Foreign languages 101
Albion College students go back to basics by teaching in local classrooms
December 3, 2004Rachel Karmol
Staff Reporter
A close circle of 16 pre-kindergarten students sat attentively as they reviewed colors and numbers in Spanish as part of their weekly lesson taught by Albion College student volunteers. With bright-colored tongues they happily parroted in unison the Spanish names for the colors of each of their suckers. When the lesson concluded, students excitedly crowded around the Albion College students, eager for a hug good-bye and another chance to beg them to stay.
“It’s so hard to leave each week,” said Erin Rzepka, Livonia sophomore. “I think that we are always more excited about going than they [students] are.”
Foreign Language in Elementary Schools (FLES) was first implemented on the Albion College campus in 1988 and has continued every year since then, with the exception of the 2003-04 school year.
“While the program has been pretty stable over the years, some of it depends year to year according to the number of students willing to participate as well as the response of the elementary teachers,” said Kalen Oswald, Spanish professor and coordinator of the program this year.
Students enrolled in a 200 level or higher foreign language course are eligible to participate in the program, although priority is given to the most advanced students. This year there are 45 student volunteers who teach in 20 different classrooms. Ten classes have Spanish lessons, five French and five German. Oswald attributes the demand for Spanish teaching to the growing Hispanic population in Albion.
“My speculation is that there are more teachers with some experience with Spanish or that there is some need for it in their classrooms,” Oswald said.
Student volunteers visit classrooms once a week to teach. Grades pre-kindergarten through first have 20-30 minute lessons, while grades two and three engage in lessons 30-35 minutes in length.
“It’s not practical to expect the students to learn a lot of the language during the year, given that they are only exposed to it about a half-hour per week,” Oswald said. “But it is the exposure to it that is most important.”
Oswald’s two sons, first- and third-grade students at Harrington Elementary School, both have FLES volunteers teach in their classrooms.
“They always tell me what a good time they have,” Oswald said. “And they’re always excited to tell me what they learned how to say in Spanish.”
While student volunteers face limited time allotments to teach lessons, the consistency of the program enables students to keep the process of learning a foreign language fun instead of overwhelming.
“I taught my parents the ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ song in Spanish,” said Kaylee Riddle, a 4-year-old pre-kindergarten student at Harrington. “They liked it a lot.”
Many student volunteers have found their involvement with the FLES program to be a rewarding experience.
“I like to see how much the kids enjoy us,” said Lily Saliba, Solon, Ohio sophomore. “I feel so much better after I go each week.”
Teachers feel that the weekly foreign language lessons enrich their students’ learning experience.
“I think that it is really nice that the college has given us [Harrington Elementary] the opportunity to bring other languages into the classroom,” said Melanie Wheeler, a pre-kindergarten teacher. “This gives some students who don’t have a lot of enrichment at home an opportunity that they wouldn’t have otherwise had.”
Additionally, college students indirectly serve as mentors and role models for the elementary students they teach.
“They give students good examples to look up to,” Wheeler said. “They can look at the college students and say, ‘We can go to college, too, someday.’”
The program has made significant improvements since the 2002-03 school year. There are six more classrooms being visited each week and 16 more student volunteers.
“It is so obvious to me that we are making a difference,” Saliba said. “And it’s nice to be involved in something so much larger than ourselves.”
Many who attended were encouraged by the optimism shown.
“I think that we are headed in the right direction,” said Jim Arnett, a member of the Albion Board of Education.
