m.Questions, discussion, resolutions

4:00 p.m.Adjournment4:00 - 5:00 p.m.Social Hour

Evening Session, 7:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.Panel : FL Teacher Requirements

Moderator :

Mrs. Rosalyn O'Cherony, Asst. Prof. of SpanishNortheastern Ill. State College, Chicago

Panelists:Dr. J. Richard Verduin, Coordinator, Teacher Education Programs,

S.I.U., Carbondale

Dr. Jay Paul Minn, Prof. of FrenchKnox College, Galesburg

Dr. Florence Steiner, District CoordinatorGlenbrook H. Schs., Glenview

Dr. Lucie Horner, Coordinator of FL Student TeachingN.I.U., DeKalb

Mr. Al Turner, FL Teacher, Evanston Twp. H.S.

} s.

Topics for Discussion :1. Standard content of FL methodology courses2. Language lab and special audiovisual course requirements3. Education and FL courses required for FL majors and minors4. Contributions of education departments in the development of good

FL language teachers

Morning Session, Saturday, April 20, 1968, 9:00 a.m.

9:00 a.m.Panel : Cooperation in Methodology Courses and Supervision ofPractice Teachers

Moderators :

Dr. Robert Morgenroth, Chr., FL Dept., N.I.U., DeKalbDr. Carl Eisemann, Chr., Educ. Dept.

Knox College, Galesburg

Panelists :Dr. Gilbert Gettlekamp, Prof. of Secondary and Continuing Educ., U. of

I., UrbanaDr. Frederick P. Abel, Dean, Sch. of Education

W.1.U., MacombDr. Elizabeth Michael, Prof. of French

E.I.U., CharlestonMr. Robert Brissenden, State Teacher Certification Board, Springfield

Topics for Discussion :1. Definition of the required methodology course2. Responsibility for methodology courses3. Standardization of requirements for supervision of practice teachers4. Certification requirements for future teachers of FL

10:30 a.m.Coffee and rolls

10 : 45 a.m.Questions, discussion, resolutions

12:00 noonAdjournment

DOCTOR PAUL E. WOODS, DIRECTOR,

TITLE III, NDEA

Derald Merriman, Assistant Director,Title III, NDEA

Foreign Language Supervisor

FOREIGN LANGUAGE SUPERVISORS

Charles D. Jay Richard H. NaberPat Castle

Receive oral instructions about an as-signment to be written; its nature,its contents, to whom addressed, itsform, its length, its style of presen-tation; then write it.

The content of Levels V and 'VI is subjectto much wider variation, to meet the needsof specific students. For many students, aminimal course that will maintain andstrengthen the skills, meeting perhaps twicea week and, if necessary, with no outsidepreparation, can be recommended. Th:s willenable such a student to keep alive the skillshe has perfected, and make his resumptionof full-time effort in language learning mucheasier as he subsequently adjusts to his col-lege program.

Bloomington: Aftermath

After participants returned home thespirit of the Bloomington Conferencecontinued to generate enthusiastic com-ments which were expressed in manyletters sent to the Office of the Superin-tendent of Public Instruction. Some ofthe letters made suggestions which arcworthy of repeating:

. . . "I have gone through the reso-lutions that resulted from our conferenceand feel that they arc excellent. This iswhy I am particularly happy that youwill publish these and bring them tothe attention of the general educationalcommunity of Illinois. I guess my onlycomment, and I know I am speakingas an educationist, is that we do notlose sight of the total preparation of theteacher. Foreign language teachers, aswell as other teachers, of course, mustbe aware of the socio-cultural and phil-osophical aspects of education. Theymust also be aware of the nature andstructure of the curriculum, educationalobjectives, and the actual interaction be-tween teacher and student in the class-room. This implies knowledge of de-velopment and learning on the part ofthe student and better ways of teach-

ing students and assessing the achieve-ment of students."

Doctor J. R, Verduin, Jr.Coordinator of Teacher

EducationSouthern Illinois University

. . . "I feel that the resolutions ofthe Illinois Conference on the Stand-ardization of Foreign Language Educa-tion arc fine, and would like to add onepoint to Item 7: a recommendation thatthe teacher not be required to teachmore than three preparations."

Doctor Robert L. Morgenroth,Read, Department of Foreign

LanguagesNorthern Illinois University

. . "If possible, I would like to seethe term 'specialist' further defined as aperson who has competency in thelanguage, a background in linguisticsand its practical application to secondlanguage learning, and a knowledge of,and experience in, the audio-lingual-visual methodology as it applies in aclassroom situation."

Edwin CudeckiDirector of Foreign LanguagesChicago Board of Education

. . . "The primary concern I have ishow to communicate better with for-eign language teachers in the State.There is, I feel, need for closer coopera-tion to develop more of a professionalsense. Only then can we hope to raisestandards."

Doctor Brigitta J. KuhnProfessor of FrenchIllinois State University

Communication: The ImportantPrecedent at Bloomington

The best of intentions must be fol-lowed by the naked reality of hard work.

9

The resolutions of the Bloomington Con-ference will be straws in the wind un-less the organizations which representthe foreign language profession, and theinstitutions which are training futureforeign language teachers, strive consci-entiously to insure the actual fulfillmentof these resolutions by taking concretemeasures designed to move toward ex-cellence in foreign language education.

Lines of communication have beenestablished. Absence of complete agree-ment on specific issues pertaining toforeign language teacher educationshould be no cause for alarm. The prec-edent established at the BloomingtonConference proves that truly profes-

.e

10

sional spokesmen from both the de-partments of education and foreignlanguages have basically the same goalin mind : the best possible educationfor each student. Animosities still

smouldering from the old cliches aboutthe importance of methodology versussubject matter have no place in anintelligent discussion of problems whichare very real. MAKE NO MISTAKEABOUT 1T: Knowledge of subjectmatter and the knowledge of how toteach it are of equal importance in anyteacher-training program.

Hopefully, the pattern established bythe Bloomington Conference will serveas an example for continued dialogue.

Continuing Pertinence of a Special MLA Project . . .

CHAPTER III

Guidelines For Teacher Education ProgramsIn Modern Foreign Languages

Reprinted by permission of the Modern Language Association from"Guidelines for Teacher Education Programs in Modern Foreign

Languages," PMLA, LXXXI (1966), A-2 A-3

Recommendations of the Modern Foreign Language Teacher Preparation Studyof the Modern Language Association in cooperation with the National

Association of State Directors of Teacher Education andCertification with the support of the Carnegie

Corporation of New York

(The official statement below is ad-dressed to college and university per-sonnel who are engaged in or areplanning to engage in programs to pre-pare teachers of modern foreign lan-guages in American schools. Thestatement was prepared in a specialMLA project directed by F. AndrePaquette. At various stages of develop-ment the statement has had the benefitof review and comment by more than500 members of the foreign languageprofession, and it has been approved bythe MLA Foreign Language ProgramAdvisory Committee. Throughout theproject, members of the National Asso-ciation of State Directors of TeacherEducation and Certification [NASDT-EC] provided much helpful professionaladvice, and the statement carries theformal endorsement of NASDTEC.)

A. The Preparation of the AmericanSchool Teacher: The preparationof a teacher in this country usuallyconsists of : general education,courses and experiences which helphim become a well-educated per-son; academic specialization,courses and experiences which helphim become proficient in an area ofconcentration; and professional ed-ucation, courses and experienceswhich help him prepare himself asan educator.

The statement which follows is con-cerned only with academic specializa-tion and professional education. It isintended to define the role of themodern foreign language teacher, tostate the minimal competence whichshould be provided by a training pro-

11

r.

gram, and to characterize such a pro-gram..

B. The Modern Foreign LanguageTeacher in American Schools:The teacher of a modern foreignlanguage in American schools is

expected to:1. Develop in students a progres-

sive control of the four languageskills (listening, speaking, read-ing, writing) .

2. Present the language as an es-sential element of the foreignculture and show how that cul-ture is similar to and differentfrom that of the United States.

3. Present the foreign literature insuch a way as to bring the stu-dents to understand it and toappreciate its values.

4. Make judicious selection anduse of approaches, methods,techniques, aids, material, andequipment for language teach-ing.

5. Correlate his teaching with thatin other areas.

6. Evaluate the progress and diag-nose the deficiencies of studentperformance.

C. Minimal Objectives for a TeacherEducation Program in ModernForeign Languages: * The pro-gram to prepare a beginning mod-ern foreign language teacher must

* Based on the "Good" level of the "Quali-fications for Secondary School Teachers ofModern Foreign Languages," The Bulletin ofthe National Association of Secondary SchoolPrincipals, XXXIV (Nov. 1955), as revisedin Wilmarth H. Starr, "MLA Foreign Lan-guage Proficiency Tests for Teachers andAdvanced Students," PMLA, LXXVII (Sept.1962, Part 2), 38.

12

provide him with the opportunityto develop:1. Ability to understand conversa-

tion at normal tempo, lectures,and news broadcasts.

2, Ability to talk with a nativewith a command of vocabularyand syntax sufficient to expresshis thoughts in conversation atnormal speed with reasonablygood pronunciation.

3. Ability to read with immediatecomprehension prose and verseof average difficulty and maturecontent.

4. Ability to write a simple "freecomposition", such as a letteror message, with clarity and cor-rectness in vocabulary, idiom,and syntax.

5. An understanding of the dif-ferences between the sound sys-tems, forms, and structures ofthe foreign language and ofEnglish, and ability to applythis understanding to modernforeign language teaching.

6. An awareness of language as anessential element of culture andan understanding of the princi-pal ways in which the foreignculture differs from our own.First-hand knowledge of someliterary masterpieces and ac-quaintance with the geography,history, art, social customs, andcontemporary civilization of theforeign people.

7. Knowledge of the present-dayobjectives of modern foreignlanguage teaching as communi-

r,-

cation, and an understanding ofthe methods and techniques forattaining these objectives.Knowledge of the use of spe-cialized techniques, such as ed-ucational media, and of therelation of modern foreign lan-guage study to other areas ofthe curriculum. Ability toevaluate the professional liter-ature of modern foreign lan-guage teaching.

D. Features of a Teacher EducationProgram in Modern Foreign Lan-guages:

An institution that seeks approvalof its modern foreign languageteacher education program acceptsthe responsibility for demonstratingthat its program provides studentswith the opportunity to acquire thecompetences named above. It ischaracterized by the features listedbelow:

1. The institution has a clearlyformulated policy concerningadmission to, retention in, andcompletion of the program.The statement of this policyincludes precise informationabout when and how to applyfor admission to the programand what criteria are used inscreening applicants; it statesthe minimal achievement re-quired for successful completionof the program and it indicateswhen, how, and by what pro-fessional criteria students areeliminated from the program.A printed statement of this

;117 t

policy is available to all whorequest it.

2. The institution evaluates theprevious language experience ofall applicants for admission tothe institution as well as of thatof applicants to the modern for-eign language teacher educa-tion program through the use ofproficiency tests in the four lan-guage skills. It uses the re-sults of such evaluation for stu-dent placement in modern for-eign language instruction.

3. In order to provide candidatesof varied backgrounds with theopportunity to achieve at leastthe level of "Good" in the sevenareas of competence outlined inSection C above, the institutionoffers, or provides by specialarrangement, instruction in:a. The four language skills

(listening, speaking, reading,writing) . This instructionincludes regular and exten-sive exposure to several vari-eties of native speechthrough teachers, lecturers,native informants, or mech-anically reproduced speech,and exposure to severalvarieties of the writtenlanguage through books,newspapers, magazines,documents, etc.

b. The major works of theliterature. This instructionis largely or entirely in theforeign language.

c. Other aspects of the cultureand civilization. The in-

13

. 4TT1171

...

struction includes the studyof the geography, history,and contemporary civiliza-tion.

d. Language analysis, includ-ing a study of the phonology,morphology, and syntax ofthe modern foreign lan-guage and comparison ofthese elements with those ofAmerican English.

e. Professional education, in-cluding a study of the socialfoundations and the organi-zation of public education inthe United States, humangrowth and development,learning theory, and curric-ulum organization, includ-ing the place of foreignlanguages in the curriculum.

f. Methods of teaching modernforeign languages. A studyof approaches to, methodsof, and techniques to beused in teaching a modernforeign language. There isinstruction in the use ofthe language laboratory andother educational media.

4. The institution provides an op-portunity for systematic super-vised observation of a varietyof modern foreign languageteaching situations of differingquality in elementary and sec-ondary schools, at beginning,intermediate, and advancedlevels of instruction, in class-room and language laboratory.

5. The institution provides stu-

dent-teaching experience underexpert supervision in which thecandidate can demonstrate hisactual or potential ability to bea modern foreign languageteacher.

6. The institution has a staff whosecombined competencies are su-perior to the level of instruc-tional proficiencies which arethe objectives of the program.The teachers of the methodscourses and the classroom teach-ers (cooperating teachers) whosupervise the student teachingare experienced foreign lan-guage teachers and are them-selves proficient at least at thelevel of "Good" in the sevenareas of competence. In ad-dition, the cooperating teach-ers are interested in having stu-dent teachers work under theirsupervision.

7. The institution maintains acurriculum library containingthe materials and equipmentcommonly used in teaching mo-dern foreign languages in ele-mentary and secondary schools.

8. The institution provides all stu-dents of modern foreign lan-guages with such opportunitiesfor reinforcement of their class-room learning as a languagelaboratory, foreign films, plays,and lectures; language read-ing and listening rooms withbooks, periodicals, records,and tapes; language houses andlanguage tables.

9. The institution, if it does nothave its own program outsidethe United States, calls to theattention of all foreign lan-guage majors specific foreignstudy programs which havebeen carefully selected.

10. A candidate's achievement inthe seven areas of competenceis evaluated through appropri-ate tests, his teaching skill is ap-praised by experts, and theresults of the evaluation andappraisal are available for ad-

vising him in his continuingeducation and for recommend-ing, licensing, and employinghim. His readiness to teach iscertified in the name of thewhole institution. An officialdesignated to make such cer-tification is able to demonstratethat he has received informa-tion about the candidate fromall units in the institution con-cerned with the candidate'spreparation.

15

Colleges and Universities Must Improve theQuality of Teacher Training Programs . . .

CHAPTER IV

Foreign Language Teacher Training ProgramsIn Illinois

Pat Castle and Charles JayForeign Language Supervisors

Office o f the Superintendent of Public Instruction

To prepare teachers, and teachersof teachers, while at the same time serv-ing as the vehicle by which thousandsof students fulfill degree requirements,is a big order for the foreign languagedepartments of our colleges and uni-versities. While the last ten years havenot witnessed sweeping revolutionarychanges in college foreign language de-partments, those changes which havetaken place are highly significant.

The assertion that changes in Ameri-can education quite often occur fromthe bottom up may have special signifi-cance with regard to foreign languages.In any case, the excitement created inAmerican educational circles by thelaunching of Sputnik placed great pri-ority on the improvement of Americanelementary and secondary education.Foreign languages, as one of the bene-ficiaries of America's race with theSoviet Union for a place in the cosmos,found themselves in the bright light ofpublic scrutiny. Those who were con-cerned with the education of pre-college

16

children felt that university foreign lan-guage departments had been deficientin two broad areas:

1. Foreign language teacher educa-tion: the need for greater lan-guage competency and the abilityto teach audio-lingual- visualskills.

2. Articulation between highschools and college foreign lan-guage programs: the need forcommon philosophy on goals offoreign language learning, theskills sought at specific levels, andthe need for proficiency and place-ment tests to facilitate high schoolgraduates from long-sequence pro-grams.

Colleges Desire to ImproveQuality of Classroom Teacher

The institutions of higher learninghave made progress in both areas. Itwould be unfair to say that colleges anduniversities have been oblivious to the

two problems mentioned above. Therehas been a genuine and sincere attemptto improve the quality of teachereducation in order to meet the goalsof foreign language learning on theelementary and secondary levels. For-eign language department chairmen inIllinois universities and colleges are in-creasingly concerned about the prepara-tion of teachers, realizing that thedegree candidates from their institutionswill, in turn, eventually determine thecaliber of future students who entercollege.

If there remain some institutionsmore concerned about the doctoral pro-grams of a dozen students, rather thanthe teacher preparation programs of a100 students, this seems now to be theexception rather than the rule. Thenaked reality that 100 teachers who arepoorly trained may have an adverseimpact on ten times that number ofhigh school students each year has ledto a readjustment of priorities in col-lege foreign language departments.Better trained teachers produce betterprepared elementary and secondary stu-dents who in turn perform better as col-lege students and who conceivablybecome better teachers or advanced de-gree candidates. The circle of qualitytraining is thus made complete.

Necessity of NDEA Institutes: Why?

The complaint consistently voiced byclassroom teachers that higher educa-tion did not understand or meet theneeds of foreign language educationmay have a tedious and all too familiarring to it. But who can seriously denythat the success of NDEA Institutes

does not point to a brutal truth: thatteacher education programs have notbeen meeting the practical, down-to-earth, tangible needs of teachers in theclassrooms? New Facets of SymbolistPoetry 405 or the all-morning summerschool sessions devoted to a seminar onthe "roman-fleuve", may have beeninteresting manifestations of scholar-ship, but they did not fill the bill forMiss Jones back in District 201. Asamazing and naïve as it may now seem,sincere academicians were in accord thatmere literary acquaintance with thelanguage prepared the student for class-room teaching. However, thoughtfulforeign language spokesmen on theuniversity level are today making anassessment of the damage inflicted uponthe entire area of foreign language learn-ing because of this narrow and restric-ted point of view. The specter of re-cent college graduates enrolling inNDEA Institutes for "retraining"brought home to many of us the reali-zation that proper preparation wouldhave made such a federal program un-necessary. Over 10,000 classroomteachers, at a cost of over seven milliondollars per year, have learned that lan-guage is a set of speech habits.

College Programs are theNeeds of High School Graduates

In addition to improved teacher edu-cation programs, the colleges and uni-versities are in the throes of adjustingforeign language programs to meet thelegitimate needs of high school gradu-ates. The high school teacher whojustifies a traditional program on theassumption that "this is what the col-leges test on" is either completely ignor-

17

ant of the placement tests currently giv-en by most colleges and universities or isseeking self-justification and a conven-ient excuse for the continuation oftraditional methodology. One mayunderstand the frustration of the studentwho had made notable progress incomprehension and speaking skills onthe high school levels but was thensubjected to a university placement testwhich emphasized reading and writingskills. Although this occurrence contin-ues to be part of the college admissionspicture, it is an academic injustice thatis becoming less common. A comfort-able accomodation to such placementtests should never be a convincing argu-ment for the minimizing of compre-hension and speaking skills on theelementary and high school levels.

18

Widespread as the incidence oftradition-bound college programs maystill be, one takes hope in the tangibleindications that a greater number ofcolleges and universities are allocatingexpanded segments of time to the com-prehension and oral performances oftheir own students.

Teachers and counselors may have abetter understanding of foreign langu-age education programs in Illinois byglancing at the curricula currently of-fered in various state-supported collegesand universities. In the description ofvarious programs on the followingpages many schools have described notonly their foreign language educationprograms but also the system of stu-dent testing and placement for highschool graduates.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, Urbana

SAMPLE PROGRAM: SPANISHInformation supplied byDoctor Gilbert Kettlekamp, DirectorForeign Language Teacher Placement

The student who intends to study aforeign language before going to theUniversity of Illinois, and also while inattendance there, should plan to takeas much work as possible in the subjectprior to his graduation from high school.Ideally, the sequence of study should befour years, and a minimum of threeyears.

It is the policy at the University ofIllinois for the student to be given aplacement test in the foreign languagehe has studied. This is vitally impor-tant in order that he may be enrolledat the particular course level wherethere is the greatest likelihood of suc-cess in the language. The standardizedplacement test used for this purpose isthe type prepared by the Modern Lan-guage Association and the EducationalTesting Service of Princeton, NewJersey.

IdentifyingStudent's Achievement Level

The University of Illinois also admin-isters such tests to its own foreign lan-guage students in order to ascertain thelevel of achievement which they areable to attain by the end of one or moresemesters of instruction. By using thesame type of placement test with anincoming student who has just gradu-ated from high school, the University

is in a better position to identify thelearning level which the student hasachieved. With such information athand, it is possible for each languagedepartment to structure a program ofstudy for that student and to enroll himat the course level where he should beable to continue his foreign languagestudy with reasonable assurance of suc-cess.

The completion of work, as describedfor Level I in this publication, (Seepage 8) , should prepare the studentto pass the placement test and be ad-mitted to the 102 course. Level IIshould prepare him for 103 and LevelIII for 104.1 The bright student whohas performed exceptionally well at anyof the levels indicated above can ex-pect to do well enough on the place-ment test to be enrolled in the courseone semester ahead of this. Specifically,the placement procedure is as follows:

The incoming high school graduate

1 Foreign Langauge Supervisors in the Officeof the Superintendent of Public Instructionwho have visited most high schools in Illinoishave observed that in the majority of casesstudents are unable to complete the require-ments of Levels I and II (as defined on page8) in less than a three-year program. Inother words, for most students one year ofhigh school foreign language study is notthe equivalent of one semester's work at theUniversity of Illinois or at most other uni-versities. The problem is further complicatedby the use of the term "level" which at thepresent time is, we feel, erroneously equatedas one year's work. This is a problem thatall universities must solve if a fair assess-ment of student progress is to be made andif students are to receive proper credit forhigh school achievement.

c, ;4, ,

whose placement score puts him backtwo levels is faced with two choices:

1. He continues in the same language,but without graduation credit forthe first semester (for example, thestudent with three years of highschool foreign language who placesin 102 does not receive graduationcredit for 102).

2. He may start over in a new lan-guage. Even considering the loss ofcredit, it is generally recommendedthat a student continue with thelanguage started in high school,unless there are strong reasons forchanging.

The student whose placement scoreenables him to skip a semester if,for example, with two years of highschool language he places in 104will receive proficiency credit for thecourse skipped (103) . If the studentprefers not to take the proficiency credit,but to register in 103, he is permittedto do so.

Difficulty inComparing High School andCollege Achievement Levels

It may be worthwhile to point out aprevailing misconception. In the pastthere has been a tendency on the part ofindividuals connected with foreign lan-guage instruction to assume that theachievement level attained in one ortwo years of study by beginning andintermediate high school foreign lan-guage classes should equal that attainedby college classes after one or two se-mesters of study. Such a comparison isfrequently invalid because of differencesin motivation, maturity, and ability.As a result, the comparison is likely toindicate an unsatisfactory level ofachievement on the part of high school

20

classes, when actually the two groupsmay arrive at comparable levels ofachievement, but not necessarily at thecompletion of those particular periodsof study. Furthermore, there is oftenthe question of whether or not quali-fied teachers are available. A highschool teacher with a foreign languageteaching minor or less, is quite oftencalled upon to instruct one or moreclasses in the language. Under theseconditions the likelihood that the stu-dents in such classes will receive a highlevel of instruction is most improbable.

