After winter break, it will be mandated that general education classroom teachers teach world-language in the classroom. We are responsible for 30 minutes of instruction a week. It is going to be mandated that K-2 teachers infuse world-language into their social studies curriculum. Teachers in grades 3-5 will be required to use digital software called Middleberry.
In past years my district didn't meet the requirements for world-language in our elementary schools. Therefore, this is the new approach we will be implementing to immerse our students into the world of "other" cultures, by the means of world-language.
How does your district meet the state standards for world-language?
Emily that seems a bit difficult and adds yet another thing that we are responsible for as teachers. My school has Spanish as a special 2 times a week, so I am not certain if that meets the state mandates, but that is how my school ingrates language. I also infuse greetings into my morning meeting/ message. Students are allowed to choose what greeting to use for the day. So far the languages used is Chinese, Spanish, German, Swahili, Portuguese, Italian, and French. This is fun for them, because they then can go and use which ever language they want to greet each other on other days.
ReplyDeleteWow. I’m sorry to hear this. Too often mandates are cut district wide and then put back on classroom teachers to “check” the box. Our district is fortunate to have a World Language program K-12. We did however only add K-2 about two years ago. Prior to that it was the classroom teachers responsibility to teach and they would pretty much play a video. Not to the fault of the classroom teachers at all, but does a video really constitute learning a language? In our world that is becoming more and more connected, I’d think that an understanding of world language would be more of a priority for our students.
ReplyDeleteMolly Allister
ReplyDeleteIn the middle school in my district, we have language class. The students get to pick between spanish and italian. They meet with their world language teacher everyday for one period. This occurs every year throughout the middle school. I believe this translates to the high school as well.