This article reports the results of 2 studies conducted over a 10-year period that researched student attitudes toward early foreign language learning. These studies are unique because of the long time frame in which the students were followed, and the large data sets collected at the elementary school level. Surveys of students in the Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES) programs examined the attitudes of all children in 2 school systems in North Carolina: one suburban and one urban. The students studied either French or Spanish. The number of responses to the survey questions ranged from 22,549 to 52,227 for a 4-year period. The results indicated that boys and girls had positive attitudes when responding to 2 questions about enjoyment of their FLES classes and teachers. The girls were positively inclined, and the boys were neutral, in their desire to continue with foreign language study in the next grade. Two items about the use of foreign language outside the school venue and comprehension of foreign language teacher input revealed negative attitudes for both genders.As a follow-up to the quantitative study, qualitative data about attitudes toward foreign language speakers, foreign cultures, and their own education with respect to foreign language study were gathered through structured interviews. The participants were the same students who had completed the original surveys 10 years earlier. In corroboration of the quantitative data, a qualitative analysis revealed that, for a majority of the students, foreign language study was viewed positively, as were foreign language speakers and their cultures.PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPENDS ON PUBLIC support, and that support at the local, state, and federal levels has been tied increasingly to accountability. Educational programs must respond to the public's desire to know if the funds they allocate have been well spent. The public as well as school district personnel shape their notions of program efficacy in concert with program evaluation and high stakes testing. How educational programs are perceived depends on the participants' and other stakeholders' attitudes toward them. A positive attitude can translate into increased support for the program, whereas a negative attitude may often lead to the program's termination. Thus, gauging the attitude of the public toward The Modern Language Journal, 91, ii, (2007) 0026-7902/07/149-168 $1.50/0 C 2007 The Modern Language Journalspecific programs can be vital to continued financial support. In the world of education, the student is an important member of the consuming public.This article reports on two studies carried out to ascertain the chronology and development over time of student attitudes toward learning languages in addition to English. The first study was designed to follow and document a large population of students in two school districts in North Carolina that offer either Spanish or French, or both, at the elementary school level. The second study was a follow-up study that focused on a group of the stu...

All too often in education “new” programs are planned without thoroughly investigating what was done in the past. By examining earlier FLES efforts, curriculum planners can put to good use what was learned from FLES of the fifties and sixties. This articles looks at the history of FLES in the United States. Besides the usually‐quoted reasons of 1) lack of money, 2) return to the basics, and 3) xenophobia on the part of Americans, six other important and recurring reasons for the decline of FLES in the fifties and sixties are explored. Based on these reasons, a checklist has been developed for new and existing programs to use as a means of self evaluation.

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A reconceptualization of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) is proposed by introducing the notion of dialogicality and voice. Drawing on Bakhtin's semiotics, it is argued that the dialogical interactions occurring within the ZPD must be understood in a larger context to go beyond the visible and audible participants. More specifically, in addition to the first voice of the more capable participant and the second voice of the less competent participant, there is a third voice that serves as an immediate agenda of the ZPD. The third voice exerts its influence through the first voice by mediating the latter's intrapsychological functioning. The compatibility between the agenda of the third voice and the developmental goals of the zone determines whether the progression through the ZPD is enhanced or constrained. Standardized testing is given as an example of the third voice with a focus on its compatibility with the developmental goal of the ZPD.Keywords Vygotsky . The zone of proximal development . Socio-cultural theories of development . Dialogicality . VoiceOne of the major concepts proposed by Vygotsky, and the most often investigated and cited in educational literature (Ageyev 2003), is the zone of proximal development (ZPD). As Bruner (1987Bruner ( , 2004 notes, this concept is not only "stunning" on its own, but it also connects all of Vygotsky's ideas and thoughts regarding the "moving inward" of psychological functions. The implications derived from this theory for the teaching and learning process are also diverse (e.g., scaffolded instruction). A highly influential and welldeveloped theory as it is, like any theory, Vygotsky's ZPD may be revised for an improved Educ Psychol Rev (