The student who is planning to pursuea curriculum preparatory to the teach-ing of a foreign language may selectFrench, German, Latin, Russian orSpanish at the University of Illinois.When the student must begin with theinitial course 101 the minimum numberof hours of work in the different lan-guage fields for completion of the de-gree will vary between 38 and 45.However, these requirements are re-duced accordingly when the studentcompletes a course numbered 102 orabove after he has taken the placementexamination.

When the student enters as a fresh-man and indicates he plans to take thetraining program to become a foreignlanguage teacher, he is assigned to a ma-jor adviser who is a specialist in the for-eign language teaching field. Theadviser will help him enroll in the ap-propriate curriculumfor example, theCurriculum Preparatory to the Teach-ing of Spanish in the College of LiberalArts and Sciences. After completion of acurriculum of 123 semester hours ofcredit (excluding credits for the first

two years of military training and physi-cal education) the student will receivethe Degree of Bachelor of Arts in theTeaching of Spanish. At the beginningof his junior year he may transfer to theCollege of Education and follow thesame curriculum. Upon completion ofthis work he will receive the Degreeof Bachelor of Science in the Teachingof Spanish. Inasmuch as the coursework in either college will be the same,the perspective graduate will obtainno particular advantage by making sucha transfer. Either degree is acceptablefor obtaining a teaching position.

Curriculum Preparatory to theTeaching of Spanish

The Curriculum Preparatory to theTeaching of Spanish is listed below asan example of a foreign languageteacher-training program. It includes re-quirements in General Education, Pro-fessional Education, and the subjectfield of Spanish. In addition to histeaching major, the student is also re-quired by university regulations to havea teaching minor. The courses neces-sary in the "minor" field will vary froma minimum of 22 semester hours insome fields, such as the foreign lan-guages, to considerably more in others.The courses required for a Spanishminor are listed for the reader; similarminor programs arc available in allforeign languages for which there aremajor programs.

Professional Education and GeneralEducation requirements arc common toall subject fields. The foreign languagestudent who completes the type of pro-gram described below for Spanish willbe eligible to receive the Illinois Secon-

dary School Teaching Certificate per-mitting him to teach Spanish in grades7 through 12 and any other subject forwhich he has met minimum prepara-tion requirements.

The sample curriculum describedhere for Spanish is a typical four-yearprogram at the University of Illinois.In addition to forty-three semesterhours which, arc required in the lan-guage, other required hours are in-cluded in professional education (18),general education (16), history (4),physical education (4), political science(3), psychology (4), rhetoric andspeech (9), "minor" fields such as an-other foreign language, history, English,etc. (20), and electives (13) :

First Year

First SemesterSpan. 101-Elem. SpanishRhet. 101-Rhet. & Composition

orD.G.S. 111-Verbal CommunicationGeneral EducationPhysical EducationElectives

SemesterHours

43

441

4

16.17

Hours43

441

4

16-17

Total

Second SemesterSpan. 102-Elem. SpanishRhet. 102-Rhet. & Composition

orD.G.S. 112-Verbal CommunicationGeneral EducationPhysical EducationElectives

Total

Second Year

First Semester HoursSpanish 103-Intermediate Spanish .... 4Sec. Ed. 101-Introduction to the Teach-

21

ing of Secondary School Subjects .

Pol. Sci. 150-American Government:Organization and Powers

Speech 101-Principles ofEffective Speaking

orSpeech 141-Oral Interpretation of

LiteratureGeneral EducationPhysical Education

2

3

3

3

Ed. Pr. 242-Educational Practice inSecondary Education 5

Ed. Pr. 250-School and CommunityExperiences 2

Spanish 280-Teachers Course 2

Spanish 332-La Cultura Hispanica,Hispanoamerica 2

4 Total 181

Total 17

Second Semester HoursSpanish 104-Intermediate Spanish 4Hist. 152-Hist. of the U.S. 1865

to the PresentPsych. 100-Introduction to Psych.General EducationPhysical Education

Total

Third Year

Second SemesterSpanish 215-Spoken SpanishSpanish Literature Course: 305 or 306Spanish 351-PhoneticsSpanish 352-SyntaxElectives

Hours43

2

2

644 Total 17

41 New Special Curriculum

For Both High School and17 Elementary School Certification

For those who wish to teach foreignlanguages in a high school and an ele-mentary school under Illinois teachercertification regulations, the Universityof Illinois offers a Specialty for Teach-ing Spanish in both High School andElementary School (available in otherlanguages also) . Completion of the cur-riculum mentioned above will qualifythe student for the high school certifi-cate which permits him to teach Spanishin grades 7 through 12. However, astudent who wishes to prepare forteaching Spanish in the elementaryschool, but who does not wish to pre-pare for general elementary schoolteaching, should substitute the follow-ing courses in place of the "Teachers'Minor" required in the above curricu-lum: Child Development for Elemen-tary Teachers (Educational Psychology

3236, 3 semester hours) ; Classroom Pro-grams in Childhood Education (Ele-

4 mentary Education 233, 2 semester

First Semester HoursSpanish 221-Spanish Drama and

Poetry of the 20th Century 3

Spanish 211-Intermediate Composition& Conversation 3

Electives 11

Total 17

Second Semester HoursSpanish 222-Spanish-American Prose

Fiction of the 20th Century 3

Spanish 212-Intermediate Composition& Conversation 3

HP Ed. 201-Foundations of AmericanEducation 2

Se. Ed. 240-Principles of SecondaryEducation 2

Electives 7

Total 17

Fourth Year

First Semester HoursEd. Psych. 211-Educational PsychologySe. Ed. 241-Technic of Teaching in

the Secondary School

22

[;'

hours) ; The Teaching of LanguageArts in the Elementary School (Ele-mentary Education 333, 3 semesterhours) ; and Primary Reading (Ele-mentary Education 336, 3 semesterhours) .

The student teaching in this curricu-lum must be performed in the seventhor eighth grade. If these requirementsare met, the student will be entitled tonot only the high school certificate butalso the special certificate; he willthus be in a position to teach Spanishin all grades in the public schools, K-12.The special certificate, however, doesnot qualify him to teach any elemen-tary school subjects other than the onenamed on the certificate.

A ValuablePrerequisite to Student Teaching

Educational Practice 250, School andCommunity Experience, provides an op-portunity for the student teacher toparticipate in the opening activities ofthe school year at the school where hewill later do his student teaching. Inmost instances this will require approx-imately two to three weeks of time.It must be no less than two weeks forhim to receive the two hours of creditoffered for the course. The course isavailable only in the fall semester butthe student may participate in it re-gardless of the semester in which helater does his student teaching. Thecourse is completed in time for him to be

on campus for the fall semester to beginattending classes on the day instructionbegins.

More and more cooperating schoolsare coming to regard Educational Prac-tice 250 as such an essential prerequi-site to student teaching that they willnot accept for student teaching any stu-dents who do not participate in theexperience. Actually, the two coursescomplement each other by providing avariety of experiences for the studentteacher in the cooperating school.

Prospective foreign language gradu-ates at the University of Illinois do theirstudent teaching during either the firstor second semester of their senior year(Readers should consult the Under-graduate Catalogue for admission pro-cedures in the student teachingprogram) . Each student's teachingsemester of 14 weeks is divided intothree parts: first six weeks devoted tocourse work such as Secondary Edu-cation 241, the technique of teaching;the second six weeks centered aroundactual teaching experience in a cooper-ating school; and the last two weeks ofthe semester devoted to a completion ofthe courses which were begun the firstsix weeks. During his six weeks of stu-dent teaching, most of which is in theChicago suburban schools, the studentis visited at least three times by anassigned university supervisor who is anexperienced foreign language teacher.

23

NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, De Kalb

SAMPLE PROGRAM: FRENCH

Information supplied byDoctor Robert Morgenroth, ChairmanDepartment of Foreign Languages

The student who has had no Frenchin high school, or the equivalent ofless than three semesters, may take thebeginning course, Foreign Language 101for credit. Those who have had be-tween four and seven semesters of highschool French may pursue one of twoalternatives: to enroll in Foreign Lan-guage 101 or 102 as an auditor for nocredit, or to enroll in Foreign Language201 for credit. Likewise, those highschool students fortunate enough tohave had a long sequence of eight sem-esters (four years) or more have similaroptions: to enroll in Foreign Language201 or 202 as an auditor for no credit,or to enroll in Foreign Language 301and 303 for credit.

So that the student may wisely choosethe proper course for his ability level, hetakes a placement examination uponentering Northern Illinois University.This test does not give credit, nor doesit assign the student to a course, but itdoes indicate where the student shouldstart, according to his ability. It isdifferent from the so-called proficiencytest, which students may take in orderto receive credit for a particular course.The placement test serves primarily torecommend that the student entereither first- or second-semester level ofthe first, second, or third years.

The Bachelor of Arts degree in the

24

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences re-quires two years of a college foreign lan-guage or the equivalent. This require-ment may be satisfied by the proficiencyexamination with credit, by the place-ment examination (student's abilitytesting above the second year) withoutcredit, or by the student's passing afourth or fifth semester final examina-tion, credit to be determined accordingto his previous schooling. The Bachelorof Science in Education does not have ageneral foreign language requirementfor its majors, but each department mayhave its own foreign language require-ment for this degree.

Curriculum Leading toRegular Teacher Certification

A student beginning ElementaryFrench (101) in his freshman yearwould have to take accelerated coursesor summer courses, or both, to completehis major and education requirementswithin four calendar years. It is, there-fore, a distinct advantage to enter withthree or four years training in highschool. A freshman entering NorthernIllinois University with two or prefer-ably three years of high school Frenchwould take the following courses leadingto a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor ofScience degree in French with secon-dary school teacher certification :

;-.

SemesterSemester 1 Hours

For. Lang. 201** Inter. French 4English 103* Rhet.-Composition .. 0 3

Math 120* Intro, to Math 3

Physical Ed. 1

Speech 100* Fundamentals 3

Semester 2For. Lang. 202** Inter. FrenchEnglish 104** Composition-Lit.Gen. Ed. Requirement**Physical Ed.Gen. Ed. Requirement**Gen. Ed. Requirement**

Semester 3For. Lang. 301 Intro. to Lit.For. Lang. 303 Oral-Writ. ExpressionPol. Sci. 140 * - **P. E.Gen. Ed. Requirement**Gen. Ed. Requirement**

14 (14)Hours

43

3

1

3

3

17 (31)Hours.

3

3

3

1

3

3

Semester 4For. Lang. 302 Intro. to Lit.For. Lang. 304 Oral-Writ. ExpressionGen. Ed. Requirement**P. E.Gen. Ed. RequirementGen. Ed. Requirement**

16 (47)Hours.

3

3

3

1

3

3

16 (63)Here a student must apply for admission

to the Teacher Education program of the De-partment of Secondary Professional Educa-tion. Among other requirements, he musthave approval of his French advisor.

Semester 5 HoursFor. Lang. 400 Adv. French

Comprehension 3

For. Lang. 4xx French Lit. 3

Electives 3

Electives 3

Electives 3

15 (78)

Semester 6 HoursFor. Lang. 4xx French Lit. 3

For. Lang. 4xx French Lit. 3

Ed. 302 Human Development andLearning (Secondary) 6

Electives 3

15 (93)

Semester 7 HoursFor. Lang. 427 French Culture-

Civilization 4For. Lang. 428 French Phonetics

and Phonemics 3

Electives 4xx 3

Electives 4xx 3

Elective 3

16 (109)Semester 8 Hours

For. Lang. 490E-For. Lang. Methods** 3

Ed. 486F Foundation ofSecondary Education 5

Ed. 495L Student Teaching 7

15 (124)* Unless exempted by examination.

** Selection among Humanities, Scienceand Math, Social Science.

*** Does not count in for. lang. major re-quirement in semester hours.

The total semester hours required fora major in French are 31 above theintermediate level of which 19 of thesemust be at the 400 level. All foreignlanguage courses listed above are re-quired, except Foreign Language 428(Phonetics and Phonemics) which isstrongly recommended. The electivesshown may be in university courses, in-cluding another foreign language. Thehours per semester may vary, but 124are required for graduation, with aminimum of 40 at the 400 level. For aminor in French, with teaching certifi-cation, semesters 1-4 would be un-changed; and 6 additional hours at the400 level for a total of 22 hours abovethe intermediate level are required.

25

EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, Charleston

SAMPLE PROGRAM: GERMAN

Information supplied byDoctor Martin Miess, ChairmanDepartment of Foreign Languages

The teaching curriculum in Germanat Eastern Illinois University leadingtoward the Bachelor of Science degreein Education consists of 76 quarterhours of the following language andeducation courses (French, Latin, Span-ish have the same education require-ments and similar language courses) :

QuarterHours

I. Language courses 52 quarter hours*

A. Required courses-20 quarter hoursGerman 340** Methods of Teach-

ing German 4German 354 Conversation and

Writing 4German 361 Applied Linguistics 4German 410 Contemporary German

Culture and Civilization 4German 455 Advanced Composi-

tion and Syntax 4

B. Elected courses-32 quarter hoursGerman 233, 234, 235 Intermediate

German 12

German 353 Masterpieces ofGerman Literature 4

German 355 Twentieth CenturyGerman Literature 4

German 362 Schiller's Dramas 4German 363 Lyrics and Ballads 4German 411 German Drama . 4

26

German 412 Introduction toGoethe 4

German 453 German Literature to1700 4

German 454 German Literaturesince 1700 4

II. Education courses-12 quarter hoursUpon admission to teacher educa-

tion and junior standingEducation 332 Educational Psy-

chology 4Education 333 The Instructional

Task in Secondary School 4Education 445 Philosophy and His-

tory of Education 4

III. Practice Teaching Practicum-12quarter hours

Education 441, 442, 443 TeachingPracticum it Elementary or Sec-ondary School 12

The teacher education practicum is us-ually conducted off-campus during aregular quarter and supervised by theforeign language coordinator. The for-eign language coordinator is a staffmember of the Foreign Language De-partment and of the Faculty for Profes-sional Education, who usually teaches amethods course in the Foreign LanguageDepartment.

Not counting elementary German (12quarter hours) which is offered for credit butdoes not count toward the major.

** Admission to teacher education and jun-ior standing.

Placement in the foreign language

courses of students who wish to continue

a language begun in high school is

indicated by the following table:(Permission of the department is neces-sary for initial enrollment beyond thecourses in Column III.)

Students who enroll in a course earlierin sequence than that indicated in

Column H will not receive credit toward

Number of high school unitsof the language

graduation, but may have the coursereported to the State Teacher Certifica-tion Board in partial fulfillment of theminimum requirement for certificationto teach the language. They may alsoapply for proficiency examinations forcollege credit in courses listed on theappropriate line in Column HI ormore advanced courses, but not incourses earlier in the sequence.

II

Course in (or beyond) whichthe student may enroll forcollege credit

III

Course in which initial en-rollment is recommended ifgrades in high school coursesin the language average Bor higher

1 year The student will take a placement examination given by theForeign Language Department which will determine thecourse which he may enter for credit.

2 years Latin 122French 132German 132Russian 142Spanish 132

Latin 220French 230German 233Russian 250Spanish 230

3 years Latin 220French 230German 233Russian 250Spanish 230

Latin 221French 231German 234Russian 251Spanish 231

4 years Latin 222French 232German 235Russian 252Spanish 232

A coursenumbered above300

27

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, Edwardsville

SAMPLE PROGRAM: GERMANInformation supplied byDoctor Raymond SpahnDepartment of Foreign Languages

German majors, as well as those inother subject areas, must complete 84quarter hours of work in five separateareas of General Studies. German ma-jors must present 42 quarter hours ofcourse work in German beyond thefirst-year level, as well as advanced 300level courses in both English and his-tory (related to Germany) . Studentswho have taken two years of Germanon the high school level register forGerman 201 (Intermediate German)for three terms a total of nine quar-ter hours. They may also take German220 (Intermediate German Conversa-tion) simultaneously for three terms fora total of six quarter hours. Studentswith four years or more of high schoolGerman would take 42 quarter hours0, German beyond the intermediatelevel.

The following electives beyond theintermediate level may be taken in anyorder except that the seminar may notbe taken before the senior year:

QuarterHours

German 313 German Literaturebefore Romanticism 4-12

German 311 German Culture . 4-12German 316 German Literature

from Romanticism to thePresent 4-12

German 351 Advanced GermanComposition and Conversation 3-6

28

German 401 Faust 4German 451 Seminar 2-4

The requirements for students pre-paring to teach German are as follows:

1. Secondary Education 352dSecondary Student Teaching(Student teachers spend 12weeks in an area school, work-ing the entire school day, fivedays a week, under a class-room teacher of German. Aregular member of the South-ern Illinois University Germanstaff, who is assigned to super-vise the student's teaching ob-serves it on at least five dif-ferent days during the courseof the 12 weeks, and holds ap-proximately this same numberof conferences with both thestudent teacher and the co-operating teacher.) 12-16

2. Education 305 EducationalPsychology 4

3. Education 355 Philosophy ofEducation 4

4. Education 315 High SchoolMethods (Education 3 0 5,355, and 315 are taken as asequence in the above orderand are prerequisites for stu-dent teaching.) 4

5. General Studies (A) 331American Education Systems 3

6. General Studies (B) 300a or302a History of the UnitedStates 3

7. General Studies (B) 203aAmerican Government (MeetsState Constitution require-ments.) 4

8. General Studies (E) 201

Healthful Living (Also twophysical education activitycourses must be taken.) 3

9. Education Electives (TheSouthern Illinois UniversityEducation Division recom-mends a total of 30 hours.) 3

10. Foreign Language 486 Ma-terials and Methods of Teach-ing Foreign Language (Maybe taken as an elective in edu-cation, but cannot replaceEducation 315, High SchoolMethods. All or partial creditmay be counted either to-ward the language major orfor education, but not both.) 4- 8

The following information pertainingto foreign languages at the EdwardsvilleCampus of Southern Illinois Universitymay be of value to students and guid-ance counselors:

1. No foreign language is required forentrance to Southern Illinois Uni-versity.

2. Nine quarter hours of a foreignlanguage or of mathematics are re-quired of all students as part ofthe 84 quarter hours of GenekalStudies requirements. (Studentswith two years of a high schoolforeign language may waive this9-hour requirement.)

3. One year of a foreign language (col-lege level) or the equivalent is re-quired for the Bachelor of Arts de-gree.

4. Two years of a foreign language(college level) or the equivalent arerequired for Bachelor of Arts can-didates majoring in English orphilosophy.

5. No grade lower than "C" in thefield of humanities (which includesforeign languages) may be countedtoward graduation, and the aver-age of all course work taken forthe bachelor's degree must be "C"or better.

6. All candidates who wish to be cer-tified to teach at the high schoollevel must be advised by a desig-nated professor in the EducationDivision for their necessary educa-tion courses.

29

WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, Macomb

SAMPLE PROGRAM: FRENCHInformation supplied byDoctor James McKinney, ChairmanDepartment of Foreign Languages

The academic and professional pro-grams for foreign language majors atWestern Illinois University who are pre-paring for a career in teaching were re-vised in 1968. The department usedthe Guidelines for Teacher EducationPrograms in Modern Foreign Languagesas established jointly by the NationalAssociation of State Directors of Teach-er Education and Certification and theModern Language Association ofAmerica as a basis for the revision.

I. Foreign language requirementsleading to a Bachelor of Artsdegree with teacher certifica-tion:

QuarterHours

A. 300-level literature sur-veys or equivalent (12) . .

326-Survey of French Lit-erature I 4327-Survey of French Lit-erature II 4328-Survey of French Lit-erature III 4

B, 300- and 400-level lan-guage and language skillcourses (12)320-Phonetics 4323-Grammar and Com- 4position 4324-Conversation 4325-Reading 4401-Introduction toStylistics 4

30

402-Introduction to the"Explication de Textes" 4

C. Civilization (4)405-Evolution of theFrench Civilization 4406-French Civilization II 4

D. Electives410-The Theatre of theClassic Century 4411-The Prose Writersand Fabulists of the Clas-sic Century 4420-the Writers of the Ageof Enlightenment I 4421-The Writers of theAge of Enlightenment II 4430-The Writers of theRomantic Period 4431-The Novelists of the,lealistic and NaturalisticPeriod 4432-Poets of the LateNineteenth Century . 4440-T h e ContemporaryFrench Novel 4441-The Modern FrenchTheatre 4442-T h e ContemporaryFrench Poets 4490-Special Topics inFrench Literature 4

II. Professional Education (36)201-Educational Psychol-ogyGrowth and Devel-opment301 - Educational Psychol-ogyLearning

5

5

302-Social Foundations ofEducation 3

401-Historical, Social andPhilosophical Foundationsof American Education 4480-Student Teaching inMajor or Minor Field 16

Prerequisites : Education301, the appropriatemethods course or courses,a 2.25 average in eacharea in which studentteaching assignment issought, a cumulative aver-age of 2.15, recommenda-tion of the adviser, con-sent of the Coordinator

of Laboratory Experien-ces, the equivalent of atleast two quarters of full-time resident work, in-cluding some study in therecommending depart-ment. No more than 16quarter hours of studentteaching can be countedtoward graduation. Stu-dents must meet the re-quirements for admissionto the Senior Division ofthe School of Education.339-Methods of Teachinga Modern Foreign Lan-guage 4

CHICAGO STATE COLLEGE

TENTATIVE PROGRAM IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATIONInformation supplied byDoctor Charlotte Maneikes, ChairmanDepartment of Foreign Languages

At present Chicago State College hasno foreign language major. However,the proposal for a secondary teachingmajor in Spanish is being sent to thetwo boards of governors of the Collegeand, hopefully, the boards will approvethe Spanish teaching major in the falltrimester of 1968. The curriculum pro-posed consists of 83 hours in the generaleducation courses which are required bythe College for all graduates; 43 hoursof Spanish courses and 2 hours of elec-tives. The 43 hours of Spanish aregrouped as follows:

*4' 04. 1- ge.

1. Two basic courses which stressaural-oral competence.

2. Six courses in grammar, conver-sation, and composition to developskill in spoken and written Spanish.

3. Six courses in the literature ofSpain and Spanish America, whichare presented as two series of sur-vey courses and one special courseon "The Golden Age."

4. One professional course coveringthe methods and techniques ofteaching Spanish. (An additionalsix-hour professional course, whichis not part of the 43 hours, is re-quired in practice teaching.)

.r.7,1Ff

=.:61;-As(61.'tk ',att. "

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, Carbondale

SAMPLE PROGRAM: GERMANInformation supplied byDoctor Howard FrenchDepartment of Foreign Langauges

Majors are offered at Southern Illi-nois University in French, German,Latin, Russian, and Spanish. Qualifiedstudents are encouraged to take pro-ficiency examinations for Foreign Lan-guage 201-9. A student is not eligibleto apply for proficiency in Foreign Lan-guage 220 unless he has passed thecorresponding Foreign Language 201course.

