NADSFL

WINGSPREAD STATEMENT

At a time in history when proficiency in foreign languages provides increasing trade and diplomatic advantages to nations, many countries include foreign language learning in their elementary school curriculum. In the United States, fewer than one out of five elementary school children has the opportunity to develop competence in foreign languages.

This country places too little value an learning foreign language and cultures; there are too few qualified teachers; and teaching resources are too often outdated or of doubtful quality, These problems pose a challenge to our schools.

To address this challenge we propose the establishment of a blue ribbon commission to set a national agenda for extending and improving instruction in foreign languages and cultures in the nation's elementary schools. We propose that the commission be composed of educational leaders from within the foreign language/second language community, from the field of general education and instructional leadership, from the private sector, and from other constituencies concerned with developing a language competent America.

The tasks of the commission would be:
(1) to focus national attention on the need to enhance the nation's foreign language skills;
(2) to determine needed training and support structures for current teachers of foreign language in elementary -schools;
(3) to design models for recruiting and preparing additional foreign language teachers for the notion's elementary :schools;
(4) to promote a search both in the United States and abroad for educationally sound instructional materials for teaching language and culture to younger learners;
(5) to draw up a research agenda for the field of early language learning;
(6) to promote national demonstration projects to obtain data on early language learning and the most effective ways to teach languages at the elementary school level; (7) to develop guidelines for differing approaches and goals to assist elementary schools in selecting, introducing, conducting, evaluating, and improving their foreign language instructional programs; and
(8) to develop guidelines for articulation that will link early language learning to the rest o f the language curriculum.

NADSFL voted to support the Wingspread Statement at the Annual Meeting in Monterey, CA in 1988.