LOUDOUN COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Curriculum & Instruction Committee Mrs. Jennifer Bergel, Chairman   Thursday, October 21, 2010 3:00 p.m.   MEETING NOTES Please click here to listen to an audio recording of the meeting.

1. Overview of the History, Current Status, and Future Plans for the Grades 1- 6 Foreign Language Programs

Peter Hughes, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and Ms. Suzette Wyhs, Supervisor of Foreign Languages, offered an overview of the FLES and SAMS programs which included the School Board’s original program objectives, the multi-year implementation plan, and the students’ current performance as measured by a nationally standardized assessment for elementary programs.   A program of foreign language in the elementary grades was a “School Board Special Objective” for several years in the late 1990’s that finally began with a modest initial phase in 2001.  Over several phases, the program reached full implementation across all grades and schools in the fall of 2005.

Teachers from the FLES and SAMS programs were joined by high school foreign language teachers to offer comments about the incremental increase in the rigor of the grades 1-6 instruction and the impact the FLES program is demonstrating with high school students.  High school teachers of Spanish, French, and German reported that students who have completed the FLES/SAMS instruction are arriving as confident learners who are more able to distinguish intonations, produce more authentic oral language, and demonstrate greater listening and reading comprehension than their older peers.  Further, the high school teachers reported that students were selecting a variety of foreign languages beginning in seventh grade and are extending the number of years that they stay with the language.

Handouts provide greater detail about the current research about foreign language instruction and the results of FLES with LCPS students.

                        FLES:             144 hours

                        Art:                150 hours

                        Music:            180 hours

          Mrs. Bergel:  What are the changes made in the AP tests by the College Board that have resulted in LCPS offering a sixth year of  foreign language?

Developments in AP French Language and Culture, AP German Language and Culture and AP Spanish and Culture
While the current courses and exams build important student skills in listening, speaking, writing and reading, the new curricula will focus students on developing and using their communication skills in a completely integrated way. Accordingly, the revised curricula were created to align with the three modes of communication — interpersonal, interpretive and presentational — defined in the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century and will encourage an increased use of contemporary, authentic multimedia sources for instruction and real-life interaction.

Mr. Ohnesier requested that additional languages be included in the instruction for fifth grade.

Mr. Marshall requested that all Spanish I teachers be polled for their views on the students who have completed the FLES program.

Committee Members Present:                                  Other Board Members Present:

           Mrs. Jennifer Bergel                                                   Mrs. Priscilla Godfrey