QuarterHours

Bachelor of Arts, College of LiberalArts and Sciences

Central Studies 84Foreign Language 51-56Secondary Concentration(Minor) 24Electives 28-33

Bachelor of Arts, College of LiberalArts and Sciences, with second-ary school certification

General Studies 84Foreign Language 51-56Secondary Education(Education Courses) 32

Electives 20-25

Bachelor of Science, College ofEducation

General Studies 84Foreign Language 51-56Secondary Education 32

Electives 20-25

Secondary ConcentrationA minor foreign language may beattained by taking 26-30 hours in

courses numbered above 200. Secindividual languages for specific re-quirements. State certification re-quirements may be met by countingGSD-FL courses or by doing addi-tional advanced work, whichever isadvised or applicable.

At least one course in the history ofGermany or Central Europe is recom-mended for all students majoring inGerman.

Bachelor of Arts Degree (WithoutTeaching Certificate)

HoursGerman courses numbered above

200, including the following:201abc-Intermediate German(Required) 9220abc-Intermediate GermanConversation (Recommend-ed) 6301ab-Survey of German Lit-erature (Required) 8304ab-Advanced Compositionand Conversation (Required) 8310ab-Introduction to Ger-man Literature (Required) . 8

408-G e r m a n Civilization(Recommended) 4

400 Level-Three additionalGerman Literature courses(Required) 12

German Electives 0-19

Bachelor of Science or Bachelor ofArts Degree (With TeachingCertificate)

German courses numbered above200, including the following:

33

F.

200 Level-Same as above 9-15300 Level-Same a sabove 24-28401 ab-Faust 4

400 Level-Two additional lit-erature courses 8408-German Civilization 4German Electives 0-14Education Courses-A mini-mum of 24 quarter hours is

requiredGuidance 3 0 5 - EducationalPsychology 4Secondary Education 310-His-tory and Principles of Second-ary Education 4Foreign Language Methods353 4Secondary Education 352-Stu-dent Teaching (One quarter,off campus, senior year) 12-15

Recommended Electives-Edu-cational Administration 355 -Philosophy of Education 4

Instructional Materials 417 -Audiovisual Methods 4Guidance 422 - EducationalMeasurements and Statistics 4Secondary Education 407-TheJunior High School 4

Secondary Concentration inGerman

German courses numbered above200, including the following:200 Level-Same as above 9-15304ab-Advanced Compositionand Conversation 8

310ab-Introduction to Ger-man Literature 8

German Electives 0-6

ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY, Normal

SUGGESTED PROGRAM FOR ALL LANGUAGES

Information supplied byDoctor Thomas Comfort, CairmanDepartment of Foreign Languages

The Department of Foreign Lan-guages at Illinois State University offersteacher training programs in French,German, Latin, Russian, and Spanish.Those who desire to teach any of these

languages must complete 33 semesterhours of course work in the language it-self of which the following 25 hours arerequired:

SemesterHours

Elementary French, Spanish, Ger-man, Latin or Russian 8

Intermediate French, Spanish, Ger-man, Latin or Russian 8

Survey of Literature of French,Spanish, German, Latin orRussian 6

Composition and Conversation inFrench, Spanish, German, Lat-in or Russian 2

Foreign Language Teaching in theElementary School (Methods) 1

The additional eight hours which re-main in the "major" are elective and

may be taken from a wide variety oflanguage and literature courses, ac-

cording to the needs and desires of the

students.Where a student has had prior lan-

guage training in high school, he willbe placed in the appropriate advanced

language course upon entrance to theUniversity. This advanced placementwill allow the student greater variety inthe choice of his language courses since,ordinarily, it will not be necessary totake all of the hours of elementary orintermediate languages listed above.

There is also the additional require-ment of 24 semester hours of profes-sional education which includes 10 se-mester hours of student teaching. The10 semester hours of student teachingmay be taken over a nine-week or aneighteen-week period in either the Uni-versity Laboratory High School or inother high schools located throughoutIllinois.

Illinois State University also offers aResource in French or Spanish for Ele-mentary School Teaching majors whowish to elect it. Eighteen to 21 hoursof French or Spanish are required,including 8 hours of IntermediateFrench or Spanish, and 3 hours ofFrench or Spanish for the ElementarySchool. In the event that an Elemen-tary School Teaching major enters theUniversity with previous high schoollanguage training in French or Spanish,a greater choice of language courses inthese two languages is available.

35

NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS STATE COLLEGE, Chicago

SAMPLE PROGRAM: FRENCHInformation supplied byDoctor Alice N. Callicounis, ChairmanForeign Language Department

There are three programs availableat Northeastern Illinois State Collegefor French majors. The requirementsfor each are as follows:

Bachelor of Arts Degree in French forTeaching in the Elementary SchoolsRequirements: 8 semester hours Basic

Program or successful examinationdisplaying knowledge equivalent tothe Basic Program.

Major Program: A total of 24 semesterhours. 21 hours of required coursesand 3 hours of elective courses.

REQUIRED COURSES:Semester

Hours25-311 Conversation Com-

position I 3

25-312 Conversation Com-position II 3

25-313 Etude de Morpholo-gic de Syntaxe etdc Style 3

25-328 Masterpieces ofFrench Literature .. 3

25-319 Historic dc la Civil-isation francaise .... 3

21-372 Fundamental Skills.Methods of TeachingModern Foreign Lan-guage in the Elemen-tary Schools 3

25-372 Applied French Lin-guistics 3

BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE INFRENCH FOR TEACHING IN THESECONDARY SCHOOL

36

Total semester hours required: 39ofwhich 9 hours are elective

REQUIRED COURSES25-311 Conversation a n d

Composition I 3

25-312 Conversation a n dComposition II 3

25-313 Etude dc Morpholo-gic dc Syntaxc et destyle 3

25-319 Kistoire dc la Civ-ilisation frangaisc 3

255-328 Masterpieces ofFrench Literature 3

25-372 Applied French Lin-guistics 3

75-301 Methods of Teach-ing Modern ForeignLanguages 3

ELECTIVE COURSES (3 of thefollowing courses-9 cr. hrs.) :25-317

25-319

25-321

25-322

25-331

25-333

25-351

25-354

La Phonetique fran-gaisc 3

La Generation de1890 3

Initiation a la Litter-ature frangaisc XVIIsiecle 3

Initiation a la littera-turc frangaisc XVIIIsiècle 3

Les Philosophes etMoralistes du XVIIsiecle 3

Initiation a la Litter-aturc francaisc XIXsiecle 3

La Litterature Con-tempor4ine 3

Lc Theatre Classique 3

In addition to the 30 hours required in

French, a student must take the following

courses in Professional Preparation (Edu-

cation) for a total of 18 hours:62-215 Philosophical and His-

torical Foundations inEducation 4

36-213 Educational Psychol-ogy 3

68.301 Curriculum of theSecondary School 3

77-301 Student Teaching andSeminar in ForeignLanguages 6

ELECTIVE COURSES (One ofthe following)

Hours25-317 La Phonetique fran-

gaise 3

25-318 La Generation de1890 3

25-351 La Litteraturc Con-temporaine 3

25-354 Le Theatre Classique 3

25-331 Les Philosophes etMoralistes du XVIIsiecle 3

In addition to the 24 semester hours inFrench, a student must take the follow-ing courses in Professional Preparation(Education, 28 hours required) to ful-fill the requirements for graduation:

36-213 Educational Psychol-ogy 3

62-215 Philosophical a n d

Historical Found a-tions of Education 4

65-301 Curriculum of theElementary School . 3

65-302 Methods of Teach-ing Language Arts 2

65-306 Methods of Teach-ing Reading in theElementary School . 2

65-317 Micro - Teaching i none Methods Area 2

Select 2 of the following courses:65-303 Methods of Teaching

Mathematics in theElementary School . 2

65.304 Methods of TeachingSocial Studies in theElementary School 2

65-305 Methods of TeachingScience in the Ele-mentary School 2

Select one from the following:65-311 Teaching the Gifted

Child 2

65-315 Teaching in the In-ner City School 2

65-316 Teaching the Slow-Learning Child 2

BACHELOR OF ARTSLIBERALARTS IN FRENCH

A total of 30 semester hours is requiredof which 15 hours are electives

REQUIRED COURSES:Hours

25-311 Conversation a n dComposition I 3

25-312 Conversation a n dComposition II 3

25-313 Etude de Morpholo-gic de Syntaxe et deStyle 3

25-319 Histoire de la Civili-sation francaise 3

25-328 Masterpieces ofFrench Literature 3

ELECTIVE COURSES (Five ofthe following courses) 15

hours:25-317 La Phonetique fran-

caise25-319 La Generation de

189025-321 Initiation a la Lit-

terature francaiseXVII siecle

25-322 Initiation a la Lit -

terature francaiseXVIII siecle

25-331 Les Philosophes etMoralistes du XVIIsiecle

25-333 Initiation a la Litter-

3

3

3

3

3

37

ature francaise XIXsiècle 3

25-351 La Litterature Con-temporaine 3

25-354 Le Theatre Classique 3

Students who have not completed the4 year requirement in high school musttake French II and French HI, a totalof 8 hours. A placement test is givento all students who have had someFrench in high school to determine thelevel in which they must register. If

38

the student does not qualify for FrenchH according to the results of the place-ment test, he then must take French Iwhich is not included in the 8 hours ofForeign Language Requirements, thusgraduating with 4 additional hours.

French I, II, and III, called theBasic Program, are 4 credit hour coursesand they consist of 4 contact hours inthe classroom and 1 hour in the lan-

guage laboratory per week.

CHICAGO CIRCLE, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

SAMPLE PROGRAM: GERMANInformation supplied byMr. Daniel HarringtonLanguage Laboratory Director

Although the first two years of coursework, German 101 through 106 (Ele-mentary and Intermediate German),do not count as credit towards theGerman major at the Chicago CircleCampus of the University of Illinois,a prospective teacher can, nonetheless,fulfill the graduation requirements ifhe must take these courses. A programfor a four-year course of studies toobtain a major in German follows be-low: (Education courses and theirprerequisites are included.)

QuarterHours

FRESHMAN YEAR:Elementary German 101, 102,and 103; Introduction to Psy-chology 100, American Gov-ernment 151 (each four quar-ter hours), and electives 48

SOPHOMORE YEAR:Intermediate German 104105, and 106 (each four quar-ter hours), and electives .... 48

JUNIOR YEAR:1st Quarter:

201 Writing and SpeakingGerman I (4 hours)

220 German Culture and Civ-ilization (3 hours)

221 Introduction to GermanLiterature (3 hours)

170 Educational Foundations(4 hours)

204 Corrective German Pho-netics (1 hour)

2nd Quarter:202 Writing and Speaking

German II (4 hours)290 Masterworks of German

Literature II (4 hours)210 The Educative Process

(4 hours)One additional course(4 hours) 16

Third Quarter:203 Writing and Speaking

German III (4 hours)292 Masterworks of German

Literature III (4 hours)305 Introduction to Linguis-

tics (German) (4 hours)230 Curriculum and Instruc-

tion in the SecondarySchools (4 hours) 16

SENIOR YEAR:First Quarter:

294 Masterworks of GermanLiterature III (4 hours)

331 The Teaching of Ger-man in the SecondarySchool and College 301(3 hours)

301 Writing and SpeakingGerman IV (4 hours)

250 Educational Evaluation(4 hours)

Second Quarter:270 Educational Pract ic e

with Seminar

Third Quarter:302 Writing and Speaking

German V (4 hours)396 German Drama (4

15 hours)

15

12

39

395 Naturalism, Impression-ism, and Expressionism(4 hours) 12

This teacher would graduate with atotal of 183 quarter hours of which 53hours would be German courses abovethe 200 level (junior and senior levels).

Practice Teaching at Chicago Circle

Practice teachers are encouraged to goout in the penultimate quarter of theirlast year. They work in the publicschools in the Chicago area for the en-tire quarter and come to the universityone afternoon per week for a seminarto discuss experiences and problemsthey have encountered in their teachingexperience.

In our program, we are able to video-tape the practice teachers at work inthe public schools. This serves as anaid both to them and to their super-visor.

The faculty member teaching the de-partmental methods course visits eachof his students in the public schools atleast twice during the quarter, to seetheir application of the methods theyhave learned and to find out what prac-tical problems they have that arise in theactual teaching situation. He partici-pates in the seminars held in the De-partment of Education.

In some of our language departments,a two-quarter methods course is given.When two quarters are available, it ispossible to train prospective teachers insuch techniques as teaching for tele-vision. At the end of the quarter eachstudent is required to present a lessonplanned exclusively for television. Thislesson is videotaped in the universitystudio, shown to the student, and criti-cized by the teacher. Seeing one's mis-takes, as well as the positive factors, isfar more impressive than merely hearingabout them.

Prospective teachers in the German

40

department are required to take a coursein corrective German phonetics. Oncea week, the students come to the test-ing laboratory and make a tape as apronunciation exercise. The individualstudent has a test sheet from which hereads, trying to pronounce the text asaccurately as possible. The teacher ofthe course listens to the tape and marksthe student's sheet for pronunciation er-rors. Then the student can take thesheet back to the lab and listen to histape with the corrected page in frontof him, enabling him to pinpoint hiserrors.

Next quarter, in the teaching methodsclasses, we plan to use a telephone sys-tem with attached loudspeaker so thatdrills, mistakes, and methods of languagelaboratory use can be demonstrated tothe students by the teacher who dials anumber that gives him access to a tapehe has requested to be put on the tele-phone line. Mistakes in technique, indrilling, or mistakes that students makein language-laboratory use can thus bevividly demonstrated.

The prospective teacher is requiredto have finished his education coursesand practically all of his courses in hismajor when he goes into the school asa practice teacher. His departmentmakes the final decision about his readi-ness for teaching and can reject his re-quest to practice teach if he does notmeet the requirements of proficiency re-garded as necessary by the department.

Description of the Language Laboratoryat Chicago Circle

Chicago Circle has two language lab-oratories. One is a 120-seat laboratorywith ninety positions in which the stu-dents can dial their own programs.There are thirty four-track tape decks,so 120 programs can be played simul-taneously. There are four student recordpositions in this laboratory.

We also have seven telephone lines,three that are multiple access and four

that are single access. The student candial the program from his home orfrom any other telephone. The multipleaccess lines can be opened so that amaximum of thirty students are listen-ing to the same program at the sametime. Illinois Bell can also supply head-sets and room spokesmen to the stu-dents' homes for a minimal fee.

The students of all first and secondyear language courses must either go tothe laboratory or call in for four twenty-minute sessions per week. At the endof the quarter, they are tested on theircomprehension and speaking ability inthe Testing and Tutoring Laboratory.This laboratory has fifteen tape decks,each with its own student position in thetesting room. The decks are all in onesmall room, remote controlled from thestudent positions. The student can re-cord, play back what he has recorded,listen to a tape prepared for his level,stop the tape at any point wherehe has difficulty, rewind it, and listenagain.

In a testing situation, the studentcomes to the testing laboratory to hearthe question tape which is played to allstudent positions from the master con-sole. The students' responses are record-ed on the individual tape decks for eachposition. These responses are gradedby either the teacher or the tutor work-ing in that language. There has been,up to now, one tutor for each modernlanguage taught at the university: Span-ish, French, German and Russian. Nextyear we hope to expand our services toinclude more than one tutor in eachlanguage. The tutoring service is sup-plied to the students at no charge. Theycan come for tutoring on their own ini-tiative or their teachers can send them.

The tutors are junior or senior stu-dents in teacher education who aremajoring in the language they are teach-ing. (It is preferred that these studentshave taken the methods course in theirlanguage). The majority are native

speakers of the language which theytutor and are employed by the Lan-guage Laboratory at the recommenda-tion of their department.

The tapes which the students hearamplify, drill, and review what they arecovering in class. Eventually we hopeto allow the student to use the labora-tory to progress at his own best rate,using the Language Laboratory to learnmore advanced material, or to stressthat which he has not understood inclass. We hope to develop more crea-tive tape programs that interest andchallenge the student rather than re-strict him to a specific rate of progress.

This summer we are involved in theForeign Language Day House program,partially sponsored by the ChicagoBoard of Education. The students inthis program are high school studentsin the Chicago area. They work in thelanguage laboratories and also use thetelephone to listen to their programs athome. They use tapes, films, filmstrips,and records. The Language Laboratorysupplies all equipment in conjunctionwith the Office of InstructionalResources on our campus. Each teacherhas an assistant who is a current orformer tutor from the Testing and Tu-toring Laboratory. We hope to extendthis program to effect a firmer relation-ship between the Chicago public schoolsand the university. We feel it would bemost profitabte if university assistantscould work in the classrooms of theschools for a longer duration than onequarter of practice teaching and if theschools could use the facilities of theuniversity and the teachers of the publicschools.

If a student decides to sati.afy his for-eign language requirement by takingfurther work in a language he studied inhigh school, the placement test recom-mendation determines the courses inwhich he may register. He may not

41

take a course lower than that recom-mended by the department. If hewishes to enroll on no-credit status, thedepartment and the college must ap-prove.

The department recommends enroll-ment in beginning language courses onthe basis of the high school units thestudent presents in a language. Theunits are as follows:

42

One high school unitA 101 coursemay be taken for credit.

Two high school unitsA 102 coursemay be taken for credit.

Three high school unitsA 103

course may be taken for credit.Four high school unitsA 104 course

may be taken for credit.

KNOX COLLEGE, Galesburg*

SAMPLE PROGRAM: SPANISHInformation supplied byDoctor Jay Paul MinnDepartment, of Foreign Languages

Knox College offers foreign languagemajors in French, German, Russian,and Spanish, all of which are fully ap-proved programs leading to elementaryand secondary certification. The schoolis on the three-three semester plan,whereby a student normally takes three(or three and one-half) courses eachterm (there are three terms of ten weekseach per year), earns nine or morecredits per year, and needs 35 coursesplus Comprehension Exams or HonorsResearch to graduate.

A student beginning his language spe-cialty at Knox would follow a similarsequence in any of the languages:Beginning (101, 102, 103, First Year)and Intermediate (201, 202, SecondYear) . In all the languages, thesecourses cover the basics of the language,taught audiolingually, as well as a gen-eral survey of the literature. To com-plete the major, seven courses are re-quired beyond 202. The total of 12courses indicates that a student couldtheoretically complete a language majorby taking one foreign language courseper term throughout the twelve termsleading to the B.A. degree. But manyKnox students finish the minimum re-quirements for the major well beforethe last term of the Senior Year. Thisis especially true of those students who

continue with the language they startedin high school. By placing higher inthe 101-202 sequence (or beyond) , stu-dents have more time for electives.

Other Programs at Knox

Approximately 20 French majorsspend their junior or senior year at theUniversity of Besancon, France. Thenine credits earned in this one yearobviously complete the French major.A Junior Year Program in Spain is inthe discussion stages. A few Germanmajors spend a year in Germany.

Another innovative program is theModern Language Major, which is

achieved by completing the seven-coursemajor in one language and taking sixcourses in another. There are alsomajors in Russian Area Studies andGerman Area Studies; in these thestudent pursues a large and flexible va-riety of language courses, as well as his-tory, sociology, political science, philoso-phy, etc. A cooperative program withthe University of Chicago, whereby astudent follows a certain sequence ofcourses at Knox which articulates di-

" Editors' Note : Space does not permit inthis publication a description of other foreignlanguage teacher education programs whichexist in the many small colleges throughoutIllinois. We have selected the teacher edu-cation program at Knox College as an exem-plary program worthy of emulation by simi-lar liberal arts colleges.

43

,.!,:nNNA41,

rectly with the Master of Arts inTeaching program at the University ofChicago has grown in popularity.

A recent innovation at Knox is thesemester-block in education. After theinitial prerequisites of Psychology 111(Introduction) and 251 (Adolescent) ,

one entire term is devoted to all theother courses required for certification,leaving only one term of practice teach-ing.

Knox requires 4 humanities courses, 3science courses, and 3 social studiescourses for graduation. Three years ofmathematics and three years of a for-eign language are entrance require-ments.

An average four-year program lead-ing to secondary certification in Spanishmight be :

FRESHMAN YEARFall Term

Spanish 101European Civilization 104EnglishCinema (1 /2 course)

Winter TermSpanish 102European CivilizationPsychology 111

Spring TermSpanish 103Music AppreciationAnthropology 201

Spring TermSpanish 320 (Advanced Conver-

sation and Composition)Psychology 251Political Science 201Negro History (1 /2 course)

JUNIOR YEARFall Term

Spanish 301 or 302 (ModernDrama or Modern Fiction)

Methods of Teaching Foreign Lan-guages (1 /2 course)

The Universe (Astronomy for non-science majors)

Elective

Winter TermSpanish 305 or 306 (Spanish-Ameri-

can Literature to 1888 or Mod-ernismo)

Spanish 311 or 312 (Golden AgeDrama or Prose)

Elective

Spring TermEducation Block

SENIOR YEARFall Term

Spanish 319 (Medieval Literature)ElectiveElective

Winter Term105 Practice Teaching

SOPHOMORE YEARFall Term

Spanish 201Biology 121History 201 or 202

Winter TermSpanish 202Biology 122Spanish 210 (Conversation and

Composition)

44

Spring TermSpanish ComprehensivesElectiveElective

The Comprehensive Examinations aregiven in all major fields at Knox. Thesetests are an attempt to draw all themajor courses together into a meaning-ful whole.

The above program must be regardedas hypothetical, but typical. Of course,many variations exist as to which scienceis taken, which semester is devoted topractice teaching, etc. But the above

program would earn the student a ma-jor in Spanish, a secondary teachingcertificate, and a Bachelor of Arts de-gree at Knox College. The readershould consult the Knox College cata-

Overview:

logue for a more detailed account ofthe language courses which are offered,as well as the various possibilities forsubstitutions in required courses.

The Need for Reasonable Uniformity inTeacher Education Programs

It is not difficult to glean the similar-ities and dissimilarities in the programswhich have been described. Require-ments, both in terms of hours and con-tent, vary considerably among the col-leges and universities. The advisabilityof some uniformity in college foreignlanguage education programs is obvious.This does not imply a senseless con-formity among programs "not allneed to emphasize the same courses"but in all fairness to the bewildered andharassed student, it is imperative thatcommon goals be achieved. Whateverthe school of his selection, the teacher-in-preparation must receive an educa-tion equal in quality to that of his col-

leagues from other colleges and uni-versities. The student must demon-strate the essential purpose of his train-ing: to become a master teacherthrough a thorough knowledge of sub--ject matter and through evidence ofskill in the utilization of the most ef-fective instructional techniques. Itwould be academic fraud, perpertratedupon students and teachers alike, notto correct what has been until now aninsidious abuse: an acceptance of

dismally sub-standard foreign languageteacher preparation programs in manyinstitutions, and quality programs inonly a few.

45

14, ,,,r717e7A

Important Elements in the Methods Course's Basic Structure . . .

