Does Beginning Foreign Language in Kindergarten Make a Difference? Results of One District's Study

Abstract

Educators have generally believed that foreign language instruction should begin in kindergarten or earlier to promote optimum oral language development (e.g., Abbott, ; Curtain & Dahlberg, 2010; Rhodes & Pufahl, ; Rosenbusch, ; Swender & Duncan, ). This article describes two Spanish programs in the Westport (Connecticut) Public Schools district: their new, long‐sequence K–8 program and the short‐sequence Grade 5–8 program it replaced. A five‐year study examined students' oral and listening comprehension proficiency levels in each program at the end of Grades 5 and 8. Results at these grade levels were compared to determine program effectiveness. Students who began in kindergarten attained statistically higher proficiency levels than those who began in Grade 5. This longitudinal study strongly supports school‐based language instruction beginning in kindergarten.

Making the Case for Exploratory World Language Instruction in Catholic Elementary Schools through University Partnerships

“…They found that more than 75% of eighth graders who participated in the K-8 cohort were able to speak Spanish at the sentence level, while less than half of the eighth graders (45.5%) from the grades 5-8 cohort were able to speak in sentences. This study provided empirical data to support the claim that younger students can attain higher proficiency levels than those who begin WL study later (Boyson et al, 2013). Muñoz (2011) found conflicting evidence to Boyson et al (2013), which was more aligned with Kuhl's (2011) neuroscience research, when she studied the effects of language input and starting age with 162 undergraduate English majors who were 30 years old or younger and had studied English for 10 or more years.…”

“…In a five-year longitudinal study, Boyson et al (2013) examined elementary students' oral and listening proficiency levels from two Spanish programs in an affluent public school district in Westport, Connecticut at the end of fifth and eighth grade. Boyson et al (2013) claimed that teachers employed communicative methods, such as using the target language 95 to 100% of the time, making content comprehensible through gestures and visual aids, and teaching students strategies to use for communicating in the target language.…”

“…Boyson et al (2013) claimed that teachers employed communicative methods, such as using the target language 95 to 100% of the time, making content comprehensible through gestures and visual aids, and teaching students strategies to use for communicating in the target language. Boyson et al (2013) believed that when comparing the two programs (grades 5-8 and grades K-8 cohorts) results showed "strong statistical evidence in support of the power of the K-8 program model for developing increased levels of student oral proficiency and listening comprehension in Spanish" (p. 257). They found that more than 75% of eighth graders who participated in the K-8 cohort were able to speak Spanish at the sentence level, while less than half of the eighth graders (45.5%) from the grades 5-8 cohort were able to speak in sentences.…”

“…However, because of the downturn in the economy in the late 1990s, along with the effects of the No Child Left Behind Act, many public schools closed their early language programs (Rhodes, 2014). Even though multiple researchers and policymakers have argued for an earlier start for WL study to produce more successful-highly proficient and globally competent-U.S. citizens, school districts continue to offer WL courses most often to students in middle or high school (Boyson, Semmer, Thompson & Rosenbusch, 2013;Chambless, 2003Chambless, , 2005Kennedy & De Lorenzo, 1994;Muñoz, 2011;Pufahl, Rhodes & Christian, 2001;Rhodes, 2014). Rhodes (2014) points out that although many FLES programs (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) have been discontinued, there has been an increase in immersion schools and FLEX (Exploratory Foreign Language) programs in certain areas of the United States.…”

Omani Young Children’s Language Proficiencies: The Outcomes of a Bilingual Education Program

“…Researchers agree that early childhood is a critical period for language learning and development (e.g., Andersson, 1974;Nikolov, 2009), not only in L1 but also in L2 (Boyson, Semmer, Thompson, & Rosenbusch, 2013), even in a situation of minimal exposure to L2 (Larson-Hall, 2008) since the basic process of language acquisition such as first words or first use of grammar (Bialystok, Craik, Green, & Gollan, 2009) does not differ whether one or two languages are being acquired (Werker, 2012). It has been suggested that L2 education begin early in life since young children find it easier to pick up a new language (Nikolov 2009) than do adults.…”