Elementary school world language programs have been declining in the U.S. despite the many documented benefits of becoming bilingual, and the economic and national security needs of the U.S. By some accounts, only about one in four elementary schools offer a second language, mostly Spanish. In nearly half of these schools, instructional time is below the minimum recommended for proficiency. Exploratory programs have traditionally been the answer to this issue, offering language awareness and motivation development as an alternative to proficiency. However, this typology remains largely under-articulated and absent from many toolboxes in world language education. The presenter will discuss how he has addressed the problem of teaching over 900 (K-5) students each year on a six-school-day rotation, and how the updated exploratory model aligns with the Facilitated Interdependent Language Learning model presented by the Center for Applied Linguistics in recent years.