CHAPTER V

A Recommended Foreign Language MethodsCourse And Its Prerequisites

As suggested by

Doctor Lucie HornerForeign Language DepartmentNorthern Illinois University

I. Structure of the foreign languagemethods course

A. Length : At least one aca-demic semester, 4 semesterhours credit

B. Format: 1 hour per weektheoretical considerations, alllanguages (French, German,Spanish)

2 hours per week "Practi-cum", separated by languages,each language group doing as-signed oral presentation (in-troduction of basic text, theinvolvement of students intext, variation and drill of textsegments, pattern drills, andpronunciation drills) undersupervision of assigned andcarefully briefed instructors1 hour per week spent inthe language lab and in the de-partment of audiovisual aidslearning how to operate the

46

II.

various electronic devices,how to make a good tape re-cording, and how to utilizethe audiovisual aids within agiven language program.

Contents of the foreign languagemethods course

A. Introduction1. Analysis of the nature of

language2. Analysis and setting up of

desirable and realistic goalsfor foreign language in-struction on the variouslevels of instruction

3. In the light of the estab-lished goals, study of theteaching methods likely toprepare the students to at-tain these goals

4. Analysis of the nature of bi-lingualism and the prob-lem of interference from

the native language to theforeign language.

B. The skill of teaching throughperformance for performance

1. Basic concepts of appliedlinguistics especially as theyrelate to minimal steps

2. Oral presentation of thebasic text: student par-ticipation, and eventualmastery of the skill of ma-nipulating the text mater-ials

3. Basic concepts of thenature of the pattern drill,the skill of administering it,and the goals it can helpattain (The student mustexamine intelligently andcritically what he does)

4. Basic concepts of the pho-netic and phonemic systemof each of the three majorlanguages (French, Ger-man, Spanish) taught inlanguage groups where nocourse in phonetics andphonemics is being offered(Includes the respectivesystem of vowels and con-sonants, the nature of thesein terms of place and man-ner of articulation, and asimple comparative analy-sis with the vowel and con-sonant system of the Eng-lish language)

5. Thorough examination ofthe reasons for certain pre-dictable pronunciation dif-ficulties for American stu-

dents learning French,Spanish, or German andways and means to over-come them. Includes ef-fective drills designed tocounteract bad pronunci-ation habits and to sensi-tize the ear of the learnerto sound contrasts.

C. The teaching of reading1. For information2. For in-depth interpretation

D. The teaching of writing

E. Planning the material to becovered1. For a semester2. For a week3. For a day

F. Examination, analysis, and es-tablishment of guidelines forselecting texts of the majorlanguages.

III. Supplemental elements in themethods course

A. Student observation (at least8 to 10 periods) of classroomteaching on various levels andinvolving various age groups,various instructors, and vari-ous teaching methods

B. The teaching by each studentof a minimum of 5 micro les-sons to a regular class duringa regular classroom situationunder the supervision of theregular classroom teacher

C. Videotaping of each student'smicro-teaching for self-criti-cism as well as analysis by and

47

discussion with fellow studentsand teachers.

IV. Prerequisites for foreign lan-guage methods course (to betaken immediately prior to themethods course)

48

A. Education courses1. The psychology of the ado-

lescent

2. Backgrounds of Americaneducation

3. Secondary education inAmerica

4. Interaction analysis.

B. Department of foreign lan-guage courses1. A review course in the

grammar of the foreignlanguage the student is

preparing to teach, withemphasis on how to ex-plain such grammaticalconcepts as declension,case, tense, mood, directversus indirect object, thepronoun, the conjunctionversus the preposition, andthe clauses of a sentencestructure

2. A course in civilization,cultural and political his-tory, geography, and the,economics of the countryor countries where the lan-guage of specialization ofthe prospective teacher isspoken.

3. A course which wouldstress oral fluency in every-day communication.

Author SuggestsNew "Architecture" for New Educational Concepts . . .

CHAPTER VI

A Proposed Departure From ConventionalPrograms For The Education of

Foreign Language Teachers

Doctor Raymond E. WilliamsDirector of Teacher Education Services,

University of Illinois, Urbana Campus

The educational atmosphere today isreplete with signals for reorganizinginstructional approaches and programsin teacher education. The tremendousexploration into all aspects of educationengendered by federal interest and sup-port, as well as the involvement of mem-bers of the profession in drives towardincreasing educational efficacy, havesent up a confusing array of ideas. Itseems high time that these ideas shouldbe sorted out and implemented in anew educational architecture which goeswell beyond the familiar tuck-pointingprocess which seeks, in a rather feebleway, to renovate the old and conven-tional forms of American education.There appears to be at long last a realimpetus for the development of newlyorganized concepts of educational pro-gramming. To consider the prepara-tion of foreign language teachers inthis context will be the particular con-cern of this short article.

The Teaching SpecialtyIn recent years, the more progressive

institutions of higher learning have rec-ognized the importance of the conver-sational approach to the teaching offoreign languages; formerly, as we allknow, the coursework was preponder-antly analytic, grammatic, and bookish.What little conversation took place inthe foreign language classroom often in-volved the expression of contrivedideas rather than real communicationthat is, communication with a naturalconversational purpose. The GI's ofWorld War II, if they were fortunate tohave taken foreign language courses inhigh school or college, often learnedwith some disillusionment that theirprowness in the "ebungsgrammatik"was not transferable to communicationenterprises in the German language.There were, of course, that limitednumber of students who had held ratherpessimistic views about the value of

49

their high school foreign languagecourses as they were then taught (andwho therefore were not so disillusioned)but who rather quickly developed re-markable facility for communication inthe Italian, French, or Japanese modeswithout benefit of the precise "mentaldiscipline" approaches of the traditionalstateside foreign language courses. Inone sense, this latter group learned lan-guages in much the same way as babieslearn to talk through immersion andthrough the real need to communicate.A principle is implicit in that phenome-non which has been rather formally pro-nounced by many educational psycholo-gists of the James and Thorndike fol-lowing.

The recognition that the effectivenessof foreign language teaching would de-pend greatly on the amount of conver-sation involved in instruction, as wellas the resulting increased impk ienta-tion of that principle, was a significantadvance. More recently, another stephas been taken by progressive languagedepartments. A number of programsnow include a semester or a year abroad,implementing the "immersion and need-for-communication" principle alluded toabove. Obviously, students who partici-pate in such programs will have thegreatest opportunity for acquiring thesubject matter skill. In short, they willbe in a better position to understand andspeak the language than their colleaguesback home. Study abroad would alsofacilitate and encourage the depth ofunderstanding required for teaching aforeign language in such a manner as tocommunicate its ethos, its discipline, andits aesthetic and human connotations.

50

In a world made smaller by technologythe need for communication amongcultures is critical, and the foreign lan-guage teacher is in an ideal position tofoster its growth.

The Professional Sequence

In most institutions the professionaleducation component of teacher educa-tion programs in foreign languages isnot significantly distinguishable from theprofessional education component ofprograms through which students arebeing prepared to teach mathematics,music, or earth sciences. For all stu-dents the teacher preparation curricu-lum includes some professional orienta-tion course of a general sort, a course ineducational pyschology, a methodscourse, and a course in educationalpractice or student teaching.

The content of these courses has beenassailed by academicians and students,often joined by some educationists.However, this discussion will not in-clude an attempt to add to the criticalvoices concerned with content or in-structional technique. Instead, thecritical focus here will be on the timeelement as it affects the understanda-bility and meaning of professional edu-cation courses which are generally taughtin most institutions. Required educa-tion courses lay the groundwork for"theory", but actual "experience" inthe form of practice teaching now comesnear the end of the student's career. Ifthe student is to relate theory and ex-perience in a meaningful manner, somecontact with a classroom situation mustcome earlier in the sequence of prepara-tion.

It seems essential to some persons in

educational pursuits that theory shouldbe taught in an experiential contextin fact, that it cannot really be taught inother than such a context. The ex-perience of many who have taught un-dergraduate as well as graduate studentsof education appears to corroborate thatnotion. For example, the exposition ofa principle of learning to a group ofinexperienced undergraduate studentsmay send them into a frenzy of note-taking which, when reviewed, shouldenable them to perform well on thefinal examination, but which carrieslittle promise of later implementationin the classroom. Teaching a group ofclassroom-seasoned graduate studentsfrom the same instructional notes yieldsan entirely different kind of responsethey argue, they question, they comparenotes, they reason, they teach eachother, and they revise notions dis-cussing theory with some comprehensionand feeling. We seem to have espousedthe marriage of practice and theory foryears but with very little real integra-tion of that principle in some of ourteacher-training programs.

The "Experience" ofStudent Teaching

The only "experience" available tomost undergraduate students in teachereducation is the student teaching ex-perience. The following commentsabout that experience are commonlyheard:

The experience is too short to developa real sense of the continuity of theteaching task.

I know my weaknesses now, and havesome ideas about how I can improve

upon my performance as a teacher, butthe test of these ideas will have to waituntil my first professional classroom re-sponsibility. Too bad that I cannot de-velop and test the revised teaching be-havior before I start teaching for pay.

I am dismayed to discover that my pro-fessional preferences are now much dif-ferent than those to which I have com-mitted myself over four years. This istoo late for me to discover I am in thewrong field.

I wish it would have been possible toconfer with others, including faculty ex-perts, during the student teaching experi-ence. Much benefit would have beengained during the course of our prac-tice teaching by seminars devoted tothe psychology of learning, develop-ment of lesson plans, treatment of dis-cipline problems, and the effectivenessof instructional materials.

The preceding comments and manysimilar to them contain some implica-tions to which the profession should beattentive and sensitive. It is entirelypossible that the concept of in-servicetraining, to which we have long ren-dered our professional respects, mayhold as much promise for the under-graduate preparation of teachers as itdoes for the older groups of experiencedor inexperienced teachers for whomsuch training was originally conceived.

Further Background for the ProposalTo develop the background of this

proposal further, the important rolebeing played by teacher aides on in-structional staffs is another "innovation"that has become widespread in Ameri-can education today. Junior collegesare devoloping terminal or professionalprograms to prepare teacher aides. Stateteacher certification authorities have

51

busied themselves in discussions con-cerning the establishment of require-ments for the licensing or certificationof teacher aides. Professional organi-zations have devoted whole conferencesto discussions concerning the role of theteacher aide. Clearly, the movementis a recognition that the highly special-ized and competent teacher needs to befreed of routinenon-professional taskswhich usurp the valuable time thatshould be devoted to quality instructionfor a greater number of students. Whenthere is an urgent need for competentteachers, especially in certain subjectareas, the problem can be rendered less

critical through the amplification ofhigh quality instruction by means ofteacher aides.

The "Point" of the Discussion

With the background that has beengiven, we may arrive at one of the"points" of this discussion. On theone hand, there exists much supportfor promoting the student teaching ex-perience to some earlier point withinthe four-year program and for providingmore extensive laboratory teaching ex-perience coupled with seminars thatdeal with both theory and practice. Onthe other hand, we are also faced withthe need to "amplify" the effectivenessof a competent professional teacher,especially in subject matter areas suf-fering shortages of personnel. Thepresent thesis is that the two needs de-scribed above, with only a few geo-graphical limitations, can and should bemerged. Both are mutually supportivein a good teacher education program.Students can serve as teacher aides as

they pursue full-fledged teacher educa-tion programs. Not only will the ex-perience be invaluable to the student,but the professionally specialized teacherwill, as a result, be liberated from thedrudgery of non-teaching tasks whichmake real teaching impossible.

Teacher Education Studentsas Teacher Aides

Considering the relative maturity andexperience of college students from thefreshman through the senior years, itwould seem necessary to control, some-how, the level of classroom participationin which students would be active. It ishere proposed that the range of class-room experience be extended to allclasses of students in teacher education,and that such experience provide inte-gral teacher aide functions at some se-lected points in time. The purpose isnot to lay out a detailed, prescriptiveprogram of experience, but to mull overthe range of possibilities. In the foreignlanguage classroom, it may be appropri-ate to imagine some classifications ofactivity similar to the following:

College Freshmen: Participation forthis group might include twelve (ormore) weekly visits to one or two as-signed foreign language classrooms inthe high school. The main activitywould be thoughtful observation whichwould focus on teaching techniques andinstructional materials at the beginninglevel of foreign language instruction.Interesting comparisons could be madewith the activities ongoing in the col-lege classroom at the first-semester level.Coupled with this observation, the fresh-man student would attend a seminarwhich might be titled, "Orientation toProfessional Education." The first-yearstudent, depending on his competency,

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could provide directed assistance topupils as requested by the classroomteacher, participate in conversationalexercises, and assist with routine class-room tasks. Observation would includenote-taking, recording, and the devel-opment of a sense of individual inquirywhich would give to the teacher-in-train-ing a background of pertinent materialwith which to work in seminars or li-brary researches. Perhaps a full yearof such activity would be useful; per-haps one semester or quarter wouldsuffice. In any case, evaluation and de-velopment of the program for the in-dividual should be continuous.

Sophomore Level Activities: Thesophomore might profitably continuewith the same group of pupils whoseforeign language classes he observed asa freshman. If this involves the samepupils with another teacher, such ex-perience may be additionally beneficialas it provides exposure to another ap-proach and to another teaching person-ality. But it may be more beneficial, de-pending on individual or institutionalcircumstances, to provide continued ob-servational experiences at another schoolaccessible to the program. At this level,the student in teacher education shouldbe prepared for greater involvement inthe instructional process, helping theteacher by working with a part of theclass, and occasionally by conductingthe instruction within a given classperiod depending on the individualcompetence of the student. An expan-sion of the routine-task responsibilities ofthe student should occur concomitantlywith an expansion of related taskswhich could be categorized as instruc-tional assistance. Seminars on instruc-tional techniques and organization mightappropriately accompany the experiencesof the sophomore. At this level it wouldbe essential to involve the student in asufficient number of teaching episodes topermit the identification of his strengthsand weaknesses. In this way it would

be possible to build a portion of theprogram around the individual needs ofthe student. Some provisions should bemade at this level to permit the studentto test the revised approaches whichhave been developed as a result of theevaluation of previous teaching episodesin which he participated as the princi-pal instructor.

Junior Level: At this level, the in-volvement of the student in the class-room instructional activity would be sig-nificant. Conceivabiy, he could bescheduled for half-day sessions over anentire semester. His role, without de-tailing it minutely, might be quite simil-ar to that now fulfilled in the usualstudent teaching activity. There wouldbe provision made for fully supervisedinstructional responsibility and some in-dependent responsibility for the routineduties that are now performed by manyclassroom teachers, including the super-vision of study halls, cafeterias, and spe-cial study groups from the foreign lan-guage classes.

Having completed two years of study,the student should be competent to servein any capacity for which teacher aidesare now being considered as ancillarystaff. It would seem appropriate toconsider the possibility of having thejunior in teacher education assigned toa classroom to which a senior studentteacher is also assigned so that the twostudents can communicate with eachother, the cooperating teacher, and thecollege supervisor of student teaching.The senior would thus be provided anopportunity to observe the relationshipand function of the cooperating teacher,with the teacher education junior func-tioning as teacher aide. The experiencewould provide examples of the workingrelationship of the teacher and his aide.The junior level activity would also in-clude seminars in the psychology oflearning and educational measurement.

The Senior in Teacher Education:

53

ra raY -

Having had at least three semesters ofclassroom contacts during the threeprevious years of study, the senior shouldbe well qualified, under supervision, towork in much the same manner as a"teacher intern". Depending on indivi-dual qualifications and readiness, thesenior should be capable of managingone class over an entire semester withonly minimum supervision and with theparticipation of the junior "aide" whowould assist him and give him experi-ence in working with aides.

Concurrent seminars might includesuch topics as instructional materials,media, and advanced instructional tech-niques perhaps even some statisticscould be worked into the program.

Conclusion:

It is quite clear that the logistics ofthe above proposal have yet to be workedout in detail. Undoubtedly some prob-lems will arise in this respect. But thepromise held out by such an extendedrange of classroom experience in therealistic preparation of classroom teach-ers seems to deserve a dogged approachif American education is to succeed indesigning and implementing the type ofproposal cited in this article.

Some institutions have provision for

54

study abroad in connection with theirforeign language curriculum. The pres-ent discussion has neglected that pos-sibility as a scheduled component ofthe four-year program. However, itseems essential to the success of prepara-tion for teaching foreign languages toschedule any study abroad well beforethe senior year. This will permit thestudent to capitalize on his acquisitionof resources for teaching with the in-creased depth of understanding towhich reference was made at the be-ginning of this article.

In summation, we have proposed thatit is possible to provide assistance whichwill contribute to the amplification ofthe achievements of a competent in-structor while simultaneously extendingthe range of the classroom laboratoryexperiences of students in teacher educa-tion. In the format proposed, the pre-sentation and discussion of educationaltheory would be planted in the contextof classroom experience and the seminarformat would supplant the traditionallecture approach. It is believed that wecan accomplish two important objec-tives through one arrangement.

Former FIRS Instructor Discusses What Constitutes Good Programs . .

CHAPTER VII

Successful FLES Programs Can Be Achieved

Pat CastleForeign Language Supervisor

Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction

When a person who has been closelyinvolved with foreign languages, eitheras a teacher or supervisor, examines thestatus of FLES and compares it to theother components of the elementarycurriculum, he seems frequently afflictedwith "tunnel vision", seeing only thedismal program that failed, the hap-hazard program which stumbles alongclose to the brink of disaster, or some"lucky" program that has succeededseemingly even beyond the hopes of itscreators. Yet the view from a some-what more lofty prospect is consider-ably more encouraging and valid.

One reflects that the current interestin FLES, compared to traditional ele-mentary studies, is relatively young, dat-ing only back to the historic speech ofEarl J. McGrath, then U.S. Commis-sioner of Education, at the CentralStates Modern Language Associationmeeting in St. Louis, in 1952. Evenwith the assistance of the RockefellerFoundation and support through a ser-ies of funded programs of the FederalGovernment, FLES has not met Com-missioner McGrath's challenge that

every child be prepared for a morecomfortable and relevant place in ashrinking inter-cultural world througha foreign language program beginningin the elementary grades and continuingthrough his high school years.

Short of this ideal, however, theachievement of FLES has been notable:FLES programs exist in all fifty states,and several million children are cur-rently involved in the study of a foreign

language. Historically, then, the initialthrust of FLES against the inertia andtraditional conservatism of the estab-lished elementary curriculum has beensuccessful, comparing favorably in itsachievement with the simultaneous ef-

forts of the new mathematics and the

new science.

FLES is "Enfant Terrible" inElementary School Curriculum

No matter how much one praises theaccomplishments of FLES in its short,vital history, the view from the tunnellingers as a haunting reality. The repe-tition of an old theme may be boring,but the truth of the matter is that FLES

55

is still the enfant terrible in the elemen-tary curriculum and is predictablydoomed to ultimate failure unless itsimage in many communities is radicallyaltered and its program given equalstatus with other components of theschool curriculum. For the person whosincerely believes that learning a foreignlanguage is essential to a basic educa-tion, the most challenging task is tocontinue to bring Commissioner Mc-Grath's message to the lay publicboth those in education and those whosupport public education. Until a morefavorable climate of opinion is created,many FLES programs will suffer a pre-mature demise and few new programswill be initiated.

Successful FLES Not Result of Luck

Having developed and taught a FLESprogram for seven years in the CampusSchool of Western Illinois Universityand having observed many foreign lan-guage classes as a state foreign languagesupervisor for the past three years, thiswriter has become acutely aware of thefact that in no instance are successfulFLES programs merely the result ofluck or happen stance, and never dothey exist as academic islands withinthe school. The truly effective FLESteachers have tried consciously to de-velop on a community-wide level afavorable climate of opinion for whatthey are doing. In their particularschools the administrators and the teach-ers of other disciplines have acceptedFLES as an integral part of the curricu-lum and have given it equal status. Intheir communities, too, the parents andfriends of students have shared much of

56

the enthusiasm felt by children as theyexplore for the first time a new meansof self-expression. More important, byvisiting classes and attending FLEScommittee meetings, the parents inthese communities have learned whatprogress in the language they can ex-pect of their children at each gradelevel; they have learned, too, that theirchildren, by learning to speak the lan-guage of a foreign culture, are actuallyparticipating in that culturethat theirchildren are, indeed, making a realbreakthrough toward something richerand more rewarding than a mono-cul-tural orientation.

In communities where successfulFLES programs have travelled the long,arduous journey from a position of fad-dism to a secure position in the estab-lished school curriculum, familiarhazards tend to disappear. In this idealsituation, when the budgetmakers arelooking for ways to economize, they re-member that the FLES program has asmany supporters as football or themarching band, and ferret out theireconomies elsewhere. In these schools,too, problems of facilities, equipment,and scheduling seldom become insur-mountable. Even staff recruitment be-comes easier because good teachers liketo join successful programs. But theperson with tunnel vision is likely toask whether or not this largesse is mere-ly the simple consequence which resultsfrom the presence of foreign languageteachers who have a Madison Avenueflair for public relations. Certainly,this condition is partially true, but goodFLES programs have several basic char-acteristics; no amount of Madison

Avenue techniques will produce a fav-orable climate of opinion for a programthat lacks the basic qualities of excel-lence.

Minimal Requisitesfor Success in FLES

The fudamental truth that the his-tory of FLES teaches is that there arecertain minimal requisites for success.The countless articles in many periodi-cals and books, including the well-docu-mented, comprehensive discussion inMildred Donoghue's recently publishedForeign Languages and the ElementarySchool Child', are constantly remindingus of the need for careful planning,correct methodology, and basic objec-tives of all successful FLES programs.Assuming the risk of dealing with theobvious, let me restate some of therequisites for success:

1. Favorable attitude of community,school administrators, and teachingstaff to give equal status to FLESwith the other components of thecurriculum.

2. Detailed, preliminary, long-rangeplanning to assure smooth articula-tion between the elementary school,junior high school, and high schoolclasses so that the student can con-tinue to develop his foreign lan-guage competencies in an unbrokensequence from whatever grade hebegins his study through gradetwelve.

3. Availability of qualified teacherswho have been prepared for thespecific task of teaching in a FLESprogram.

4. Acquisition and correct utilizationof proper audio-lingual-visual ma-terials.

117Vm. Brown & Company, Dubuque, Iowa,1968.

5. Correlation of FLES classes withother areas of the curriculum (mu-sic, art, social studies, drama, etc.).

6. Development and use of placementexaminations for scheduling stu-dents in classes according to theirlanguage proficiency; in otherwords, providing concrete evidencethat students have accomplished ameasurable amount of progress atevery stage of he sequential foreignlanguage course.

7. Introduction of cultural values toenrich the linguistic content of thecourse.

8. Provision for regular in-service in-struction for teachers by a FLEScoordinator.

9. Regular and constructive evaluationof the program to insure that basicobjectives are achieved and thatweaknesses are eliminated.

