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T35
Standards-based Teaching and Instructional Materials
in the Spanish as a Foreign Language Classroom
The students in my
Methods of Teaching Second Languages
class don’t believe me when I tell them that my best Spanish
teaching experience in forty years was in a middle school
classroom. It’s true! Those of you just beginning your career
in a middle school will soon learn, and those of you who are
middle school “lifers” already know, that these youngsters
in grades five through eight respond readily to content that
is connected to their everyday lives and to instruction that
actively involves them in the learning process. Your middle
school Spanish students may show higher competencies in
the three modes of communication than many of their high
school counterparts because of their openness to learning new
concepts, their curiosity about themselves and others, and their
unabashed willingness to be a part of real-life situations.
How can the
Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the
21st Century
help create an engaging atmosphere for middle
school students? Let’s look at the five Cs and try to draw some
classroom ideas from them.
Communication
This standard should be the easiest to meet, as middle school
students enjoy listening, speaking, reading, and writing about
themselves and others. Guiding the middle school student
through tasks that involve problem solving will keep them
engaged in the learning process as you move from meaningful
listening to speaking activities, from age-appropriate readings
to writing activities that range from interpersonal notes to
other classmates to presentational products such as children’s
books and travel brochures.
Cultures
The paradigm of products, practices, and perspectives is just
right for middle school students. They relish investigation of the
strange and sometimes weird reasons why speakers of Spanish
speak, act, and think as they do.
Connections
Middle school students are ready to see the connection of
this new language with the other disciplines being explored
in this novel educational structure. Should you be a part of
a middle school “team” that allows you to collaborate on
interdisciplinary lessons and projects, be sure to consider
Dr. David McAlpine
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
the unique contribution a second language makes to the
development of communication skills, cross-cultural awareness,
healthy attitudes, and 21st-century skills.
Comparisons
Students between the ages of 10 and 14 enjoy comparing and
contrasting their first language and culture with that of the new
language and culture. Having students work with authentic
materials gives them the opportunity to see the similarities and
differences between the Spanish language and that of their
native language.
Communities
While it may be more difficult to take middle school students
out of their classroom environment to use Spanish in culturally
appropriate settings, many teachers have been successful
with short-term, well-chaperoned study abroad trips. Others
have developed service-learning projects where middle
school students volunteer in Hispanic community centers
and churches. Having your middle school students use their
presentational language skills in the local elementary schools
both provides a real-life language experience and enhances the
middle school program. Of course, your middle school students
are digital natives and are highly motivated by opportunities
to use technology to communicate in Spanish, both within and
outside our country.
Bibliography
Adair-Hauck, B. “Foreign Languages in the Middle Schools:
A Curricular Challenge.”
Pennsylvania Language Forum
64
(1992): 12-18.
Curtain, Helena, and Carol A. Dahlberg.
Languages and
Children—Making the Match: New Languages for Young
Learners, Grades K–8
. 4th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson
Allyn and Bacon, 2010.
Knop, C. K., and P. Sandrock. “The Case for a Sequential
Second Language Learning Experience at the Middle Level.”
Foreign Language Annals
27 (1994): 77-83.
Met, M. “Current Foreign Language Practices in Middle
Schools.”
Foreign Language Annals
27 (1994): 43-58.
National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project
(NSFLEP).
Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the
21st Century
. Lawrence, KS: Allen Press, 2006.
Background and Research