An effective world language program provides content that is meaningful and interesting to students. It provides developmentally and age appropriate activities integrating language components such as understanding, listening, speaking, reading, writing, and culture in order to promote active communication. Beginning a world language program in the early primary grades sends a strong message about the value our society places on knowing other languages and cultures. Such a message helps bilingual and limited-English proficient students to appreciate their own heritage, language, and culture, and sets the stage for successful school experience. An early start enables all children to view language learning and insight into other cultures as integral parts of their school experience.
World languages connect with all other disciplines.
Successful language learning activities are interdisciplinary. World languages have more meaning and purpose when tasks are a natural outgrowth of school life, and emerge from the content area of other disciplines. A content-enriched approach develops students' skills in the studied language while enhancing their knowledge of the content of other humanities disciplines, such as literature, history, and geography. Connections may flow from other areas to the world language classroom, or may originate in the world language classroom to add unique insight to the rest of the curriculum. Program Design Communities should provide a strong, well-articulated sequence of language study.