Shortage of QualifiedFLES Teachers a Real Problem

Perhaps the most perplexing problemthat faces the community which is

anxious to develop a quality FLES pro-gram is the inadequate supply of teach-ers who are trained to teach foreignlanguages in the elementary grades.Most universities and their Schools ofEducation have not adjusted their re-quirements to meet the special needs ofthose who want to become elementaryschool foreign language teachers. Inwhat has been a widespread practice,these institutions have simply imposedthe acquisition of a foreign languagecompetency upon the general require-ments of the elementary education ma-jor who normally is trained to teach allof the elementary school subjects. Inwhat amounts to preservation of thestatus quo, most Schools of Education

57

have refused to recognize that manyelementary school majors desire to be-come specialists in a single discipline,such as FLES. As a result, too fewstudents have been willing to completethe normal requirements for an elemen-tary certificate, and at the same timecomplete the additional requirementsfor a foreign language degree. Such aprogram becomes a luxury that moststudents can ill-afford; they are, inreality, being asked to pay in time andmoney for the very thing that shouldhave been the basic element in theiroriginal preparation as teachers. Oneproductive FLES teacher training pro-gram in Illinois is that at NortheasternState College in Chicago, Illinois. (Seepage 36) This college has recognizedthe special problems involved in train-ing FLES teachers and has wisely adap-ted the traditional program to the spe-cial needs of students who are inter-ested in teaching foreign languages atthe elementary level.

Teacher-Training inFLES at University of Illinois

The University of Illinois intro-duced a new program this fall (1968)which enables a student to prepare forteaching a foreign language in a highschool and in an elementary schoolwithout having to complete the require-ments for general elementary schoolteaching. (See page 22 for descrip-tion of this new program.) Those ofus who value foreign language learningas basic for living with relevance in theworld of today are hopeful that otheruniversities and colleges in Illinois willbecome sensitive to the needs of the

58

public schools in this vital area of FLESand will redesign their programs so thatwell-qualified FLES teachers will soonbe available. From the discussions atthe Bloomington Conference (see Chap-ter II) it seems evident that many edu-cation departments are at last givingserious consideration to making theneeded revisions in their requirements.And it is equally apparent that foreignlanguage departments are realizing theneed for more course requirements inconversation, culture, and linguistics,and fewer courses in literature, to pre-pare their teacher trainees more ade-quately. In this common endeavor onefinds tangible evidence of the new spiritof cooperation between foreign languageand education departments.

No matter how limited one's vision,tunnel or otherwise, he must admit thatthe ultimate test of a FLES program ishow well it has endured. To theorizeabout the requisites of a good programis certainly much less constructive thanto point out specific programs that overthe years developed and prospered. Be-cause anyone interested in a good FLESprogram can benefit from knowing howsome of the outstanding programs inIllinois were initiated and developed,it would seem especially useful to de-scribe selected on-going programs. Inreading a description of the planning,philosophy, objectives, and means ofoperation of these programs, one real-izes that "good FLES" is the result ofmonths even years of hard work,careful study, detailed planning by com-mittees from all levels working together,and adequate provisions for new ap-praisals and improvement. The attitude

117 %,,,,,r?I's7:777,797-,7':,

and interest of the parents in all casesis vitally important, too, not only tothe development of the program, butalso to the eventual success of the childin learning a new language.

Three Successful FLES ProgramsFor illustrative purposes I have

selected three successful FLES pro-grams two which are taught byspecialist teachers and one which istaught by non-specialist teachers. Thespecialist teachers are employed for theFrench FLES program of Park Ridgeand the Spanish FLES program of DesPlaines. The Spanish FLES programat Champaign, on the other hand,exemplifies the important role of the

non-specialist teacher who voluntarilystrives to maintain an effective programuntil such a time when FLES specialistteachers are graduated from our uni-versities and colleges. One can see intheir statement of objectives, in theirdescription of the prevailing philosophyof education, and in their descriptionof ways to provide for constant evalu-ation and directed revision of programsto eliminate weaknesses, that theseschools have become living laboratorieswhich can be used for the purpose ofobservation and study by in-serviceteachers, undergraduate students, andanyone who is interested in establishinga new FLES program or improving anexisting one.

59

7'1,7:1`LrePT ."t ,14. a.

60

PARK RIDGE FLES PROGRAM (FRENCH)

Information supplied byDoctor Raymond HendeeAssistant Superintendent and CurriculumDirector

I. DESCRIPTION OF FRENCH FLESPROGRAM IN MAINE TOWN-SHIP SCHOOLS

BACKGROUND AND BEGINNING:The Park Ridge schools started a FLESprogram after expressed parent interestand request. French was chosen sinceit has long been an international lan-guage and since there was no particularlanguage culture group in the school dis-trict. The program was inaugurated inthe 1959-60 school year in the fourthgrades of all ten elementary buildings.All pupils in grade four participated andnew students moving into the districtwere accepted and kept in the programat their grade level, regardless of for-eign language background, until all stu-dents in the first group had completedgrade eight. It was assumed that theyoung child has the following assetsfor the study of a foreign language: (1)a natural capacity for imitation; (2)a curiosity about new knowledge; (3) alack of self-consciousness; and (4) aliking for repetition . . . The programduring the first three years was underthe direct supervision of the district'scurriculum director. In 1964 a Frenchsupervisor was appointed to supervisethe department, still working closelywith the curriculum director.

GOALS: The goals of the programhave remained constant. These havebeen to develop listening and speakingskills in French as a basis for the read-ing and writing skills. The programaims at beginning a foreign languagesoon enough to provide time for the

student to acquire real mastery of thefour language skills before the end ofhis school career. It is directed at ac-celerating the excellent and averagestudent and giving the slower studentthe opportunity to have a foreign lan-guage experience he would not other-wise have.

METHODS: The methods employedhave always been audio-lingual. Vocab-ulary is taught in meaningful sentencesand, where possible, in a situationalcontext. Basic sentences are presentedorally, learned by repetition, and laterreproduced by the students. Studentsare encouraged to select words andphrases already learned, and to use themin new ways and in new situations.Listening always precedes speaking, andspeaking comes before reading and writ-ing.

MATERIALS: The materials which areused have shown a steady progressiondue to three factors: (1) experience ofthe French teachers of the Park Ridgedistrict; (2) experience and research ona national level; and (3) availability ofcommercially produced courses of studyand material.

II. STATEMENT OF PHILOSO-PHY: Foreign language study shouldbe an integral part of the total learningexperience of each pupil. For some pu-pils its value will be largely cultural.Begun in the elementary school, it cangive the able student the time necessaryto approach mastery of a second lan-guage during his school career.

The study of a foreign language, likethat of :nost other basic disciplines, isboth a progressive experience and a pro-gressive acquisition of a skill. It requiresan unbroken long sequence, ideally be-ginning in the elementary school andending in the university. A schoolprogram of ten years or more is es-sential for acquiring near mastery in asecond language. Therefore, articula-tion and a sequential curriculum arejoint responsibilities of the schools in-volved.

FLES is not an end in itself, but is theelementary school part of a languagelearning program that should extendunbroken through Grade 12. It con-cerns itself primarily with learning thebasic four language skills, beginningwith listening and speaking, and movinginto reading and writing. Further de-velopment of these skills and of inter-cultural understanding is the provinceof the high school.Smooth and effective progress for thestudent stems from a coordinated lan-guage sequence developed through thecooperative efforts of the elementaryand secondary foreign language depart-ments.

III. OBJECTIVES: In order to ar-ticulate the elementary and secondaryforeign language programs in MaineTownship, the districts agree to certainobjectives. The general aims of lan-guage teaching are to equip the stu-dent with the knowledge and skills re-quired for effective communication inthe foreign language and to give himan understanding of the country's cul-ture. Specifically, the aims of foreignlanguage learning in a sequential pro-gram include the skills and learningslisted below, building from the mostfundamental skills in the elementaryprogram through the more advancedwork of the high school. It is essential tokeep in mind that the maturity, ability,and interest of the learner govern the

degree of skill or knowledge that maybe attained at each step.A sequential program devised for anyforeign language in the Maine Townshipschools should give the pupil the abilityto:

1. Understand the language whenit is spoken at a normal tempoon a subject within the rangeof the pupil's experience.

2. Speak sufficiently to make di-rect contact with a native ona subject within the range ofthe pupil's experience.

3. Read with direct understand-ing, without recourse to En-glish translation, material ona general subject within therange of the pupil's experience

4. Write, using the authenticpatterns of the language, with-in the range of the pupil's ex-perience.

5. Understand the nature of lan-guage and how it functionsthrough its structural system.

6. Understand the contemporaryvalues of the people whose lan-guage is being studied.

7. Acquire a knowledge of sig-nificant features of the coun-try or areas where the languageis spoken e.g.: geographic,cultural, economic, political,etc.

8. Develop an appreciation forthe literary and cultural herit-age of the people whose lan-guage is studied.

IV. ARTICULATION WITH HIGHSCHOOL: The Foreign LanguageCommittee of the Maine Township Cur-riculum Council meets quarterly duringthe school year. This committee is com-posed of foreign language departmentheads of the high schools and foreignlanguage coordinators of the elementarydistricts. Curriculum directors and other

61

62

interested administrators also take partin the meetings. Those attendingmeetings are informed of developmentsin the districts and problems of mutualconcern are discussed. Members of thecommittee have exchanged descriptionsof Level I as formulated in their schoolsand expect to complete a definitive de-scription for the Township within thecoming year.

The Maine Township French Committeewas formed in 1965 to "achieve the de-velopment of a coordinated program inthe teaching of French at both the ele-mentary and high school levels. Mem-bership in this committee was shared bystaff from the two elementary districtsteaching French and the two highschools into which their students feed.This committee agreed to accept theeight goals of the U.S. Office of Edu-cation for the teaching of foreign lan-guages in the elementary and second-ary schools and formulated a joint phi-losophy and objectives for the foreignlanguage programs. The work of thecommittee was instrumental in the jointadoption by High School District 207and by Elementary District 64 of thesane series of textbooks beginning atgrade seven.

At teachers' requests, joint meetings ofFrench staff of the high school and ele-mentary school districts have been held.At these meetings teachers have dis-cussed approaches, methodology, anduses of materials. Elementary and highschool teachers have exchanged visitsof French classes.Two combined reports of the FrenchFLES program were made during the1967-68 school year to the ElementaryDistrict Board of Education, high schooldepartment heads, high school princi-pals, the French supervisor, and ele-mentary French teachers.In the interest of articulation and pro-gram improvement, the consultative serv-ices of the Illinois Office of the Super-intendent of Public Instruction were

used. A state foreign language super-visor attended meetings of the FrenchCommittee as well as one meeting ofthe Board of Education.Publisher's tests accompanying the textsat seventh, eighth, and ninth grades areused with all students at junior andsenior high schools. A placement testfor eighth graders has been devised bya committee composed of junior andsenior high school teachers. Test re-sults have been sent to the high school,and a district-wide listening and writ-ing test has been developed by fifth andsixth grade French teachers for use atsixth grade to aid in selection for con-tinuing French at the seventh and eighthgrade levels. An Instructional Guide forFrench has also been developed in thedistrict by staff members, with the con-sultative services of Doctor Russell Wein-gartner, Carleton College, Minnesota.

V, BASIC STATISTICS:1959-1960 First Year of Program

Level:Grade 4

Materials:MLA Teacher's Guide, Beginning

French in Grade 3Time:

20 minutes-4 times per weekStaff:

Two non-specialist teachers, chosenfrom elementary staff to teachFrench

Method:Completely oral

1960-1961 Second Year of ProgramLevel:

Grades 4 and 5Materials:

Grade 4: Revised MLA Guide forGrade 3, using dialogue approach

Grade 5: Materials from the firstand the revised MLA Guides forGrade 3; selected dialogues, stor-ies, poems, songs, and games

Time:20 minutes-4 times per week

Staff:Four teachers (who also learned by

observing classes in other dis-tricts)

Method:Grade 4: Direct methodGrade 5: Inductive grammar from

structures learned orally; read-ing of orally learned materials

1961-1962 Third Year of PLevel:

Grades 4, 5, and 6 (Materials:

rogram

all pupils)

Revised MLA Guide for Grades 4and 5 (some classes used TVshow Parlons Francais Level I)

Materials constructed and selectedby teachers in Grade 6

Small amount of writing in Grade6

Time:20 minutes-4 times per week

Staff:Five to

Method:Audio-lingual

achers

1962 -1963 Fourth Year of ProgramLevel:

Grades 4, 5, 6, and 7 (junior highschool)

Materials:Elementary: In general, materials

in Grades 4, 5, and 6 continuedr!s above. Parlons Francais, firstand second levels for some class-es.

Junior High: Voix et Images deFrance, Chilton Publishers, wasadopted for use in 7th and 8thgrades; however, reading andwriting were begun sooner thanrecommended by Chilton. Six les-sons were covered the first year.

Time:15 sections met 3 times per week

for 45 minutes; 6 sections met4 times per week for 30 minutes

Staff:Nine teachers

Method:Audio-lingual

1963-1964 Filth Year of ProgramLevel:

French now taught to all studentsin Grades 4 through 8

Materials:A growing need was felt at the

elementary level for a more struc-tured program. Sixth gradeteachers used reading and writ-ing approximately one class pe-riod out of four. In Grades 7and 8, teachers supplementedthe Chilton materials by teach-ing grammar inductively, buttraditionally.

Time:20 minutes-4 times per week

Staff:Ten teachers

Method:Audio-lingual

1964-1965 Sixth Year of ProgramLevel:

Grades 4 through 8Changes were inaugurated in sev-

eral aspects of the program: (1)It was decided to delay the be-ginning of the study of Frenchuntil fifth grade in three schools;(2) French was taught two peri-ods a week in Grade four in fiveschools; (3) the program wascontinued as previously for fourperiods a week in fourth gradein two schools.

Materials:Elementary: The Chilton materi-

als, Bonjour Line, were adoptedfor use in fifth grade after allFLES teachers attended a Chil-ton workshop in December. Voixet Images was adopted for usein the sixth grade.

Junior High: Voix et ImagesTime:

Varies according to grade

,

63

64

Staff:Nine full-time and one part-time

teacherMethod:

Audio-lingual-visual

1965-1966 Seventh Year of ProgramLevel:

Grades 5 through 8Materials:

Bonjour Line in Grade 5. Voix etImages in Grades 6, 7, and 8

Time:Grade 5 : 20 minutes----4 times per

weekGrade 6: 30 minutes-4 times per

weekJunior High: 40 minutes-4 times

per weekStaff:

Ten teachersMethod:

Audio-lingual-visual

1966-1967 Eighth Year of ProgramLevel:

Grades 5 through 8Materials:

Bon jour Line continues as materialfor Grades 5 and 6.

Alphabet and some writing intro-duced in Grade 6. Following therecommendations of the MaineTownship French Committee, thefirst book in the Holt, Rinehart,& Winston audio-lingual Frenchseries, Ecouter et Parler, was in-

troduced in the junior high inorder to have smoother articula-tion with the high school pro-gram.

Time:Grade 5:

weekGrade 6:

weekGrade 7:

weekGrade 8:

weekStaff:

12 full-time teachers1 supervisor

Method:Grades 5 and 6Audio-lingual-

visualGrades 7 and 8Audio-lingual-

visual

20 minutes-4 times per

30 minutes-4 times per

40 minutes-4 times per

40 minutes-4 times per

1967-1968 Ninth Year of ProgramSame as for 1966-1967 with addition ofan Instructional Guide for French, de-veloped in the district. This includes aguide for use of texts at grades sevenand eight, detailed plans for introduc-tion of writing at grade six, workshopsfor grades seven and eight, and lists ofvocabulary and structure for articula-ting work at grades five and six with textat grades seven and eight.

Staff:12 full-time teachers1 supervisor

THE DES PLAINES SPANISH FLES PROGRAM

Information supplied byMrs. Dorothy BishopFLES Coordinator

From the beginning the Des PlainesSpanish FLES program has had remark-able support from the parents in thecommunity and from the school boardand administration. The program cameinto existence in 1961 after two years ofexploratory work and after careful studyand preparation. Before the programstarted a committee of interested teach-ers, with the curriculum director, studiedand worked out complete plans for thedevelopment of the Spanish course ofstudy, counted the probable cost, andformulated the means of implementingthe program.. A formal proposal wasthen drawn up and presented to theschool board, which immediately gaveits approval and recommended thatthe program begin in September of1961.

The original proposal advised thatthe Spanish program begin in the fifthgrade. It further stated that all childrenin the fifth and sixth grades shouldhave Spanish daily: the fifth grade for20 minutes each day, and the sixthgrade for 30 minutes each day. It rec-ommended that approximately two-thirdsof the sixth grade group should be se-lected for the continuing program inGrades 7 and 8, with a class period of40 minutes daily in these grades (theregular junior high period). It proposedthat a consultant should be appointed tocoordinate the work of the teachers, todevelop curriculum, and to work withthe high school foreign language de-partment head to provide for articula-tion of the FLES and high school pro-grams. All of these recommendationshave been carried out.

Spanish was chosen not only because

of the availability of teachers who knewsome Spanish, but also because of thepresence of a Spanish-speaking commu-nity and the increased likelihood oftravel to Latin America. Althoughthree languages were contemplated atone time, problems of scheduling at thejunior high level posed too many dif-ficulties.

In the first years of operation, inter-ested classroom teachers who had someknowledge of Spanish were trained inmethodology and given special Spanishcourses in a series of in-service classes.These people taught fifth grade classesunder close supervision and were in-strumental in the success of the program.Spanish specialists have always beenhired for the sixth, seventh, and eighthgrade classes, and as time passed, class-room teachers were phased out. Atpresent all classes are taught by a staffof thirteen Spanish specialists, severalof whom have master's degrees,

In 1961 very little material suitablefor teaching Spanish to children wasavailable, so the foreign language co-ordinator wrote the course of study forthe fifth grade and subsequently forthe sixth grade. This material has beentaught in the classroom, refined, andrewritten several times, and the guidefor the fifth grade has been publishedthis fall (1968) by National TextbookCorporation. This is the first book in aprojected series, and is entitled Hab-lan los ninos.

For the seventh and eighth grades,Speaking Spanish and Primera Vista,published by Allyn & Bacon, were chos-en, and are still being used. SpeakingSpanish is the text for the first semester

65

of the seventh grade. Primera Vista isintroduced at the beginning of the sec-ond semester and is used through theeighth grade.

In addition to the texts used, a col-lection of supplemental books is avail-able to the teachers, as are records,tapes, films, and an extensive collectionof filmstrips. These are housed in theSpanish Office and are checked out asneeded. Of the 7500 children in theDes Plaines (District 62) ElementarySchools, about 2700 are in Grades 5-8.In the 1968-1969 school year there willbe 28 fifth grade classes, 27 sixth gradeclasses, 18 seventh grade classes, and15 eighth grade classes. Average classsize is approximately 32 children perroom. These classes meet in twelvebuildings, and coordination is achievedby holding staff meetings every twoweeks, providing in-service training atregular intervals, and scheduling work-shops twice a year.

In the fall and in the spring a halfday of released time is provided for in-tensive workshops in various aspects ofteaching Spanish to children. Over theyears emphasis has been given to sub-jects such as the psychology of teachingforeign language, practical linguistics,the teaching of Spanish songs, and Span-ish culture. This fall a workshop dealingwith the use of audiovisual equipment isplanned to acquaint teachers with theuse of new equipment currently appear-ing on the market.

The four-year Spanish program be-gins in the fifth grade where all in-struction is audio-lingual. In the secondsemester of sixth grade Spanish, phonicsare taught preliminary to teaching be-ginning reading, which is followed bysome writing. In the first semester of theseventh grade reading and writing skillsare established, and the program be-comes pregressively more sophisticated.In the eighth grade listening, speak-ing, reading, and writing skills are fur-ther developed, and much care is taken

66

to avoid giving undue emphasis to anyone of the skills. The great value. of thefour-year elementary program is thatthere is time to lay a strong foundationfor the attainment of the command ofthe language in a well-planned longsequence of study. The four-year pro-gram, as conceived in Des Plaines, com-pletes the work of the first level andleads into the work of the second levelwhich is then carried on by the highschool.

Tests have been developed for thesixth, seventh, and eighth grades, andare given throughout the school systemin October, January, and April. Thetests serve both to check progress ofthe children and as another means ofinsuring coordination of the total pro-gram. In the eighth grade a placementtest, devised by a joint committee ofSpanish teachers from the elementaryschools and from the high school, isgiven in February. This year the Pim-sleur Spanish Proficiency Test for LevelI was given to all the FLES eighth gradeclasses and to the regular first year highschool classes at Maine West with verysatisfactory results.

Articulation with the high school isessential. From the beginning, the DesPlaines program was conceived as acontinuing program, and it was felt thatthe task of the elementary schools wasto complete the work of the first levelso that pupils could enter the secondlevel in high school. However, goodintentions are not enough. In order tomake articulation effective, the elemen-tary program must be solidly construct-ed; teachers need to be highly trainedand know how to teach children. Thecoordinator of the elementary programand the head of the high school depart-ment must be in constant communica-tion and must work together to imple-ment articulation. High school and ele-mentary school Spanish teachers arebrought together for discussions fromtime to time, and exchange visits to each

other's classrooms in order to observe atfirsthand similarities and differences inapproaches necessary for teachingyoungsters at various levels of maturity.

In resume, the Des Plaines program issuccessful because it has positive com-

munity and faculty support, it has awell-developed curriculum, it has goodarticulation, it has skilled teachers, andit has smooth articulation between theelementary schools and the high schools.

67

68

1

THE CHAMPAIGN FLES PROGRAM

The FLES program in Champaign be-gan in the spring of 1959 as an experi-mental study conducted by the Univer-sity of Illinois. The main purpose ofthis study was "to determine the effec-tiveness of non-specialist teachers inhelping elementary school pupils learn asecond language when the instructionalprogram is especially designed and pre-sented by newer educational media". Atthe completion of the experiment, thedirectors arrived at the following gen-eralized conclusions:

First conclusion: "General elemen-tary school teachers with no specialtraining in a particular foreign lan-guage can, with a minimum of dailypreparation, successfully guide their pu-pils in learning that language provided:(1) that the instructional program beof a particular design; (2) that efficientuse is made of newer educational me-dia; and (3) that the level of achieve-ment expected of the pupils is relativelylower in some aspects of languagelearning than that which would havebeen achieved had the pupils receivedinstruction over the same content bywell qualified specialist teachers."

Second conclusion: "When elemen-tary school pupils are guided in learninga foreign language by general elemen-tary teachers who have no training inthat language, through lessons presentedby newer educational media, they ac-quire a listening and reading compre-hension of that language to an achieve-ment level which is comparable to thatacquired by pupils who have been taughtby specialist language teachers present-ing similar content in person rather than

4.1%;f1.

Information supplied byMr. Travis PooleForeign Language Coordinator

by new educational media. However,the achievement level of these pupils inresponding orally in conversational set-tings is significantly lower than thatexperienced by pupils taught by spe-cialist teachers."

