Project Director

Copeland-Rutledge, Valerie

Department

Dept. of Education

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Foreign Language instruction is a useful tool in the schools. It allows for cultural exposure and language formations. Foreign language instruction is especially important at the lower elementary levels because younger students are able to learn a language much quicker than older students. Also, research has shown that foreign language taught at the elementary level increases standardized test scores in verbal intelligence, mental flexibility, reading and even math. The College Board noted that students with more than five years of foreign language instruction scored higher on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) than students with little or no foreign language. Students who had taken two years of foreign language scored 13-14% better on the SAT than students with no foreign language experience. An even greater increase was shown by those students who had taken five or more years of Spanish instruction. If this marked growth can be seen in secondary foreign language students, the benefits of beginning a foreign language program at an even earlier age (four or five years old) would be a great benefit to the overall academic progress of students.

Degree

B. S.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Science.

Date

12-1997

Subject

Spanish language--Study and teaching (Elementary); Multicultural education--Tennessee--Chattanooga

Discipline

Elementary Education

Document Type

Theses

Extent

iii, 44 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Call Number

LB2369.5 .D367 1997

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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