An Integrative Approach to FLES Teacher Training: The Delaware Model

Abstract: While the need for certified elementary foreign language teachers is on the rise, foreign language teacher educators frequently encounter difficulty in securing good elementary field experiences for their student teachers due to the dearth of fully developed programs of foreign language in the elementary schools (FLES). This article presents a student teaching model designed to meet that placement challenge. The Delaware model, by integrating significant field experiences in the regular elementary grade classroom with those in the FLES classroom, makes it possible to place student teachers in schools with less than fully developed FLES programs. Moreover, positive results obtained during two integrative placements demonstrate the important curricular and classroom management advantages that are gained when student teachers are given opportunities to acquire knowledge and experience in the elementary grade classroom as well as in the FLES classroom. Key words: clinical experience, field experiences, FLES (foreign language in the elementary schools), student teacher placement, teacher training Languages: Relevant to all languages Introduction An elementary school foreign language teacher needs to have the qualities of both an excellent foreign language teacher and an excellent elementary school teacher. (Curtain & Pesola, 1994, p. 250) In the quotation above, Curtain and Pesola have pointed out the dual aspects of the elementary foreign language teaching profession, asserting the importance of equal training in both foreign language and elementary education. In this article, we propose a model for structuring student teaching field experience so that it incorporates both of these essential elements. We applied this model in the placement of two foreign language in the elementary schools (FLES) student teachers, allowing us to compile qualitative data through observations, mentoring, student teachers' written reflections, journals and final summaries, cooperating teachers' comments and evaluations, surveys of the school community (parents, teachers, and the administration), and student teachers' post-interviews two years later. The need for well-trained certified elementary foreign language teachers is on the rise due to the renewed interest in beginning foreign language studies in early childhood. An early start to foreign language learning has been advocated ever more urgently by the profession (Pufahl, Rhodes, & Christian, 2001) and, encouragingly, some state legislatures have in recent years mandated the offering of foreign languages in elementary schools. Furthermore, national reports by groups outside the profession, such as the National Association of State Boards of Education in its Complete Curriculum (2003) and the National 1-anguage Conference in its Call to Action for National Foreign Language Capabilities (2005) have also recommended sequential foreign language study beginning in the elementary grades. However, there is still a serious lack of qualified teachers to fill available positions (Roscnbusch, 2004), which represents a threat even to the existing programs. The currently small number of fully developed FLES programs presents a significant challenge to foreign language teacher education programs striving to ensure rich field experiences for teacher candidates. Foreign language teacher educators, in seeking FLES placements for their students, face not only the challenge posed by a scarcity of programs, but also that of the wide variability among programs that do exist. It is, of course, to be expected that as school districts create foreign languagc learning opportunities for elementary school children, there will be a variety of models adopted-from FLEX to FLES, from exploratory to dual or full immersion. Since many of the current programs are fledgling, however, they frequently do not offer enough foreign language classes to provide the extensive teaching and observation hours required for the training of a student teacher. …