When the elementary students of theexperiment entered the seventh grade inthe fall of 1962, classes were establishedpermitting them to either continue withSpanish (the language of the Univer-sity experiment) or change to eitherFrench or German. Thus, since 1962,the Champaign FLES program con-sists of Spanish in grades 4.8, Frenchin grades 7-8, and German in grades7-8. This permits Champaign studentsto take a nine-year sequence in Spanish,or a six year sequence in French orGerman. Foreign languages in grades7-12 are taught by specialist teachers.In the elementary school, materials usedare the Holt, Rinehart & Winston series:grade 4"Introducing Spanish", grade5"Primer Curso", and grade 6"Se-gundo Curso". Tapes and visuals ac-companying these texts are in constantuse in the classroom.

Elementary teachers (grades 4-6) inChampaign were, in 1959, "general ele-mentary school teachers with no specialtraining in a particular foreign lan-guage." With experience, many ofthese teachers became very adept atteaching Spanish. The problem re-mained, however, of what to do with thenew teachers who felt particularly help-less. In the fall of 1963, a FLES con-sultant was hired. From the beginning,it was the consultant's duty to do dem-

"

onstration teaching in the classrooms ofthose teachers who needed help. As thereare seventeen elementary schools, theconsultant was indeed busy. Teachers, inorder to feel sure of themselves, neededmore than clanroom demonstrations:they needed training in methods. Atthe request of the local administration,the Office of the Superintendent ofPublic Instruction, Title III, NDEA,has conducted a series of four work-shops, each for 12 weeks, 2 hours eachweek, in Champaign. These workshopshave had very heavy attendance. Manyof the teachers have become so interestedin learning Spanish that they have en-rolled in courses in the ChampaignAdult Evening School program, or Park-land Junior College night courses, orcourses at the University of Illinois.

Some new teachers each year prefernot to teach Spanish. Where this is

FLES in Illinois: AFLES in Illinois assumes many forms

and many guises. From programs withminiscule enrollments to that of thePalatine schools where 5,000 studentsare involved in studying French ingrades three through eight, the searchfor qualitative FLES continues. Thislatter program consists of twenty-oneteachers, all French majors, who teachin fourteen schools, of which five arejunior high schools.

A FLES supervisor for the Palatine

program was appointed in 1967. Her

most immediate task is the articulationof materials, methodology, and goals forboth the elementary and high school

levels. To achieve this articulation it

will be necessary to undertake an am-bitious in-service training programwhich will enable all teachers to be-come aware of the best methods for

teaching a foreign language to children

in the elementary school and to sug-

true arrangements are made whereby anexperienced teacher will teach Spanishin their classes, while the new teacherwill teach math, social studies, or lan-guage arts. However, only 10 out of atotal of 110 teachers in grades four,five, and six are not teaching Spanish.

Champaign now has a foreign lan-guage coordinator (grades 4-12) and anassistant consultant (FLES). Each ele-mentary classroom in grades 4.6 is

taught by one of these specialists at leastonce every three weeks. With the work-shops, teachers are gaining more andmore experience in teaching Spanish,and with the demonstration help of theconsultants, the achievement level of"pupils in responding orally in conver-sational settings" is now on a muchhigher level than that which the experi-ment originally indicated could be ex-pected.

Variegated Picturegest to these teachers the materialswhich will consistently further the ob-jectives of the total program.

In the City of Chicago there aremany foreign language enrichment pro-grams in the lower grades, but veryfew FLES programs. However, inapproximately forty schools in the City,

a foreign language is taught as a formatsubject by a skilled specialist in theseventh and eighth grades. These

classes usually meet forty minutes perday, four times per week and use thesame text materials as the beginninghigh school classes. At the end of theeighth grade the students are given

proficiency tests and are subsequently

placed in specially designed classes in

the high schools where they can continue

their sequential study or, in many cases,

they are able to go directly into a second

level of the high school course.69

FLES by Television

In a few communities in Illinois, tele-vision is used for FLES classes, butwhere these programs are effective theyhave carefully planned support by aspecialist teacher who aids the class-room teacher both in the introductoryand follow-up activities in the classroom.Some teachers have become enthusiasticsupporters of these programs, and de-vote many hours preparing and plan-ning with the language specialists.Other teachers never learn to do morethan play the tapes and turn on thetelevision set.

Since 1961 the elementary schools inthe city of Rochelle have used closed-circuit television with the assistance ofspecialist teachers for instruction inSpanish to all children beginning ingrade three and continuing throughgrade eight. In this program thereare two days of "live" teaching by aspecialist teacher and three days of tele-

+T-

vision instruction. This program isbeing continued because those involvedfeel that, whatever the weaknesses, onlyby using television can the elementaryschool system offer the opportunity ofa long sequential program to all chil-dren.

A careful study of the FLES pro-grams which exist today in Illinoisindicates that there is no single formulafor success. Approaches and classroomactivities encompass a long diversifiedlist, but definable and measurable ob-jectives are achieved in all the effectiveprograms, no matter how extensive theirdiversification. The particular obstaclesin each district must be treated individu-ally. The essential point is this: Re-gardless of where the program is locatedor at what grade it is started, FLESmust be part of a long sequential proc-ess that is completely integrated withinthe total school curriculum if it is tohave real value.

f.

ILLINOIS FLES PO

1, We concur with the nationally ap-proved MLA Foreign LangaugePolicy Statements. We urge thatadministrators, coordinators, coun-selors, and every FLES teacher studythese statements.

2. We suggest that all Illinois FLESprograms be developed within theframework of the national policieswith whatever adaptations are local-ly necessary. Adaptations temporar-ily deemed necessary should beeliminated as soon as possible, andshould be noted as temporary fromthe beginning.

3. We note that FLES in Illinois ter-minates usually with grade eight,not with grade six as in many otherstates. This necessitates the studyof K-6 and junior high programs.

4. We accept the fact that foreignlanguage learning requires an un-broken, long sequence ideally be-ginning in the elementary school andending in the university. A se-quence of seven to ten years is

requisite for acquiring near-nativeproficiency in a second language.Shorter programs should be in-creased.

5. We emphasize that the articulationbetween all levels is a joint responsi-bility, and we suggest sequential cur-riculum planning by all concerned.

6. We agree that linguistically-giftedstudents should be encouraged, atthe proper time, to begin the studyof a second foreign language whilecontinuing the study of the firstforeign language.

LICY STATEMENT'

7. We agree that linguistically-deficientstudents should be permitted, at theproper time, to discontinue the studyof a foreign language.

8. We recommend that the FLESpolicy statements, curricula, andsyllabi already existing within theState be filed with the State foreignlanguage consultants, be made avail-able to all upon request, and in con-junction with the national state-ments be studied (with a view ofavoiding useless duplication of ef-fort) by those interested in initiatingor evaluating a program.

9. We believe that a teacher in theelementary school who demonstratesthat he possesses the personal quali-fications, skills, educational back-ground, and the language pro-ficiency proved adequate for aspecific level no matter how orwhere this proficiency was acquired

should be permitted to teach thelanguage at that level, provided theteacher's proficiency is demonstratedbefore and approved by a foreignlanguage specialist or by the foreignlanguage department of a highschool or college.

10. We urge membership in the Illi-nois Foreign Language TeachersAssocation and attendance at theyearly conferences. We consider suchparticipation an indication of pro-fessional awareness.

' This policy statement was formulated bythe Illinois FLES Committee sponsored bythe Office of the Superintendent of Public In-struction, 1965.

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The Important Secret to Successful Long FL Sequences . . .

CHAPTER VIII

Articulation Of Foreign Language Programs

Derald Merriman, Assistant Director, Title III, NDEAOffice of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Much has been written about theneed for proper articulation in foreignlanguage education, but those personsresponsible for the greatest achieve-ments in programs articulation havenot published the procedures they fol-lowed. Without naming persons orschool systems, these effective proceduresshould be identified. It is assumed thatanyone reading this article will alreadybe convinced of the value of foreignlanguage study and should be awarethat a long sequence of study is neces-sary for successful language mastery.Abandoned or curtailed elementary pro-grams are proof "that local experimentsstarting from scratch frequently endthere, or develop a FLES backlash thatwill threaten to discredit foreign lan-guage instruction"' below grade nine.

After deciding to initiate a foreignlanguage program, a school systemshould establish a foreign language com-mittee. As this committee of teachersfrom every level, administrators, foreignlanguage teachers, board members, andparents begins to function, the member-

1 "Casting out Devils," NEA Journal, Janu-ary, 1965, p. 14.

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ship may change to involve anyone whomight enhance its operation. This com-mittee should decide what language orlanguages will be taught and at whatgrade levels. Administrators of feederelementary schools and junior highschools, as well as foreign languageteachers, administrators, and guidancecounselors from the high schools intowhich they feed, should meet with thecommittee to formulate policy andphilosophy. It is now apparent thatschools must establish a strong three-orfour-year program in high school beforemoving down into the junior high andelementary grades.

Several elementary foreign languageinstructional forms have emerged.Sometimes the foreign language class istaught by language specialists, and othertimes it is taught by the grade teacher,even though she is not always trainedas a language teacher. Sometimes thegrade teacher and specialist collaborateand this team may even depend on edu-cational television. Schools must, how-ever, employ competent teachers whospeak the modern foreign language and

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enjoy helping pupils develop languageskills.

Vital: Continuity of Program

"Articulation in foreign languages isboth vertical and horizontal, for teachersshould be familiar with the content,procedure, and materials in languagecourses that precede and follow theones for which they are responsible, andalso be knowledgeable about parallelcourses."2 If the teachers involved atall levels participate in choosing theinstructional materials and methodologyto be used, continuity of program ismore likely to be preserved. Articula-tion insures that pupils can progressfrom year to year with the greateststandardization of aims and goals thatis possible in foreign language learning.One experienced language teacher mustbe responsible for organizing and con-trolling articulation between the levelsand grades in all of the schools in thesystem. This person may be either afull-time foreign language coordinator,or if this is not feasible, one who hasenough released time to accomplish thetasks involved.

It is important that good sequentialtext materials be selected. There areseveral series presently available in thevarious languages. Spanish and Frenchhave the most abundant supply, butsome companies have materials in Ger-man, Russian, and Italian, as well. Thematerials should provide the kinds oflanguage experiences that will satisfythe goals that have been established bythe committee. The coordinator must

2 Donoghue, Mildred R., Foreign Languagesand the Elementary School Child, Wm. C.Brown Company, Dubuque, Iowa, 1968, p. 324.

be able to help the teachers to locateand use effective teaching aids likefilmstrips, films, flashcards, pictures,posters, records, tapes, transparencies,electronic classrooms, language labora-tories, bulletin boards, and realia thatmay be at their disposal. In this en-deavor some in-service teacher trainingmay be necessary. It is the responsibili-ty of the coordinator to see that thesematerials, as well as training in methodsand techniques, are made available tothe teachers. Because all of this can-not be accomplished by a wave of thehand, the coordinator must determinea system of priorities that will attackproblem areas in stages, making transi-tions and changes as painless as possible.

Progress of Students and "Levels"

Each teacher must agree to acceptpupils at their performance levels, andprogress with them as far as possible,regardless of what level text they maybe using at a particular grade level.If teachers are really dedicated to help-ing pupils master language skills, theyshould not feel compelled to assignwork in the next level text before hav-ing mastered the skills of the previousone. Teachers should be familiar with"Description of Competence by Levels"(See Chapter II in this publication.)in order to establish their objectives inrelation to the entire sequence.

Too frequently language teachers be-lieve that the study of certain pieces ofliterature is the desired final outcome,when in reality, various reading experi-ences could produce the desired results

competence in language skills. Trans-lation or reading exercises may provide

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information but this could be accom-plished in English. It is only when theseexercises produce competence in oraland written expression that they areworthwhile and have made a contribu-tion to the acquisition of language skills.Students must have the opportunity totell and write in the target language thetheme of the story as well as its relation-ship to the culture it depicts and thecontrasts and similarities to culture aswe know it.

Multi-Track Instruction

In school systems that are largeenough to require several sections ofsome levels, multi-track instruction mustbe provided. This will permit beginningclasses for those pupils who did notbegin language study at the same timeas their classmates, transfer pupils, andpupils wishing to study a second foreignlanguage. Foreign language instruc-tion and learning can be greatly facili-tated by homogeneously grouping pu-pils when possible. This practice is lessnecessary if the teacher is willing andable to provide experiences to meet theindividual needs of pupils. The teachermust feel secure in the method used andhave ample materials encompassingmany activities and levels of difficulty.An inexperienced teacher with insuffi-cient supplementary materials can ex-pect limited success when deviatingfrom the basic text and its accompany-ing method of instruction. Much canbe learned by small experimental devia-

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tions which can be gradually expandedas both the teacher and students gainconfidence in individualized instruction.

Conclusion

Insuring the success of a long se-quence in foreign language instructiondepends upon the attitude of upperlevel teachers. Those who cannot ac-cept without vindictiveness the failures,as well as the achievements, of thestudents they inherit, should not be in-volved in a long sequential program.High schools and colleges must worktogether to formulate goals which pro-duce language proficiency and use teststhat will measure it. Placement of stu-dents in classes must be determined bytheir proficiency rather than years spentin class.

Little is accomplished by bemoaningwhat has not been done and what stu-dents do not know. This time can bebetter spent in providing interesting ex-periences within the realm where stu-dents can take pride in theirperformance. Encouragement andpraise produce more success than nag-ging and condemnation. Some bright,prize-winning students will occur inspite of, rather than because of, theirteachers. Happily, some schools havewhole classes of interested, capable, ad-vanced-level students. When this hap-pens, they mirror the enthusiasm oftheir teachers. The hours of planningand the tireless efforts of the articulationcommittee have not been in vain.

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Significant Testing Must Grow Out of the Teaching Experience . .

CHAPTER IX

Teacher-Made Tests: Vital In The ForeignLanguage Classroom

Doctor Florence SteinerDistrict Coordinator of Foreign Languages

Glenbrook High Schools

It is recognized that forms of testingsuch as aptitude and placement tests,tests accompanying a text or a set of ma-terials, achievement tests such as thePimsleur tests, national testing programssuch as the College Entrance Examina-tion Board Tests, the Advanced Place-ment Tests, and the national contestexams all have importance in the for-eign language curriculum. Neverthe-less, this article is addressed to theclassroom teacher who, each day, eachweek, each month, and each year, en-gages in some form of testing and evalu-ation.

Most teachers assign a portion of themarking period grade to oral classwork.Ofttimes, teachers are reluctant to bespecific about this grade but it is of theutmost importance. What most of usare saying is that we have watched thisstudent undergo the "tests" of the dailyclassroom experience and we have"evaluated" him accordingly. Why,then, does said student frequently notachieve the same grades on written

tests? There may be many answers tothis, particularly if our classwork in-volves primarily oral skills and ourtests primarily written skills. Whatteacher has not experienced the inwardstruggle that goes on at report cardtime: "Should I give him the averageof the written-test grades, or should Igive him what I feel that he deserves?"

Questions Raised by Testing

This problem evokes several basicquestions: What is the purpose oftesting? When and how frequentlyshould testing occur? How heavilyshould we weight "big" tests such asunit or chapter tests? What about thesemester exam? A basic philosophy oftesting can provide the answer to thesequestions.

Testing should be an integral partof the learning system. It should pro-vide the student and the teacher witha feeling of accomplishment for whathas been learned. It should also servea diagnostic function to alert pupil and

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teacher to what is not being learned.It should be an essential step to furtherlearning, not an end itself. Good test-ing, done properly, is a wonderfulmeans of motivation.

A good test should cover what hasbeen taught. The class activities deter-mine the type of test that is appropriate.In the early stages of audio-linguallearning, writing items are inappropri-ate. Conversely, in fourth year litera-ture courses conducted in the language,questions involving minute detail of con-tent are equally inappropriate.

A good test should be organized sothat the pupil learns from it. Oneshould go from easy to more difficultitems. There should, whenever pos-sible, be some questions which allow thestudent a measure of creativity. If onesection of a test is to be weighted heavi-ly in evaluation, this should be indicatedat the time the test is given. Suggestedtime allotments for the various portionsof an essay test can accomplish this.

Specifically What is Being Tested?

It is well to bear in mind that onecannot test everything at once. Testsshould be so constructed that one itemor concept is tested first, then possiblycombined with a second item or conceptwhich has already been tested in itsown right. Many test questions actual-ly involve several steps. They combinevocabulary and structure. If one istesting structure, the test item shouldfocus on the structural item, not thevocabulary word. Here is a sample ofthe type of test question teachers fre-quently use in testing verbs.

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Put into French (Spanish or German)1. I would have slipped2. They had escaped3. It shall freeze

The teacher probably allots twopoints for each item, one for form andone for meaning. If a student does notknow the meaning of the verb, heobviously cannot answer the question.The teacher feels that he is testing tenseformation, but in reality he may betesting vocabulary. Another means oftesting tense formation is the rewrite.A student would be given the followingsentence (in German, Spanish orFrench) :

If it rains, I will slipIf it had rained, I

Here the student has to create the tensebut the meaning has been provided.The teacher can tell easily whether ornot the student is weak in structure orvocabulary mastery. For diagnostic pur-poses it cannot be surpassed.

Testing of Listening Comprehension

One should always be honest withhimself in constructing a test. A dicta-tion depends on ability to record soundin symbol, but many of us use it asthe only type of listening comprehensiontest. It actually tests hearing and spel-ling and, as such, has value. If, how-ever, the student has previously memor-ized a dialogue, and that dialogue isdictated in the exact same form, it is

a spelling test, nothing more. A purertest of listening comprehension wouldbe as follows: The student hears aquestion or statement. Then he hearsfour answers or rejoinders. Only one

,

is an appropriate answer He circlesthe number of the appropriate answeron his answer sheet. For example, hehears in French (Spanish or German) :

Question:1. Did you hear that siren?

Answers:1. Yes, it is very cold today.2. Yes, do you suppose there has

been an accident?3. Yes, but I don't like to go there

often.4. Yes, but I told him a thing or two.

This type of test can be expanded at theupper levels to include anecdotes andeven lectures. In the latter case, how-ever, one is also testing the student's re-call if the anecdote is long. In thiscase, have the student take notes.

Pronunciation and Speaking Tests

Pronunciation tests are rarely givenbecause "the grading is so subjective".This need not be. The teacher re-cords three items on a tape, thendivides what he is testing into basicsounds: Vous avez vu un loup. Theteacher listens for these three soundsonly and grades these on a simplenumerical scale. If this type of test-ing takes place frequently it producestwo good results:

1. the student loses his nervousness afterthe first or second test

2. the teacher has a number of gradesupon which he can base a final grade

Many people complain about therigamarole involved in speaking tests.Nothing can be done more simply.While the students are writing the ma-jor test, the teacher circulates around

the room with several 4 x 6 cards onwhich various questions or statementsare written. She chooses one, interruptsa given student, asks him to answer thequestion or make a rejoinder, assignsa number grade and moves on to thenext student. It is thus possible to testan entire class in a fifty-minute period.

To Test Writing Skills:The Directed Composition

Directed compositions are an excel-lent test of writing. The teacher givesthe student a topic, tells him what toinclude, perhaps suggests certain vocabu-lary items, and leaves the student thefreedom to phrase these ideas withinwhat he has learned. This is one of thebest demonstrations of language com-petence and it also teaches the studenthow to write from the very early stages.

Visuals should not be neglected as asource of testing. A good scene put onthe overhead projector can provide thebackground for an oral or writtencomposition. Yet there is room for ameasure of creativity on the part of thestudent. Pictures and posters can fur-nish the clue for correct answers. Ifone asks a student, "What is the weatherlike?", and the student is to furnish ananswer, the teacher can hold up a pic-ture of a rainy scene. The student will

answer accordingly. For make-ups theteacher substitutes a picture of a hotsummer day and the student writes adifferent answer to the same question.

This article has provided very super-ficial consideration to problems of test-ing. Much has been written and muchstill needs to be written. A few practi-cal references are listed at the close of

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this paper. The important principle is,however, to make your testing a vitalpart of your teaching, to have yourtesting grow out of your teaching, andto improve your teaching and the stu-dent's learning as a result of your test-ing. Thus, testing becomes a vital partof the learner's experience. He finds outwhere he makes mistakes, what mater-ial he has not mastered, and, conse-quently, is better able to guide his ownlearning.

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References:Valette, Rebecca M., Modern Lan-guage Testing: A Handbook. Har-court, Brace and World, New York,1967.

Pimsleur, Paul. "Testiing Foreign Lan-guage Learning" in Trends in Lan-guage Teaching, Albert Valdinan, ed.McGraw-Hill, New York, 1966Lado, Robert, Language Testing. Mc-Graw-Hill, New York, 1964.

.1,k th s ry

Al Rock Island Senior High School . . .

CHAPTER X

Give Them A Better Chance: One SuccessfulDevice To Enhance Student Oral Proficiency

John BlombergSpanish Teacher

Rock Island Senior High School

The fire of criticism of foreign lan-guage teaching in the United Statescontinues to blaze in spite of innovationssuch as programmed learning withteaching machines, audio-lingual meth-ods, and sophisticated electronic learn-ing centers. In short, the teacher doesnot speak the foreign language enoughin the classroom; the students them-selves are not consistently required tospeak enough to express their ownthoughts; the language is presented inthe classroom in unrelated bits andpieces of grammar and patterns; andwritten composition which would re-quire students to initiate and put to-gether the language on their own termsis almost wholly neglected. From abackground of twenty-five years ofteaching experience, I should like tosuggest a procedure which, if utilizedcleverly, will achieve what is so oftenlacking in most foreign language classes

the student's personal involvementin everyday realistic situations which areof immediate interest to him. Wherethis appeal to individual interest is

made, it becomes a foregone conclusionthat each student will acquire the abilityto manipulate a usable core of his newlanguage. The end effect is one ofexhilaration and pride.

Presentation of Short SpeechesLet us proceed informally: think

of everyone in the room as members ofa speech class. The result you wish toachieve is a one or two minute speechfrom everyone. Although students arenot told this at first, your intention isto interrupt the speech with questionsso that the talks will actually soundmore like casual conversations thanformal classroom presentations. Havescattered around the room a few flashyairline posters, or call attention to thefull page colored pictures in the textand ask the students to think of aninteresting, original narration based onthe picture chosen. Stress the fact thatno two talks are to be alike, but thatclass members may help each other byworking in small groups during classperiods. Tell the students that you, the

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teacher, will be available at all timesto answer any questions they may have.Each student proceeds to write in theforeign language what he wishes to say;to hand in his work to be corrected;then, to memorize and recite the cor-rected copy either before the class orprivately to the teacher while the otherclass members are preparing the nextregular assignment.

