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Foreign Language Learning in K-12 Classrooms in the USA

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Second and Foreign Language Education

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Language and Education ((ELE))

Abstract

The climate for foreign language learning in US schools today is far improved from the context that prevailed prior to the new millennium. Spurred by critical national needs for a broad spectrum of Americans who can communicate successfully across linguistic and cultural borders, innovations in the field are leading to enhanced competencies in using languages for a variety of purposes. Less commonly taught languages have emerged as mainstream offerings, raising new questions and considerations for teacher preparation and professional development. Research is providing new insights into how language proficiency develops in instructional settings, driving evidence-based instructional practices along with new measures of teacher effectiveness. Attention to backward design has shaped new approaches to curriculum and instruction across K-12 language instruction, leading to proficiency-oriented approaches to learning and assessment. Administrators and foreign language teachers at the K-12 level seek ways to allow longer sequences of language study that culminate in higher levels of student proficiency, leading to a more widespread implementation of dual language immersion programs across the nation. Technology is facilitating approaches to assessing the oral proficiency of language learners who in the past might have been assessed only with paper and pencil measures. As a result, foreign language programs in today’s K-12 schools are experiencing greater effectiveness as demonstrated by increased student performance, though several challenges and areas of need remain.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This chapter will use the term “foreign language” to refer to languages other than English taught in schools.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Foreign Language Center, The University of Maryland, 5245 Greenbelt Rd, Box 93, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Myriam Met

  2. School of Education, Dixie State University, 225 South University Avenue, Saint George, UT, 84770, USA

    Adriana Melnyk Brandt

Authors
  1. Myriam Met
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  2. Adriana Melnyk Brandt
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Correspondence to Myriam Met or Adriana Melnyk Brandt .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center Language Study, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Nelleke Van Deusen-Scholl

  2. Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Stephen May

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Met, M., Brandt, A.M. (2017). Foreign Language Learning in K-12 Classrooms in the USA. In: Van Deusen-Scholl, N., May, S. (eds) Second and Foreign Language Education. Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02246-8_17

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