Eight pages of a recent print edition of ESchool News in English and Spanish were dedicated to the challenges today's teachers face with the influx of ELL students. Rather than rehashing here the statistics, problems, and solutions that were covered extensively in ESchool News, I'd like instead to share one idea that was not mentioned.
As people become more mobile, and the world shrinks more and more, perhaps it is time to rethink our language education and adopt a European approach to foreign language education. Second language learners are already a large minority in the United States. Soon the times when an American can get by with speaking only English will be long gone in today's global society. So, like our European and Canadian counterparts, perhaps we should think about adopting foreign language curriculum very early in student learning, and create a new generation of bilingual and multi-lingual people. Starting early is one key to language acquisition. The Europeans and Canadians understand that it is easier for students who start young to learn different languages. In fact, many Europeans and Canadians speak three languages.
Another plus of a bilingual culture is that students grow up to be teachers who speak multiple languages, benefiting generations to come. School systems already spend considerable time and money educating their teachers about how to teach ELL students. Why not spend some of that money educating our students, beginning in kindergarten, to speak multiple languages? The fact is, however we accomplish it, we must adapt to our ever-changing world of more and more ELL students and fewer global borders.
When we developed Reading A–Z and Vocabulary A–Z, we kept foreign language speakers in mind, providing Reading A–Z books in Spanish and French and designing Vocabulary A–Z so that teachers can build customized vocabulary lessons to help English language learners get over one of their biggest hurdles—vocabulary development.
Hello Bob,
I'm a Canadian teaching English in Thailand. English is the universal language of this world. There are nearly 300,000 ESL jobs world wide at the moment. I have a Thai friend, a scientist in genetic research who recently spent 6 months in Japan where she spoke English with her Japanese colleagues.
I believe that learning a second language early in life is great for intellectual stimulation the same way music and art are.
With English "taking over" the world, I'm curious as to which language you would choose as a second language? Spanish might be a good close to home choice for Americans but Chinese might be more practical in the modern business world.
The main thing is start them early. My youngest students are miles ahead of my older ones because their minds are fresher for language.
JimC