The people in the poster must begiven names. Now then, what havethey been doing? Why are they there?Has the girl in the bathing suit runaway from home and will the sun-tanned surfer really marry her or isthe story to be quite tragic, ending ina drowning? What steps are the par-ents taking to locate the girl? You see,by suggesting some possible action thestudents begin to see what you wantand what they can do, but you haveto demonstrate by writing your samplenarration on the board in the mostelementary language to teach them thatif they think complicated thoughtstheir speeches will come out on a diffi-cult language level and that, after all,what they write they are "stuck with"memorizing! Point out, too, that actionis not everything. Description can in-clude colors, parts of the body, articlesof clothing, things in nature, and eventhe thoughts of the characters.

Preparation of the First Draft

Teach them to look for usable pat-terns in the textbook. Show them howto incorporate the idioms you have beenstudying. Explain how a dictionary,although important, merely lists wordsbut does not say if such and such a

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word is the "mot juste" to be used inthe particular situation which they arcdescribing. The teacher does thesethings as he moves among the studentsfrom desk to desk, correcting as hegoes, letting the students move aboutthe room also, in order that they mayconsult each other for ideas. Such ini-tial preparation extends for a few peri-ods and then a deadline for the firstdraft is set. Explain that no grade isgiven until after the report is correctedand rewritten. If the teacher has re-quired that certain grammatical con-cepts, such as the use of the subjunctive,be included in the narration, the stu-dents will need more time to completetheir assignments. The initial phasehas been completed. The teacher col-lects the first copies.

The next step in this device forteaching fluency rests squarely on theshoulders of the teacher. His home-work will consist of writing in betweenthe lines the corrections of all errorswhich have been made. He must checkspelling, word order, and usage. If thelanguage is not native to the teacher, itis extremely helpful to have a few con-tacts in the community who speak thelanguage fluently those helpful "au-thorities" the teacher may phone inorder to find out exactly how to expresscertain ideas including slang. He mayuse slang. He may teach it correctly.It is a form of communication extreme-ly vibrant in meaning. Language isdynamic; it is a living thing reflectingconsiderably more than the frozen text-book patterns. Since correcting theseshort reports takes time, the studentswill be doing the regular work in class

until all the speeches can be returnedtogether. In step three, the studentswill rewrite their short narrations, in-

corporating all corrections and sugges-tions made by the teacher. The teachercollects the papers once more, assigns agrade, and returns the papers for whatwill be the fourth step in this device:the students' memorization of whatthey have written.

Memorization of Spoochos

The secret for getting them to talkand manipulate the language begins asthe teacher listens to each speech, forit is then that he will interrupt withquestions and teach how to answerthem. It is time, now, to explain thatmost questions will be based only onwhat the students are saying, so it isimportant that they know the meaningof what they are saying! If a labora-tory or electronic classroom is available,let all the students practice their talks atonce. One will be surprised how muchthey can memorize since each studentis doing what he put together andwrote twice. Here is the chance tomonitor for pronunciation and to po-lice the process of memorizing. Theneed for knowing the passage "by heart"is made quite clear since the studentswill have to remember where they werein the speech after each interruption.An average second year class can workout between a page and a half to threepages of handwritten material on oneside of ordinary notebook paper, 81/2

by 11 inches. The poorest students do

a little more than half a page. Theymay want the teacher to pose somepractice questions before the talks begin.

If this is done, they will be all the moreready. The day before, or earlier, letthem draw from a "hat" to determinethe order of speakers. They pull outa numbered slip by chance, sign it, andreturn it to the teacher who will usethis slip to jot down such criticisms asmispronounced words, incorrect gram-mar, strange intonation, etc., as thespeech is presented. Since the students'first attempts to reply will necessarilycontain errors, the teacher must tellthem that he will be lenient in gradingthe first speech and that he knows it isall new to them. The main idea ofthis approach is for the student to learnfrom his errors and to attempt the bestpossible presentation. The teachershould say that he wants good demon-strators first to serve as models and thathe will give extra credit to those whovolunteer to go first, in spite of thenumber they drew. At this point, theinstructor takes these volunteers asideand asks them a few sample questionsthat will be used during their presenta-tion to the class. Since in all proba-bility the first talks will be in the presenttense, unless the teacher assigns other-wise, the "dialogue" between studentand teacher might go something like

this: (in the foreign language)

Teacher: The first speaker is Mary.Mary, which picture are you using?

Mary: This one.Teacher: That's fine. Are you ready?Mary: No!Teacher: That's not fine! Let's begin

anyway!Mary: This girl is called Elaine. She

is standing by a palm tree and is

wearing a pretty blue bathing suit.Paul is sitting near her on thesand and is happy because he thinks

81

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his father and mother do not knowwhere he is.

Teacher: Do you have a father andmother ?

Mary: Yes.Teacher: Do they know where you are?Mary: Yes.Teacher: Where are you?Mary: In school.Teacher: Why?Mary: To learn things.Teacher: What things?Mary: How do you say "chemistry?

(The teacher gives a few names ofschool subjects and the whole classjots them down.)

Mary: To learn chemistry, typing, andto be in clubs.

Teacher: Is Paul running away fromhome?

Mary: Yes, he wants to marry Elaine!(Even if this ad lib answer was giv-en incorrectly it is not correctedbut praised.)

Teacher: Why?Mary: Because she has a lot of money

and he is poor . . . etc.

Most of the speeches will be quiteunorthodox and totally unlike anythingever printed in a textbook. Many areuproariously funny and quite illogical,but students reflecting on this tech-nique say they learned more from thisapproach and remembered the materiallonger than from mere textbook drillingor laboratory tape practice. The onereason they invariably give for thisalmost total recall is that for oncethey learned how to say what theywanted to say instead of something pre-scribed by authority.

It is not necessary to have the classhear all the speeches, but before theteacher lets any students come to himand give their speeches in a cornersomewhere, he gives the entire class a

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chance to ask questions of any previousspeaker. Here is the teacher's chanceto teach word order in questions and toteach the speaker to answer the trickierones as well as to make statements suchas "I don't understand you." or "You arejust being silly." The speaker needsin advance to be able to ask questionssuch as: "How do you say . . . ?""What's the word for . . . ?" "MayI continue my talk now?" "Whatgrade do I get?"

Follow -up to the Presentation

The follow-up for the entire proj-ect should include letting the class copyfrom the board a list of common ex-pressions used in everyday speech. Therecan be a test over this material andpenalties should be attached if the sameerrors occur in the succeeding talks.The important thing is to use the samecore of language in the next talk. If theteacher is working on a more elementarylevel than the above described project,he lets the whole class read the samestory in the text and the teacher andclass prepare an outline of the story onthe blackboard. At this time the teach-ers should encourage suggestions and re-visions from the class members in orderthat the students may learn there ismore than one way to say a thing.The teacher rehearses possible questionswith the students before they presenttheir memorized speeches without in-terruption. A student oriented activitysuch as the one described here will,after a few attempts, reveal endlesspossibilities for the truly interestedteacher of foreign languages. It willnot be long before the students will

r

ask to tape-record their efforts. At thistime the teacher should make everyeffort to bring in a native speaker whowill ask questions of the volunteerspeakers. This activity, even if usedonly infrequently, is much more desir-able because it relieves the tedium ofcut and dried audio-lingual patterndrills. This device is certainly superiorto the old-fashioned lecture method orthe demonstration- recite method. Re-member to give a good grade for thatfirst speech!

The utilization of the above describedtechnique does not imply that the text-book should be neglected or that othermethodologies should be abandoned. Itdoes imply that this procedure is hardto teach because of the extra teachertime involved and the need for greaterteacher fluency. The end result, how-ever, is well worth the effort because thestudents will learn to carry on a spon-taneous conversation and they will learnhow to write correctly.

All that has been said in this briefarticle is primarily applicable to thosestudents who have reached the secondand third levels of language learning,although, as stated before, it is possibleto achieve measurable results with be-ginning students during the latter partof Level I. This writer believes thatit is important for students to learn whatcannot be done in a foreign language aswell as how to express the same idea inseveral different ways. Students desper-ately need the experience of discoveringthat slang and idioms in one languagedo not translate word for word in an-other.

This article may be open to validcriticism, but the author's personal be-lief is this: No one methodolgy can becompletely effective all the time. Thereis a time and place where any method-ology can be made more effective by theutilization of special devices or proced-ural techniques which sharpen the senseof student interest and involvement.

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Culture is More than the Mere Study of Literature . . .

CHAPTER XI

Study Of Culture: Relevance Of ForeignLanguages In World Affairs Education

Charles JayForeign Language Supervisor

Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction

". . . The teaching of contempo-rary foreign life and institutions isimportant to our monocultural stu-dents . . . If international under-standing is to be achieved it re-quires our help through an honestand sympathetic presentation of ourneighbors way of life. The foreignlanguage alone is not enough, butthe language in its full cultural con-tent can do much to achieve under-standing."

Elton Hocking(DFL Bts:letin, October, 1965)

Not necessity alone, but necessity plusknowledge is the mother of invention.

The crying need for Americans tounderstand more completely the worldin which they live has placed an evengreater role on the study of foreignlanguages. For this reason it is hopedthat the study of any foreign languagewill be a catalyst in assisting the stu-dent to escape from the ethnic-centeredattitudes of his own small communityin order to participate in the broaderworld community. And on the shoul-ders of our secondary schools lies thevital responsibility of synthesizing a

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young person's social learning and fo-cusing the attention of the individualon the world around him. The essen-tial consideration ought simply to bethis: foreign languages must serve botha specialized and a generalized functionin the school curriculum.

The World other than America

From the study of foreign languagesemerges the concept of the world-other-than-America. The imbalances whichare present in our world can be cor-rected only by the most basic under-standing and development of mutualrespect among diverse peoples. A per-usal of the evening paper or the watch-ing of the late news on television bringshome the fact that the peoples of theworld are working out their destinies ina dynamic global setting. Perhaps oneof the tasks of foreign language instruc-tion should be very similar to that ofthe social anthropologists: to identifythe needs, desires, and aspirations thatarc common to all mankind while alsopointing out how people are uniquely

4a,

different. It is not an overstatementto say that language is the most com-plete expression of the culture of anypeople. For that reason the study offoreign languages must have a nichein the social studies curriculum withhistory, sociology, anthropology, andsocial psychology. A realization of theinterrelation of world cultures shouldbe one of the functions of the foreign

language classroom.

Bilingualism: Its Limitations

It should be made crystal clear, how-ever, that bilingualism itself does notinsure ipso facto a respect for othercultural patterns. The traditionalhostility between France and Germanyhas been until recently a bitter reality,even though the language of each wascommonly taught and understood bythe other. Likewise, the press has re-cently described the deep animosities be-tween the Flemish and Walloon com-munities in Belgium. "Bi-lingual" or"multi-lingual" societies may oftenclaim such titles in theory only. Al-though French Canadians may common-ly speak English, it is, indeed, unusual tofind French widely spoken by Anglo-Ca-nadians. Linguistic minorities in manynations may speak the language of themajority group but, again, this is notsynonymous with the existence of mutualcultural and linguistic respect betweenthe groups. Although those who speakCatalan, Breton and Quechua have,out of economic and social necessity,quite often learned the language of thedominant group in their respectivecountries, there has been no diminutionon the part of these minorities in their

legitimate fear of submersion by themajorities. "Quadri-lingual" Switzer-land is an interesting case to consider.Cited in every American elementaryschool as the apex of linguistic harmony,it does not seem to the traveler that thisis quite the case. National life inSwitzerland is fractured, the cantonsstill taking precedence over the nationitself. A loose confederation workssufficiently well, and a certain toleranceand respect does admittedly exist amongthe four linguistic communities. But tocall Switzerland a multi-lingual societynecessitates a careful scrutiny of theclaim. German is spoken by about two-thirds of the Swiss population, and isthe dominant language in 80% of theland area of the country. The remain-ing official languages French, Italianand Romansch are actually spoken by

less than one-third of the population.The isolation resulting from rugged ter-rain makes some cantons entirely mono-lingual.

The writer, then, would urge thereader to share with him an examina-tion of the problems which exist in "bi-lingual" societies. Different linguisticgroups can and do live harmoniously :(I) where the majority group does notattempt to politically and economicallydominate lesser linguistic groups; and(2) where other cultural differencessuch as religion do not preclude peopleswho speak different languages living to-gether amicably.

The Problem ofIsolation in America

However, the conflicts arising in suchsocieties are the products of sharp cul-

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tural rivalry and not necessarily aresult of the crippling ethnocentrismprevalent in American society. Lin-guistic and cultural groups in manynations fight aggressively to maintaintheir identity. Our children suffer in-stead from the cultural arrogrance bornof isolation from other cultures, ratherthan from healthy confrontation withsuch groups. One may say that Eu-ropean societies for all of their physicaland cultural proximity have, but forthe exception of small academic andcommercial communities, remained inbasic isolation from each other. Butthis has not been from a lack of knowl-edge of another's language, but in spiteof it.

Bi-lingualism is not in itself theanswer to cultural understanding amongpeople. An indispensable asset, it mustbe fortified by the strongest possible sen-sitivity education. With knowledge ofthe language must exist a similar knowl-edge of the social, religious, and eco-nomic attitudes of a people. The foreignlanguage teacher has a moral obligationto impress upon his students the ways inwhich the people who speak French,German, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, andSwahili reflect both cultural relativism(their uniqueness) and their culturaluniversalism (those things all peoplehold in common) . True, every culturedoes have its own goals and its ownvalue orientation, and in significant re-pects these are unique to each culture.Yet at the same time people from thePolynesian, Chinese, Japanese, and Eur-opean cultures have learned how to livein harmony and to appreciate one an-other in polygot Hawaii because they

have discovered the really vital respectsin which they are similar humanbeings. Both approaches have a placein the foreign language classroom. Ahigh priority task of the foreign lan-guage teacher is to search for anddevelop a balance of both kinds.

Language Study is aStrong Link in the Social Studies

As a strong link in the social studiescurriculum, the study of a foreign lan-guage aids the student in "internalizing"the idea of culture. To internalize isto fuse the characteristics of a foreignculture with one's own feelings and at-titudes. The culture of a foreign coun-try becomes important for us only tothe extent to which we are able to makethis fusion. The real test of whether theeffort to understand another people hasbeen worthwhile is the degree to whichwe have integrated our study with agenuine attempt to look at our worlddifferently than we did before.

To this extent it would seem that thestudy of a foreign language is a vitalpart of general education. The abilityof the student to master all communica-tive aspects of the language constitutesits specialized counterpart. The residualqualities of foreign language studyas part of general education are of suchequal importance, however, that thiswriter believes it would be extremelyunwise to bar students lacking in theability to master the four communica-tion skills from the study of a foreignlanguage. Whether it means a separate"track" or even a continuation of themuch criticized two-year sequence, thosestudents who either do not intend to

enroll in college or cannot be expected

to develop significant fluency in thelanguage can derive much benefit from

the study of a foreign language. It isa lasting indictment of the foreign lan-guage profession that barriers have beenerected which exclude that very student

often weak in verbalization skills in

his own language and often culturallydeprived in every sense of the wordwho might profit most meaningfullyfrom exposure to a world outside ofhis own.

If one may borrow from the veryreal jargon of our day, the study of aforeign language may be construed as"compensatory" education for Ameri-

can youth at all ability levels. There

is a crying need on the secondaryschool level for our students to find bet-

ter assimilation into the world orderthat is evolving. For many, there willbe no further opportunity throughformal educational channels. It wasmentioned earlier that even in thoseEuropean countries which emphasizedthe study of foreign language in theirrespective educational system one sawthe generation of tensions and violentupheavals of a quite literal kind. Why

has there been so much unrest on the

European continent? One might re-vert to the sociological term "accultura-tion" -- the process by which membersof one culture acquire some of thecharacteristics of another. Althoughthe European states have been in pro-longed contact for centuries it was

erroneously assumed that the break-

down of language barriers (the wide-spread study of foreign languages amongthe "educated") would facilitate peace

and understanding. One of the greatproblems the world faces today is howto effect such processes as acculturation,not with violence but with peacefulbenefit to all the cultures that inevitablyfind themselves in direct and increasingcontact.

Importance of LiberationFrom the Old Cultural Restrictions

This writer recently produced a tele-vision program pertaining to the roleof foreign languages in world affairswhich was presented on a local Spring-

field station. Student participantsagreed with Harper Lee's observationin To Kill a Mockingbird "You maynever understand a person until youclimb into his skin and walk around in

it." These high school students feltdeeply that the study of a foreign lan-guage involves the individual in theculture of which the language is anexpression and liberates him in a newand meaningful way from the old cul-tural restrictions imposed by nation andcommunity. They acknowledged thatwhile the primary purpose of foreignlanguage study is to develop a profi-

ciency in the language they were grate-ful for the cultural generalizationswhich would aid them in living in apluralistic world.

Problems increase as any discussion

of the cultural functions of foreign lan-guage study progresses. The adequatepreparation of classroom teachers as-sumes tantamount importance. NelsonBrooks observes that it is necessary to

make an excursion into the field ofcultural anthropology "Every ele-ment of language corresponds to a

segment of the totality of the thoughtand action and surroundings of thosewho speak it. It is this point-by-pointrelationship that gives it currency andvalue in the culture to which itbelongs."

"Formal" and "Deep" Culture

Brooks continues by discussing bothformal and deep culture and concludesthat approaches to both are importantin the foreign language classroom :

. . We must also distinguish be-tween verbal and non-verbal culture, be-tween the food we are offered and whatwe say as we accept. And we mustmake a still further distinction for whichI propose the terms formal culture anddeep culture, meaning by formal cul-ture the results of creative endeavor,the achievement of intellectual andartistic genius, and all the various modesof significant thought and genteel liv-ing of which a country is fully awareand justly proud, and is quite ready totalk about, to display, and even to ex-port. By deep culture, in contrast, werefer to individual thoughts and actions,the beliefs and concerns and hopes andworries, the personal preferences andthe personal possessions, the many andsubtle gradations of interpersonal re-lationships as expressed in deeds andwords, the day-by-day details of life asit is lived often with little or noawareness at home and at school,in church and in celebrations, in child-hood and in manhood, in country andin city in a word, what it is like tobe a Japanese or a German or a Peru-vian. The word "culture" has many dif-ferent meanings, and we must learn toagree on which meaning is meant. Butnot to learn culture, both formal anddeep, is not to learn meaning, and inlanguage learning we would be leftwith the sounds and forms and syntax

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that referred to our own culture, orto the wrong thing, or to nothing at

Foreign Languages asPart of General Education

This writer may have placed himselfin the eye of something very similar toHurricane Beulah. However, eventhough the ire of many "humanists"may be provoked I am speaking hereof those holders of advanced degreeswho are primarily concerned with pre-paring others to obtain advanced de-grees in our graduate schoolsthe riskseems well worth the effort. Those inhigher education who feel that thesocial sciences are infringing upon thehumanities in our schools may be cor-rect in their observations, but they failto see the broader implications of for-eign language study beyond the collegeclassroom. They have made little at-tempt to approach the problem offoreign languages as part of generaleducation. They often seem far fromthe position of Elton Hocking :

Essential to the national interest to-day is a reasonable understanding andtolerance of ethnic groups and foreignpeoples. This has been well termed "anew educational imperative." Such un-derstanding or tolerance is surely thework of the schools rather than the col-leges, for prejudices, like languages, arebest learned in childhood. Now it wouldbe absurd to pretend that knowledge ofa foreign language insures tolerance ofthe other people; Winston Churchillonce commented that the British and theAmericans were "divided by a commonlanguage."

Brooks, Nelson. "The Ideal Preparationof Foreign Language Teachers", Modern Lan-guage Journal, Vol. L, No. 2, February, 1966.

But the long sequences of foreignlanguage study do open up exciting newpossibilities: for example, the integra-tion of social studies with a foreign lan-guage. Based on the Trump Plan, usinga wealth of A-V resources from abroad,and preferably vitalized by the presenceof exchange pupils from the countryconcerned, such a long-term immersionin a foreign civilization and languagecould provide socio-cultural insights andempathetic understanding of anotherpeople. Literature would of course haveits part in this a more meaningfulpart than at present for it would bepresented, like the language itself, inits full situational and behavioral con-text.'

Is the Advanced Study ofLanguage the Study of Literature?

The objectives voiced by many for-eign language departments in collegesand universities in emphasizing the cul-tural aspects of foreign language studyat the expense of the traditional empha-sis upon literary skills are but encrusta-tions which have accumulated in Amer-ican higher education from the nine-teenth century. In their philosophy andorganization many college foreign lan-guage departments remain closer to thenineteenth century classical traditionthan to the realities of human existenceon the eve of the twenty-first century.It is impossible to assess the damageinflicted upon the quality of teachingand the status of languages on pre-college levels by what Hocking callsthe two archaic assumptions of highereducation : "first, that the principalfunction of the schools is college-pre-paratory; and second, that the advanced

1Journal of Secondary Education, Vol. 39,No. 6 Association of Secondary School Ad-ministration.

study of 'language' must in fact be thestudy of literature."'

The NDEA Institutes and Culture

The NDEA Institutes have succeededin emphasizing foreign cultures in amanner which teacher-education pro-grams in our universities might wellemulate. The nature of the courses inthe Institutes reveals that "culture" wasconceived in the broadest sense of theterm. The courses have been designed toincrease the participant's understandingof all important aspects of daily life andculture in the foreign language. JosephAxelrod, as member of a visitation team,makes the following observations aboutthese NDEA Institutes in The Educationof the Modern Foreign LanguageTeacher for American Schools (TheModern Language Association of Arne' -ica, 1966) :

This breadth (of cultural content]seemed to the visiting team to be exceed-ingly important, Tor every foreign lan-guage teacher, at every level, is an in-terpreter of another culture and a bridgebetween that culture and our own. TheInstitutes have tried to help teachersbecome more effective interpreters ofboth cultures. In the Institutes theculture courses have therefore had togo beyond the customary study of litera-ture, art, music, and philosophy. An-other ingredient has been added theapproach developed in recent years bythe behavioral scientist as he tries tounderstand contemporary life in an-other society.

. . . A member of the study team re-ported on a course in Latin-Americancivilization that he observed and which,he asserts, "strikes me as having a good

Hocking, op. cit., p. 6.

.1

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transfer potential to college languagedepartments." In this course the in-structor was a native American withlong residence abroad. Our visitor's de-scription continues: "The course cov-ered important movements and master-pieces in history, literature, and the artsand also focused on the patterns of con-temporary thought and expression."

The Institutes have provided, in avery positive manner, cultural insightsby means other than the mere study ofliterature.

Recommendation ofAxelrod Committee

Doctor Axelrod's visiting committeemade the following recommendationafter observing NDEA Institutes:

The study group strongly recommendsthat a teacher-training program in for-eign language require the candidate tostudy the foreign culture, both historic-ally and in its contemporary form. Whilework in literature is highly important,study of the other arts, of the role ofscience and technology in the foreignculture, and of its entire social structuremust find a place in the required cur-riculum [emphasis mine] . Without aknowledge of the values and habits ofthought in the culture for which theforeign language serves as the mediumof communication, the teacher of thatlanguage is severely handicaped profes-sionally.

