Foreign language study eyed for K-3 students
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

MARLBORO — According to the state of New Jersey, a world language program must be provided for pupils in kindergarten through third grade, administrators of the Marlboro K-8 School District explained to members of the public. Members of the Board of Education heard the administration's proposed plan for these grades during a Nov. 11 workshop meeting.

"It was mandated that there must be a world language for K-3 and that is why we're looking at the most cost-efficient, least-invasive way" to run the program, Superintendent of Schools David Abbott said.

Abbott said it is expected that some additional staff will be necessary to deliver the foreign language instruction.

Victoria Andalucia, the district's supervisor for world language, provided the board with an overview of the hybrid plan to introduce pupils in the younger grades to a variety of languages.

For kindergartners at the Marlboro Early Learning Center, American Sign Language would be introduced into the classroom. The alphabet and key phrases would be used within the classes to support the lessons.

Pupils in grades one through three would receive exposure to three languages.

First grade pupils would learn Mandarin Chinese; second grade pupils would take on Spanish; and third grade pupils would tackle French. The exposure to these languages would be appropriate for the students' age level, Andalucia said. The program would provide enough experience so that students would be able to determine which language they wish to continue studying in the future.

Third grade pupils now choose between French and Spanish to continue with for fourth through eighth grade. Board members said the Marlboro district prefers to conform its foreign language selections to the options that would be open to their pupils when they enter the Freehold Regional High School District.

Karen Kondek, director of curriculum and instruction, said the type of program being discussed would benefit the pupils by allowing teachers to integrate the cultural aspects of a foreign language into lessons. Key phrases and words would be used in the classroom, such as reviewing numbers in Spanish during a math lesson. She also noted that the district prefers to offer a variety of languages rather than be limited to one.

The instruction for these languages would take place through video programming, like the Salsa program, which teaches Spanish, and the BBC's Muzzy program in French. Kondek said because of the nature of teaching through the videos, it would be easier for the staff by implementing one language per grade, rather than dividing the school year with multiple languages.

Kindergarten and first grade pupils would receive one mini-lesson a week, along with reinforcement emphasis being used throughout the week. An example was given that teachers may refer to colors in a foreign language to keep the terminology fresh in the child's mind.

Pupils in grades two and three would have time once a week designated to view the video programming. Andalucia said the reinforcement would be similar to techniques used in the lower grades.

Board President Cynthia Green asked who would offer support for teachers since the district does not currently employ an instructor in Mandarin Chinese or American Sign Language.

Andalucia said that in the case of Mandarin Chinese, the program that administrators have selected to use was chosen due to the fact little support would be needed. She said any native speakers of Mandarin Chinese who are in the classroom would be able to assist the teacher.

For American Sign Language, Andalucia said there are staff members at the Marlboro Early Learning Center who know basic signs and that developmental programs are offered for the language. With the other two language options, Andalucia said she would like to see support offered to those teachers.

Board Vice President Terry Spilken questioned a survey that was offered to parents concerning the language program. He noted that 1,557 parents took the survey which asked what language he or she would like their child exposed to. Spilken reported that 13 percent of the respondents selected French, 22 percent selected Mandarin Chinese and 59 percent selected Spanish, but he noted that Italian was not offered as an option.

Andalucia said it was realized after the survey was released that Italian had been left out, but that several parents had requested that language.

Spilken said he would be curious to see the effect the option of Italian would have on the other language choices. He reviewed statistics of the percentages of enrollment in particular languages at Marlboro High School and noted that Italian was more popular than French. He also questioned the goals of the program with providing limited instruction and a new language each year.

Andalucia said, "The primary program is to help students learn to listen to another sound system, to possibly be exposed to another symbol system on a very limited to basis. It's really an international global kind of survey of information, rather than an extended language study, which we do bring in to our students at grade four."

Abbott told board members he was not certain if the district has the means to institute a developmental language program in the primary grades. He said he will prepare a presentation for board members on the status of the program as currently outlined for May, and would again update board members in the fall of 2009.

"This will be an evolutionary (process), because I do think it is changing based upon the choices of our parents, based upon what the high school may or may not do, based upon the revenue amount they have in the program and also in terms of how many staff we have to move forward," Abbott said.

The board members agreed to move forward with the outlined foreign language plan and asked that they be updated as the program progresses.

Contact Rebecca Morton at marlboro@gmnews.com