While no one expects college depart-ments of foreign languages to developtheir entire curricula around the prep-aration of teachers, the harsh realityis that most of their majors and minorsdo become teachers whether they areprepared or not. Many of these newteachers will encounter thousands ofhigh school students who, unfortunately,

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will study a language for only two years.These teachers, most of whom have beenoriented in literature-drenched collegecurricula, have great difficulty in glean-ing the cultural monuments of a non-literary nature. A study of the foreigncivilization and contemporary patternsof culture may have lasting value forthe high school student who holdsneither pretense at fluency in the lan-guage nor aspirations for an analysis ofthe literary achievements of that lan-guage.

The writer has suggested throughoutthis article that the cause of under-standing among peoples in our worldwill be facilitated by pre-college pro-grams in foreign languages which in-clude the approach of the behavioralsciences. The strictly "humanities" ap-proach must be reserved for those grad-uate schools which are engaged inscholar- and research-education ratherthan teacher-education. Even in theselatter categories, however, much cau-tion must be exercised since these pro-fessors will become teachers of teachers.

A pursuit of special interests, an ex-amination of the contributions of pre-vious ages, and an analysis of linguisticintricacies must be strengthened in thehumanities programs of our universities.Some accommodation must be made byhigher education, however, to the factthat these goals of foreign languagestudy are not always relevant at pre-college levels. It is unrealistic, there-fore, to produce classroom teacherswhose objectives are too narrowly an-chored to these aims.

While visiting a school recently thewriter suggested to a classroom teacher

the importance of developing inter-national understanding by means of cul-tural emphasis in the teaching of for-eign languages. She replied that shehad only time for "essentials" timedid not allow a treatment of other ele-ments. It should be possible for oneto recognize her dilemma without con-ceding that the ability of people to livetogether in our world is non-essential.

"Language and Beyond"

In the future, when confronted withthis reply, I shall find no better retortthan the conclusions reached by CeciliaRoss in an article entitled "Languageand reyond", which appeared in theNorthern California Foreign LanguageNewsletter (Vol. XVI, No. 64, March,1968). Largely because of the urgencyof its appeal this article is included inits entirety:

The impact of Sputnik on the teach-ing of FL in the U.S. resulted in in-creased numbers of FL classes, in moreFL students attending those classes, andin the 'audio-lingualizing' of the teach-ing of FLs.

We have marched forward in the lastten years and we have made progress:teachers have become aware of theirweaknesses, NDEA language instituteshave tried to correct them, studentshave been exposed to spoken languagethrough the voice of their teacher andthrough TV programs, records, tapes,language labs, visual aids, programmedlearning, and other electronic inventions.A newspaper writer friend of mine,whom I invited to visit our languagelab, exclaimed full of awe: "i Ojala totuvieran cuando yo era nina!". Forall this, we must be very thankful. Fed-eral aid for FL, as well as for the Sci-ences and Mathematics, has certainly

not gone to waste. Better teachers andbetter teaching is progress and makesa country stronger.

Still, we don't seem to be succeedingin 'communicating' with people of othercountries. And not because we lack ex-pert interpreters and translators, butrather because we have not yet beenable to capture and convey to our stu-dents that "something" which lies be-hind the spoken and the written word,that "quantum," that undefinable"quid" that makes up the means of ex-pression of a people.

Our public school teachers will pointout that "there is no time for all this inour schools. We have hardly a chance toteach the elements." I sympathize withthem, but I retort that one must findtime for things that are important. Andthis 'quid' is important. The PeaceCorps has become aware of it. Part ofthe Peace Corps training is devoted toobserving and learning hand-shaking,table manners, and to lectures illustrat-ing the basic cultural patterns of thecountry the volunteers are to live in.

The good language teachers of thepresent and of the past certainlyunderstand the importance of this`quid', for the good language teacherhas always tried to teach `beyond theword,' beyond the textbook.' He hastried to present to his students such fig-ures as those of Hals, Pasteur, or Push-kin, who certainly have contributedgreatly to the culture of their countries,but let me point out here that their na-tional cultural patterns are made outof more than Frans Hals' rugged paint-ings, or Pasteur's revolutionary discov-eries, or Pushkin's choice writings. Per-haps a dear friend . . . has tried toexpress this when in a letter to theeditor from Parede, Portugal, he says:"When our maid became ill, we wentto see her twice, and we have come tosome appreciation of life of the humble.She lives in a basement, keeps it im-maculate. Her daughter showed us her

91

hope chest, filled with beautifully em-broidered linen some that she had made,others that had been given to her. Thetime spent in that intricate work! Andthe problems of washing the linens andironing them! But their time is cheap.When we dropped in the second time,the family was having supper. Afterwardthey insisted on taking off the plastictablecloth and putting on a linen oneto serve us tea and cherry brandy with

cookies . . . Those people manage tolive with pride, immaculate in thecleanliness of their houses and in thehonesty of their dealings and they makebeauty in their lives. Our maid cul-tivates her tiny garden with love, andbrings us flowers whenever there areany."

Only when we have an understandingof this "quid" and are able to communi-cate it to our students, shall we havedone a complete "job" of our language

92

teaching, and shall we be able to claimto have contributions to a better under-standing of the peoples of the world.Being able to say: "Bonjour, monsieur"is not sufficient.

Jt is possible that only through athorough study of the traditions, thepsychology, the historical and anthro-pological background, the letters, themusic and the arts, we might be able todiscover what makes that man in thatcountry "trigger" in a certain situation,under certain stresses. Only then shallwe be able to understand our fellow be-ings friend or enemy and per-haps we may this way be able, if not toavoid wars altogether, at least to be ina better position to win them.

In short, it is paramount that to thefour language skills we now add a fifth

the proper study of culture.

CHAPTER XII

STATE OF ILLINOIS

GUIDELINES

FOR EVALUATING

FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAMS

Prepared by Pat Castle and Charles JayForeign Language Supervisors

Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction

INTRODUCTION

The foreign language supervisors in the Office of the Superintendent of PublicInstruction have concluded from teaching experience, extensive observation inclassrooms throughout the state, and discussions with other teachers and stateforeign language supervisors that there is a great need for a statement of simplified

criteria by which the schools may measure the excellence of their foreign language

programs.

Consequently, it is our hope that this guideline will provide suggestions fordeveloping the best possible foreign language curriculum to meet the needs ofeach individual school, and will focus attention on the audio-lingual-visual methodof instruction as the most appropriate way to teach a modern foreign language

in the classroom. Emphasis should be placed upon the fact that this method,properly taught, does include grammar explanation and drills and does includereading and writing from the beginning level. However, these skills should beemphasized only after reasonable progress has been demonstrated in a compre-hension-speaking sequence by the student. Writing is not designed to meet theneeds of people who are learning a language. It is designed only for those whoalready know how to say the ideas they wish to express. Therefore, it is essential

that all students should have an oral command of the lesson material beforeexposure to reading, writing, and rules of grammar.

This guideline is an attempt to list those questions most pertinent to estab-lishing or maintaining an excellent foreign language program. It is our opinionthat all questions included herein should be answered "yes". A negative response

to these questions would indicate a need for a thorough evaluation and improve-

ment of the existing foreign language program.

We are aware that some teachers will not agree with the philosophy expressed

by these questions. The foreign language supervisors in the Office of the Super-

intendent of Public Instruction welcome the opportunity to discuss these and other

questions with those who are interested.

Pat CastleCharles Jay

Summer 1967

f*/

I. SEQUENTIAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAMS

A. Who should take a foreignlanguage?1. The opportunity of learning to

speak a foreign language shouldbe a part of the basic curricu-lum of all students, and thewidespread tendency to encour-age only students of exceptionalability to study a foreign lan-guage is a form of academic"elitism" that must be discour-aged.

2. Any foreign language programshould be developed in such amanner that the average stu-dent in a normal class canachieve the essential goals ofthe course.

3. In schools with sufficient enroll-ment it is 'referable to havehomogeneously-grouped classesin order to meet the specificneeds of the exceptionallygifted and college-bound stu-dent as well as the averagestudent.

4. Whatever the situation, thegood teacher must provide thesupplementary work necessaryfor each student to achieve hismaximum potential.

B. How long should the foreignlanguage be studied?1. The two-year foreign language

program does not meet theneeds of present-day students.

2. A three-year program is the ab-solute minimum sequence

which should be offered to highschool students.

3. A six-year program in at leastone foreign language should bethe goal of every school systemin Illinois.

4. Any language should be studiedin an unbroken sequence fromthe grade in which it is startedthrough grade twelve.

5. Schools should avoid the luxuryof attempting to offer morethan one foreign language un-til a long sequence in one lan-guage is successful. One lan-guage taught for four years is

much superior to two or morelanguages taught for only twoyears.

C. What texts and materials shouldbe used in the classroom?1. Any of the well-known high-

quality, sequential audio-lin-gual-visual series should be usedas the basic text materials foreach language. The term"level" should be understood asmeaning a certain segment ofsequential development withinthe total language program. Itusually takes more than oneschool year to master the ma-terial commonly included in atextbook "level", but the teachermust never omit any of theunits in these sequential textseries. (See page 8 for de-scription of proficiencies re-

97

quired for each level.)2. Traditional programs which

emphasize grammar-translationinstead of the more fundamen-tal skills of comprehension andspeaking should he thoroughlyexamined and, in all probabili-ty, discarded at least in the be-ginning years.

3. The audio-lingual-visual aidswhich correlate with the textmaterials of each lesson are anecessary part of the course.The importance of using themcorrectly cannot be overempha-sized.

4. Although supplementary mater-ials are desirable in any foreignlanguage program, great caremust be taken in the beginningyears to select materials thatare appropriate to the goalssought at that level of instruc-tion.

5. All teachers must realize thatvisual aids are a valuable assetin learning a foreign language.Whenever possible, a visualshould be used to convey themeaning of a word, phrase, sen-tence, or abstract idea ratherthan the use of English.

6. Common visual aids that will

prove helpful are pictures, slides,

filmstrips, films, flash cards,transparencies, charts, and ob-jects themselves. These shouldbe used daily.

D. What electronic equipment shouldbe used in the classroom?1. The materials which compose

98

any audio-lingual course re-quire, by their nature, the useof some electronic equipment.

2. A minimum essential for eachclassroom is a tape recorder andthe tapes to accompany thetext.

3. The excellent foreign languageprogram should include thedaily use of short, inten-sive taped-drills which re-inforce the text materials. Elec-tronic equipment which featureshigh-quality, audio-active ear-phones and boom microphonesaccelerates the mastery of for-eign language skills.

4. The confusion that results fromthe great variety of electronicequipment on the market neces-sitates careful discussion withstate foreign language supervi-sors, other specialists, and com-pany representatives before anydecision to purchase is made.

5. Today more than ever, all

teachers and administratorsshould be aware that electronicequipment in each classroom isfar more desirable than theseparate language laboratorieswhich were recommended someyears ago.

6. Teachers and school adminis-trators should recognize thefact that dial access informationretrieval systems and pro-grammed learning devices,which promote individual learn-ing rates, will eventually re-place the present classroom

equipment.

AFFIRMATIVE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS INDICATEATTEMPTS TOWARD EXCELLENCE IN FOREIGN

LANGUAGE PROGRAMS

I. GENERAL METHODOLOGY1. Does the teacher maintain a

classroom atmosphere condu-cive to learning?

2. Do the teaching techniques dis-play understanding, enthusi-asm, helpfulness, imagination,and sound learning pro-cedures?

3. Are lessons and units carefullyplanned and conscientiouslypresented?

4. Is there an opportunity eachday for maximum individualdrill and recitation?

5. Is the presentation lively andvaried?

6. Is the use of English keptto a minimum in the class-room?

7. Is each presentation carefullyplanned to achieve specificgoals and solve problems rela-ted to learning the foreign lan-guage?

8. Is emphasis placed upon cor-rect pronunciation at everylevel of learning?

9. Are the principles of syntax,phonology, and morphologyintroduced in a systematicmanner which directs the stu-dent's progress in languagelearning.

10. Are practice records availablefor each beginning student forout-of-class assignments?

11. Are out-of-class assignmentscarefully explained and begunin class with attention given toeliminating "busy work"?

12. Is the opportunity for reme-dial instruction provided?

13. Can students easily understandand use the materials studiedin the dialogues, structure drillsand oral narratives of thetext?

14. Are students able to read andwrite correctly what they cancomprehend and say accu-rately in the language?

15. Can students who are termin-ating t four-year sequentialprograt.1 read selected worksof fiction, popular magazines,and newspapers, in the Ian -uage?

16. Arc electronic equipment andtapes used daily in short, in-tensive, drill periods (ten-min-ute maximum per drill) ratherthan in long, exhaustingtwenty- or thirty-minute drillperiods?

17. Where a laboratory or elec-tronic classroom is available,do existing facilities accommo-date the needs of each studentin the largest class?

18. Can the teacher operatethe electronic equipmentcorrectly?

19. Has the teacher learned how

99

to use audio-lingual-visual ma-terials effectively?

20. Is the presentation of basicmaterials sufficiently flexible topermit adaptations, recombin-ations, and variations of theoriginal?

II. ELEMENTARY FOREIGNLANGUAGE PROGRAMS

1. Is an elementary foreign lan-guage program considered adesirable part of the totalschool curriculum by the fac-ulty and community and notmerely an extra-curricular ac-tivity suitable only for giftedchildren?

2. Has a six-year foreign lan-guage program (7-12) beenestablished before thought isgiven to developing the pro-gram in the elementarygrades?

3. Is the basic goal of the FLESprogram the enjoyment ofusing a foreign languagethrough the sequential devel-opment of simple comprehen-sion and speaking skills?

4. Is one of the good sequentialelementary foreign languageseries used as the basis for theprogram? (Developing one'sown program is unnecessaryand undesirable because ex-cellent sequential programs arenow available) .

5. Does the FLES program pro-vide an opportunity for everystudent to understand andspeak the language while at

100

the same time making authen-tic progress in the basic struc-tures of the language?

6. Are the FLES teachers skilledin the methodology which willmotivate the interest of chil-dren in learning a foreign lan-guage?

7. Are the FLES teachers suffi-ciently fluent in the foreignlanguage to teach capably thematerials at each level?

8. Does the class meet daily forat least twenty minutes?

9. Are many kinds of visual aidsused daily in a lively presenta-tion of the material to belearned?

10. Does the elementary teacherrealize that at the beginninglevel the teaching of readingand writing in the foreign lan-guage is not desirable and verylittle, if any, time should bedevoted to it?

11. Is writing introduced slowly,and does it consist mainly ofcopying and dictation basedon material already masteredorally?

12. Is the sequential elementaryprogram closely articulatedwith the junior high program?

13. Is a realistic evaluation of theprogress of each student madeat the end of the elementarysequence by using standard-ized tests in order to determinewhether the child can suc-cessfully continue in the juniorhigh program?

III. JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLFOREIGN LANGUAGEPROGRAMS

1. Are parents and student madeaware of the fact that foreignlanguage study before highschool should be thought of asmaterial presented in additionto the high school course, andnot instead of the high schoolprogram. High school creditshould not be given for juniorhigh school work unless thesame language is studied forat least two additional yearsin high school.

2. Is the junior high school pro-gram articulated with previouselementary experiences toavoid a repetition of materialsand to insure continuous prog-ress?

3. Is it possible for a studentwho is beginning his study of aforeign language in grade 7to continue through grade 12?

4. Are the materials used at thislevel appropriate for juniorhigh school students?

5. Do classes in grades 7 and 8meet five days per week for atleast 30 minutes each session?

6. Does the junior high schoolhave and use electronic equip-ment comparable to that ofthe senior high school?

7. Do the junior high schoolteachers have the same pro-fessional qualifications as thehigh school teachers?

IV.

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8. Is the equivalent of one yearof a beginning high school for-eign language completed dur-ing grades 7 and 8?

9. Is a definite effort made toencourage those students whohave successfully completedgrade 8 to continue the studyof the same language through-out high school?

HIGH SCHOOL FOREIGNLANGUAGE PROGRAMSA. ADMINISTRATION1. Are school administrators

guidance counselors informedon pertinent aspects of thenew approach to modern for-eign language study (values,goals, techniques of study, cri-teria of pupil selectivity, andcollege entrance require-ments) ?

2. Does the school administrationor the foreign language chair-man provide for in-servicetraining of foreign languagepersonnel?

3. Are foreign travel, attend-ance at workshops, and creditcourses encouraged by salaryincrements and/or releasedtime?

4. Is the foreign language chair-man allowed to assist in theselection of foreign languagestaff?

5. In large schools is there a de-partment chairman or foreignlanguage coordinator who ob-serves classes on a regular basis,supervises other teachers, and

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calls regular meetings at leastonce a month to discuss com-mon problems?

6. Is the foreign language staffurged to examine, evaluate,and select new instructionalmaterials and equipment?

7. Is a large proportion of theschool population enrolled inforeign language classes?

8. Are classes on the beginninglevels limited to not more thantwenty students per class?

9. Are pupils encouraged to con-tinue foreign language studyas a result of good schedulingand good counseling practices?

10. Is each successful pupil able tostudy one foreign language forat least three years?

11. Are advanced classes offeredeven though enrollment is lessthan ten pupils?

12. Is an attempt being made tolengthen the sequence of for-eign language study to morethan four years?

B. BEGINNING HIGHSCHOOL LEVELS1. Does the foreign langauage

teacher have speaking compe-tency in the language heteaches?

2. Are the course materials ade-quate to meet the objectivesof the audio-lingual-visualmethod of modern foreign lan-guage teaching?

3. Are the skills of comprehen-sion and speaking alwaystaught in context?

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4. Does the student achieve ahigh degree of fluency in theuse of a controlled number ofmeaningful speech patterns?

5. Is vocabulary restricted towhat is necessary for thoroughand natural sounding practiceof the forms and structuresbeing studied?

6. Are reading and writing post-poned until oral mastery isachieved in each lesson?

7. Does the teacher make a con-scious effort to provide cul-tural information for eachlevel without sacrificing timewhich should be devoted to amastery of the language itself?

8. Does the teacher maintainthorough familiarity with cur-rent professional literature anddevelopments in teaching for-eign languages?

9. Is the teacher achieving goalsthat are consistent with thegoals of the total foreign lan-guage program?

C. ADVANCED HIGHSCHOOL LEVELS

1. Does the program on the ad-vanced levels take full advan-tage of the oral-aural skills al-ready developed, and continueto develop them?

2. Is the major stress now onreading and writing?

3. Does vocabulary development,drawn mainly from reading,proceed rapidly after the basicpatterns are mastered?

4. Are students reading withcomprehension without trans-lating?

5. Is the emphasis placed onreading well-known contem-porary authors of clearly es-tablished reputation?

6. Does the reading consist of

novels, short stories, plays,

newspapers, magazines, etc.,accompanied by discussions inthe foreign language of thematerial read?

7. Is there appropriate supple-mental reading material avail-able for all advanced pupils?

8. Are students encouraged to usea dictionary written entirely inthe language being studied?

9. Does reading, which is veryimportant at the advancedlevels, provide many andvaried opportunities for theacquisition of cultural infor-mation and insight?

10. Do cultural insights becomea more important goal of

learning?11. Are students drilled on weak

points of general grammaticalstructure only as they are en-countered in the reading?

12. Is considerable class time de-voted to oral reports, resumes,explanations, criticisms, andquestions based on the ma-terial read?

13. At the most advanced levels

is time devoted to a discussionon literary style and form ofthe material read?

D.

14. Are students writing with anawareness of grammaticalstructure, an enlarged use ofvocabulary, and expressions ofcreativity appropriate to theirlevel of study?

15. As style becomes observable inthe reading, is it given atten-tion in the student's writing,emphasizing quality not quan-tity?

16. Is some time devoted to thedevelopment of the art oftranslation which means trans-posing or interpreting conceptsfrom one language to another?

LATIN PROGRAMS1. Does the Latin teacher work

in close collaboration with de-partments of English, history,and modern foreign languagesin order to enrich learning ex-periences?

2. Is some emphasis placed uponhistory, literature, philosophy,art, and archeology as well asupon grammar and syntax?

3. Are text materials orientedaway from the narrowly gram-matical and factual approachto the study of Latin so thatstudents are aware of the effectof Latin culture upon Westerncivilization?

4. Does the teacher create amonghis students an awareness of

contemporary political, ethi-cal, and esthetic issues?

5. Is an appreciation of the struc-ture and beauty of the Latin

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language itself instilled in themind of the student?

6. Does the teacher impress uponstudents that Latin should notbe studied merely to serve asan aid in the understandingand manipulation of the Eng-lish language?

7. Does the student understandthe structure of the languageat his level of achievement?

8. Is each student given an op-portunity for meaningful dailyrecitation?

9. Are some audio-lingual-visualmaterials used to supplementtext materials?

10. Has each pupil attained someskill in direct comprehensionof written material as well asin translation of Latin intoEnglish?

11. Is a minimum of writtenwork required throughout thestudy of Latin?

12. Have students in advancedclasses read classical master-pieces with understanding andappreciation?

13. Do students in advancedclasses, in addition to Latinreadings, read the classics intranslation in order to covera greater scope of material re-lated to civilization?

14. Can students in advancedclasses read Latin prose or

VI.

poetry with a fair degree ofdirect comprehension?

TESTING EVALUATION1. Is evaluation recurrent and

planned?2. Does the teacher use testing

materials designed to testexactly what has been taught?

3. Are frequent short tests givenand graded promptly to in-form the student of his prog-ress?

4. Are students tested regularlyfor comprehension and speak-ing skills?

5. Do teacher-made tests reflect,as one result of professionalreadings, current and soundtesting procedures?

6. Is there a definite written eval-uation of each student's per-formance in the skills of com-prehension, speaking, reading,and writing available at theend of each year?

7. Is there a supervised programeach year for administeringappropriate standardized ex-aminations in each language?

8. Is the final grade based on oraland written tests which evalu-ate performance in the basicskills?

9. Are senior students given theopportunity to examine com-mon types of college entranceexams?

TITLE III, NATIONAL DEFENSE EDUCATION ACT

DR. PAUL E. WOODS, DIRECTOR

FOREIGN LANGUAGE STAFF

DERALD MERRIMAN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, NDEA, TITLE III

Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction316 South Second StreetSpringfield, Illinois 62706Phone:. (217) 525-2829

MRS. PAT CASTLEForeign Language Supervisor

1326 Parkvicw DriveMacomb, Illinois 61455Phone: (309) 833-2870

MR. CHARLES D. JAYForeign Language Supervisor

Benton RoadMt. Vernon, Illinois 62864

Phone: (618) 242-0157

MR. H. NED SEELYEForeign Language Supervisor

38 South Sixth AvenueApartment No. A-1

LaGrange, 60525Phone: (312) 354 -2538

Our habits follow us even when theyno longer serve any purpose.

Marcel Proust